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Big Beat | 
| Artist: Sparks
Label: Commercial Marketing
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.98
You Save: £4.01 (45%)
New (41) Used (7) Collectible (1) from £2.25
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 10467
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 55
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 602498434123
EAN: 0602498434123
ASIN: B000I8NGJQ
Release Date: October 9, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Big Boy | | • | I Want To Be Like Everybody Else | | • | Nothing To Do | | • | I Bought The Mississippi River | | • | Fill-Er-Up | | • | Everybody's Stupid | | • | Throw Her Away (And Get A New One)) | | • | Confusion | | • | Screwed Up | | • | White Woman | | • | I Like Girls | | • | I Want To Hold Your Hand | | • | England | | • | Gone With The Wind | | • | Intrusion/Confusion | | • | Looks Aren't Everything | | • | Tearing The Place Apart |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Most famous for its odd album cover, Big Beat, Sparks' final album for Island Records, saw a complete volte-face from their previous albums, the only continuity being the very definite shift in style that would become as much of a trademark as a hindrance for the Mael brothers. Gone were the rest of the band (replaced by a new trio including former Roxy Music bass player Sal Maida), and likewise the intricate musical arrangements were remoulded into a far more streamlined, guitar-led approach. Whilst the album doesn't quite scale the heights set by its predecessors, there's still a whole lot to recommend on Big Beat. "Nothing To Do" is a Sparks classic, and the band's lyrical quirks are still obvious on tracks like "Throw Her Away and get a New One" or "I Like Girls" and though the faux-misogyny sails too close to the wind in their plea for "White Women", it's still faintly amusing. This edition has a welter of bonus tracks including their remake of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" which is as divisive as Marmite. For the Sparks fan, this is a worthwhile purchase. For the uninitiated, start with Kimono My House and work forward. --Thom Allott
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| Customer Reviews:
 Being generous. Because it's Ron and Russell. May 24, 2008
I got this back in the 70s on vinyl. I was appalled then and time has not changed my mind. After three great albums they produced this thing which is shockingly poor. The positives I can throw at it are that it has a nice cover and one or two of the tunes are mildly catchy. The downside is everything else. And I'm sorry if it was not meant as serious, but White Women is just downright offensive. It's not funny, it's not clever. It's a little catchy which is the more disturbing. Same can be said of throw her away. It's all very misogynistic, tongue in cheek or not.
There are several 5 star Sparks CDs to get (their recent three,plus Propaganda and Kimono my House) there are some 4 star CDs (Indiscreet and No1 in Heaven). This is far, far, far down the list of quality.
 Best Songwriter of the latter half of the 20th Century? April 16, 2007
2 out of 9 found this review helpful
Probably, despite serious competition from Ray Davies and Peter Blegvad.
Up there with Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and even The Gershwins and Kurt Weill.
And I grew up with those folks' songs. My mother, who had seen most of their opening nights on Broadway, and heard Rhapsody in Blue on an acetate at a Bohemian apartment in the Village, played the piano and I sang the songs. So, nobody can suggest that I don't know my chops, and the 3 gentlemen cited belong in that hallowed group. (Even if Ray did go through a pretty dubious period after School Days when the Kinks thought they were a stadium/arena band.)
I could have put this review into any Sparks CD, but I'm putting it here because, as usual, I have something to complain about and that is where in the Name of Arioch is the CD version of Introducing Sparks, Big Beat's followup? I've heard rumours that the Post Brothers, oh, sorry, I mean the Mael Brothers don't like it.
TOO BAD!! They're wrong.
 Not typical but Catchy as hell February 20, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this, hated it, sold it, then found myself singing all the songs so bought it again!
It is very different to the previous albums. The backing band is sparse and heavy, the vocals mush nore repetitive and simple, often annoyingly so. The drums are very over the top, a bit like Aynsley Dunbar on Bowies Pin Ups album. The guitar a bit like Mick Ronsons playing too. It all goes to make a very different album.
If you like Sparks dont make this a first purchase, get Kimono or Lil Beethoven first, this is not for the casual Sparks fan and is not really for the faint hearted.
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