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SPARKS
LIL' BEETHOVEN
ALBUM ARTFUL RELEASE: NOVEMBER
11, 2002 REVIEW: JANUARY 7, 2003
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There
are a couple of "lost recordings" that you can only read about
and try to picture in your head. What would the complete "Smile"-sessions
by The Beach Boys have sounded like, and what about that album recorded
by Tricky and Neneh Cherry, locked away somewhere in a record company
vault?
"Lil' Beethoven" is like a lost recording, only not lost, but
actually released to us as an unlikely gift from out of time. The music
on this album is so improbable that no references or comparisons can be
made in contemporary pop music. The tradition of artistic ambition, big
orchestration and the broad stylistic variety harkens back to the most
conceptual and theatrical works of Brian Wilson, Pete Townsend and The
Beatles. Amazingly, this album by a band that's been going for about 30
years and released around 20 albums, doesn't sound the least dated. Perhaps
we are, once more since the heyday of Sparks in the seventies, ready for
some really ambitious, smart music?
"Lil' Beethoven" plays out like a rock musical with hammering
pianos and Russel Maels smartly delivered vocals in dialogue with a choir
chanting thematic mantras. It is absolutely epic, and soars brilliantly
from sly love ballads like "I Married Myself" to the furious
metal of "Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls". No musical building
blocks are left unused, so expect symphonic orchestras, electric guitars
and samplers in profusion. The darkly humorous lyrics contrast with the
larger-than-life musical delivery, further confusing the expectations
of a listener brought up on a diet of unreflectively silly music. The
ability of the brothers Mael to metamorphose and meld musical opposites
is nothing less than incredible.
In the wake of their albums, such as after recording with synth disco
legend Giorgio Moroder in the late 70:s, a plethora of musical ideas have
been left lying around for other artists to pick up. Today, Sparks are
credited as grandfathers of electro clash and inspirators of later greats
like Devo and New Order, but the band has since long left that phase behind.
"Lil' Beethoven" seems to issue a challenge to popular music
everywhere.
To the impotent nu metal genre, to the bloodless composers of electronica
and to all the lazy bastards in pop music churning out routine material
they pose the question: is that the best you can do?
MATTIAS
HUSS
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