''Indiscreet'' is the fifth

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 ...

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 ...

. It was released in 1975 and later re-released with three bonus tracks. The album was a departure from the glam rock sound of ''

Kimono My House ''Kimono My House'' is the third studio album by American rock band Sparks, released on May 1, 1974 by Island Records. The album is considered to be their commercial breakthrough, and was met with widespread acclaim. Preceded by the single " ...

'' and ''

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

'', and emphasised the theatrical elements of their work, with greater use of orchestral arrangements and drawing from non-rock orientated styles such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

, swing,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. The album was produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

, with whom the group reunited in 1997 to produce several tracks for their retrospective album ''

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

.'' The song "How Are You Getting Home?" was used in

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was ''Boy Meets Girl (1984 f ...

's film ''

Holy Motors ''Holy Motors'' is a 2012 fantasy drama film written and directed by Leos Carax and starring Denis Lavant and Édith Scob. Lavant plays Mr. Oscar, a man who appears to have a job as an actor, as he is seen dressing up in different costumes and pe ...

''.

Release

''Indiscreet'' was released in October 1975, nearly a year after Sparks' previous album and would be the third album recorded with the British-based line-up. It was not as successful as ''Kimono My House'' or ''Propaganda''; reaching #18 on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and #169 in the US. The group's next two albums were even less successful in Europe and the US. They would not garner significant attention until 1979's '' No. 1 In Heaven''. "Get In The Swing" and "Looks, Looks, Looks" were released as singles. Like the parent album they were only moderately successful reaching #27 and #26 in the UK, which resulted in the Mael brothers splitting up the British-based version of Sparks and returning home to America.

Re-release

''Indiscreet'' was re-issued and remastered by Island in 1994 and 2006. The first issue by the Island Masters subsidiary added the B-side "Profile" and the non-album single "

I Wanna Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. With advance orders ...

", and its B-side "England". The '21st Century Edition' did not include "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" or "England"; in their stead it included the rare "The Wedding of Jacqueline Kennedy to Russell Mael" and a live recording of "Looks, Looks, Looks".

Track listing

Personnel

;Sparks *

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 ...

– 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 ...

– keyboards * Ian Hampton – bass * Trevor White – guitar *

Norman "Dinky" Diamond Norman Victor "Dinky" Diamond (15 December 1950 – 10 September 2004) was a British drummer who played with the rock band Sparks at the height of their fame in the UK in the early 1970s, playing on the albums ''Kimono My House'' (1974), ''Prop ...

– drums with: * Mike Piggott – fiddle on "It Ain't 1918" *

– orchestral arrangements

References

Sparks (band) albums 1975 albums Albums produced by Tony Visconti Island Records albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub