Spike... The height of Elvis' ?

[when i was cruel]

I am just curious what others think of this album. For me it's not even just the songs but everything is perfect for it, simply put. It has to be my number two coming in after ATUB.

[Top balcony]

I'm a big fan of Spike also.

"Tramp" , "Deep Dark" and "Veronica" being the tracks which have stayed with me the most.

Obviously all is in the ear of the beholder, but I'd certainly put this LP in my top 4-8.

Colin Top Balcony

[pophead2k]

This album was my entry point to EC, said entry being provided by the person who I then shared a seven year relationship with, so I can't listen to this album dispassionately in any way shape or form. I love it from top to bottom.

[the_roofdog]

The first half of the album is outstanding, but... isn't it just a bit too long? I find everything after Pads, Paws & Claws a bit superfluous.

[Neil.]

Hi - I remember when Spike came out, I was really excited that it was going to be the album that shot him into worldwide prominence: major new label, McCartney contributions, big marketing push, massive interview in the NME etc.

I was in college at the time,so it always reminds me of my scuzzy, smelly student accomodation. Lot of students were buzzing about it the day after the Late Review special. He was moving into elder statsman mode, slightly, but was still cool. The anti-Thatcher stance was really popular among students.

Veronica got lots of radio play, so I was disappointed it didn't go top five (or even top ten). I remember the follow-up single, Baby Plays Around, being on Radio 1's Round Table, and everyone just raving about it, so I was disappointed it didn't hit the top forty (I need to check the facts on that one).

But I think it did raise his profile quite a bit, and it provided his biggest US hit to date, in Veronica.

I love the astounding Satellite, also Baby Plays Around, Last Boat Leaving, Chewing Gum and This Town.

Here're links to that Spike Late Review special:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBtV6vN-F7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBQbpm9rPpo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V56oLqTuabg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I60ZH4Iv4rI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOomNWo_1nE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p2OjcgVMi4

[verbal gymnastics]

Whilst this is a good album it just doesn't do it for me. It just seems cluttered.

[Emotional Toothpaste]

Elvis height? About 5'10 I'd guess.

Spike is one of my least favorites. Cluttered is a good word. Too much instrumentation . . .

[chickendinna]

This is an album that I want to like more but I don't. Spike is cluttered, busy, fussy. Take your pick. I think it's very smart and clever,however it's not an album I reach for when I want to hear some Elvis.

[Kevin Davis]

I enjoy most of Spike, but I'm not usually in the mood for the whole thing at once. In at least a few cases I really, really prefer the acoustic demos.

[SoulForHire]

I like Spike quite a bit and if it came from almost any other artist, it would almost certainly be their crown jewel.

HOWEVER, our EC has some pretty high highs. I find it pretty impossible to rate Spike above: Imperial Bedroom,Get Happy, Trust, This Year's Model, My Aim is True, and Armed Forces. Overall, I think Spike falls pretty much in the middle to lower end of his albums. Keep in mind, I do think I find any of EC's albums to be bad. The worst to me, North, is ok. And then there a number above North that I would classify as "good."

Spike's relative ranking to me is just a victim of EC's stellar catalog.

[Kevin Davis]

The worst to me, North

[Yanyna]

I would put Spike into my top ten just because of God´s Comic. I love that song. And there are more: Satelite, Deep Dark..., Let Him Dangle, Chewing Gum, Tramp the Dirt Down...yeah, this album is definitely in my top ten (maybe top 5)

[Neil.]

P.S. I forgot to add that I love Deep Dark Truthful Mirror, apart from most of the lyrics and the fact that he kept the frog-in-throat screech moment (A bit like Simon Le Bon at Live Aid). If he'd made the lyrics a bit less surreal - not boringly conventional, but less surreal - I think he could've had a big hit with this song.

[Kevin Davis]

P.S. I forgot to add that I love Deep Dark Truthful Mirror, apart from most of the lyrics and the fact that he kept the frog-in-throat screech moment (A bit like Simon Le Bon at Live Aid). If he'd made the lyrics a bit less surreal - not boringly conventional, but less surreal - I think he could've had a big hit with this song.

The opening couplet is perfect though:

One day you're gonna have to face the deep dark truthful mirror
And it's gonna tell you things that I still love you too much to say

Could set the song up to go 100 different ways. I like the road he took, but I see what you mean.

[Neil.]

Yeah, agreed, the opening couplet is so beautiful, and it seems to promise a passionate song about honesty within a loving relationship. I like some of the other images - "the sky was just a purple bruise, the ground was iron" - but when it starts going crazy with the stripping puppet on a liquid stick getting into it pretty thick and the butterfly feeding from a dead monkey's hand etc, I think it squanders its promise.

Still, a wonderful arrangement (love Allen's piano!) and a passionate vocal (though as I say, I wish he's edited over the croak). His biggest missed opportunity, I reckon.

[wordnat]

SPIKE is a soufflé.

[the_platypus]

I like Spike for its dazzling eclecticism, its rich sounds, cleverly crafted songs and great performances. But, "Baby Plays Around" aside, it feels kind of cold and disconnected; I feel like it lacks a heart, a strong emotional core. It's near the bottom of my list of favorite EC albums. Also, the chorus to "This Town" is just obnoxious.

[stricttime81]

I like Spike for its dazzling eclecticism, its rich sounds, cleverly crafted songs and great performances. But, "Baby Plays Around" aside, it feels kind of cold and disconnected; I feel like it lacks a heart, a strong emotional core. It's near the bottom of my list of favorite EC albums. Also, the chorus to "This Town" is just obnoxious.


That nicely sums up my feelings on Spike as well. I would also add that, while Tramp the Dirt Down is a great song, the idea of wishing death on your political enemies makes me uncomfortable and unable to fully embrace the song.

[Neil.]

Platy, I think you're wrong if you think the narrator of 'This Town' is espousing a world view that Elvis thinks is a good thing. The whole song is an attack on shallow people and materialistic, self-serving values - Elvis seems to be observing that kind of culture rather than endorsing it.

[The imposter]

I don't think Spike was the peak for Elvis, but it was an important crossroads. Recently separated from the Attractions, with a new recording deal with Warners, ideas enough for 5 records and a big recording budget but no obvious band.

Elvis himself says he probably elected to make all 5 records at once, which is a hint at the disparate nature of the songs. The recording process was a bit peace meal too, lots of over dubbing and different textures and personnel.

Consequently Spike is very much a studio album for me, which hasn't been fully exploited live. “Satellite” and “Last Boat Leaving” are amazing pieces that have barely been played live. Most live shows from this time were solo, making it impossible to recreate the multi-layered sound of the album.

For me, Spike was released just as I was becoming a serious fan and sort of vindicated me amongst my friends who would say Elvis who?

As for “Tramp The Dirt Down” I recall seeing the BBC documentary promoting the album, when Elvis brilliantly understates his “contempt” of Thatcher. Apart from “Wishing the death of a political opponent” (If you listen to the end of the song, the author feels only resignation and prays for her soul)

Important to keep things in their context. When Spike was released, Thatcher was about to celebrate 10 years in charge that had seen The Falklands War, Miners strike, umpteen other tragedies (to much to go into here) and the general breakdown of community life in the UK. Make no mistake when that war criminal dies (not long now) There will be many bigger parties than for the impending Queen's Jubilee.

Until this point, Elvis had been a little reticent to share his political views. A reluctant participant in the flawed "Live Aid" concept and unwilling to join Neil Kinnock's "Red Wedge" While Billy Bragg questioned "Which Side Are You On" Elvis left us in no doubt.

Guess you have to have lived in the UK to understand.

So..Spike? Not my favourite album , but my life is richer for it.

[the_platypus]

Platy, I think you're wrong if you think the narrator of 'This Town' is espousing a world view that Elvis thinks is a good thing. The whole song is an attack on shallow people and materialistic, self-serving values - Elvis seems to be observing that kind of culture rather than endorsing it.

Oh, that's not what I meant at all, perhaps I should have clarified. I find the chorus musically and melodically obnoxious, not lyrically. It annoys me in a way very few of his songs do. I kind of like the verse melody, though.

[Neil.]

Oh I see! Ta for clarifying. It's unusual, I agree - slightly disjointed - but I like that!