Prolific pop project Sparks will head out on a North American tour this fall, but right before the brother band leaves, they'll drop a new career-spanning box set called New Music for Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection. The monolithic set arrives October 22 through the duo's own Lil' Beethoven Records.
A press release notes that the set was curated by Ron and Russell Mael, and it includes 81 songs spread across five CDs that run from early glam tracks like "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us," through to disco collaborations with Giorgio Moroder, rock operas written for Swedish radio, and more. The collection is said to preserve both the band's hits and "oddities that still resonate with Sparks on a more personal level."
Package-wise, the box includes a 64-page hardback book that houses the first four CDs, while the two-song "bonus" disc is fitted in a "card wallet." Memorabilia packaged with New Music for Amnesiacs includes a car window sticker, replica concert tickets, a metal pin, a laminated pass, a poster, and a brown paper envelope containing a contact sheet of photo outtakes from the group's Big Beat sessions.
As for Sparks' upcoming "The Revenge of Two Hands One Mouth Tour," it starts up October 23 in Atlanta, but later hits Montreal and Toronto. You can see the dates beneath the box set's tracklisting.
New Music for Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection:
Disc 1:
1. Wonder Girl
2. Roger
3. High C
4. Girl From Germany
5. Batteries Not Included
6. Whippings and Apologies
7. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us
8. Amateur Hour
9. Equator
10. Talent Is An Asset
11. Barbecutie
12. Propaganda
13. At Home At Work At Play
14. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
15. Something For The Girl With Everything
16. Alabamy Right
17. Hospitality On Parade
18. Happy Hunting Ground
19. Looks, Looks, Looks
20. Get In The Swing
21. Miss the Start, Miss the End
22. Big Boy
23. Nothing To Do
24. Looks Aren't Everything
25. Tearing The Place Apart
Disc 2:
1. Goofing Off
2. Over The Summer
3. The Number One Song In Heaven
4. Beat The Clock
4. Tryouts For The Human Race (Unreleased Version)
5. When I'm With You (LP Single Version)
6. Young Girls (LP Single Version)
7. Tips For Teens
8. Funny Face
9. I Married A Martian
10. Angst In My Pants
11. I Predict
12. Mickey Mouse
13. Eaten By The Monster Of Love
14. Cool Places
15. Popularity
16. I Wish I Looked A Little Better
17. Pretending to Be Drunk
18. A Song That Sings Itself
Disc 3:
1. Music That You Can Dance To
2. Change
3. Let's Get Funky
4. Singing in The Shower (ft. Les Rita Mitsouko)
5. So Important
6. A Walk Down Memory Lane
7. Madonna
8. National Crime Awareness Week (Psycho Cut)
9. Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
10. When Do I Get To Sing "My Way"
11. (When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing (Radio Edit)
12. Tsui Hark (Ft. Tsui Hark & Bill Kong)
13. Let's Go Surfing
14. Propaganda
15. Pulling Rabbits Out of A Hat
16. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both Of Us (ft. Faith No More)
17. Bullet Train
18. It's A Knockoff
19. Calm Before The Storm
Disc 4:
1. Concerto In Koch Minor (Wunderbar)
2. The Rhythm Thief
3. How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?
4. My Baby's Taking Me Home
5. Suburban Homeboy
6. I Married Myself
7. Dick Around
8. Perfume
9. The Very Next Fight
10. Metaphor
11. As I Sit Down To Play The Organ At The Notre Dame Cathedral
12. Good Morning
13. Lighten Up, Morrissey
14. Strange Animal
15. Photoshop
16. I've Never Been High
17. I Am A Bookworm
Souvenir CD:
1. Islington N1
2. Two Hands One Mouth
Tour dates:
10/23 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10/25 Asheville, NC - Mountain Oasis Festival
10/27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10/28 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/30 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
11/01 Montreal, QC - Le National
11/02 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
11/04 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
11/06 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
11/07 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
11/09 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/11 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
A press release notes that the set was curated by Ron and Russell Mael, and it includes 81 songs spread across five CDs that run from early glam tracks like "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us," through to disco collaborations with Giorgio Moroder, rock operas written for Swedish radio, and more. The collection is said to preserve both the band's hits and "oddities that still resonate with Sparks on a more personal level."
Package-wise, the box includes a 64-page hardback book that houses the first four CDs, while the two-song "bonus" disc is fitted in a "card wallet." Memorabilia packaged with New Music for Amnesiacs includes a car window sticker, replica concert tickets, a metal pin, a laminated pass, a poster, and a brown paper envelope containing a contact sheet of photo outtakes from the group's Big Beat sessions.
As for Sparks' upcoming "The Revenge of Two Hands One Mouth Tour," it starts up October 23 in Atlanta, but later hits Montreal and Toronto. You can see the dates beneath the box set's tracklisting.
New Music for Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection:
Disc 1:
1. Wonder Girl
2. Roger
3. High C
4. Girl From Germany
5. Batteries Not Included
6. Whippings and Apologies
7. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us
8. Amateur Hour
9. Equator
10. Talent Is An Asset
11. Barbecutie
12. Propaganda
13. At Home At Work At Play
14. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
15. Something For The Girl With Everything
16. Alabamy Right
17. Hospitality On Parade
18. Happy Hunting Ground
19. Looks, Looks, Looks
20. Get In The Swing
21. Miss the Start, Miss the End
22. Big Boy
23. Nothing To Do
24. Looks Aren't Everything
25. Tearing The Place Apart
Disc 2:
1. Goofing Off
2. Over The Summer
3. The Number One Song In Heaven
4. Beat The Clock
4. Tryouts For The Human Race (Unreleased Version)
5. When I'm With You (LP Single Version)
6. Young Girls (LP Single Version)
7. Tips For Teens
8. Funny Face
9. I Married A Martian
10. Angst In My Pants
11. I Predict
12. Mickey Mouse
13. Eaten By The Monster Of Love
14. Cool Places
15. Popularity
16. I Wish I Looked A Little Better
17. Pretending to Be Drunk
18. A Song That Sings Itself
Disc 3:
1. Music That You Can Dance To
2. Change
3. Let's Get Funky
4. Singing in The Shower (ft. Les Rita Mitsouko)
5. So Important
6. A Walk Down Memory Lane
7. Madonna
8. National Crime Awareness Week (Psycho Cut)
9. Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
10. When Do I Get To Sing "My Way"
11. (When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing (Radio Edit)
12. Tsui Hark (Ft. Tsui Hark & Bill Kong)
13. Let's Go Surfing
14. Propaganda
15. Pulling Rabbits Out of A Hat
16. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both Of Us (ft. Faith No More)
17. Bullet Train
18. It's A Knockoff
19. Calm Before The Storm
Disc 4:
1. Concerto In Koch Minor (Wunderbar)
2. The Rhythm Thief
3. How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?
4. My Baby's Taking Me Home
5. Suburban Homeboy
6. I Married Myself
7. Dick Around
8. Perfume
9. The Very Next Fight
10. Metaphor
11. As I Sit Down To Play The Organ At The Notre Dame Cathedral
12. Good Morning
13. Lighten Up, Morrissey
14. Strange Animal
15. Photoshop
16. I've Never Been High
17. I Am A Bookworm
Souvenir CD:
1. Islington N1
2. Two Hands One Mouth
Tour dates:
10/23 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10/25 Asheville, NC - Mountain Oasis Festival
10/27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10/28 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/30 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
11/01 Montreal, QC - Le National
11/02 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
11/04 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
11/06 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
11/07 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
11/09 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/11 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
