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┌────────┐
────┤ Info ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Artist | Sparks
Title | Hippopotamus
Genre | Alternative Format | Album
Source | CDDA Time | 55:10
Label | BMG Store | 2017
Catalog | 538279612 Rip | 2017
Bitrate | 253 kbps Size | 105.76 MB
Freq | 44.1 kHz Encoder | Lame 3.98.4
┌────────┐
────┤ Tracks ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
01. Probably Nothing 1:21
02. Missionary Position 4:18
03. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me) 4:32
04. Scandinavian Design 4:10
05. Giddy Giddy 3:10
06. What The Hell Is It This Time 4:03
07. Unaware 3:54
08. Hippopotamus 3:47
09. Bummer 3:58
10. I Wish You Were Fun 4:04
11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play 4:00
12. When You're A French Director (Feat. Leos Carax) 2:45
13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat 2:59
14. A Little Bit Like Fun 3:57
15. Life With The Macbeths 4:12
┌────────┐
────┤ Notes ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Sparks is the vehicle for the skewed pop smarts and wise-guy wordplay of
brothers Ron and Russell Mael, Los Angeles natives who spent their
childhood modeling young men's apparel for mail-order catalogs. While
attending UCLA in 1970, the Maels formed their first group, Halfnelson,
which featured songwriter Ron on keyboards and Russell as lead vocalist;
the band was rounded out by another pair of brothers, guitarist Earle and
bassist Jim Mankey, and drummer Harley Feinstein.
When Ron and Russell Mael were growing up, their parents probably told them
they were too clever for their own good on a regular basis. But the joke's
on Mom and Dad, since the Mael brothers have managed to build a lasting
career out of being the smarty-pantses behind Sparks, who've been doing
their very particular thing since 1970 with no sign of stopping. Released
in 2017, "Hippopotamus" isn't an especially groundbreaking release for
Sparks, but it's a more than solid effort that shows they haven't lost a
bit of their smarts or their snarky way with a melody, an especially
impressive achievement when you consider Russell was 68 and Ron was 72 when
this album was released.
This hardly sounds like the work of senior citizens, while it also sounds
like Sparks and nobody else; Russell's gloriously pompous vocals are as
theatrical as ever, and his instrument is in fine shape, while Ron's
keyboards dominate the arrangements, carrying the melodies that combine pop
hooks with prog-like bombast (though despite their arty side, this band is
still incapable of keeping a straight face for long). "Hippopotamus" sounds
contemporary without straining to appear up-to-date (despite the derisive
Taylor Swift reference), at least to the extent that Sparks are as
cheerfully out of place now as they've ever been, and the craft here is
essentially flawless.
And lyrically, Ron and Russell are still the Oscar Wildes of idiosyncratic
pop, tossing out an endless series of bon mots about the mechanics of sex,
people who tragically love the color brown, deities who hate being bothered
with trivial requests, the pros and cons of giddiness, the behavior of
French filmmakers, and how that hippo got into their swimming pool. If
you've never liked Sparks, "Hippopotamus" isn't likely to convince you
otherwise, but as a band that seems perversely proud of being an acquired
taste, this album shows Sparks are still in fine fettle, and this should
delight their loyal fan base.
┌────────┐
────┤ Group ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘