This may be just one Sparks album that's part of a discography going back thirty years, but this one really stands out as a album that dares to be itself and nothing else. It's a limited edition in more ways than one - whether you find the music to your tastes or not, you'd have to agree that there's very little out there to compare with this album.

Lil' Beethoven is a curious set of songs that deal with distinctly different ideas, in the way that many Sparks songs have done in the past. For the most part it's fun to listen to, and the less fun-filled tracks are the definite growers on the album. After the mischeivous "Rythym Thief" sets out the album's stall early on, the tracks deal with a number of different and hitherto rarely examined themes - finishing with "Suburban Homeboy" which is an amusing and classicly Sparks muck-about track that tops the album off nicely.

This album deserves a wide audience. Lil' Beethoven, like Sparks themselves, is definitely something of an acquired taste, but this is a really fun, entertaining and rewarding album for those who dare to give it go.

Lil' Beethoven at Amazon.co.uk