Welcome to the rise of the machines! Ron and Russell Mael are at a bit of a crossroads with this 1984 LP, and briefly offer the reigns to producer Ian Little (Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Roxy Music's Avalon), who in turn puts in the driver's seat that omnipresent mid-80s behemoth, the CMI Fairlight. It was the first time computerized, visual, grid-based composing was possible, and reduced the amount of friction between idea to product. Monte Mallin is riding shotgun again, and Mr. Christ-on-a-Bike John Ashdown returns to offer a fresh perspective on one of Sparks' lesser-loved albums.

Chris Sutton has appeared on this podcast before, and likewise Monte Mallin's YouTube channel Sparks: Entertainment and Art. This time, Chris and Christian go mano a mano in an interview about his (Chris') latest book On Track... Sparks 1969-1979

We chat about what it's like being a rock music journalist, and just how he managed to track down so many Sparks luminaries for his project. Also, if you happen to be in the neighborhood of Smethwick, just a bit west of Birmingham, stop by the Smethwick Heritage Center and say hello to the museum's Manager-cum-Editor of the museum's magazine! He just may look (or sound) a tad familiar!

Tally ho! We're going deep into the vaults today for this one, with an in-depth look at the never-officially-released soundtrack to the obscure 1984 teen gross-out film Bad Manners... Or is that Growing Pains? It seems Sparks didn't even know, so they recorded two theme songs, using both titles! After we flap our yaps about both the movie and the soundtrack, we take a little bit of time to explore the unusually high number of soundtrack-only songs Ron and Russ recorded in 1983-1984.

The great Monte Mallin returns, and I'm happy to introduce Mr. Chris Sutton to the show this time out! Besides being a true Sparks ride-or-die, Chris has written several books about various music legends. And his latest one is called On Track... Sparks 1969-1979. (PSST. YOU CAN BUY IT HERE:)

Monte's Sparks: Entertainment and Art series is here: