Spark of spring

Today was bright and sunny, if a bit nippy, but I went to my first car boot sale of the new year - about flippin' time too, as I've been suffering from vinyl withdrawal.

There were quite a few stalls for the time of year and I came away with four records, the first of which was Sparks' Kimono My House for 50p:

Sparks - Kimono My House (1974)

Released in the spring of 1974, Kimono My House was Sparks' third album and their first with Island Records.  It opens with one of their best known singles 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us' and is swiftly followed by another top tune 'Amateur Hour'.  In fact there isn't really a duff track here; this is why it was their breakthrough album, reaching no.4 in the UK.  The two opening songs reached no.2 and 7 respectively in the UK singles chart.

The front cover features two members of a Japanese dance troupe who were currently touring the country.  The lack of band name or album title on the front was a bold move that paid off - the striking image alone seemed to be enough to get attention.

Top tracks:  Sparks – This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us

                                Sparks – Amateur Hour

I stumbled across these videos on youtube today, showing firstly how vinyl masters are made and cut, with Part 2 about the process of LP pressing.  If you know nothing about how vinyl is produced, take a look; it's fascinating:

Wow, they make records from biscuits!