Sparks - Indiscreet (1975)

"Indiscreet" is the fifth album of music produced by Sparks. It was released in 1975 and later re-released with three bonus tracks. The album was produced by Tony Visconti, with whom the group reunited in 1997 to produce several tracks for their retrospective album Plagiarism.

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. Like other Sparks releases of the '70s, "Indiscreet" did much better in England than it did on the North American side of the Atlantic. In the U.S., this 1975 LP appealed to a small but enthusiastic cult following  in Great Britain, "Indiscreet" was a big seller and appealed to a much larger and broader audience. Over the years, Sparks has experimented with everything from hard rock to Euro-disco. But power pop is the primary focus of "Indiscreet".

Track listing

01.  "Hospitality On Parade"  (Ron Mael)  - 4:00

02.  "Happy Hunting Ground"  (Ron Mael)  - 3:44

03.  "Without Using Hands"  (Ron Mael)  - 3:20

04.  "Get in the Swing"  (Ron Mael)  - 4:08

05.  "Under the Table With Her"  (Ron Mael)  - 2:20

06.  "How Are You Getting Home?"  (Ron Mael)  - 2:57

07.  "Pineapple"   (Russell Mael)  - 2:45

08.  "Tits"  (Ron Mael)  - 4:57

09.  "It Ain't 1918"  (Ron Mael)  - 2:08

10.  "The Lady is Lingering"  (Ron Mael)  - 3:40

11.  "In the Future"  (Ron Mael)  - 2:12

12.  "Looks, Looks, Looks"  (Ron Mael)  - 2:35

13.  "Miss the Start, Miss the End"  (Ron Mael)  - 2:46

21st Century 1994 Edition bonus tracks 

14.  "Profile"  (Ron Mael)  - 3:30

15.  "The Wedding of Jacqueline Kennedy to Russell Mael"   (Russell Mael)   - 1:36

16.  "Looks, Looks, Looks (live at Fairfield Halls 09/11/75)"  (Ron Mael)  - 4:02

Released:  October 1975

Genre:  Pop

Length:  43:06

Label:  Island

Producer:  Tony Visconti

Personnel

Russell Mael - vocals

Ron Mael - keyboards

Ian Hampton - bass

Trevor White - guitar

Norman "Dinky" Diamond - drums

Mike Piggott - fiddle on "It Ain't 1918"

Tony Visconti - orchestral arrangements