With little arriving product information coming out in this usually slow month of December (and this month has been better than years past), I discovered something that even I got excited about even though it was released a few days previous.
On December 15, an independent label by the name of Quake Records, released a reissue of Squeezing Out Sparks, the magnificent and brilliant 1979 Graham Parker classic that is on the Rolling Stone Best 500 Rock Albums of All time list. The tracks here have been remastered for better sound although, by their own admission, it just does slightly better than the Arista reissue from 1996 that includes a collection of live versions of the album’s tracks. However, it’s said that the audio improvement is significant over the UK reissue from Vertigo/Mercury (2001).
This Quake Records reissue is not only remastered but will feature previously unheard live tracks from the band’s June 24, 1979 support show at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA (see list below). The cover has been re-imagined as well.
Squeezing Out Sparks can be ordered here.
Squeezing Out Sparks (Original Album Remastered) – Graham Parker
01 – Discovering Japan
02 – Local Girls
03 – Nobody Hurts You
04 – You Can’t Be Too Strong
05 – Passion Is No Ordinary Word
06 – Saturday Nite Is Dead
07 – Love Gets You Twisted
08 – Protection
09 – Waiting For The UFO’s
10 – Don’t Get Excited
Squeezing Out Sparks Live (Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA June 24, 1979)
11 – Discovering Japan
12 – Local Girls
13 – Nobody Hurts You
14 – You Can’t Be Too Strong
15 – Passion Is No Ordinary Word
16 – Saturday Nite Is Dead
17 – Protection
18 – Mercury Poisoning
19 – I Want You Back (Alive)
20 – Pourin’ It All Out
