The second Giorgio Moroder collaboration of Sparks' career doesn't have quite the emphasis on Moroder trademarks compared to its predecessor; he has only two songwriting credits here, while the Mael brothers take most of them alone. Still, the breakout single "When I'm with You" and "Just Because You Love Me" have an ineffable disco stomp and the requisite cymbal slaps on the offbeat, while "Noisy Boys" and "Stereo" have an experimental, laddish feel that looks past disco into '80s synth-pop and new romantic. Though disco fans can feel safe with No. 1 in Heaven, those more interested in new wave would be well served to pick up Terminal Jive first.

In the '70s and '80s, Sparks' American fans couldn't understand why the Mael Brothers weren't as big in the United States as they were in England. "Why don't more of our fellow Americans realize just how great these guys are?" was the question that Sparks addicts in the U.S. often found themselves asking. Whatever the reason, British audiences really connected with Sparks' goofy, insanely clever lyrics – and the fact that Russell Mael sings like he could be an eccentric upper-class Englishman (although he was born and raised in Los Angeles) probably didn't hurt. Indiscreet, which was the Mael Brothers' third album for Island and their fifth album overall, is state-of-the-art Sparks. The power pop melodies are consistently infectious, and the lyrics are as humorous as one expects Sparks lyrics to be – nutty gems like "Pineapple," "Happy Hunting Ground," "Tits," and "Get in the Swing" will easily appeal to those who like to think of Russell and Ron Mael as the pop/rock equivalent of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Originally released March 2nd 1979, Sparks are celebrating the 40th anniversary of No 1 In Heaven with a specially remastered and curated double color vinyl and CD release. By the late '70s, brothers Ron and Russell Mael were at an impasse. Their outlandish and theatrical glam rock band Sparks had achieved notable success earlier in the decade when they moved from Los Angeles to England and released a string of oversexed, over-produced, over-the-top albums that would be some of their best-received work, starting with 1974's stellar (and ridiculous) Kimono My House. Things quickly cooled off after a couple years, however, as the brothers returned to their native Los Angeles, reconfigured their backing band, and put out one disappointing record after another.

UK three CD collection. This release charts the birth of synthesized pop music in the 1980s and ultimately the roots of contemporary electronic dance music. The importance and continued popularity of '80s pop is not to be underestimated, and the emergence of serious synthesized music producers in Kraftwerk, The Human League, Heaven 17, OMD, Yazoo, Ultravox, Talk Talk, Japan, Devo, Sparks, Gary Numan, New Order and the Pet Shop Boys, all of whom massively pushed the boundaries in experimenting with (mainly) Roland synths in this era, ultimately showed the way for the House and Techno producers of the '90s to the present day. Within this more serious side there was also some brilliant, pure Synthpop from the Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Thomas Dolby, Simple Minds, Propaganda, Erasure, China Crisis, Belouis Some, the Lotus Eaters, a Flock of Seagulls, Howard Jones, Blancmange and the Associates.

What better way to promote Sparks' spinning blender of demented pop than Propaganda? The band's fourth album (and second with producer Muff Winwood) is chock-full of great ideas, including the overseas hits "Something for the Girl With Everything" and "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth." With Russell Mael delivering the lyrics in his rapid-fire falsetto, the lyric sheet is a necessary compass, as the clever wordplay is a key to discovering what these pranksters are up to. Ron Mael's skewed take on relationships ("At Home, at Work, at Play," "Don't Leave Me Alone With Her") are nearly upstaged by the hyperactive arrangements, but when the words and the music click, it's pure magic. In fact, "Bon Voyage" might be the most sublime song they've ever written, teetering between genuine pathos for and lampooning of the plight of those left behind by Noah and his ark.

25 years since its original release, Sparks’ 16th studio album ‘Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins’ is reissued with remastered and bonus material. The original, remastered album is accompanied by a further two CDs of eclectic bonus tracks and rarities and, in a rare move, Sparks have opened the vaults to share previously unreleased demos and recordings. After a few years working on the as-yet-unrealised Mai The Psychic Girl film project - with both Tsui Hark (whose vocals appear on this record) and Tim Burton -, collaborating with Scottish band Finitribe on 1993’s ‘National Crime Awareness Week’, and producing demos for Star Trek regular and future Sparks drummer Christi Haydon, Ron and Russell Mael returned to the pop forum and the charts in 1994 with ‘Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins’.

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael from Los Angeles, USA have been making diverse music since 1969 under various incarnations of Sparks. In 1979 they ditched the guitars and keyboards of glam geek rock and started working with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, beginning a love affair with electronic music. Since then they have worked with a variety of people including Finitribe, Les Rita Mitsouko, Erasure and Faith No More. No. 1 in Heaven is the eighth album by the American rock band Sparks. Recorded with disco producer Giorgio Moroder, it marked a change of musical direction for the group and became influential on later synth-pop bands.

Unfortunately, Sparks never enjoyed more than a small, though devoted, cult following. But it certainly wasn't for a lack of effective hooks and clever, insanely funny lyrics. While a few of the L.A. pop/rockers' albums were disappointing, many others were exceptional. For those seeking an introductory overview of Sparks' legacy, this two-CD set is highly recommended. From "Achoo" to "Tips for Teens" to "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us," Profile makes it clear just how delightfully goofy Sparks could be.

Sparks new album, 'The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte', is a modern masterpiece. For the uninitiated, Sparks are an art pop duo comprised of brothers Ron and Russell Mael. Their influence on pop music cannot be overstated, having inspired everyone from Queen to Bjork. In Edgar Wright's Sparks documentary, super-producer Jack Antonoff states, "all pop music is re-arranged Sparks." 'The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte' marks Sparks' first release on the venerable Island Records label in close to five decades, following such classics as 1974's landmark Kimono 'My House', highlighted of course by the indelible hit single 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us'. The album includes such instantly intriguing new musical vignettes as 'Mona Lisa's Packing, Leaving Late Tonight' and 'Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is', songs which once again display Sparks' seemingly ceaseless ability to craft complete, intricately detailed stories within perfect three-and-a-half minute pop masterpieces. Both characteristically timeless and unequivocally modern, 'The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte' once again affirms that, after more than a half century making such masterpieces, Sparks remain inimitable, ingenious and, as ever, utterly one of a kind.

'The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte' marks Sparks' first release on the venerable Island Records label in close to five decades, following such classics as 1974's landmark Kimono 'My House', highlighted of course by the indelible hit single 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us'. The album includes such instantly intriguing new musical vignettes as 'Mona Lisa's Packing, Leaving Late Tonight' and 'Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is', songs which once again display Sparks' seemingly ceaseless ability to craft complete, intricately detailed stories within perfect three-and-a-half minute pop masterpieces. Both characteristically timeless and unequivocally modern, 'The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte' once again affirms that, after more than a half century making such masterpieces, Sparks remain inimitable, ingenious and, as ever, utterly one of a kind.

Hello Young Lovers is the 20th studio album by Sparks and was originally released on 6th February 2005. The album was the most commercially popular Sparks album since the 1970s. Hello Young Lovers has been newly remastered for this CD reissue, which contains sought after bonus material!

Bookended as it is by Russell Mael's wordless chorale vocals that help kick off the opening "Intro" and which recur in the soothing but strange conclusion to the final song, "Likeable," not to mention similar moments throughout the album, it's almost too easy to summarize Exotic Creatures of the Deep as Sparks' most involved tribute to the Beach Boys, late-'60s version. But as with nearly everything the band's ever done, one can't sum up an album quite as simply as that, and Exotic Creatures, if not as completely explosive as Hello Young Lovers at its heights, finds the rude creative health of the Maels still firing on all cylinders.

Balls is the 18th album by the American rock band Sparks, released in 2000.

Music That You Can Dance To is the fourteenth studio album by American pop band Sparks. It was originally released in September 1986, on the label MCA in the US and Consolidated Allied in the UK, two years after their previous album, Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat. Music That You Can Dance To released 1986 was the band's most dance music inspired album since 1979's No. 1 in Heaven. The overall sound of the album was dominated by synthesizers and sequencers like the 1979 album but it differed from that release by the inclusion of the heavily distorted bass guitar of Leslie Bohem, and the emphasis on discordant sound effects. "Music That You Can Dance To", "Fingertips" and "The Scene" represent some of Sparks' most Hi-NRG dance music leanings.

Two Hands, One Mouth: Live in Europe is an album by American rock/pop group Sparks, released in March 2013. It is their first ever live album, and first double CD album. In October 2012, Ron and Russell Mael performed for the first time ever as a duo, with no band. The 18-city European tour titled "Two Hands, One Mouth" began in Lithuania and followed in Latvia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, the UK and Ireland. The final UK concert of the tour was at the sold-out Barbican Centre in London. The tour then took the group to Japan with concerts in Tokyo and Osaka in January 2013. In April 2013, the show was presented for the first time in the US with two performances at the Coachella Festival. A short US tour followed.