Lil' Beethoven (Deluxe Edition)

デビューから(ほぼ)半世紀。世界各地でカルト的人気を集める、完全無敵のポップ・デュオ、スパークスの21世紀初期の作品がボーナス・トラックを多数追加したデラックス・エディションとして蘇る!これまでのシンセ・ポップやエレクトロ・サウンドから、ストリングスやピアノを中心としたクラシックとポップを融合させたスタイルへと劇的な進化を遂げた、バンド自身も“代表作"と評する2002年の通算19作目『LIL' BEETHOVEN』はボーナス・トラック5曲を追加収録。

デビューから(ほぼ)半世紀。世界各地でカルト的人気を集める、完全無敵のポップ・デュオ、スパークス。ロンとラッセルのメイル兄弟からなるこのデュオは、1971年のアルバム・デビュー以来、グラムからパワー・ポップ、エレクトロにダンス・ポップ、さらにはチェンバー・ポップまで、時代時代のポップ・ミュージックを己の中に取り込みながら、一貫してスパークスだと分かるような音世界を創り上げている。ポップ・イノベーターとして現在も活躍を続ける彼らの長き音楽キャリアの中でも実験的精神が濃い2000年代の作品がボーナス・トラックを多数追加したデラックス・エディションとして蘇る。

2002年10月にリリースされたスパークス通算19作目のスタジオ・アルバム『LIL' BEETHOVEN』。バンド自身も“代表作"と評する本作は、ポップ・イノベーターである彼らにとって大きな音楽的転換点となった作品である。これまでのシンセ・ポップやエレクトロ・サウンドから、ストリングスやピアノを中心としたクラシックとポップを融合させたスタイルへと劇的な進化を遂げた本作は英米のメディアを中心に高い評価を集めた。

デラックス・エディションには「Suburban Homeboy」や「The Rhythm Thief」の別ヴァージョンやアルバム未収録曲などボーナス・トラックを5曲追加収録している。

Anybody looking for Sparks to return to the timeless lushness of "Under the Table With Her" or the sonic indiscretions of "Change," the disconcerting dynamics of "Equator," or the pulsing repetition of Number One Song in Heaven is going to recognize Lil' Beethoven almost immediately. But anybody holding any of those ideals so dear that they cannot see past their superficial tensions is going to be left in disarray. Lil' Beethoven is the (or, more appropriately, a) summation of everything Sparks had been promising for the past 30 years. It is also quite unlike anything they have ever delivered before. The classical pretensions of the title are mirrored exactly in the music. Strings, acoustics, piano, and chorales are the album's primary assets, layered on with such guile that their essential simplicity is absolutely disguised. Lyrically, Lil' Beethoven is sharper than Sparks have sounded in a while -- at least since the best bits of Gratuitous Sax, with the closing "Suburban Homeboy" a brilliant summary of every rich kid booming rap from their mother's SUV ("I say 'yo! Dog' to my detailing guy"). One song, though, is constructed almost wholly around a joke that is older than dirt ("How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall?" -- "practice, man, practice"); another takes the bulk of its lyric from a stubborn voice-mail system ("Your Call Is Very Important to Us -- Please Hold"). But, while the repetition itself can grow...well, repetitive, on an album that stakes out its parameters by introducing "The Rhythm Thief" ("oh no, where did the groove go?"), then letting him steal every beat off the record, the mantras themselves become a pulse of sorts, around which the orchestrations take the wildest flights. There are breaks. The exquisite "I Married Myself" is as lush a loving ballad as Sparks have ever wrapped their more Beatlesque aspirations around, and that despite the entire song stretching out over the kind of prelude that other people might have reserved for a pretty prelude alone. Later, "Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls" is less a lyric, more a son-of-"Change"-style diatribe, but the greatest shock comes when you realize just how easily conditioned you were by the rest of the album. Thumping beat and wired guitar leap out with such resolute energy that it feels like you're listening to another record entirely -- every time you play it. And that is the magic of Lil' Beethoven. It takes a few plays to understand and a few more to appreciate. But how many times can you listen to it through and still be discovering new things to admire? That's a question that time alone can answer. ~ Dave Thompson