Sparks/Halfnelson - Halfnelson - 1971
I bought Angst in my Pants after hearing "I Predict" on some New Wave stations and college radio. So, I assumed Sparks was a cheeky, humor band. When I saw Ron Mael's sardonic, determinedly non-musical presentation and his Chaplin/Hitler moustache I was convinced that this group spoke to my outside the mainstream aesthetic. I was pretty close. And when I would have the time and an extra couple bucks I would wander to a used record store (Most of the time it was Sounds in the East Village) and I would grab me an old Sparks record.
It took me a while to get my hands on the debut record and when I got it to my dorm and popped it on the turntable I was surprised to hear a very stripped down and bare sound, unlike the later glam gigantosaurs.
More surprising was the french accent lead singer Russel Mael adopted for much of the first side of the record. "Wonder Girl", the only single, and the only really memorable track, sounds like a french band trying to sound American. Or worse, an American band trying to sound like a French band trying to sound American.
Grade: C-
A Side: Wonder Girl
BlindSide: No More Mr. Nice Guys
DownSide: The rest.
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