- Lil Beethoven Sparks Rare
- Sparks Lil Beethoven Rar
- Lil Beethoven Sparks Raritan
- Lil Beethoven Sparks Rares
- Lil Beethoven Sparks Rarity
Lil' Beethoven | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 14, 2002 (UK) November 26, 2002 (US) | |||
Recorded | 2001-2002 | |||
Studio | Sparks Studios, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre |
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Length | 44:36 | |||
Label | Palm (US) Lil' Beethoven / Artful (UK) | |||
Producer | Ron Mael, Russell Mael | |||
Sparks chronology | ||||
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Singles from Lil' Beethoven | ||||
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- Discover, buy and download high quality mp3 music of Lil' Beethoven 2003 by Sparks at Mp3Caprice.
- Lil’ Beethoven, 2002 genre: minimalist chamber pop. Sparks’ big swerve away from techno wasn’t quite as sharp a break as the one between Introducing Sparks and No. Minimalism had been part of their repertoire as far back as “Shopping Mall of Love”. Classical orchestration had shown up.
Lil' Beethoven is a curious set of songs that deal with distinctly different ideas, in the way that many Sparks songs have done in the past. For the most part it's fun to listen to, and the less fun-filled tracks are the definite growers on the album.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
PopMatters | (?)[5] |
Rolling Stone | (Positive)[6] |
Lil' Beethoven is the 19th album by the Americanrock band Sparks, released in 2002.
Background[edit]
By 2002, Sparks had released eighteen albums, the last several of them in the new wave/synthpop vein. While this had been successful, breaking them in the US with 1983's 'Cool Places' and in Germany with 'When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'?' in 1995, it had not secured them much critical acclaim or a consistent audience. 1997's Plagiarism, which consisted entirely of new recordings of earlier material, had been intended to introduce the group's back catalog to their new German audience, while building on the success with high-profile collaborations for the UK and US audience. It had only been partially successful.
The next album, Balls, had not been at all successful and was generally perceived as Sparks treading water.[7] The duo had already written an entire album's worth of material for a follow-up, but found that they were unenthusiastic with the results and so the album was scrapped, a decision which they admitted was difficult but ultimately crucial for them to continue challenging themselves and evolving their sound.
Sparks then decided to change track, dropping the synthpop sound, reducing the musical palette and developing the music upon piano lines and lyrics of Ron Mael and the vocals of Russell Mael. Rogers powertone snare serial numbers. Far cry 1 pc download.
In 2001, the Maels were commissioned by a German broadcasting company to produce a song for Günther Koch Revisited (Voll In Den Mann), an album that featured samples of sports commentator Günther Koch set to music. The band's contribution, 'Wunderbar', placed Koch's highly-spirited exclamations over an orchestral backing. The duo acknowledged that making the track provided them a blueprint for the direction that they would take on Lil' Beethoven. As has been the case with each Sparks album since 1988's Interior Design, the album was self-produced by the duo and recorded in Russell Mael's home studio.
Lil Beethoven Sparks Rare
Sound[edit]
Described by the band themselves as a 'career-defining opus', Lil' Beethoven saw the duo move into a more classical-influenced sound, with a heavy reliance on repetitive lyrics and piano lines, synthesized orchestration and multi-tracked vocals in place of percussion.[8] Opening track 'The Rhythm Thief' is an overall introduction to the band's new direction by declaring 'say goodbye to the beat'. 'My Baby's Taking Me Home' largely consists of the title repeated over 100 times with no other words being used, other than a spoken interlude.[9] Sql server express for mac. Similarly, 'Your Call Is Very Important To Us' uses a corporation style call-hold message: 'Your call is very important to us. Please hold' which is then sung with some additional words: 'At first she said your call is very important to us, then she said please, please hold.' The only other lyrics in the song are 'Red light', 'Green light', 'I'm Getting Mixed Signals' and 'Sorry, I'm Going To Have To Put You Back On Hold'. These elements are layered with a simple piano line to create a highly textured effect.[10]
The majority of the sounds on Lil' Beethoven were produced with a Yamaha S80 keyboard.
Reaction[edit]
The album was critically applauded, which led to renewed interest in the band; Record Collector magazine named the album as one of its Best New Albums of 2002, describing it as '. possibly the most exciting and interesting release ever from such a long established act'[11] and later in 2003 saying '. it really does feel like one of the best albums ever made.'[9]
Release[edit]
Lil' Beethoven, while critically acclaimed, did not chart inside the top 100 in the UK, Germany or the US. It was released in a limited edition which had hard-cover book binding. The album was promoted by the single Suburban Homeboy: it, too, did not chart. The single was backed two b-sides, an extended version of Suburban Homeboy (Suburban Homeboy (Extended 'Ron Speaks' Version)) and Wunderbar (Concerto In Koch Minor), which samples the voice of German sports commentator Günther Koch.
Re-release[edit]
In March 2004, Sparks re-issued Lil' Beethoven in a deluxe edition. This version had a black sleeve as opposed to the white original, and included three audio tracks (two of which were exclusive), a video of 'The Rhythm Thief' (directed by long-time collaborators Kuntzel+Deygas), a short film by Ron Mael, and a screensaver. An LP version of the album (which did not include any bonus tracks) was also released at the same time.
A DVD produced by Demon Vision was also released of a live performance of the album. The live performance was filmed in March 2004 at the Södra Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden. The DVD features the album performed in full and in order, followed by a set of twelve other Sparks songs.
Track listing[edit]
Post war walther ppk serial numbers. All tracks are written by Ron Mael and Russell Mael.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | 'The Rhythm Thief' | 5:18 |
2. | 'How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?' | 3:50 |
3. | 'What Are All These Bands So Angry About?' | 3:32 |
4. | 'I Married Myself' | 4:59 |
5. | 'Ride 'Em Cowboy' | 4:20 |
No. | Title | Length |
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6. | 'My Baby's Taking Me Home' | 4:42 |
7. | 'Your Call's Very Important To Us. Please Hold.' | 4:11 |
8. | 'Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls' | 7:06 |
9. | 'Suburban Homeboy' | 2:58 |
No. | Title | Length |
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10. | 'The Legend Of Lil' Beethoven' | 2:06 |
11. | 'Wunderbar (Concerto In Koch Minor)' | 3:54 |
12. | 'The Rhythm Thief (Instrumental Version)' | 5:24 |
13. | 'The Rhythm Thief' (Video) | |
14. | 'Inspiration Behind Lil' Beethoven: 'Fear of a Blank Page' (Visual) | |
15. | 'Lil' Beethoven Screen Saver' |
Personnel[edit]
- Russell Mael – Vocals, programming, production, arrangements
- Ron Mael – Keyboards, orchestrations, programming, production, arrangements
- Tammy Glover – Drums
- Dean Menta – Guitar
- John Thomas – Mixing, additional engineering
- Günther Koch – Vocals on 'Wunderbar'
DVD[edit]
- Lil' Beethoven – Live in Stockholm
- 'The Rhythm Thief'
- 'How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?'
- 'What Are All These Bands So Angry About?'
- 'I Married Myself'
- 'Ride 'Em Cowboy'
- 'My Baby's Taking Me Home'
- 'Your Call's Very Important To Us. Please Hold'
- 'Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls'
- 'Suburban Homeboy'
- 'It's A Sparks Show'
- 'National Crime Awareness Week'
- 'Here In Heaven'
- 'The Number One Song in Heaven'
- 'Nothing To Do'
- 'The Calm Before The Storm'
- 'The Ghost Of Liberace'
- 'Talent Is An Asset'
- 'Hospitality On Parade'
- 'When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)'
- 'This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us'
- 'When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'?'
- 'Amateur Hour'
- Special Features
- 'The Legend Of Lil' Beethoven'
- Soundcheck
- Backstage With Sparks
- Audience Interviews / Meet The Fans
- Sparks Facts
- Live personnel
- Russell Mael – Vocals
- Ron Mael – Keyboards
- Tammy Glover – Drums, Timpani, Percussion and Backing Vocals
- Dean Menta – Guitar, Timpani and Backing Vocals
References[edit]
- ^'Expect the Unexpected: A Conversation with Sparks'. September 13, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^'Sparks - Record Collector Magazine'. recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ ab'Beyond Bowie: The mutating art-pop of Sparks in 10 records - The Vinyl Factory'. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^Allmusic review
- ^'PopMatters review'. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^'Album Reviews: Sparks'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 'Sparks'. BBC. Retrieved April 13, 2006.[dead link]
- ^'Sparks - Lil' Beethoven'. Allmusic. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ abEaslea, Daryl (July 2003). 'Sparks Interview'. Record Collector Magazine Issue. 287.
- ^'Hello Young Lovers review on StylusMagazine.com'. Archived from the original on March 29, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2006.
- ^'Best New Albums of 2002'. Record Collector. 281. January 2003.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lil%27_Beethoven&oldid=966890731'
Aah, Ludwig. Who are those two freaky looking friends of yours? Especially that one with the moustache that only Eva Braun could love? And then the other one; he looks a bit like that singer from that ’70s band who used to twitch around the Top Of The Pops set, yodelling like Jim Morrison with his chap caught in his zipper. What were they called again? Oh, Sparks? Oh, it is them? Okay, goodbye Ludwig.
Sparks Lil Beethoven Rar
Ron and Russel Mael’s Lil’ Beethoven project is given a ‘deluxe’ edition re-pressing after a rather confused and protracted launch last year. Should it ever be granted such a thing as mainstream airplay, Lil’ Beethoven might even give the brothers a commercial hit. However, it would be wrong to deduce from this that Lil’ Beethoven panders to any current pop sensibility. Rather, it attempts to construct an international Art-Pop with orchestral textures, and wants to be loved for making the effort. For the most part, it succeeds.
When it does work Lil’ Beethoven demonstrates a decidedly suburban wit and intelligence not seen in mainstream pop since the Pet Shop Boys‘ hit-making period. There’s no re-filtered Hi-NRG here though. As the Maels explain on The Rhythm Thief, it’s time “to say goodbye to the beat” and furthermore, its “lights out, Ibiza”. In its place are towering but strangely frisky Philip Glass-like strings that permeate the irresistible I Married Myself and My Baby’s Taking Me Home.
Lil Beethoven Sparks Raritan
With an ostensible “nine scintillating works of seduction and self-delusion”, the Mael brothers cover a lot of ground. Relying on repetitive phrasing, Sparks hammer home some velvet-gloved punchlines. Suburban Homeboy is an inspired send-up of that modern phenomenon – the slumming-it cultural dilettante whose caddy “looks just like Jay-Z” and whose “ho’ is “a freak bitch from the projects in St Tropez”.
Lil Beethoven Sparks Rares
Rather than dip in to some ersatz rapping, Suburban Homeboy is delivered in the fugue-like Mael harmonies familiar from Sparks hits of yore. Only Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls fails to hit home. On paper a bitingly funny, if bitter, satire of upward mobility, the pastoral intro of Ugly Guys is broken by some over-urgent thrash guitar that tends to grate – the only miscalculation on the original set.
Let’s not forget too that this is a deluxe set. With a video, film, and screensaver thrown in, not to mention the glitzy packaging, there’s a lot here to tempt file-sharers away from uploading nirvana. And hey, what’s wrong with good old-fashioned artefacts anyway? For our pleasure, there are also three extra bonus tracks. Wunderbar is a missable echo of Laibach-style chanting, while the instrumental Rhythm Thief is strictly for completists. However, the Ron Mael spoken-word The Legend Of Lil’ Beethoven is a nice explainer for the whole album, and suggests that Lil’ Beethoven is that most maligned of forms, the concept album.
Lil Beethoven Sparks Rarity
If it is, it’s the best kind of concept album (sadly no Rick Wakeman on ice here). The Mael Brothers examine the flotsam and jetsam of western values through the kaleidoscope eye of Lil’ Beethoven with a lightness of touch that skilfully avoids pomposity and overweening moralism. And with a keen eye on accessibility, Lil’ Beethoven needn’t be a private pleasure.