''Squeezing Out Sparks'' is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

and his band

the Rumour The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also ...

. The album was released in March 1979. Although the Rumour were not credited on the cover, their name was included on the album label. Critically acclaimed, ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' was voted album of the year in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

''s year-end

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll and later ranked number 334 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Background

Whereas Parker's previous albums were notable for their strong

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

influences, with many prominent tracks and singles including a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

, on ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' producer

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

favoured a rawer sound. Coincidentally, popular

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

were undergoing a reverse process, trying to expand their musical arrangements. Therefore, the Rumour's

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

session players went on to record all the horn parts in the Clash's third and praised record ''

London Calling ''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. T ...

''. Parker explained the recording process in an interview, saying: The album was originally written to follow a greater concept about growing up in suburbia. Parker explained, "I was kind of attempting a concept album about the suburbs of England, or at least trying to capture a vague approximation of suburban life. ... I guess I drifted off the mark there for the rest of the record because the concept turned out to be a little confining for a whole album." This is reflected in the lyrics to songs such as " Local Girls" and "

Saturday Nite Is Dead "Saturday Nite Is Dead" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. Written about his experiences growing up in suburbia, the song ...

Music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s were made for "Local Girls" and "

Protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

", and the tracks " Discovering Japan" and "

Passion Is No Ordinary Word "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. Written about faking one's emotion, the song features a ...

" received radio airplay. In addition, "

You Can't Be Too Strong "You Can't Be Too Strong" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. Written about abortion, the song originated as a country-sty ...

", an uncharacteristic somber acoustic guitar

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, met with controversy over its subject matter and narrative: a man's reflections on his girlfriend's abortion. Summing up the album, Parker stated, "''Squeezing Out Sparks'' didn't have as much roots or swing, and there was no horn section on it. The songs were just great."

Release

Studio versions of "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" (a

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

cover) and "

Mercury Poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...

" were originally issued on a 45 rpm 7" single which was included with early copies of the album. In 1996,

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

issued ''Squeezing Out Sparks + Live Sparks'' with the original ten tracks followed by live versions of the same songs, in the same order, plus live versions of the two bonus tracks, "I Want You Back (Alive)" and "Mercury Poisoning". ''Live Sparks'' had originally been released only as a limited edition, promotional

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

LP. ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' was reissued in the United Kingdom in 2001 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

and

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

, with the two bonus studio tracks.

Critical reception

''Squeezing Out Sparks'' was well received by contemporary critics.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

of ''

'' called it " amazing record" in a "A+"-rated review for ''

'', adding that "Parker's mood, which has narrowed into existential rage with a circumstantial root, makes for perfect, untamable

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

." In ''

'',

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

wrote that the album "is no landmark", but nonetheless praised it as an ambitious work that depicted "true fear and drama." ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' was ranked among the top ten albums of the year for 1979 by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', with "Protection" ranked among the year's top 50 tracks. Critical reception for the album was capped by its being voted the best album of the year in the 1979 ''Village Voice''

critics' poll. The album's critical reputation has grown since its release. ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called it "his toughest, leanest and most lyrically sophisticated LP", while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

cited it as Parker's "finest album", "a masterful fusion of pub rock classicism, new wave pop, and pure vitriol". In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' placed ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' at number 335 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time; the list's 2012 edition ranked the album 334th.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar ;The Rumour * Brinsley Schwarz – guitar, backing vocals *

Martin Belmont Martin Belmont (born 21 December 1948) is an English rock and country-blues guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Graham Parker & The Rumour. Life and career Belmont was born in Bromley, Kent, England. After working as a roadie ...

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Bob Andrews – keyboards, backing vocals *

Steve Goulding Steve Goulding (born 1954) is an English drummer, who has played as a member of Graham Parker and The Rumour, The Associates, Poi Dog Pondering, The Waco Brothers, Sally Timms and the Drifting Cowgirls and The Mekons. He also played the drums ...

– drums, backing vocals *

Andrew Bodnar Andrew Bodnar is an English bass player who grew up in Clapham, South London. He and drummer Steve Goulding (The Rumour, The Mekons, etc) met and began playing together as a rhythm section while still at school. They spent their teenage years au ...

– bass

Charts

References

{{Authority control Graham Parker albums 1979 albums Albums produced by Jack Nitzsche Arista Records albums Vertigo Records albums