Squeezing out Sparks/Live Sparks

Parker, Graham and the Rumour

album cover

A Curmudgeon Rocks

Positioning himself somewhere between "angry young man" (as he was often described) and "wise philosopher," Graham Parker spends much of the tart Squeezing Out Sparks talking soul. He ponders the challenges of remaining human in trying situations, the importance of keeping passion alive, the ways love gets you twisted. Such weighty themes were not exactly dominating rock discourse in 1979, and that tells you something about Parker: He's the prototypical acerbic outsider, happiest when at odds with prevailing fashion.

Parker's songs are tightly disciplined affairs modeled on classic R&B (or a Van Morrison–style distillation of it), with the verses telling a story and the choruses summarizing a universal "lesson." The refrain of one of the best, "You Can't Be Too Strong," almost sounds like a military recruiting slogan; listen closely, and you discover a brilliant, carefully wrought essay on the conflicted emotions surrounding abortion.

Produced by veteran Jack Nitzsche, Squeezing Out Sparks is leaner and meaner than previous Parker releases—there's no horn section, and the rhythms slapped out by the Rumour hew closer to a driving, gritty ideal of pub-rock, with fewer excursions into reggae. Everything feels pumped up and agitated except for Parker's vocals. As he navigates melodies designed to flatter his limited range and nasal tone, Parker sings with a surprising agility, if not grace; his performance on "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" stands among the great rock vocals of the 1970s.

The latest reissue combines the ten tracks of the original release with Live Sparks, a promo-only release sent to radio stations to show how devastating Parker and his crew could be on stage. The Sparks songs display an incredible zinging energy, as do the additional pieces—including "Mercury Poisoning," Parker's withering assessment of circumstances at his old record label, and a spirited cover of the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back."

Genre: Rock
Released: 1979, Arista
Key Tracks: "Discovering Japan," "Local Girls," "Nobody Hurts You," "You Can't Be Too Strong," "Passion Is No Ordinary Word"
Catalog Choice: Heat Treatment; Howlin' Wind; The Mona Lisa's Sister.
Next Stop: Brinsley Schwarz: Nervous on the Road
After That: Eggs over Easy: Good 'n' Cheap
Book Pages: 579–580