''In Outer Space'' is the twelfth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

band

Sparks Sparks may refer to: Places *Sparks, Georgia * Sparks, Kansas *Sparks, Kentucky *Sparks, Maryland * Sparks, Nebraska *Sparks, Nevada *Sparks, Oklahoma *Sparks, Texas * Sparks, Bell County, Texas * Sparks, West Virginia Books * ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...

, released in April 1983 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Brothers

Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

and

Russell Mael Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching fa ...

of Sparks self-produced the album.

Release

''In Outer Space'' became one of Sparks' most successful albums in the U.S. It peaked at No. 88 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, and built upon the success of the band's previous two studio albums, ''

Angst in My Pants ''Angst in My Pants'' is the eleventh studio album by American pop and rock band Sparks. The album was released in 1982 by Atlantic Records in both the US and UK, and this was the 6th overall label that the band was signed to in the US, and, for ...

'' (1982) and ''

Whomp That Sucker ''Whomp That Sucker'' is the tenth album by the American rock band Sparks, released in 1981. History Sparks had recorded '' No. 1 In Heaven'' and ''Terminal Jive'' with Giorgio Moroder. Both had been relatively successful, but the brothers had fo ...

'' (1981). In France, the non-album single "Modesty Plays" (originally conceived for the TV series '' Modesty Blaise'') was added and included as the final track. "

Cool Places "Cool Places" is a 1983 new wave song recorded by American pop band Sparks in collaboration with the Go-Go's rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jane Wiedlin. It was their second single to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Background The song ...

" was released as the first single from the album and it reached No. 49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was a duet with the Go-Go's rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jane Wiedlin. Wiedlin's band was very popular, and her input gave exposure to the single, which led it to become Sparks' biggest hit in the US. "Cool Places" was extended for 12", and both formats were backed with the non-album track "Sports". The single also became the first of many entries for the band on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart; where it peaked at No. 13. "All You Ever Think About Is Sex" was remixed and released as the follow-up single, but it did not chart. An extended mix was also produced and it was backed with a remixed version of the album track; "Dance Godammit" on both 7" and 12" formats. Neither the album or the accompanying singles were successful in the UK.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''In Outer Space'' liner notes. Sparks *

– Vocals *

Ron Mael Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwriter and younger ...

– All synthesizers ( Roland JP-8) Additional musicians * Bob Haag – Endodyne guitars and Roland guitar synthesizers, Tab cans, background vocals, and additional bass guitar * Leslie Bohem – Bass guitar, background vocals * David Kendrick – Drums * James Goodwin – Additional concert keyboards * Jane Wiedlin – guest vocals on "Cool Places" and "Lucky Me, Lucky You" Production and artwork * Ron Mael –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* Russell Mael – producer *

Dan Lacksman Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Brian Reeves – mixing; engineer *

Marc Moulin Marc Moulin (16 August 1942 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian musician and journalist (print, radio, TV). In the early-mid seventies, he was the leader of the jazz-rock group Placebo (not to be confused with the English rock band with the sa ...

– album coordination * Larry Vigon –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

* Jim Shea –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:In Outer Space Sparks (band) albums 1983 albums Atlantic Records albums Carrere Records albums Oglio Records albums Repertoire Records albums Synth-pop albums by American artists