Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins

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Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins cover
Studio album by Sparks
Released November 1994
Recorded 1994 Sparks Studio, Los Angeles
Genre Rock
Length 44:36
Label Logic Records
Producer Ron Mael, Russell Mael
Professional reviews
Sparks chronology
Interior Design
(1988)
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(1994)
Plagiarism
(1998)

Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins is the sixteenth album by Sparks. After an absence from the music industry of 5-6 years, the pair returned with a new sound that returned to the synth orientated sound of No. 1 In Heaven. However the songs retained an emphasis on pop song structure and a sound that was only slightly removed from that of the Pet Shop Boys. The acapella title track "Gratuitous Sax" looked back to the equally brief opener of 1974's Propaganda.

Originally released in 1994. Re-released in 2006 as part of the Sparks "The Collection" series. This re-release featured new artwork, and additional sleevenotes in digipack-format. The contents of the disc itself were unaltered.

"When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'", "(When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing" and "Now That I Own The BBC" were each released as singles in the UK.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Gratuitous Sax" - 0:31
  2. "When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'" - 4:37
  3. "(When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing" - 5:13
  4. "Frankly, Scarlett, I Don't Give A Damn" - 5:03
  5. "I Thought I Told You To Wait In The Car" - 4:02
  6. "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil" - 5:37
  7. "Now That I Own The BBC" - 4:58
  8. "Tsui Hark" - 4:31 (Featuring Tsui Hark and Bill Kong)
  9. "The Ghost Of Liberace" - 4:15
  10. "Let's Go Surfing" - 5:02
  11. "Senseless Violins" - 0:47
  12. "When I Kiss You I Hear Charlie Parker Playing (Bernard Butler's Mix)" (Japanese only Bonus track)
  • Written and Produced by Ron Mael and Russel Mael.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart Placings

Year Chart Position
1995 German Album Chart 29

[edit] When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'

Year Chart Position
1994 Official UK Singles Chart 38
1995 Official UK Singles Chart (Re-issue) 32
1995 German Singles Chart 7
1995 U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play 9
1995 Switzerland 22
1995 Netherlands 35
1995 Belgium 16

[edit] When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)

Year Chart Position
1995 Official UK Singles Chart 36
1995 German Singles Chart 61
1995 U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play 24

[edit] Now That I Own The BBC

Year Chart Position
1996 Official UK Singles Chart 60
1996 German Singles Chart 81