Sparks' tenth album 'Whomp That Sucker' returned to straight rock instrumentation. As much as anything it sounds like a return to their early LPs with a bigger production and a keyboard forward sound. It was reasonably successful in France again and reached the lower reaches of the US charts, but …
'Angst in My Pants' was Sparks eleventh album, released in 1982. Following the rather indifferent response to 'Whomp That Sucker' it seems less slick, and more sonically interesting, seemingly taking influences from European post punk/goth bands while still remaining resolutely Sparks. There's a lot of chorused bass and guitar …
'In Outer Space', Sparks' twelfth LP, released in 1983, put electronic instrumentation to the fore again. There's also a lot less of Russell's falsetto. It was relatively successful in the US, with first single 'Cool Places', a duet with Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Gos reaching no 49 in the Billboard …
'Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat' followed in 1984 and has the same US radio-friendly swinging your arms in a jacket with the sleeves up sound. Lyrically it's less shiny, and ts production seems more assured, including extensive Fairlight and Synclavier rental time, without overdoing it too much. Once again …
1986's 'Music That You Can Dance To' is synth and sampler lead again and also sees the return of Russell's falsetto a bit . The sampled arrangements are a lot more adventurous than the last couple of LPs, but the tongue is still pressed firmly in the cheek. The lead track …
Sparks' fifteenth album, 'Interior Design', builds on the pop aspect of the dance-pop sound of 'Music That You Can Dance To' . It was self-produced by the brothers in Los Angeles and has a very Californian sound to, all big drums sparkly synths and big choruses with the usual mild derangement …
Sometimes it's better to do something else for a while and Sparks did just that after 'Interior Design', concentrating on film-making and attempting to develop a move based on the Japanese Manga series Mai The Psychic Girl. They returned to music in 1993 and released their sixteenth LP 'Gratuitous Sax …
Following the success of 'Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins' , 'Plagiarism'. Sparks' 17th LP, was, perhaps unexpectedly, reworkings of songs from their history featuring versions of their hit singles and otherwise performed in a variety of styles, from an orchestral 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us' , a choir …
'Balls' was Sparks 18th LP, recorded over 1998 and 1999, and released in 2000. It has a more aggressive sound, with techno beats and acid baselines alongside rock and orchestral components. Again, the Mael brothers clearly knew what was going on in the music world and there are tracks that …
The first track on Sparks' 19th LP, 'Lil' Beethoven' is 'The Rhythm Thief', and it sets the scene, as, apart from one track, there is conventional drumming, human or electronic across the LP. Instead the LP, released in 2002, is largely piano lead with orchestral arrangements and complex vocal arrangements …