Squeezing Out Sparks
	Produced by Jack Nitzsche
	Released on March 1979
	UK CHART POSITION #18 . . . US CHART POSITION #40
	Find it at GEMM
AB 4223 cover [high resolution photo]

S ong for song probably the best thing Parker’s done, though you could make a case for The Up Escalator just as easily I suppose. Squeezing has a tauter sound than Escalator, kind of a controlled tempest. You hear it in songs like “Passion Is No Ordinary Word,” “Local Girls” and “Discovering Japan,” where Graham manages to be aloof and endearing at the same time. The Rumour do a stand-up job of fleshing out these songs, giving them a more “musical” sound than Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello were producing at the time (though they’d catch up quickly enough). They can rush through a number like six men in a barrel rolling downhill (“Saturday Nite Is Dead”) and then smolder on the slower numbers (“You Can’t Be Too Strong”). The shading of light and dark makes Squeezing Out Sparks a grown-up record, and you could argue that Graham Parker and The Rumour outgrew the new wave label here. These songs are about universal truths and not just petty injustices, though Parker isn’t above airing his complaints. As a charter member of England’s Angry Young Men, however, Parker becomes the first to let the chip fall from his shoulder and take up the cause for broken lovers everywhere. It’s also a remarkably catchy record, with little hooks hidden in every inch of vinyl. There’s isn’t one track on here that doesn’t generate its share of electricity, and the attention lavished on each track (e.g., “Protection”) underscores the strong songwriting. If you’re approaching Parker for the first time and enjoy the early work of Elvis and JJ, Squeezing Out Sparks is the place to start. Definitely something to get excited about.

AB 4223 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. DISCOVERING JAPAN    3:30
2. LOCAL GIRLS    3:44
3. NOBODY HURTS YOU    3:40
4. YOU CAN'T BE TOO STRONG    3:24
5. PASSION IS NO ORDINARY WORD    4:25
6. SATURDAY NITE IS DEAD    3:15
7. LOVE GETS YOU TWISTED    3:00
8. PROTECTION    3:55
9. WAITING FOR THE UFO'S    3:09
10. DON'T GET EXCITED    3:06
    
    CD reissue bonus tracks
    
11. MERCURY POISONING
12. I WANT YOU BACK
    
    All songs written by Graham Parker

CREDITS

GRAHAM PARKER -- lead vocals, rhythm guitar
BOB ANDREWS -- keyboards and backing vocals
MARTIN BELMONT -- rhythm guitar and backing vocals
ANDREW BODNAR -- bass
STEVE GOULDING -- drums and backing vocals
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ -- guitar and backing vocals
Mark Howlett -- engineer
Phil Bodger -- studio assistant
Chris Gabrinowski -- photographer
Gerard Huerta -- lettering

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