089: Sparks - Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat (1984) - With All My Might

We hit track 5 — “With All My Might” — the lead single from Sparks’ Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat (1984)… and the room is basically united in shock.

Coming off the slick chill of “Progress,” this one lands with a soft, sincere love-song approach that feels almost aggressively un-Sparks: no wink, no twist, no lyrical mischief — just straight-faced sentiment, wrapped in a preset-heavy 80s sheen that has us reaching for words like “cheap keyboard demo” and “why on earth was this the single?”

We talk about how even the band members reportedly protested the choice (drummer David Kendrick called it “sappy and un-Sparks-like”), and how Russell later admitted that even supportive stations felt it was too soft. It’s the classic trap: trying to “appeal” to a mass audience… and sanding off the very personality that makes Sparks, Sparks.

Then we watch the Graham Whifler-directed video (the "Cool Places" director), which somehow helps — putting the track into a more tongue-in-cheek context with weird, random visuals that feel far more Sparks than the song itself. Not a redemption arc, exactly… but at least it’s entertaining.

Is it one of the weakest Sparks singles ever? We make the case — and we want to hear your verdict.