Customer Reviews

Mael Intuition: Best Of 1974-76

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm afraid Mr Gill is wrong here - this album does not slump after the first six or seven songs (Something For the Girl With Everything is their best and most frenetic), but barrels on to the end (the superb Looks Looks Looks) with manic energy and great melodies. Far from dating badly, this stuff holds up far better than Sparks' synth pop from the 1980s. This compilation is superior to the Profile compilation for this very reason. I have had this for three years and still listen to it at least once a week - it's a real gem. Buy it and you won't be disappointed.

How can you go wrong with a compilation comprised of tracks from Sparks' three best albums? This CD serves as an excellent introduction to the bizarre, facinating and ultimately addictive music of the Mael brothers. One word of caution, however: You will want to buy all three albums in their entirety after hearing such masterpieces as "This Town..." "Hasta Manana", "Reinforcements" "Something for the Girl With Everything" and "Happy Hunting Ground". Rock and roll is rarely this original- and this fun!

This contains most of their best songs from their UK period with Island Records. The Maels or Sparks were good during this period thanks to an excellent backing group of three Brits namely Dinky Diamond, Adrian Fisher and Martin Gordon.

The Maels with their Sparks creation shot to the top in the UK with their excellent "Kimono My House" album. They almost immediately fired Gordon followed by Fisher and lastly Diamond when they packed it up to leave the UK after 3 albums.

This era or at least Kimono worked so well because of the Mael's talents plus Gordon arranging the songs plus his bass playing, Fisher excellent guitar work and Diamond's solid drumming.

Listen to the Kimono songs versus the next two albums and the Maels have lost the clue or actually Gordon arranging the songs. We go from masterpieces such as Kimono's "Hasta Manana" to later rubbish on Indiscreet like "It Ain't 1918." This rubbish will be the hallmark for the balance of their career.

The Mael's had a small reversal when they had Giorgio Moroder produce them but it was essentially a rehash of the work the Munich-based Italian did with Donna Summer. Suppoedly, the Mael's chased Moroder all over to get him to do the album and Moroder did it after cutting a sharp deal to benefit the producer.

This D does not include the excellent Kimono era B-side Lost and Found so I would probably pass on this one.