Sparks - Sparks 1974 (Kimono My House / Propaganda - 50th Anniversary Deluxe) (2024)

Three CD set housed in 7" packaging. 1974 compiles Sparks' two 1974 albums - Kimono My House and Propaganda - alongside a bonus CD containing demo, unreleased and live takes and B Sides. 1974 saw the group relocate from L.A. to London where they recorded some of their most memorable output. Kimono My House, containing the group's biggest single "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" (#4 UK Singles Charts), was the group's first real commercial breakthrough. Produced by Muff Winwood, the album slotted into the contemporary landscape of glam rock, stylistically similar to the experimental and electronic led output of David Bowie and Roxy Music. Propaganda was released subsequently in November '74, peaking at number 9 in the UK album charts. The Mael Brothers solidified their style of demented, sinister pop songs with tracks like "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth", "Something For The Girl With Everything" and "Achoo". "You wonder if he ever thought that fifty years, twenty-six albums and a critically acclaimed film later that Sparks - rather deliciously - would endure. The works of their breakthrough year can also still be our protein, still exercise our heartbeats, still sound like no one else, so peculiarly wonderful." - Jude Rogers, The Guardian