"Squeezing Out Sparks" by GRAHAM PARKER and THE RUMOUR – March 1979 UK Fourth Studio Album on Vertigo Records UK (Arista Records USA) featuring Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Bob Andrews, Andrew Bodnar and Steve Goulding with Producer Jack Nitzsche (July 2001 UK Mercury Expanded Edition 25th Anniversary CD Reissue with Two Bonus Tracks and Gary Moore Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Not Ordinary..."

Despite some great tunes and press adulation bordering on the hysterical, I have always struggled with "Stick To Me" – Graham Parker's third studio album from October 1977. In 2022, still the same. Instead, I will inevitably reach for the far stronger fourth album from March 1979 "Squeezing out Sparks" – a no-nonsense little belter that comes in, does the snotty business, doesn't apologize – and then leaves with two fingers held high in the air.

But what does it for me with regard to this 2001 CD Reissue/Remaster is two genuinely great Bonuses – one a non-LP B-side and the other an outtake that should have been on the finished LP. Time to get some protection - even excited – to the details...

 

UK released July 2001 – "Squeezing Out Sparks" by GRAHAM PARKER and THE RUMOUR on Mercury 548 681-2 (Barcode 731454868129) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with two Bonus Tracks in the 25th Anniversary Reissues Series and plays out as follows (41:14 minutes):

 

1. Discovering Japan [Side 1]

2. Local Girls

3. Nobody Hurts You

4. You Can't Be Too Strong

5. Passion Is No Ordinary Word

6. Saturday Nite Is Dead [Side 2]

7. Love Gets You Twisted

8. Protection

9. Waiting For The UFOs

10. Don't Get Excited

Tracks 1 to 10 are his fourth studio LP "Squeezing Out Sparks" – released March 1979 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 168 and in the USA on Arista AB 4223. Produced by JACK NITZSCHE – it peaked at

 

BONUS TRACKS:

11. Mercury Poisoning

12. I Want You Back (Alive)

 

Track 11 "Mercury Poisoning" didn't appear in the UK, but did on a US 45-single on Arista AS 0420 (see notes for Track 12). First CD appearance for the song on a CD was the 1992 compilation "The Best Of Graham Parker..." (Vertigo 512 149-2).

 

Track 12 "I Want You Back (Alive)" was originally the Non-LP B-side of "Protection" issued 23 February 1979 a UK 45-single on Vertigo 6059 219. It was issued July 1979 in the USA as the Non-LP B-side to "Local Girls" on Arista AS 0420. 

The rather Poppy song – a cover version of a hit for The Congregation and then The Jackson 5 – became popular on US Radio and was therefore reissued in August 1979 in the USA as the A-side and in a picture sleeve (same catalogue number, Arista AS 0420). That reissued American 45 had "Mercury Poisoning" as its Non-LP B-side, the track being new to US audiences.

 

GRAHAM PARKER – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

THE RUMOUR was:

BRINSLEY SCHWARZ – Guitar and Backing Vocals

MARTIN BELMONT – Guitar and Backing Vocals

BOB ANDREWS – Keyboards and Backing Vocals

ANDREW BODNAR - Bass

STEPHEN GOULDING – Drums and Backing Vocals

 

The '25th Anniversary Reissues' sticker on the CD jewel case promises 'Bonus Tracks, New Sleeve Notes & Expanded Artwork'. Once you open the decidedly skimpy three-way foldout inlay – you know that Universal has gone all ASDA budget range on our Graham. There are new paragraphs from the great man alongside some history of the album by NIGEL WILLIAMSON and the two rarities listed above (they don’t even picture the rare picture sleeve to the US "I Want You Back Alive" or the UK version of "Protection"). It's good but hardly great – and surely there were more outtakes to be had after all these years? But that budget-priced gripe goes out the boozer window when you hear the muscle and clarity of the Remaster by GARY MOORE. Producer Nitzsche favoured minimalist and so had paired back the band to a tighter New Wave sound - and Parker himself agrees that it worked - giving the acidic material a really sharp edge. 

 

"Discovering Japan" opens proceedings with a wallop and you can so hear why "Local Girls" was chosen as the lead-off UK 45-single - catchy and Radio-friendly into the bargain. "Nobody Hurts You" more than yourself is the sober assessment for a lady in trouble, but all of it gets kicked into touch by the magisterial beauty of "You Can't Be Too Strong" - a counted-in ballad done almost Unplugged style. It's surely one of Parker's best songs - imbibed with great lyrics and a barely-contained pain in his vocals. With the equally strong rocker "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" - it ends a tight and song-packed Side 1 with a wallop.   

 

We get frantic with "Saturday Nite Is Dead" - a so English New Wave song of the day - almost Paul Weller's Jam in its punch-your-face attack. "Love Gets You Twisted: is good too, but "Protection" is brilliant and you can so hear why Arista in America saw it rather than "Local Girls" as the 45 to plug the album with. I love that break in the middle when it just goes into this angry riffage - unexpected but so damn cool. With its "I Want You Back (Alive)" B-side cover version - it made for a dandy 45-release. Parker's knack for wit and slapstick come roaring through with both of the finishers - "Waiting For The UFOs" and "Don't Get Excited". And that coming down with "Mercury Poisoning" outtake should have been on the album as far as I'm concerned.  

So there you have - tight, solid, still standing proud after 40+ years. For sure this variant of "Squeezing Out Sparks" on CD has been deleted some time now and has subsequently developed a bit of an unhealthy price tag because of it, but Graham Parker and his band The Rumour were no 'ordinary' artists and this wee peach is one to seek out...