Keep On Spewing Your Propaganda
3 Out Of 5 Stars
As the saying goes, if you're going to steal, steal from the best. Sparks made that decision to turn what started out as a tribute project into a remake and remodel a croup of selected songs. And while I am a fan of Sparks, one of the things that is most appealing about them is their eclecticism. That makes them an acquired taste, so if you take the songs and smooth out the quirks, they loose a bit of their manic brilliance.
"Plagiarism" may be a showcase for Ron and Russell's often overlooked music sophistication, but many of the songs here don't measure up to the original counterparts. Sometimes it works, as it does for the opening pomp of "Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat." Seeing as this was from one of Sparks weaker albums to start, the orchestral bombast and operatic backing vocals enhance the song. However, the string saturated version of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" loses its dynamic tension.
The same can not be said for later on the disc, when fans Faith No More add their own brand of crazy to the same song, turning it into a battle between Russell and FNM's Mike Patton. It's sufficiently manic enough to make that version a keeper. Expanding "Propaganda" from twenty seconds into a full blown showstopper works, too. On the minus side, the redoes on "The Number One Song In Heaven" and "Beat The Clock" (with Erasure and Jimmy Sommerville, respectively) sound pretty much the same as their originals, which makes them kid of pointless. Erasure's other contribution is to spice up "Amatuer Hour" in a good way. I also like the marching band arangement on "Change."
Overall, "Plagiarism" is good for the die-hard Sparks buff, but not a real introductory disc. Stick with "Propaganda" or "Indiscreet," or the double disc Rhino anthology
As the saying goes, if you're going to steal, steal from the best. Sparks made that decision to turn what started out as a tribute project into a remake and remodel a croup of selected songs. And while I am a fan of Sparks, one of the things that is most appealing about them is their eclecticism. That makes them an acquired taste, so if you take the songs and smooth out the quirks, they loose a bit of their manic brilliance.
"Plagiarism" may be a showcase for Ron and Russell's often overlooked music sophistication, but many of the songs here don't measure up to the original counterparts. Sometimes it works, as it does for the opening pomp of "Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat." Seeing as this was from one of Sparks weaker albums to start, the orchestral bombast and operatic backing vocals enhance the song. However, the string saturated version of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" loses its dynamic tension.
The same can not be said for later on the disc, when fans Faith No More add their own brand of crazy to the same song, turning it into a battle between Russell and FNM's Mike Patton. It's sufficiently manic enough to make that version a keeper. Expanding "Propaganda" from twenty seconds into a full blown showstopper works, too. On the minus side, the redoes on "The Number One Song In Heaven" and "Beat The Clock" (with Erasure and Jimmy Sommerville, respectively) sound pretty much the same as their originals, which makes them kid of pointless. Erasure's other contribution is to spice up "Amatuer Hour" in a good way. I also like the marching band arangement on "Change."
Overall, "Plagiarism" is good for the die-hard Sparks buff, but not a real introductory disc. Stick with "Propaganda" or "Indiscreet," or the double disc Rhino anthology
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