Sparky's Dream

"Sparky's Dream" is a song recorded by Scottish rock band Teenage Fanclub. The song was released on 22 May 1995 through Creation Records, as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album Grand Prix. The song was sung by its author and bassist Gerard Love rather than the usual lead singer Norman Blake.

"Sparky's Dream"
Single by Teenage Fanclub
from the album Grand Prix
B-side	"Try and Stop Me" "That's All I Need to Know" "Who Loves the Sun"
Released	22 May 1995
Recorded	1994
Genre	Power pop jangle pop
Length	3:15
Label	Creation
Songwriter(s)	Gerard Love
Producer(s)	David Bianco Norman Blake Love Raymond McGinley Paul Quinn
Teenage Fanclub singles chronology
"Fallin'" (1994) "Sparky's Dream" (1995) "Neil Jung" (1995)

The song peaked at number 40 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has widely been considered among the group's best.

Background

Vocalist and guitarist Norman Blake suggested the song's title when the band were recording demos for no particular reason; "it seemed like a good title because it was kind of dumb," Love told fan-site operator Chris Bray in 1995.^[1]

Reception

Reviews of the song upon its release were positive; Variety columnist Troy J. Augusto dubbed it "hypnotically sweet."^[2] In a negative review of Grand Prix in Spin, reviewer Jason Cohen singled out "Sparky's Dream" as a "pleasant" if melodramatic highlight.^[3] AllMusic biographer Matt Collar has since listed it among the band's "best-loved" tunes,^[4] while Pitchfork reviewer Sam Sodomsky selected it among the band's "greatest".^[5] James Cosby at PopMatters ranked the song as the band's best, praising its "pure pop rush" as embodying "everything great about the [power pop]."^[6] Paste writer Ben Salmon placed the song at number two on his 2018 ranking, calling it a "classic love song [...] and a melodic monster."^[7]

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC)[8]	9
UK Singles (OCC)[9]	40

References

1. Bray, Chris (10 July 1995). "Interview with Gerard Love". ZenAndJuice.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
2. Augusto, Troy J. (22 August 1995). "Weezer; Teenage Fanclub". Variety. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
3. Cohen, Jason (1 July 1995). "Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix (DGC)". Spin.
4. Collar, Matt. "Teenage Fanclub – Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
5. Sodomsky, Sam (11 August 2018). "Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque / Thirteen / Grand Prix / Songs from Northern Britain / Howdy! Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
6. Cosby, James A. (8 May 2018). "The 25 Best Songs of Teenage Fanclub". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
7. Salmon, Ben (10 August 2018). "The 20 Best Teenage Fanclub Songs". Paste. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
8. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 202.
9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2020.