Customer Reviews

Lil Beethoven

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

God bless Ron and Russ Mael. They have provided the world with some of the most fantastic records of all time. From the understated and twisted sound of the first two lp's through the holy trinity that is "Kimono My House", "Propoganda" and "Indiscreet". Those three LP 's alone would make a place for Sparks in the higher plane of existance in rock and roll. Much music followed, some great, some good some, well they can't all be winners. The brothers have long dabbled in dance music way back when it was actually called disco ("#1 In Heaven") and they have stayed with the more electro side of things for some time now. I am pleased to announce that "the beat" is now banished. The first song here lays it out-"...I am the rythm thief, say goodbye to the beat". This CD is so utterly amazing I cannot possibly do it justice in a few paragraphs. There are strings, multi layered vocals, beautiful piano, full blown orchestration, drums and yes...guitars! The lyrics, as always, are genius. "What Are All These Bands So Angry About?", "I Married Myself", "Suburban Homeboy". Amazing! The flow of this thing is perfect as well. It is really structured like an album! Not one of those, put the catchiest songs at the beginning and pad the rest, this is perfectly paced and timed. Just cause you can fit 80 minutes on a cd doesn't mean you have to. the 41 minutes here will do just fine thank you. "Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls" is hands down my favorite here and is thee most rocking Sparks track in ohh sooo long. I would venture to say this is their best record since 1975's "Indiscreet". It certainly is the most consistant and engaging since that LP. It's good to know that creativity is not lost from one of the most creative. Buy this cd and a smile will come to your face and a song to your heart. Other people may give you funny looks, but that's the way it goes. Personally, I have listened to this CD nearly every day since it came out and it just keeps getting better. No, I am not insane. Just a longtime fan who is beyond happy with this one. I will stop now. Thank you. Goodnight.

The Mael brothers have done it again! They've redefined the musicical standards & have gone where no other band has gone before. As 1997's "Plagarism" proved -- the brothers sounded good on just about any musical style, from classicly orchestrated music to hard rock!

"Lil' Beethoven" is perhaps Sparks best advante-garde piece since the early 70's. Even then the band knew how to shock the critics -- either you loved them or hated em'. From the beginning of Sparks career, the Mael brothers knew how to create shock lyrics. Take "Fletcher Honorama" from the debut album for example, the song was written about throwing a party for a man on his death bed instead of having a gathering after the funeral! "Wonder Girl" reveals the lifestyles of the rich and famous & their spoiled children: "She was a wonder to her dad/A self-made man who owned all that he had/And after all, self-made men have daughters who just don't bail.

Just when the band's previous album, "Balls," seemed to address the "No.1 Song in Heaven" & "Music that You Can Dance to" fans, "Lil' Beethoven" revisits the early years of the debut self-titled album to 77's "Introducing Sparks." Not in the instrumental sense, but in its lyrical content. In fact, if you enjoy this album, don't hesitate to hunt for the band's first seven gems!

"Lil' Beethoven" will have you listening & listening all over again. It is the soundtrack of the 2000's and proof that mass-marketing is over-stated and over-done. Sparks have nothing to hide on this one! "Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls" could become the theme for the next reality series, where the victim is a man of good looks and personality, who loses his lover to a man with money. In the world of "friendly" customer service & mass communication, Sparks have proven just how far we've gone in the techno world with "Your Call's Very Important to Us, Please Hold." In the age of post-modern fury, "The Rhythm Thief" reveals the era of musical sampling and rip-offs. While, "What are All These Bands so Angry About" is perhaps a message to bands like Stained and Nickelback that write the same crybaby lyrics for the same dramatic fools!

"Lil' Beethoven" is the best album of 2003! It is instrumentally refeshing and lyrically rejuvinating! Sparks haven't missed a cue on this one. It is simply Sparks at their best!

In promoting this disc, Ron and Russell Mael continually noted how they wanted to make a record that rewrote their own rules. That they did. Ron is back playing piano. As announced by the opener "The Rhythm Thief", it's time to "say goodbye to the beat". No more dance tunes. Songs are fueled by strings (albeit synthesized strings) and often augmented by heavily layered choruses of Russell Mael. The effect on some songs is to create some sort of pop opera -- but unlike Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody",which applied modern techniques while trying to sound old, Sparks is bringing back the old to be newer than ever.
Two tracks serve as the center of the album's thematic premise. The former encapsulates the style. "My Baby's Taking Me Home" compresses Russell's vocal, accompanied only by some backing vocals and Ron's saloon style piano, coming off like a blast from a `20s speakeasy. And Russell sings the title phrase...again and again and again. The backing vocals swell into a chorus, the keyboards come in more fully, a hint of guitar creeps in. The Maels just keep adding element after element into the mix. The song is the hook from a Tin Pan Alley ditty elevated to massive status. The only deviation is a brief spoken interlude that explains this repetitive chorus is the sound that two lovers hear in their heads. Finally, the beat kicks in. This song has two strong joyous foundations -- one is the sheer joy of creative effort, the other is how it boils love and attraction to an essence.
The other key thematic track is "What Are All These Bands So Angry About?". At one level, the song is a mere jape, Russell noting "hey everybody, they called our bluff/our profane ain't profane enough". His deadpan vocal is accompanied by another angelic operatic chorus. Right away, this commentary on superficial p----- off dudes in bandanas and baggy jeans gains weight due to Sparks expressing their view in music that is 180 degrees the opposite of the nu metal noise. Then Ron and Russell's lyrics bring it home: "Beethoven, Coltrane, or Lady Day/some might have done it, but not today...Wagner, Tatum, or Howlin' Wolf/some might have done what we'll never do." By contrasting the emptiness of current popular rock with truly substantive artists, the Maels really expose the cynicism of contemporary `rebellious' music, noting how pain and other genuine emotions have been so much better expressed without all of the bluster. These observations are all the more interesting coming on a track that is so baroque and coming from a band who is best known for writing for the head and not the heart.
Yet this song and the whole album show that music from the heart can be made more for the head -- this is not that emotional of an album, but it is wholly human. At one level it is light entertainment, but at another level it is a plea for musicians to make music for a purpose, whether's it's to express an idea or to pour out your soul (and not the act of appearing to pour out your soul -- there's a difference).
There are two other phenomenonal tracks. "Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls" comes in on a whisper, the quiet broken by Russell's yelping and the serrated guitar work of Dean (ex-Faith No More) Menta. Sparks has not rocked so much since 1973's "Whippings and Apologies", as Russell narrates the verses, trying to explain the conundrum set forth in the title. This song uses dynamics very well. The most conventional song, "I Married Myself", is simply a superbly written soft pop song. It seems to be a sequel to the 1974 Kimono My House classic "Falling in Love with Myself Again" (and Sparks has revisited themes before -- this is the band that has recorded two songs from the viewpoint of a sperm). The lyrics are again pretty spartan, as Russell extols the virtues of solo "long walks on the beach...candlelight dinners home". The symphonic touches here are joined by some jazzy horn and vibes touches. It's post-modern demented Sinatra.
Wisely, the band ends what is a fairly intense album (and it should be intense, it's throwing down a gauntlet, after all) with pure whimsy. "Suburban Homeboy" scores a bullseye on an easy target. Taking on upper class white wannabes may seem easy, but the observations are funny and setting them to what sounds like a melody from a `40s movie musical is brilliant: "I'll pop a cap/up some fool at the Gap".
Ira Robbins once wrote that "Sparks remain unpredictably capable of greatness each time they enter the studio." This album puts an exclamation point on this notion. Maybe other bands can take this masterful album as a call to try something new on their own records.

Everybody talks about what an amazing record LIL' BEETHOVEN is, and tries to describe what makes it so impressive, and why it sounds like nothing else Sparks have ever done (or anybody, for that matter) while at the same time saying why it sounds like everything the band has ever done. But nobody clarifies exactly what this record isn't.

1. It's not an overblown "classical pop" album in the traditional sense. This isn't where you'll find the band covering their own regular style of pop song with horn sections and string arrangments (that record was PLAGIARISM). There is nothing here that sounds as conventional as an old, inflated bore like the Moody Blues and nothing that will sound like George Michael performing his songs in Vegas for his 80-year-old audience in a few years. These songs are written with classical patterns and repetitive-yet-gradually-changing repeated phrases like much of intelligent dance music. Lyrics are often reduced to one catchphrase, repeated ad infinitum to give the impression that the vocals are just another instrument in the band. They begin to lose their meaning, because you simply tend to focus on how the sounds are changing.

2. It's not pretentious. While Sparks have always maintained the profile of outsider status and been championed by eccentrics, while cultivating an image of irony and misanthropy, the fact is that their music is always deceptively simplistic and/or approachable. Despite the lofty musical ambitions here, the record never climbs into avant-garde seriousness or deliberate difficulty. If anything, it may appear *too* simple and repetitious upon the first listening. It deserves about 3 or 4 listenings before you should cast judgment, as the repetitions in the songs really start to open up, at which point they will simply dazzle you.

3. It's not for fans only. As a longtime fan, I've often bought new Sparks records hearing something akin to exactly what I want and expect from them, and despite the extraordinarily consistent delivery in their output, I've always felt somewhat disappointed. I always want Sparks to try harder than to court the people who already love them. This is one of those records, finally. If you like challenging music that doesn't forego melody and accessibility and decent production values, or if you like music that sounds completely out of style or time but not ignorant of the industry, or if you like humorous but not stupid music, you will most likely enjoy LIL' BEETHOVEN.

4. It's never going to be a huge commercial success. The reason to buy Sparks isn't because they need the extra popularity to boost them up the charts or because they'll look cool in your collection... it's because bands like this who make music for the music's sake, and not the industry's, need all the support they can get. If you're reading this and even remotely hesitant about buying it, remember that your purchase is basically a vote for artists to continue making quality music that doesn't pander to a particular built-in audience. If you think you're really into "alternative" music and you like to buy "hip" bands that are targeting your crowd, check out Sparks for a real shock. This is a band that targets no crowd whatsoever, and they'll force you to reevaluate the individuality of those bands who fashion themselves as oh-so-indie. And Sparks have been doing it consistently - and humorously - for over 30 years.

5. It's not over. Sparks have just completed the recording of their follow-up to LIL' BEETHOVEN and they claim it will blow this one wide open, forging their unique path even further. Additionally, they've just signed a new publishing deal for their first 16 (!!!) albums, which means that their entire, elusive catalog is finally going to get the royal treatment it deserves. So not only will you like this record, but you'll have an absolute truckload of great Sparks music - which runs the gamut from glam rock to power-pop to disco to new wave to synth-pop to techno - to enjoy over the next few years.

Since the brilliant and manic two-minute symphonies that gyrated through "Kimono My House" and "Propaganda", there has been a persistent classical undercurrent to the work of the Mael brothers. On "Lil' Beethoven" they completely give in to the impulse and give us some amazing music which, despite some rather sunny leanings, keeps their cutting and occasionally dark humor completely intact and fully capable of cutting to the truth.

Latter-day prog bands should take note of these song structures: the music here is immaculately aware and inventively assembled. Almost anything on "Lil' Beethoven" will beat the sometimes aimless musings of "Spock's Beard", "Porcupine Tree" or "Tool". Since none of these bands is capable of making even the most rudimentary observation of the human condition, we need to thank Sparks for asking "What are all these bands so angry about?"

The lyrics are, as usual, funny, revealing and unexpected. They take the old "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" joke and turn it into five minutes of music serious enough to laugh about. In fact, I'd encourage people who need to have a favorite track or two on any given album to set that preoccupation aside and make sure to really listen to everything going on here.

More than usual, Russell Mael's vocals become an instrument. Manipulated, looped, filtered and fuzzed, his singing actually leaves the typical notion of singing behind in favor of treating the human voice as a unique sound source. While we're largely spared guitars and drums, Ron Mael's keyboard work makes the most compelling argument for the synthesizer since Wendy (Walter) Carlos' landmark "Switched on Bach". The sound here is massive, well-rounded and impeccably detailed. The interplay between musical ideas and the power of digital manipulation is profound and well-balanced.

I have loved listening to these guys since the "Halfnelson" days. Todd Rundgren knew there was a special talent at work in their music and their world view. Sometimes things got silly. Sometimes they bent a little too far in the direction of a particular style. But they have always been interesting and entertaining in a way that has tended to push the listener rather than simply reassure him or her. Much more than pure pop for now people, "Lil' Beethoven" is smarter than it is funny, and funnier that it is smart.

When Sparks received a makeover from non-electrically powered instruments for some of their best known synth/guitar tunes on Plagiarism, it seemed very much like a one off. Five years on though, they've taken the idea forward and constructed a whole new album of songs based on the concept. What makes this album so brilliantly original though, is that the majority of songs sound like they were written specifically as melodious dance tracks, with the repetition of catchy phrases at the core. But, aside from the odd finale or chorus, there are no beats, few synths - not as we have come to know them on Sparks albums anyway - and only the odd guitar. Instead we get lush orchestrations, some of Ron's most fluid piano, and whole choirs of Russel. Once again, Sparks prove that pioneering doesn't have to be hard work, for the listener at least.

Like buying and donning a new winter coat, this Sparks album might feel uncomfortable and strange at first listen. But soon the weather cools, and you put the jacket on each morning, looking forward anxiously to the warmth, the snugness. And, likewise, soon after your first or second listen, your mind recalls a phrase or lyric from "L'il Beethoven", and you find yourself putting the CD in the tray or firing up the MP3 player again. And again. And again.

"L'il Beethoven" is hypnotic, is enthralling, is addictive. I find myself blurting "ride 'em, cowboy, ride 'em!" and "it ain't done with smoke and mirrors" involuntarily and out of context. I can't explain it. I can only feel my skin, my brain, and my heart sing and tingle with the knowledge that I can re-listen to this music again and again for as long as I live.

How many other pieces of music produced today give you that kind of thrill?

Do yourself a favor. Get "L'il Beethoven" and listen to it several hundred times. And the next day, do it all over again.

I gave up on Sparks in the early eighties but have hung on to Kimono My House and Propaganda as two of my all time favorite albums. Now, decades later, comes an album that equals the greatness of their early years. Here, they are pandering to no one and are just being themselves. The result is that Sparks are glorious once again: fun, zany, and even innovative. Amazing. The shame of it all is that Lil Beethoven, like Kimono My House and Propaganda, will go largely unheard.

I was blown away by this new album by these influential and woefully under-recognized artists. I'd read some of the glowing fan reviews which should always be taken with a grain of salt, but I was unprepared for the freshness and innovation of this disc. This is truly a masterstroke for Sparks.

A fan on the Sparks official website suggested that one listen to Lil Beethoven as one would an Italian opera or a German Requiem, the words in these cases are secondary and the focus is on the tonality, the complexities and the nuances. I found this helpful. A reviewer above mentioned the song "My Baby's Taking Me Home" and how it didn't seem to fit in the album with rest of the songs. However, I challenge listeners to approach this song as well as "Your Call is Very Important to Us", which don't have a lot going on lyrically, in the manner I mentioned. Focus on the complexness of the vocal layering, on the orchestrations and on subtle nuances. I believe that you'll have a new appreciation if you listen to the songs this way.

I am a recent convert to Sparks. I have most of their amazing catalogue, and I must say that this is their most exciting and consistantly excellent output since their early 80's New Wave-ish incarnation.

If you haven't listened to them in while please buy this album, there is so much inferior, repetitive, inane tripe in the Pop marketplace nowadays, it is truly refreshing to run across something completely different. Reward yourself!

These two crazy Kids! I anticipated this album, being released in America. I listened once, was just pleased, Listened twice & I was in the Zone! I keep going back to it over & over again! Clever Lyrics (as Usual) but with beautiful String arrangement Samplings, Layers of electronic soundscapes, and Some wonderfully Crunchy Guitars! I would really Recommend this to all Real Sparks & Real Music Fans(be one today!) Bring your polished sense of Humor &
Have some fun!