01. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
02. Amateur Hour
03. Falling In Love With Myself Again
04. Here In Heaven
05. Thank God It's Not Christmas
06. Hasta Manana Monsieur
07. Talent Is An Asset
08. Complaints
09. In My Family
10. Equator
11. Barbecutie*
12. Lost And Found*
*These bonus tracks can be found on the Island UK CD reissue only
'KMH is, quite simply, the most invigorating, appealing rock 'n roll album that I can recall at the moment. It's the kind of joyous, arresting work that makes you want to carry a cassette recorder around with you all the time so that you can play it for friends.' (Robert Hilburn, L.A. Times, 1974)
'Advocates...seemed prone to write impassioned 3 or 4 page letters... opponents seemed frustrated over what many apparently felt was a musical hoax...to write rather detailed commentary questioning not only the sanity of the group but of anyone who would praise it in print...While there have been several readers over the past 5 years who have said they wasted their money...no one had ever gone to the trouble and expense of mailing me the album to underscore his point. I ended up giving the album to a friend who in turn also gave it back.' (Robert Hilburn, LA Times, 11 February 1975)
'Sparks' LP is an embarrassment of riches. That is its only flaw, and outside of that it is one of the albums of the year.' (Stereo Review, November 1974: 'Recording of Special Merit')
'The album is still a mad, multi-coloured, fairground ride of a record, all invigorated, posturing, preening pop.' (David Roberts, Q Online)
'James Johnson is the most totally laid-back writer on this paper. When he blinks, that means hes exceptionally excited...the fact is, he’s just seen Sparks in concert and we’ve had to rent out a strait-jacket to prevent him swinging from the tops of lamp-posts and chasing policemen up trees...' (New Musical Express, 29 June 1974)
Zoo time is she and you time
The mammals are your favourite type, and you want her tonight
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You hear the thunder of stampeding rhinos, elephants and tacky tigers
This town ain't big enough for both of us
And it ain't me who's gonna leave
Flying, domestic flying
And when the stewardess is near do not show any fear
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You are a khaki-coloured bombardier, it's Hiroshima that you're nearing
This town ain't big enough for both of us
And it ain't me who's gonna leave
Daily, except for Sunday
You dawdle in to the cafe where you meet her each day
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
As twenty cannibals have hold of you, they need their protein just like you do
This town ain't big enough for both of us
And it ain't me who's gonna leave
Shower, another shower
You've got to look your best for her and be clean everywhere
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
The rain is pouring on the foreign town, the bullets cannot cut you down
This town ain't big enough for both of us
And it ain't me who's gonna leave
Census, the latest census
There'll be more girls who live in town though not enough to go round
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You know that: This town isn't big enough, not big enough for both of us
This town isn't big enough, not big enough for both of us
And I ain't gonna leave
Lawns grow plush in the hinterlands
It's the perfect little setting for the one night stands
Now the drapes are drawn and the lights are out
It's the time to put in practice what you've dreamed about
She can show you what you must do
To be more like people better than you
Chorus:
Amateur Hour goes on and on
When you turn pro you know she'll let you know
Amateur Hour goes on and on
When you turn pro you know
She tells you so
Girls grow tops to go topless in
While we sit and count the hairs that blossom from our chins
Our voices change at a rapid pace
I could start a song a tenor and then end as bass
Choose your partners everyone
If you hesitate, the good ones are gone
Chorus:
Dance, laugh, wine, dine, talk and sing
But those cannot replace what is the real thing
It's a lot like playing the violin
You cannot start off to be Yehudi Menuhin
(Chorus)
Similar mother, similar father, similar dog, cat and fish
And we'll make the same wish
When the birthday candle's lit
We'll both be older
We won't get our wish
Yes, I think that I'm falling in love with myself again
Chorus:
Yes, I think I'm falling in love with myself again
Yes, I think I'm falling
Yes, I think I'm falling
Yes, I think I'm falling in love with myself again
With her hand in my hand and my hand in hers
Don't we look a blur
Me and her and me and her
Hey, kiss her, oh kiss her
Our friends do concur
Yes, I think that I'm falling in love with myself again
Chorus:
I can't see with you in front of the mirror staring, staring
I can't hear myself think with all that music blaring, blaring
Yes, I'm falling
Falling, falling
Falling, falling yes, I'm falling
Yes, I think I'm falling in love with myself again
I bring home the bacon and eat it myself
Here's to my health
Hope that I am feeling well
I'm burning the candle at both ends, oh well
Yes, I think that I'm falling in love with myself again
Chorus:
Yes, I think I’m falling in love with myself again
Yes, I think I’m falling
Yes, I think I’m falling
Yes, I think I’m falling in love with myself again
Here, there are lots of things to do
And a panoramic view
Of the universe completely surrounding you
And here you cannot buy souvenirs
You're never going back, never, never
Basically, I guess it could be worse
Yes, I do suppose it could be worse
Here, there are many, many sheep
And the people only sleep
And awake to tell how gory and gruesome was their end
And I don't have many friends
And it's really very clean and I'm thinking
Juliet, you broke our little pact
Juliet, I'm never coming back
Chorus:
Up here in Heaven without you
I'm here in Heaven without you
Up here in Heaven without you
It is Hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here
For years and years and years
Dear, do you often think of me
As you overlook the sea
Do I qualify as dearly departed or am I
That sucker in the sky
The fall guy for the first and the last time
Juliet, I thought we had agreed
Now I know why you let me take the lead
Chorus:
Up here in Heaven without you
I'm here in Heaven without you
Up here in Heaven without you
It is Hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here
For years and years and years
Second thoughts, is that what you had?
Second thoughts, first I broke my back
Second thoughts, as I hit the sea
Second thoughts, for eternity, for eternity, for eternity
Chorus:
Up here in Heaven without you
I'm here in Heaven without you
Up here in Heaven without you
It is Hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here
For years and years and years
What do I hear, what do I hear?
Chit-chat, and clinking glass
Cheap talk, a lady's laugh
After hours
What do I see, what do I see?
Some sunken hideaway
Where people go to play
After hours
There I'll spend the night
Meeting fancy things
At bistros and old haunts
Trying very hard to sin
Then it is day and in a way
The pattern's much the same
In-spots, a matinee
Everyday
Blend with the crowd, blend with the loud
Hypnotic ebb and flow
Until the day goes slowly
Into night
See the same old crowd
At bistros and old haunts
'Til the lights grow dim,
The not-so-subtle hint to be gone
Chorus:
Thank God it's not Christmas
When there is only you
And nothing else to do
Thank God it's not Christmas
Where there's just you to do
The rest is closed to public view
Caroling kids, caroling kids
A trifle premature, in tones so rich and pure
And crystalline
Call for the day, the popular day
It's fast approaching now
But will the mood allow
One dissent
If this were the Seine
We'd be very suave
But it's just the rain
Washing down the boulevard
Chorus:
Popular days, the popular ways
Are for the chosen few
Not meant for me and you
Obviously
Popular nights, poplar rites
Great things to say and do
Aren't said or done by you
Obviously
If this were Seine
We'd be very suave
But it's just the rain
Washing down the boulevard
I tried to tell you in the night
That with a girl like you I could do without guided tours
You tried to tell me in the day
That your leading exports were textiles and iron ore
Chorus:
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the only words that I knew for sure
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the three little words that I knew you'd adore
Leaving my syntax back at school
I was thrown for a loss over gender and simple rules
You mentioned Kant and I was shocked
You know, where I come from, none of the girls have such foul tongues
Chorus:
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the only words that I knew for sure
Hasta Manana Monsieur
I'm gonna do it now
C'est la vie, c'est la mort, say no more, no no more
It's all the same , whether here or there or anywhere
There's them who have, and there are the others who have not
Kimono my house mon amour
I am sure that this motion don't need no accompanying words
Guess I was wrong because you've fled
Leaving me with my Michelin Guide and half-empty foreign bed
Chorus:
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the only words that I knew for sure
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the three little words that I knew you'd adore
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the only words that I knew for sure
Hasta Manana Monsieur
Were the three little words that I knew you'd adore
Albert is smart, he's a genius
Watch Albert putter, an obvious genius
Someday he will reassess the world
And he'll still have time for lots of girls
When he grows up he'll remember us
When he grows up we are sure that he'll remember us
We made sure that Albert wore his mac
We kept all the strangers off his back
Chorus:
(Go away)
Everything's relative
(Go away Albert's mother does say to me)
We are his relatives and he don't need any non-relatives
Talent is an asset
You've got to understand that
Talent is an asset
And little Albert has it
Talent is an asset
And Albert surely has it
One day he'll sever his apron strings
All of the while he'll be scribbling things, genius things
Look at Albert, isn't he a sight
Growing, growing at the speed of light
Chorus:
(Go away)
Everything's relative
(Go away Albert's mother does say to me)
We are his relatives and he don't need any non-relatives
Talent is an asset
And little Albert has it
Talent is relative
That's hypothetical
We are his relatives
That's parenthetical
Spare your superlatives
There's the receptacle
There's the receptacle
Leave Albert's study room
Leave Albert's happy home
Leave Albert's neighbourhood
Leave Albert's city, too
Leave Albert's country seat
Leave Albert's coun-ter-y
Leave Albert's continent
Leave Albert's hemisphere
Leave Albert's planet, too
Leave Albert's universe
No one must see him now
Only the medical
No one must downgrade him
Don't be to cynical
Don't be to critical
Cancel the magazines
They're much to political
Don't buy him any jeans
They're much to casual
Talent is relative
That’s hypothetical
We are his relatives
That's parenthetical
Nothing in the world is perfect
Grin and bear it silently or yell into my ear
Complaints, it's my department
Complaints, it's my department
Everything you wear's too tight and clashes with the candlelight
Just give it back, no questions asked
Nothing in the world is perfect
Grin and bear it silently or yell into my ear
Complaints, stereophonic
Complaints, it's ironic
How they chatter, how they bore us like some avant- gardish chorus
Just give it back, no questions asked
I'll dive off the mezzanine if one more points at crooked seams
A sign of shoddy workmanship, of Asiatic hands that slipped
Just give it back, no questions asked
Nothing in the world is perfect
Grin and bear it silently or yell into my ear
Complaints, there's too many hours
Complaints, the bosses cower
Two weeks free from all complaining, it was due to our complaining
Take her to Spain, hear her complain
Now she says she is expecting
That's my fault for not protecting
Her from all the risks of passion
She's complaining, she's old-fashioned
Just give it back, no questions asked
Complaints, it's my department
Complaints, it's my department
That's how it's gonna be
In my family
From the biggest branch to the smallest leaf
Still you're gonna see similarity
Chorus:
In my family
That's how it's gonna be
That's how its gonna be
'Cause it's my family
Gonna live to see post-senility
Lots of time to spend with my family
Chorus:
In my family
That's how it's gonna be
There you got your Rockefeller
There you got your Edward Teller
J. Paul Getty is a splendid fellow, but
None of them would be in my family
Chorus:
In my family
That's how it's gonna be
Family
It's like any other family
Big and small
It's like any other family
That’s how it's gonna be
Before and after me
Manufacturing many, many me's
Gonna hang myself from my family tree
Chorus:
In my family
That's how it's gonna be
I always felt that I had quite a gift as a judge of human character
This is the day and the time and the place and I wonder, wonder where you are
Surely, we set it for 3pm
Surely, we said it was March the 10th
(Equator, Equator)
You said you'd meet me there
You must be just around the bend
All of the gifts are now melted or dead, and I'm, sorry, sorry in advance
I'll make it up to you, that I can promise you, if I am given just half the chance
God, you'll be laughing, I look a mess
But you see I've been half way around this place
(Equator, Equator)
You said you'd meet me there
(Equator, equator)
You said you'd be right there
(Equator, Equator)
Oh, yeah
I've got to stop here and rest for a moment, I'm sure that you're not far away
You always walked just as slow as you talked, letting me think I could have my way
I wasn't fooled for a second, girl
I knew it was you who controlled our world
(Equator, Equator)
You said you'd meet me there
(Equator, Equator)
You said you'd be right there
(Equator, Equator)
Oh, yeah
For the sake of man
He has forsaken his whole tan
Living in the snow
Advancing how much we will know
But his heart cries out
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you
Barbecutie
When you're with him he is warm
Let's pursue this more
Why would he leave so much that's warm
To his detriment
Maybe he's oh so slightly bent
Ask her, she would know
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you,
Barbecutie
When you're with him he is warm
The friends are getting friendly on the lawn
The flies are making enemies of all
Aroma rising from the ancient coals
Have turned you into someone very bold
And killed whatever hesitance she showed
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you,
You, you, you
Though he's back unharmed
He must defrost his frozen charm
'How are you today'
That's very good, he's on his way
To the Barbecue
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you
Barbecutie, Barbecutie, Barbecutie you
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
Too bad, too bad, too bad, too bad
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
And all the streets are paved tonight,
And we won't be their slaves tonight
And I ain't gonna feel bad at all, feel bad at all
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
Too bad, too bad, too bad, too bad
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
He's Robin Hood by accident
I need it more than he does and
I surely will not feel bad at all, feel bad at all, feel bad at all, feel
bad at all, feel bad at all, feel bad at all
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
Oh is there anybody out there by the name of Mister Jones ?
No? No? Well, I tried
Lost and found, lost and found, lost and found, lost and found
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
Too bad, too bad, too bad, too bad
Lost and found, a wallet from a man, careless man, careless man
We sailed upon a bubbly sea
With Nina, Pinta, and Marie
And none of us will feel bad at all, feel bad at all, feel bad at all, feel
bad at all, feel bad at all, feel bad at all, feel bad at all
Yes, all the streets are paved tonight, and we won't be their slaves tonight
And I ain't gonna feel bad at all, feel bad at all
Lost and found, lost and found, lost and found, lost and found
