Sparks: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best

Sparks are the world’s longest-running cult band. The only constant members are siblings Ron and Russell Mael, who grew up in Pacific Palisades, California. They emerged with the glam movement of the 1970s. Their single ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us’ and the albums Kimono My House and Propaganda were successful in the UK. But their subsequent career has often enjoyed cult status rather than a mass following.

I think people sense that they’re part of some special club that is exclusive to them. The club is getting bigger and bigger, but it’s still seen as this little-known entity that is unique and special to the people that are aware of it. I think everybody enjoys that sensibility. 

Russell Mael, Big Takeover

Sparks have restlessly explored a lot of territory over the past six decades. Most remarkable is their reinvention for the 21st century – 2002’s Lil’ Beethoven presaged an artistically rich era for Sparks. They’ve enjoyed more visibility recently, thanks to an affectionate film by Edgar Wright.

The brothers are markedly different – Ron the stoic keyboard player, and Russell the animated frontman. But they’ve always worked in harmony, unlike most bands with brothers. Ron writes the songs, while Russell told NME that the brothers have “an unspoken vision, like a cause or a mission, to spread word that pop music can still be done in a fresh way.”

With today’s release of Mad! and Ron Mael about to become an octogenarian, it’s a great time to revisit their rich yet erratic discography. Here’s my ranking of Sparks’ discography. I’ve ignored soundtracks (Annette) and reworks (Plagiarism), but included their collaboration with Franz Ferdinand on FFS.

Sparks Albums Ranked

#25 Music That You Can Dance To

1986
Sparks’ worst album returns to the dance sounds of No. 1 in Heaven. But while that 1979 album sounded visionary, on Music That You Can Dance To, they’re chasing trends – they sound like second-rate Pet Shop Boys. Interesting songs like ‘Rosebud’ and ‘Change’ are overshadowed by career lows like ‘Let’s Get Funky’ and ‘Shopping Mall of Love’.

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#24 Interior Design

1988
Sparks struggled in the late 1980s, but Interior Design improves on Music That You Can Dance To. The Maels struggle to find an identity in the late 1980s pop landscape, and Interior Design sounds directionless. But the album is worth tracking down for ‘The Toughest Girl in Town’, one of Sparks’ best 1980s songs.

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#23 Terminal Jive

1980
After the success of No. 1 in Heaven, Sparks returned to work with Giorgio Moroder in West Germany. But Moroder relegated them to work with his protégé, Harold Faltermeyer (who later achieved fame with ‘Axel F’). The Maels were clearly short of ideas – they reprise the album’s best song, ‘When I’m With You’, as an instrumental. Meanwhile, ‘Young Girls’ is a particularly distasteful moment in an edgy catalogue.

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#22 Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat

1984
Spark’s new-wave/synth-pop started to wear thin by 1984. Ron experimented with a Fairlight synthesizer on Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat, but its textural experimentation doesn’t play to Sparks’ strengths. ‘With All My Might’ was an ill-advised attempt to write a straitlaced Sparks song, while the ‘Sparks in the Dark’ instrumentals are uneventful.

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#21 Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins

1994
After being prolific during the 1970s and 1980s, Sparks only released one album of new material during the 1990s. The Maels spent much of the era trying to make the Japanese manga series, Mai, The Psychic Girl, into a movie.

Despite the excellent title, Gratuitous Sax is a little mundane, following a well-worn path of dance-flavoured Euro-pop. But ‘When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way” is a career highlight, a statement of artistic independence. One of their best songs from the era, ‘National Crime Awareness Week’, was relegated to a B-side.

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#20 Balls

2000
Sparks again dabble in techno-pop on Balls, using a tougher sound inspired by The Prodigy. It’s inessential but fun. Russell Mael’s pronunciation of “balls” on the title track is delightful, while ‘Aeroflot’ is disposable fun. But it feels like an artistic dead end.

The failure of Balls forced Sparks to scrap their follow-up album, paving the way for their successful run in the 21st century.

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#19 A Woofer in Tweeter’s Clothing

1973
Sparks are a weird band. But their early records for Bearsville are their weirdest. Their sophomore album is produced by Thaddeus James Lowe, previously the vocalist for The Electric Prunes. The cover of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Do Re Mi’ was a live favourite, but its inclusion indicates they were short of material. The most interesting song is the closer ‘Whippings and Apologies’, an aggressive, attitude-laced rocker.

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#18 In Outer Space

1983
Sparks sound uncomfortably mainstream on their 12th studio album. In Outer Space is spearheaded by the single ‘Cool Places’, a duet with The Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin. While ‘Cool Places’ works, other songs like ‘Prayin’ for a Party’ and ‘A Fun Bunch of Guys From…’ lapse into genericism.

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#17 Big Beat

1976
After recording three albums in England, Sparks returned to the USA for Big Beat. It’s produced by Rupert Holmes, who’d later record the execrable ‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song)’. It features a bizarre mix, where the instruments, apart from the drums, are buried.

The highlight is ‘I Like Girls’, with a histrionic Russell vocal. There’s a mile-wide misogynistic streak on ‘Throw Her Away (and Get a New One)’, while ‘White Women’ wouldn’t fly in the 21st century.

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#16 Whomp That Sucker

1981
Sparks returned to working with a band, and embraced new wave with Whomp That Sucker – it makes sense, as their early albums presaged the genre. Whomp That Sucker is light on great songs, but it’s fast-moving and fun. ‘Tips for Teens’ launches abruptly and is a strong opener, while ‘The Willys’ is fun, with Russell’s voice rising exuberantly and lines like “It’s hard to explain/Like Citizen Kane/To someone who’s blind.”

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#15 Introducing Sparks

1977
Sparks spent the second half of the 1970s looking for a new sound after the demise of glam. Introducing Sparks might be their weirdest direction from this era, venturing into easy listening. It’s bizarre but has great moments like the faux-naivete lounge of ‘Those Mysteries’ and the Beach Boys’ pastiche of ‘Over the Summer’.

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#14 Indiscreet

1975
Sparks’ fifth album is their most ambitious. Working with producer Tony Visconti, the Maels employ orchestral arrangements on their forays into jazz, big band, swing, and vaudeville.

Some of it’s top-notch, like ‘Tits’ and the frenetic ‘Happy Hunting Ground’. On ‘Tits’ a man laments that his wife’s breasts are no longer for pleasure, commandeered by their young son. But in other places, Sparks’ reach exceeds their grasp, like the ponderous ‘Under the Table With Her’.

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#13 Exotic Creatures of the Deep

2008
Exotic Creatures of the Deep is reminiscent of 1982’s Angst in My Pants, with high-energy songs that border on irritating. It’s notable for its release strategy. Sparks played a series of concerts, one dedicated to each of their twenty previous albums, before premiering Exotic Creatures on the 21st night.

The Maels are even more frivolous than usual on songs like ‘Let the Monkey Drive’ and ‘(She Got Me) Pregnant’. ‘This is the Renaissance’ is the second half’s hidden gem, with lines like “Music’s gone wild/No Gregorian here/Contrapuntal music is the music/That your parents fear.”

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#12 The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte

2023
The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte is Sparks’ first album on Island Records since 1976. Appropriately, it’s their most glam-flavoured album since that era – ‘Not That Well-Defined’ recaptures a big glam sound. ‘Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is’ is written from the perspective of a “22-hour-old baby who is disgusted with the world, and wants to return to the womb”.

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#11 FFS (with Franz Ferdinand)

2015
Sparks teamed up with Glasgow indie band Franz Ferdinand for FFS. The bands sent each other demos in 2004, but the collaboration didn’t happen until Alex Kapranos bumped into the Maels while looking for a dentist in San Francisco. FFS feels like a Sparks album, with songs like ‘Johnny Delusional’ and ‘Collaborations Don’t Work’.

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#10 A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

2020
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is the most straightforward and accessible album in the Sparks’ catalogue. They slipped it out between two larger projects – Edgar Wright’s Sparks documentary and the Maels’ musical Annette. It opens uncharacteristically with ‘All That’ – the handclaps and acoustic guitar are off-brand for Sparks. ‘Lawnmower’ is another simple but effective track with stacked Russell vocals.

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#9 MAD!

2025
MAD! is the Maels’ most claustrophobic album, full of skittery beats and dramatic strings. It starts with ‘Do Things My Own Way’, a resolute statement of purpose, and ends with the hymn-like ‘Lord Have Mercy’. But in between, it’s often dark and crowded – even the heartfelt ‘Drowned in a Sea of Tears’ features an overwhelming arrangement.

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#8 Hippopotamus

2017
Hippopotamus was the first Sparks studio album for almost a decade. They barely miss a beat, mixing full band arrangements on tracks like ‘So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?’, and the repetitive, synthesised, Lil’ Beethoven approach on the title track.

Like other vintage artists in a fragmented market, Hippopotamus was Sparks’ highest charting album in years. It cracked the UK top ten, the first time for Sparks since Propaganda in 1974.

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#7 Halfnelson / Sparks

1971
Sparks’ debut album is deeply weird. They were still called Halfnelson, and consisted of two sets of brothers—the Maels were joined by guitarist Earle Mankey and bassist Jim Mankey. Halfnelson was produced by Todd Rundgren, who allowed the band’s quirks to shine through.

It’s innovative—they delve into pre-rock styles on ‘Slowboat’ and ‘Roger’. But they also presage new wave on songs like ‘Wonder Girl,’ with Russell Mael’s keening, swooping vocal, Ron Mael’s odd electric piano part, and off-kilter percussion. 

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#6 Angst in My Pants

1982
Angst in My Pants marks the peak of Spark’s early-1980s synth-pop and new-wave phase. It’s quirky and fun, with zany titles like ‘Moustache’ and ‘Eaten by the Monster of Love’. The weaker songs can be irritating – the hook of ‘Instant Weight Loss’ is one of my least favourite Sparks moments. My favourite is ‘Moustache’, especially the quickfire second verse.

I tried a handlebar design, my Fu Manchu was real fine
My Ronald Colman made ’em blink
My Pancho Villa made ’em think

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#5 Hello Young Lovers

2006
The Maels add a full band to the sound they developed on Lil’ Beethoven, and it’s another 21st-century gem.

The closer, ‘As I Sit Down to Play the Organ at the Notre Dame Cathedral’, is a top-tier Sparks song. I love the premise: a Church musician upset that he’s upstaged by God. Elsewhere, ‘Metaphor’ is one of Spark’s funniest songs as the misguided narrator confidently asserts “chicks dig, dig, d-I-g, dig, dig metaphors.” And Hello Young Lovers starts brilliantly with the dynamic ‘Dick Around’ and the excellent ‘Perfume’.

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#4 Lil’ Beethoven

2002
Sparks scrapped their follow-up album to Balls. But frustrated by the results, they retreated to Russell’s home studio to find a new sound. The sound they created features layers of keyboards and vocals, framing minimalist, repetitive songs. It wouldn’t work for every band, but it fits the Mael’s offbeat sensibilities and flamboyant vocals and sets the scene for their successful 21st-century work.

The peak of the new approach is ‘My Baby’s Taking Me Home’, where Russell repeats the title phrase for almost the entire song. The opening ‘The Rhythm Thief’ is self-referential, explaining how the band have dropped the electronic beats of their 1990s records. 

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#3 Propaganda

1974
Six months after Kimono My House, the Maels had another record in the shops. It’s very nearly as good. The highlight is the greatest one-two punch in popular music. The a cappella ‘Propaganda’ segues into ‘At Home, At Work, At Play’, built around a great riff and an agile Russell Mael vocal. Elsewhere, Propaganda is more sedate and sophisticated than Kimono My House. The lead single, ‘Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth,’ is lush rather than manic.

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#2 No. 1 in Heaven

1979
Sparks spent the second half of the 1970s searching for a new sound. They found it with young Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, known for his hits with Donna Summer. Moroder’s an engaged collaborator, credited as a co-writer on most tracks. Sparks break out of the band format, with all the instrumentation coming from keyboards and drummer Keith Forsey. They spread their ideas over six long tracks, while the glassy keyboards juxtapose effectively with Mael’s excitable vocals.

The second side is stellar. ‘Beat the Clock’ is histrionic, even by Russell Mael’s usual standards. ‘My Other Voice’ is mostly instrumental, but the vocal section is gorgeous. The centrepiece is the lengthy ‘The Number One Song in Heaven’, with Russell reaching some impressively high notes.

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#1 Kimono My House

1974
Sparks’ most successful album remains their best. Russell’s ambiguous, androgynous delivery is well suited to glam rock, while ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’ is a great lead single. The new band, with Martin Gordon, Adrian Fisher and Norman “Dinky” Diamond, is one of their best backup groups.

It’s packed with treasures, like the hit single ‘Amateur Hour’ and the failed suicide pact of ‘Here in Heaven’. My favourite deep cut is the baroque pompousness of ‘Falling In Love With Myself Again’.

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