Cheap Squeezing out Sparks (Music) (Graham Parker & the Rumour) Price

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Customer Reviews of Squeezing out Sparks

A classic
This is an album that came close to changing my life! In 1978 I first heard this while browsing for vinyl at the local college record store. Parker and the Rumour were playing, introducing me to what we called "new wave" at the time. Trouser Press used to debate whether Elvis Costello or Graham Parker was the best band of this new era of rock and roll, giving the edge to Parker because of the back-up band! History may have chosen differently, but this is an album that can still bring a tingle to your spine! If you have not heard it, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen. If you like it, then you need to find a copy of "Live--Alone in America" to hear the most stripped down, soulful version of someone who completely "gets it" even if his talent is not singing, but interpreting.

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Still sounds great
I am very happy with this CD. Love Protection and Local Girls (which played on my first date with my husband).

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a forgotten album that needs a wider audience
Poor Graham Parker. His timing was bad and this excellent album never got it's full acclaim. This was hist first album that attracted attention in the U.S. he was very inaccurately grouped in with the New Wave movement. When that petered out, he seemingly fell by the wayside along with all the other skinny tie groups. The problem was this was really a singer/songwriter/rocker. When he asserted his true identity, people viewed him as a former new waver shifting styles. I saw him open for a number of rock groups and he was booed off the stage. It is a shame b/c Graham Parker has a vast, rich body of work where he should have a better reputation as an accomplished artist. "squeezing out the sparks" ,I think, is his best work. <
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>The singing is out front, the lyrics have meaning and sometimes, are effectively seething, and he is backed by a crack band. The guitar player employs the same tone throughout all of the songs which I like since the guitar becomes a vry recognizeable voice. The drumming is very simplistic and tribal and definitely enhances the songs. The production results in a pronounced spacing between the instruments. The musicianship is very good. <
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>This is a great album so every song is excellent. There is no filler, no weak tune, no song is superior to the other. <
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>I personally like "Local Girls" b/c it was released as a single in Chicago where I was first introduced to the album. "Discoverying Japan" "Can't be too Strong" "Nobody Loves You" and "Love gets you Twisted" are my preferences. <
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>If this would have been release 3 years pre or post -punk and new wave, it would have reached a wider audience. <
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>You will never know about this excellent album from radio airplay or publicity. This will always be a word of mouth artist. Its a shame b/c he was like a Brittish Springsteen/Mellencamp <
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