Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing

Sparks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 17, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B000CC3S46
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,897 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Sparks is actually the sibling duo of Ron & Russell Mael. They started out as the group Halfnelson but quickly changed their name to Sparks. They issued numerous charting albums through the 1970s & 1980s. A Whoofer In Tweeter's Clothing was issued on the Bearsville label in 1972. Wounded Bird Records. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weird and Wonderful, January 25, 2006

By 

birdbrain4u - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (Audio CD)

'A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing' is the album that introduced me to Sparks way way back in the early 70's.
A progressive radio station at the time (WBCN-Boston) played several cuts from this album
( Beaver O'lindy, Whippings and Apologies, Here Comes Bob) on heavy rotation.
I had to find out who they were and everthing I could about them. This is probably one of
Sparks weirder recordings and I'm thrilled it's finally been released on cd.
All the tracks are unique, popish, some are rave-up rock a couple are downright strange. One of my fav cuts is "Beaver O'lindy " with it's rapid drum rolls, crashing guitars
and demented chorus spelling out B-E-A-V -E-R. The song is about a transvestite rock singer.
Another fav is 'Whippings and Apologies which kind of sounds like Alice Cooper meeting
Tommy James and the Shondells. 'Batteries Not Included' is a cute little joke with the title as punchine.
This is an enjoyable sophomore recording from one of America's most unique bands.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AND NOW, ON TO ENGLAND, January 26, 2006

By 

Kerry Leimer (Makawao, Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (Audio CD)

"Woofer" is a perfect example of just how interesting and innovative rock can be, and how utterly uninterested and unresponsive the U.S. listening public is.

Coming after their terrific debut as Halfnelson, on a record that already laid out the "classical" influences that would dominate "Lil' Beethoven" some thirty years later, "Woofer" shows the group in peak form. Bearsville had repackaged the band as Sparks, and released this one-of-a-kind album only to see the market's inability to comprehend this music literally send Sparks flying, in this case to comparative fame and instant acclaim in the U.K, with a real and symbolic bullet. Ah, the things you go through for art.

And as brilliant as the follow-on "Kimono My House" is, "Woofer" turns out to be the one that got lost in the transition. Yet "Woofer" is a front-to-back delight. Great writing and playing, high in style and satire, it remains one of the most definitive releases by the Mael brothers. Here they explore the lingering threat of Nazism, unfulfilled Hillbilly longings, high kultur, the unbridled joy of a sadist finding a masochist and an expression of the deepest, warmest longing for beef ever performed. Not to mention the transvestite fumblings implied by the album's title, a crying game that's all for laughs. Looking back at this nearly forgotten gem, one can only ask, is nothing sacred?

Apparently not. It's way past time you got yourself a copy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Sparks, November 2, 2006

By 

Patrick W. Schubert (Santa Ana, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing (Audio CD)

It's hard to believe that the music contained on this CD was recorded in 1972. Talk about being ahead of its time! Take, for example, the closing track "Whippings and Apologies" (great title, by the way). This brilliant composition could be right at home with any post-punk/new wave era track lyrically, musically and production wise. Imagine what the adventerous and/or unprepared listener must have thought upon first encountering this song 30 plus years ago: "These guys have got to be nuts!" In fact, Sparks' Hitler moustache-sporting mastermind Ron Mael and his frizzy headed operatic voiced younger brother Russell were and are a bit "off", so to speak, which explains the unforced eccentricity and inventiveness of their music. Highlights include the very catchy "Underground"-which somehow manages to pay homage to Brit Pop of the past while foreshadowing the Stranglers, Ultravox, Wire, Swell Maps, et al.)-"The Louvre", sung almost entirely in French and, again, at least five years ahead of its time, and the wonderfully demented "Beaver O' Leary" ("The girl in your head and the boy in your bed"). "Woofer" and its self-titled predecessor are not only for any self-respecting Sparks fan's collection, but also for any lover of smart, unique and influiential songwriting.