Sparks / Noël

An exclusive 45th anniversary double vinyl release of Paste Magazine's #1 synth-pop album of all time 'No 1 In Heaven' by Sparks, and the Sparks-composed-and-produced lost gem 'Is There More To Life Than Dancing?' by Noel Released in 1979, the Giorgio Moroder- produced 'No.

1 In Heaven' became the blueprint album for all electronic music to come. The same year, Ron and Russell Mael wrote, produced, and recorded the album 'Is There More To Life Than Dancing?' for LA-based singer Noel. Together these albums showcase the Maels' electronic adventurousness and trailblazing foresight into the next decade. Bands such as Joy Division, Duran Duran, Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure), etc. have cited 'No. 1 In Heaven' as influential to their own work. Sparks' masterpiece with Moroder was voted "the greatest synth-pop album of all time" by Paste Magazine last year, beating off stiff competition from Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode, among others. No.1 In Heaven would go on to provide Sparks with their biggest hits since the Island years: the near title song 'The Number One Song In Heaven' went top 20 and the irrepressibly catchy 'Beat The Clock' went top 10, while third single 'Tryouts For The Human Race' proved Sparks were a band who were never short of ideas - and they're still not - proving that fact time and time again over 26 albums and six incredible decades Celebrating the 45th anniversaries of both No.1 In Heaven and Is There More To Life Than Dancing the two albums are now released on colour vinyl - white and green respectively. "One of the few things that we've learned over time is that putting ourselves in a frightening situation with no clear view of the result can be the way to achieve a result that was both unforeseen and beyond one's wildest creative expectations. That was the case with the No.1 In Heaven album. Even putting ourselves in the hands of a great producer such as Giorgio Moroder and relinquishing complete control over the outcome was a leap of faith. What can seem like an obvious move in hindsight can be not nearly as obvious at the time. We're glad we dove in!" - Ron and Russell Mael