Sparks (Sparks album)

"Halfnelson (album)" redirects here. For the Willie Nelson album, see Half Nelson (album).

1972 studio album by Sparks

Sparks

Studio album by

Sparks

Released| January 1972 (as Halfnelson)[1]
July 1972 (as Sparks)
Recorded| 1971
Genre|

* Art pop[2]
* pop rock[3]

Length| 40:23
Label| Bearsville
Producer| Todd Rundgren
Sparks chronology
|  | Sparks
(1972)  | A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing
(1973)

|
|

Alternative cover

Halfnelson release

Singles from  Halfnelson/Sparks

1. "Wonder Girl"
Released: May 1972

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [4]

Sparks, originally titled Halfnelson, is the debut album by the Los Angeles rock band Sparks. The album was first released as Halfnelson, the band's original name, in January 1972 on Bearsville Records and was produced by Todd Rundgren. Upon rebranding as Sparks, the album was reissued later that year under the group’s new name.

## Recording

[edit]

At this point in their career, Halfnelson was a three piece group comprising the Mael brothers and guitarist Earle Mankey. The demos that the trio had recorded in Mankey's home studio came to the attention of musician and producer Todd Rundgren, who signed them to the Bearsville label and produced their debut album in 1971. Interviewed in 2013, the duo recalled their collaboration with Rundgren as a very positive experience.

> Ron Mael: "It was intimidating for us just to be in a studio, but he was really incredibly open to what we were doing, and I think we really felt like kindred spirits, even though some of his own music was kinda maybe more soul-based. But he was an Anglophile just the way we were Anglophiles. It all went incredibly well with him personally and musically."

> Russell Mael: "To his credit, he didn't wanna change what we were doing, he just wanted the fidelity to be a little better. So we were going into an expensive recording studio with Todd, but still banging on cardboard boxes and all. He could see that the recording process was kind of a part of what we were. It wasn't that we needed to be changed into a traditional band. The way we were recording was a fair part of what we were and what made us interesting as a band to him.”

"Wonder Girl", the band's first single, exemplified both the Maels' unorthodox approach, and Rundgren's openness to it:

> Russell Mael: "Todd really wanted to preserve the quality of the demo. It's not like a live band sound at all. The guitar parts are really deliberate. The recording has a real character to it.”

> Ron Mael: "The keyboard on that was the Wurlitzer. It was always difficult for me to figure out how a keyboard really worked with a band. So in that particular song, it was kind of a two-note riff.”[5]

## Release

[edit]

Halfnelson was initially released on Bearsville Records in early 1972. Shortly after the release of the album, the group changed their name to Sparks. The album was then re-released by Bearsville Records later the same year as Sparks.[6] The new version of the album featured new artwork that was simpler, displaying the group in more of a classic pose superimposed against a red brick pattern. The single to this reissue "Wonder Girl", became a minor regional hit in certain parts of Alabama and California and also appeared on the lower end of the Cashbox chart at #92. The single also Bubbled Under the Hot 100 at No. 112. The tracks "Roger" and "Saccharin and the War" are re-recorded versions of songs from their untitled 1969 demo album, which is erroneously referred to as "The 'A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing' Demos".

## Re-issue

[edit]

Sparks has been re-released numerous times since 1972. It is often packaged with the follow-up album A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing. One such re-issue was released in 1975 to capitalize on the group's success in the UK. This version was titled 2 Originals of Sparks and was packaged as a double-LP in a gatefold sleeve with a 14-page booklet.

The most recent CD re-issue was released in 2019 on the Dutch record label Music On CD.

## Track listing

[edit]

Side oneNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Wonder Girl"| Ron Mael| 2:21
2.| "Fa La Fa Lee"| Ron Mael| 2:53
3.| "Roger"| Russell Mael| 2:37
4.| "High C"| Ron Mael| 3:13
5.| "Fletcher Honorama"| Ron Mael| 4:15
6.| "Simple Ballet"| Russell Mael, Ron Mael| 3:53

Side twoNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

7.| "Slowboat"| Russell Mael, Ron Mael| 3:54
8.| "Biology 2"| Earle Mankey| 3:10
9.| "Saccharin and the War"| Russell Mael| 4:02
10.| "Big Bands"| Ron Mael, Russell Mael| 4:16
11.| "(No More) Mr. Nice Guys"| Jim Mankey, Ron Mael| 5:49
Total length:| 40:23

## Personnel

[edit]

Halfnelson/Sparks

* Russell Mael \- vocals
* Ron Mael \- keyboards, piano, organ
* Earle Mankey \- guitar, lead vocal on "Biology 2"
* Jim Mankey \- bass guitar
* Harley Feinstein - drums

Technical

* Todd Rundgren \- producer
* Thaddeus James Lowe \- engineer
* Ron Mael - artwork
* Larry Dupont - photography

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "First Came 1972. Our January Release. Warners Exploded 81% of It Onto the Charts!". Billboard. March 4, 1972. 08120. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
2. ^ "Sparks - Biography by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 13, 2019 - via robertchristgau.com.
4. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Sparks – Sparks". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
5. ^ "Sparks - Ron and Russell Mael: 45 Years in Showbiz". soundonsound.com. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
6. ^ "Sparks Discography - Albums and 7" Singles". graphikdesigns.free.fr. Retrieved April 28, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Sparks at Discogs (list of releases)
* Sparks - The "Halfnelson/Sparks" album files
* FanMael

* v
* t
* e

Sparks

* Ron Mael
* Russell Mael

* Jim Mankey
* Earle Mankey
* Harley Feinstein
* Martin Gordon
* Adrian Fisher
* Norman "Dinky" Diamond

* Trevor White
* Ian Hampton
* Bob Haag
* Leslie Bohem
* David Kendrick
* Christi Haydon
* Tammy Glover
* Dean Menta

Albums|

* Halfnelson/Sparks
* A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing
* Kimono My House
* Propaganda
* Indiscreet
* Big Beat
* Introducing Sparks
* Nº 1 in Heaven
* Terminal Jive
* Whomp That Sucker
* Angst in My Pants
* In Outer Space
* Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat
* Music That You Can Dance To
* Interior Design
* Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
* Plagiarism
* Balls
* Lil' Beethoven
* Hello Young Lovers
* Exotic Creatures of the Deep
* The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman
* Two Hands, One Mouth: Live in Europe
* Hippopotamus
* A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
* Annette (soundtrack)
* The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
* Annette - An Opera by Sparks (The Original 2013 Recordings)
* MAD!

Singles|

* "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us"
* "Amateur Hour"
* "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth"
* "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
* "The Number One Song in Heaven"
* "Beat the Clock"
* "When I'm with You"
* "I Predict"
* "Cool Places"
* "With All My Might"
* "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'"
* "When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)"
* "Now That I Own the BBC"
* "Dick Around"
* "Johnny Delusional"

Films|

* The Sparks Brothers
* Annette
* soundtracks

Related|

* Giorgio Moroder
* Telex
* Sex
* Noël
* Gleaming Spires
* Les Rita Mitsouko
* Devo
* Todd Rundgren
* Sparks Spectacular
* Tony Visconti
* Jane Wiedlin
* FFS (self-titled album)

Discography

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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