Sparks - 12'' Mixes (1999)

As a coda to their extensive Sparks reissue campaign of 1998, Oglio Records combined the extended dance mixes of 10 classic Sparks songs onto one lengthy CD. The general tendency of the "extended dance mix" during the 1979-1986 era covered here was to simply repeat sections of a song or to add several minutes of inconsequential instrumental sections.
Since Sparks pioneered the entire concept of rock-disco fusion with their Giorgio Moroder-produced 1979 album NUMBER ONE IN HEAVEN, they knew their way around a mixing board. The songs are not excessively long-only the eight-and-a-half minute "Tryouts For The Human Race" extends past the four-to-six-minute range-but each has been completely remixed to make it more dancefloor-friendly. Instead of the usual mindless repetition, these mixes see instruments and voices are added and subtracted. This makes them more interesting even for the stay-at-home types. This release supersedes a similarly titled but poorer-quality European release from 1996.