Sparks Spectacular 2008 - Excerpts from the 21 Albums in 21 Nights Event
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- Опубликовано: 9 дек 2024
- In celebration of the 10 years anniversary of the Sparks Spectacular - 21 Albums in 21 Nights Event - back in May/June 2008, here is a compilation video collecting most of the available footage from those days.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Spectacular, Sparks decided to play all of their previous 20 albums - one every (almost) consecutive night - leading up to the premiere of their 21st album “Exotic Creatures of the Deep” on the final night. That meant rehearsing and playing more than 250 songs over the span of just one month.
During the months spent creating this video, it slowly dawned on me that this has turned out to be the Frankenstein’s monster of concert videos: pieced together from whatever was available, larger than life, ugly as h*ll from the outside but still filled with infinite beauty if you allow yourself to go along with it.
It is a monumental video in celebration of an even more monumental feat by Ron and Russell (and band). Mind you, this video “only” captures little more than half of the entire performance.
Also, given the technical standards of those day’s recording devices, the quality is rough. It might mostly be for true fans, even though I myself find it strangely satisfying in all it’s “unpolishedness”.
A small word of caution: most of the video material from the first night (the Halfnelson album) is severely impacted by drop-outs and freezes (audio is OK), but the rest of the nights are free from that. So please be patient or skip the first night.
Truly there are a lot of hits in here, combined with an almost limtless amount of “deep cuts” that have rarely or never been played live before or after.
Please give it a try. And let’s salute the Mael brothers and their supporting cast for pulling off a challenge like this. It will most likely never be equalled by anyone else.
Below is the list of albums performed and links to their individual place in the sequence. Listing all songs is not possible. There are around 150 of them, but an overview can be found by navigating to the end-credits.
Have fun.
Album list:
00:01:14 01. Halfnelson (1971)
00:42:12 02. A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (1972)
01:12:33 03. Kimono My House (1974)
01:43:49 04. Propaganda (1974)
02:10:39 05. Indiscreet (1975)
02:36:36 06. Big Beat (1976)
03:15:58 07. Introducing Sparks (1977)
03:54:28 08. No. 1 in Heaven (1979)
04:28:51 09. Terminal Jive (1980)
04:42:21 10. Whomp That Sucker (1981)
05:03:57 11. Angst in My Pants (1982)
05:37:24 12. In Outer Space (1983)
06:20:19 13. Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat (1984)
06:38:17 14. Music That You Can Dance To (1986)
06:59:51 15. Interior Design (1988)
07:15:37 16. Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (1994)
08:03:01 17. Plagiarism (1997)
08:41:00 18. Balls (2000)
09:29:42 19. Lil' Beethoven (2002)
09:59:22 20. Hello Young Lovers (2006)
10:22:14 21. Exotic Creatures of the Deep (2008)
11:31:38 Credits
I wish record companies had been enough well inspired to make a series of DVDies these incredible events. But they had not!!: Fortunately this amateur video remains. I am very grateful to the people who filmed this wonderful spectacles :) :)
素敵な動画を有り難うございます。
日本でも「スパークスブラザーズ」の映画を上映しましたので、東京まで行って鑑賞しました。
21枚のアルバムを21日でライブするエネルギーに驚き、改めてスパークスの偉大さを知りました。
大学生の頃にスパークスを知り、今まで全てのアルバムを購入しています。一番好きなバンドです。
今は、56歳になりましたがRUclipsのおかげで、日本に居ながらライブパフォーマンスを見る事が出来て幸せです。
THANK U BERYMUCHI !
After seeing the Sparks Brothers, I really wish there had been a separate documentary about this series of shows. It was a stupendous, insane achievement that not many other bands could pull off.
Why, you're too late. Were you doing something 'important' in 2008? Perhaps following that Nickleback tour? You get to see what you deserve.
It would be cool if they did more things like two hands one mouth and Annette as a sequel
Nor would even think of pulling off. Hell the acts I dig can barely sing more than the usual ones they always do-most have probably never done any album tracks since said albums were released many years ago. And all those words to remember and the song set-up, when to come in and so on. How DOES Russ and Ronnie do it?!
I'm absolutely fucking insane for even trying to attempt this, but alas:
HALFNELSON (1971)
1:47 Fletcher Honorama
6:26 Simple Ballet
10:17 Slowboat
14:11 Biology 2
17:40 Saccharin and the War
22:17 Big Bands
27:49 (No More) Mr Nice Guys
37:25 England
A WOOFER IN TWEETER'S CLOTHING (1972)
43:27 Girl from Germany
46:59 Beaver O'Lindy
50:54 Here Comes Bob
53:18 Moon Over Kentucky
58:15 The Louvre
1:02:40 Batteries Not Included
1:03:35 Whippings and Apologies
1:08:24 Arts and Crafts Spectacular
KIMONO MY HOUSE (1974)
1:12:43 This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us
1:15:43
Falling in Love with Myself Again
1:19:15
Here in Heaven
1:23:03 Hasta Manana Monsieur
1:27:07
Talent is an Asset
1:30:56
Complaints
1:34:06
Equator
1:40:35
Barbecutie
PROPAGANDA (1974)
1:44:14
Propaganda
1:44:53
B.C.
1:47:22
Don't Leave Me Alone with Her
1:50:10
Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
1:52:32
Achoo
1:57:27
Bon Voyage
2:07:14
Lost and Found
INDISCREET (1975)
2:10:48
Hospitality on Parade
2:15:00
Get in the Swing
2:19:19 Under the Table with Her
2:21:49
Pineapple
2:24:25
It Ain't 1918
2:26:41
The Lady Is Lingering
2:30:32
Miss the Start, Miss the End
2:32:46
Gone with the Wind
(I gave up here - for now, that is. I'll come back to this comment and edit in the rest later lol.)
(EDIT: It took me three years but I finally came back and finished this comment whew)
BIG BEAT (1976)
2:38:32 Big Boy
2:42:11 I Want to Be Like Everybody Else
2:45:12 Nothing to Do
2:48:12
I Bought the Mississippi River
2:50:27 Fill 'Er Up
2:53:21 Throw Her Away And Get A New One
2:57:47 Confusion
3:01:08
Screwed Up
3:05:20
White Women
3:09:24
Tearing The Place Apart
INTRODUCING SPARKS (1977)
3:16:12
A Big Surprise
3:20:01
Occupation
3:25:16
Ladies
3:28:11
I'm Not
3:31:33
Forever Young
3:35:38
Goofing Off
3:40:25
Over the Summer
3:43:55 Those Mysteries
3:50:40
Alabamy Right
NO. 1 IN HEAVEN (1979)
3:54:39
Academy Award Performance
4:00:54
La Dolce Vita
4:06:09
My Other Voice
4:11:46
The Number One Song In Heaven
4:22:12
Dancing is Dangerous
TERMINAL JIVE (1980)
4:29:00
When I'm With You
4:34:26
Noisy Boys
4:38:30
Stereo
WHOMP THAT SUCKER (1981)
4:42:30
Funny Face
4:45:52
Where's My Girl
4:50:24 That's Not Nastassia
4:54:48
Wacky Women
4:58:09
Get Crazy
ANGST IN MY PANTS (1982)
5:04:34
Angst in My Pants
5:08:54
I Predict
5:13:27
Mickey Mouse
5:16:36
Moustache
5:20:09
Tarzan and Jane
5:23:57
The Decline and Fall of Me
5:27:40
Eaten by the Monster of Love
5:32:06
Minnie Mouse
IN OUTER SPACE (1983)
5:38:34
Cool Places
5:34:20
Prayin' for a Party
5:46:20
All You Ever Think About is Sex
5:50:31
Please, Baby, Please
5:54:30
Rockin' Girls
5:59:24
I Wish I Looked a Little Better
6:04:03
Lucky Me, Lucky You
6:07:53
A Fun Bunch of Guys from Outer Space
6:14:49
Sports
PULLING RABBITS OUT OF A HAT (1984)
6:20:36
Pretending to be Drunk
6:24:32
Progress
6:28:50
A Song that Sings Itself
6:33:47
Kiss Me Quick
MUSIC THAT YOU CAN DANCE TO (1986)
6:38:27
Music That You Can Dance To
6:43:13
Armies of the Night
6:49:43
Shopping Mall of Love
6:53:34
Change
INTERIOR DESIGN (1988)
7:00:03
You Got a Hold of My Heart
7:05:22
Let's Make Love
7:09:55
A Walk Down Memory Lane
GRATUITOUS SAX & SENSELESS VIOLINS (1994)
7:16:00
Gratuitous Sax
7:16:51
When Do I get to Sing 'My Way'
7:22:43
Frankly Scarlett, I Don't Give a Damn
7:28:12
I Thought I Told You To Wait in the Car
7:32:38
Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil
7:38:34
Now That I Own The BBC
7:45:02
Tsui Hark
7:50:07
The Ghost of Liberace
7:54:33
Let's Go Surfing
7:59:55
Marry Me
PLAGIARISM (1997)
8:03:10
Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat
8:06:53
This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us
8:10:54
Funny Face
8:15:57 Angst In My Pants
8:20:14
Change
8:25:40
Something for the Girl with Everything
8:29:06
No.1 Song in Heaven
8:34:27
Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
8:37:31
Looks Aren't Everything
BALLS (2000)
8:41:10
Balls
8:45:36
More Than a Sex Machine
8:50:30
Scheherazade
8:55:50 Aeroflot
9:01:45
The Calm Before the Storm
9:07:55
How to Get Your Ass Kicked
9:12:37
Irreplaceable
9:18:18
The Angels
9:24:24
What Would Katharine Hepburn Say?
LIL' BEETHOVEN (2002)
9:29:51
The Rhythm Thief (partial)
9:31:36
How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall? (partial)
9:33:19 My Baby's Taking Me Home
9:39:43 Your Call is Very Important to Us. Please Hold.
9:43:54
Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls
9:51:27
Suburban Homeboy
9:55:29
Wunderbar
HELLO YOUNG LOVERS (2006)
9:59:34
Dick Around
10:07:08 Waterproof
10:11:57
There's No Such Thing as Aliens
10:16:15 Profile
EXOTIC CREATURES OF THE DEEP (2008)
10:22:28
Intro
10:23:57
Good Morning
10:29:05
Strange Animal
10:36:07
I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song
10:40:51
I've Never Been High
10:45:51
This is the Renaissance
10:49:53
The Director Never Yelled 'Cut'
10:53:59
Photoshop
10:58:11 Likeable
ENCORE SET
11:15:36
Looks Aren't Everything
11:18:53
Big Boy
11:22:40
What Would Katharine Hepburn Say?
11:28:13
Shopping Mall of Love
Your insanity is duly appreciated
You gotta be a fan thanks from another fan and HAPPY CHRISTMAS✌😀
You rock for being this "insane"! :D
finish the madness please
Nuts!!🤪🤪🤪🤪
I heard "This Town" when at school , then searched out the previous 2 albums , and have been a fan ever since - BUT to my regret have never got to see Sparks Live - so finding this was Like a Holy Grail - and Hats Off to Ron and Russell - not many youngsters have their stamina - Proving that their Talent is not Just an Asset !!!
Just watched the doc, thank you so much for this. My jaw was son the floor when they talked about performing all of their albums night after night. I can see they pulled it off very well!
Been a year and sparks is now my favorite band!
Seeing them in 3 days can't believe I posted this 2 years ago
Imagine if they had all the shows in the vault as soundboard recordings...
I first saw Sparks live in 1974 at Newcastle City Hall after that concert they have been my favourite band of all time, I have travelled throughout Europe since 74 to see them, every album produced has been excellent, the 21 night concert was unbelievable, Thanks Ron and Russell
Man, this is amazing! Excellent, excellent shows. I envy anyone who got to see them perform any or all of the 21 nights. Also, it's hilarious how Ron cosplays himself circa 79 for the No. 1 In Heaven show. Thank you for putting this together.
Wow - fantastic. Goosebumps sitting at 50% throughout. Avid fan in South Africa since '74, managed to see them 3 times.
Thanks for this.
This is utterly fantastic! Like, this band knows all those songs I've loved for so long. Oh yeah, they wrote them. Thanks Sparks!
Thank you SO much for all your efforts to put this together. Been a fan since Woofer but never got the chance to see them until recently in Antwerp. They still rock! I`ve downloaded IN CASE!
Holy smokes on this herculean effort! Sparks have been big for me since finding them a few years back. Can't help but suspect they somehow informed our song "Sex Machine Eulogies".
I was Sparks fan young boy still am now fanatic about anything they did they had many changes I have most all their albums! DVDS CDS ETC SO UNUSUAL they turned out to be as a band !
There have not been enough "Thank you"s for this, so THANK YOU!!!! After watching a documentary about a band that I had only fleetingly heard of from British Kinks fans, I'm now hooked. This is helping. I'll be seeing them in Boston in March. It's been a whirlwind week. I feel like I have to go back and live my life again.
Wow, thanks! I rediscovered Sparks watching their Glastonbury performance 2 weeks ago and can't beleive how many amazing songs they've written and released when I only knew 'This Town'. Have ordered the Sparks Brothers DVD from Amazon and spending far too much time watching RUclips performances. Hope they tour the UK again next year as kicking myself not found them sooner!
So much more than just a music band; thanks for sharing.
Valoro muchísimo tu recopilación. Solo los Mael se atreverían a hacer tal hazaña.
to see exotic creatures played in it's entirety...what a dream. thanks for this awesome upload
Everything about this upload is wonderful. Thank you so much for the effort you put in. And I still love Russell! ❤️❤️
I thank you so much, zaph 1000, for your enormous job, so precious for us "sparkshaolic". So enjoyable! ❤️❤️❤️
I've been a Sparks fan since the single "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" (at the time I didn't know they had two albums out already).
Since then I have followed them album after album, sometimes idolising, sometimes condemning, but always sympathetically.
This one is unique in history. To play all 21 albums in 21 nights....My God, what concentration must be required from Ron and Russell. And then backing musicians who may not even have been born when Russell sang "Girl From Germany".
What a performance!
Thank you so much for putting this one up and thank you for the two has one mouth one as well. I actually got this idea of them doing all their albums again plus their new ones with two hands one mouth.
Just saw their film last night. Can't wait to dive into this mindblowing venture they took on! Thanks for posting.
My first concert (April 1975) Sparks 2nd on a triple bill with headliners Ian Hunter/Mick Ronson Band (immediately following Hunter's leaving Mott The Hoople) a great show...$5 tickets...with NO ADDITIONAL FEES! It was great to grow up in the 70's!
God Save Sparks!
Thanks for the video! Just amazing that they could pull this stuff out!
thank you for this
Amazing! Thank you for sharing. Transported to each era.
What a compilation! Superb! Thanks!
Thanks so much for putting this together
If I were to choose a night to go to, I’d probably choose Music That You Can Dance To, though it’s a tough call because Angst In My Pants, In Outer Space & Exotic Creatures are also incredible.
I saw them at the Irvine Meadows back in 1984. Had lawn seats
Anyone knows if they released this in better quality Both audio and video? This is more box set material than any box set ever made.
Truly EPIC!
Monumental!
thanks for making this!
Ahahahahaha a song that sings itself, mi favorita de la banda, que lujo escuchar en vivo, suena muy nostálgico, Perú 🇵🇪
I've just dropped in to say that during "Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat" Russell could be mistaken for Bryan Ferry.
Wow, listen to the audience singing along and the whoops at many of the songs' starts? How do they even know all of them, seeing as the bloody UK tuned out just when Sparks were becoming truly excellent (from 1979 onwards). They, unlike all '70s beginners, breezed through the 80s perfectly and made it their own along with the other best acts. When I've been to some other (rare) concerts by other acts, most idiots only bay for the obvious songs!
omg
I see you've copied our geometry collab name
F