lyrical wit is in abundance, magnified by russell maels soaring falsetto gymnastics. failure with the opposite sex is a recurring topic, from the adolescent fumblings of amateur hour to the resignation of falling in love with myself again. its easy to see why the teenage morrissey was a dedicated fan. the track that really grabbed the publics attention was this town aint big enough for both of us, a classic stomper with a gravity defying melody. 1974s kimono my house is the sound of sparks firing on all four cylinders, providing one of the most curious and comical albums of the 70s. freddie mercury wasnt the only operatic rocker on the block in the mid 70s. the genre was pretty much taken to its logical conclusion by ron and russell mael, the decidedly odd couple who formed the nucleus of sparks. dropping references to immanuel kant and yehudi menuhin, these boys werent your average dumb rock band. kimono my house was their third album, recorded after the brothers had relocated from la to london (where tolerance of tongue in cheek pomp pop was obviously much higher).