No. 1 in Heaven (45th Anniversary Edition)

#SynthPop

Irresistibly catchy, witty, camp, and ecstatic: one of the first masterpiece synth-pop records, originally released in 1979 and now reissued with a bunch of extras. Sparks are two brothers from LA known for their satirical lyrics and their wildly eclectic songwriting. They've been making music so long that members of the Beatles loved them, and they still sound fresh over 55 years after they started. For this record they partnered with Italian disco legend Giorgio Moroder, who'd recently produced Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," and he and Sparks just go for it without letup here. Everyone from Depeche Mode to Björk to LCD Soundsystem to Lorde to Chappell Roan owes a debt to Sparks and this album. It still sounds amazing. The original record is a tight six songs in 34 minutes, all of it umissable. This reissue has several alternate edits too, but I recommend starting with the originals. Favorites: 1, 4, 6. No FCCs detected.

ORIGINAL ALBUM
1. *(6:08)—Mid-tempo with a long intro. Classic and tantalizing disco beat, hilarious lyrics from the perspective of the not-yet-born. Thrilling build and a fantastic-sounding fake-out ending.
2. (5:02)—Fast, urgent, bouncy. Lyrics skewer the patriarchy's expectations of women: "Play the shark / play the bride / Joan of Arc / Mrs Hyde."
3. (5:57)—Fast, driving, with lyrics about gigolos hanging out at a Mediterranean nightclub.
4. *(4:24)—Mid-tempo. Rapid-fire lyrics about a comically high-achieving kid. "Entered school when I was two / PhD'd that afternoon." Great key change in the middle.
5. (4:57)—Mid-tempo, psychedelic, with lovely chord progressions and vocoder vocals.
6. *(7:28)—Slow, high-flown, atmospheric first half; fast, anthemic second half. The lyrics are so bombastic they can't be taken with a straight face ("This is the number one song in heaven"), but the song is so enchantingly euphoric that it's possible Sparks aren't kidding.

BONUS TRACKS
7. (2:37)—Not a song, but a comic skit promoting the album, with little samples of the songs.
8. (7:55)—Long version of 1. Longer intro. Drier, less intense but more hypnotic mix.
9. (6:44)—Long version of 4. Drum-heavy, starts in the middle of the original song.
10. (3:50)—Short version of 6. Jumps immediately to the fast second half.
11. (3:21)—Shorter version of 1, with the first verse appearing twice.
12. (3:49)—Shorter version of 4. Similar to the original, with a crushed, compressed-sounding mix.
13. (3:50)—Shorter version of 3, crushed and compressed for radio.
14. (3:34)—Alternate version of 4. Starts in the middle (like the mix on track 10).
15. (4:00)—Alternate version of 1. Keeps all the verses, shortens the intro and the middle, cuts the original ending.
16. (2:51)—A comic promo monologue with samples, not a song.