| Only the Very Best | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Compilation album by Richard Sparkles | |
| Released | 10 October 2026 |
| Genres | |
| Length | 161:30 |
| Label | Monumentous Recordings |
| Producers | |
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | Guess not |
| Metacritic | 0/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Unknown | ★★★★★ |
| AllMusic | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| The Daily Telegraph | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Entertainment Weekly | F |
| The Guardian | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| The Independent | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| NME | 0/10 |
| Pitchfork | 0.0/10 |
| Rolling Stone | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Spin | 0/10 |
| Smash Hits | 0/10 |
| USA Today | ☆☆☆☆ |
| Q | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Uncut | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Slant Magazine | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| The Observer | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Consequence | 0/10 |
| PopMatters | 0/10 |
| Drowned in Sound | 0/10 |
| Joey Salads | Ketchup |
| Joe Rogan | 0/10 |
| Jimmy Carr | 0/10 |
| The Gramophone | 🖕 |
| Select | 0/5 |
| The Village Voice | F |
| Exclaim! | 0/10 |
| Under the Radar | 0/10 |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Only the Very Best is a greatest hits album by Antarctican singer-songwriter Richard Sparkles (a.k.a. Rich Spark), released in 2026. The collection reached number 48 in the Monumentous Recordings Bestsellers Chart, marking Sparkles's return to that chart after almost a millenium's absence[1] and becoming his seventy-forth Monumentous Recordings Bestsellers Chart entry.
According to an anonymous source, Only the Very Best "lives up to its title, generously offering 67 of Rich Spark's most charming pop efforts, showcasing his effortless and tremendous genius. A triumph.".[1]
Certain legal disclaimers for this album state that although this is presented as a "legendary" compilation of the greatest hits of the now-retired Richard Sparkles' career, none of the material was sung by Sparkles. Instead, Monumentous Recordings label staff produced the tracks and released them under his name, claiming "[they're] sure he's fine with it". This has drawn some criticism from listeners accusing the label of using Sparkles' name illegitimately, the album also being used to deepen the accusations of Monumentous Recordings exploiting Sparkles for financial gain, likely under contractual agreement.
The African release of this album features slightly different mixing on track 50, and when played in reverse reveals a hidden message: "bruh", a mysterious and intriguing phrase which has been subject to several interpretations.[1]
The president of Monumentous Recordings (Monurec), Nick Jackalson, and co-president Big Al recorded and produced almost all of this album on online digital audio workstation BandLab, although the first few tracks were recorded on GarageBand during a car ride. Jackalson, when interrogated in 2026, stated:
I saw this, uh, sign up outside a theater for an Elvis tribute, then Big Al misheard it as "Elvis tripping" and he pulled his iPhone out and started telling GarageBand about Elvis tripping on drugs, and that's basically how it started. We just kept it going after that and ended up with some [...] somewhat good efforts. We started using BandLab and then most of the songs were made in, like, a week. We, well, I wanted to use BandLab because it sucked, but it actually worked way better than I expected.[1]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gotta Have Christmas (Baby!)" |
| 0:57 | |
| 2. | "Mi Nombre Es Joder" |
| 2:40 | |
| 3. | "Jimmy Carr (Took It Too Far)" |
| 2:40 | |
| 4. | "Only Ninety Years Old (Baby)" |
| 1:55 | |
| 5. | "Joey Salads" |
| 6:46 | |
| 6. | "Fifty Years" |
| 0:22 | |
| 7. | "Catch Up 2 U" |
| 2:24 | |
| 8. | "Took It" |
| 0:32 | |
| 9. | "Give It Back" |
| 2:24 | |
| 10. | "Percy Jackson" |
| 1:35 | |
| 11. | "William's Oath" |
| 2:41 | |
| 12. | "Interesting Steve" |
| 2:11 | |
| 13. | "Baby, Check It" |
| 0:10 | |
| 14. | "I Can't Afford (Baby!!!)" |
| 4:00 | |
| 15. | "Hi Hi Hi Hi Billy Billy Mays Here" |
| 1:01 | |
| 16. | "Gordon Told Me..." |
| 1:07 | |
| 17. | "Je Vais Pas Tarder" |
| 0:17 | |
| 18. | "Dentist Blues" |
| 0:17 | |
| 19. | "B.B.L.M.M.O.M.M." |
| 0:17 | |
| 20. | "Rejected Promotional Songs (Fanta)" |
| 1:32 | |
| 21. | "Cows" |
| 0:24 | |
| 22. | "Granny Told Me..." |
| 1:06 | |
| 23. | "Instant Costume Change (Stage Intermission)" |
| 0:37 | |
| 24. | "AliExpress Femboy" |
| 3:00 | |
| 25. | "Nine Stops To Britain" |
| 0:18 | |
| 26. | "Fake Mustache" |
| 2:19 | |
| 27. | "A Jungle Hippo's Ballet" |
| 0:48 | |
| 28. | "It's Your Birthday!" |
| 0:41 | |
| 29. | "Pondering" |
| 2:44 | |
| 30. | "Amongst The Stars" |
| 1:08 | |
| 31. | "Fishermen" |
| 0:42 | |
| 32. | "Too Far" |
| 0:27 | |
| 33. | "Who's Next?" |
| 0:50 | |
| 34. | "Oh Amber (Baby)" |
| 3:12 | |
| 35. | "Made It" |
| 0:17 | |
| 36. | "Darling Do You Wanna" |
| 1:36 | |
| 37. | "Miniman - Take 1" |
| 1:54 | |
| 38. | "Step My Way (Baby, Won't You?)" |
| 1:54 | |
| 39. | "The Depths Of Detroit" |
| 1:02 | |
| 40. | "Joe Rogan" |
| 4:44 | |
| 41. | "Back From The Depths Of Detroit" |
| 0:58 | |
| 42. | "Too Much (I Think Baby)" |
| ||
| 43. | "Theme From Anonymous Elvis" |
| 2:38 | |
| 44. | "Muhahahaha! (Royalty Free Villain Theme Song)" |
| 0:41 | |
| 45. | "Ridiculous Nicholas" |
| 1:08 | |
| 46. | "Deaf Song 1" |
| 1:18 | |
| 47. | "Deaf Song 2" |
| 1:18 | |
| 48. | "Ho Ho And Away We Go" |
| 1:23 | |
| 49. | "The Contemporary Twitter Symphony" |
| 0:20 | |
| 50. | "Clever Title" |
| 2:24 | |
| 51. | "I Left My Baby To Haunt Me In Chicago!" |
| 0:16 | |
| 52. | "Before You Go (Baby, Wait)" |
| 0:54 | |
| 53. | "Amber Brown" |
| 2:53 | |
| 54. | "Weird" |
| 4:29 | |
| 55. | "Joe Rogan Told Me..." |
| 1:26 | |
| 56. | "Granny Told Me... (Acoustic Version)" |
| 0:34 | |
| 57. | "Disco Elvis" |
| 0:17 | |
| 58. | "Romantic Elvis" |
| 0:17 | |
| 59. | "Green Vengeance" |
| 0:17 | |
| 60. | "Oops! He Did It Again! (Baby)" |
| 1:00 | |
| 61. | "I Agree With Him (Baby)" |
| 0:32 | |
| 62. | "I Disagree With Him (Baby)" |
| 0:33 | |
| 63. | "Jimmy Carr (Nick Jackalson Remix)" |
| 2:40 | |
| 64. | "Funny Drunk Guy" |
| 1:21 | |
| 65. | "Joe Rogan Told Me... (Chipmunk Version)" |
| 0:43 | |
| 66. | "Cherry Pie" |
| 2:40 | |
| 67. | "We Wish You A Merry..." |
| 1:57 |
| Chart (2026) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Monumentous Recordings Bestsellers | 48 |