Sparks - Halfnelson (Anniversary) [Colored]

Before they were Sparks, Ron and Russell Mael called their band Halfnelson, and this anniversary pressing revisits the 1971 debut that started it all on limited colored vinyl.

Produced by Todd Rundgren for Bearsville, the album introduced the brothers' wildly original approach: Russell's soaring high voice, Ron's deadpan keyboard figures and lyrics stuffed with wit and absurdity. The Los Angeles group, rounded out by Earle and Jim Mankey and Harley Feinstein, sounded like nothing else in American rock at the time. When the band changed its name, the record was reissued as Sparks the following year, and the rest became a famously strange history.

Wonder Girl, picked as the single, is a quirky little pop song that hinted at the hits to come, while Fa La Fa Lee bounces along on playful harmonies. High C and Slowboat show how far their ideas already stretched, full of sudden turns and art-rock flourishes that still sound slightly ahead of their time. Even this early, the Mael brothers' sense of humour and love of melody are impossible to miss.

Generations of art-pop fans trace a line back to these songs. For anyone following the Maels' long and singular story, this is where it all begins, and the colored pressing makes a bright addition to the collection.