#LikeNoOther #2 This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us - Sparks

Although the first two songs may seem to have a vague glam rock connection , there's going to be a lot of different stuff on this.  I first saw Sparks performing on The Old Grey Whistle Test  performing "No More Mister Nice Guy" from A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing which was OK , the most striking thing was Ron Mael's Chaplinesque looks and I liked the album title. More androgynous American rock but nothing special.

Then they signed to Island and gave us Kimono My House , more plays on words and phrases , but the lead single "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" was totally amazing.

From the opening piano motif you are hit with Russel Mael's falsetto , the a stop with a heavy stop start four note single heavy guitar riff before launching in a streamrollering you in almost Wagnerian style a song that still stands today as  one of the most amazing three minutes you will ever hear.

Everytime I listen to it, I don't want it to stop, there's always a change round the corner, and while it may be generally in 4/4 time it's hardly easy to dance to like your normal pop song should be, but it never loses your attention.

Plagiarists

You can see it's influence in things like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and since then Sparks have continued to expand their musical envelops , collaborating with Giorgio Moroder on No 1 In Heaven and are still producing amazing music. Li'l Beethoven is an wonderful album.

This Town was when I though Sparks were special and was revisited on their collaborations album Plagiarism as a duet with Faith No More,  Mike Patton providing an amazing foil for Russel Mael. See the video at the end.




Recently they collaborated with Franz Ferdinand as FFS , a major success but you feel the Mael's were in the driving seat, but Franz Ferdinand's angular rock proved a brilliant vehicle for more Mael exploration and play.

So that's my thoughts on this great song.