Squeezing Out Sparks + Live Sparks

One of the great albums of the New Wave movement. It was on my turntable constantly in 1979-80.

"Passion Is No Ordinary Word", and the same sentiment applies to what many feel is Graham Parker's finest work. While he was never as popular as Joe Jackson, nor as acclaimed as Elvis Costello, his early albums have stood the test of time as well as "Look Sharp" or "This Year's Model", and he matched their subsequent ability to segue from youthful rock rage to mature genre experimentations. Of course, Jackson and Costello owed some credit to their excellent backing bands, and the same is true for Parker, who benefitted from the tight musicianship of The Rumour. The centerpiece of "Squeezing Out Sparks", and the track that provides the album's title is "You Can't Be Too Strong", which is, ironically, a ballad among rockers. Yet the details of an unexpected pregnancy/abortion from the perspectives of him, her, and the doctor is stunning. A cheerfully innocent melody resembling a baby's lullaby is juxtaposed with disarmingly candid lyrics as Parker's cynical sneer fails to disguise his underlying guilt and shame. The more mainstream (though no less biting) side of Parker is exemplified by "Local Girls", an FM-radio favorite that still can stir memories of the era as well as bigger hits of the time. Other peaks include the exasperated "Protection" and the wistful "Waiting For The UFO's" (even if it sometimes sounds as if Parker is saying "U-Boats" instead). A reissued version of "Squeezing Out Sparks" with bonus live tracks is overkill, but the original album is worth discovering as much as Japan.

This is one of the classic albums of the new wave era. Few songs match the emotion of "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" and "You Can't Be Too Strong." "Protection" remains a personal favorite with lines like "It ain't the knife through your heart that tears you apart, it just the thought of someone sticking it in." Indispensible.

A generation later, it seems clear that critics overhyped the dickens out of this album. Largely inferior to the Costello/Lowe axis it arises out of, what starts as a potentially decent hook in "Passion Is No Ordinary Word," "Nobody Hurts You" or "Discovering Japan" quickly wears out its welcome in repetitive monotony. Competent but forgettable pop growing progressively obscure now that the smoke has cleared.