Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Sweet, BMG 2022.
English band, Sweet were amongst the earliest exponents of Glam Rock, along with T-rex, Garry Glitter, and David Bowie.
They formed in London in 1968 and were originally a bubble-gum pop band but soon became early adopters of the burgeoning Glam rock genre.
They really burst onto the scene in 1973 when their single Blockbuster jumped straight to number one on the UK charts.
This began a run of thirteen top 20 hits including their international hits, Little Willy (’73), Hell Raiser (‘73), Ballroom Blitz (’73), Teenage Rampage (’74), Turn It Down (’74), Fox On The Run (’75), and Love Is Like Oxygen (’75).
Although Sweet will be forever associated with Glam rock, as their career progressed they evolved by incorporating hard rock into their sound on their album Desolation Boulevard (’74) and even orchestral arrangements on Level Headed (’78).
By the late 1970s Sweet’s star was on the decline.
Lead singer Brian Connolly had suffered damage to his throat in a fight and was having alcohol and drug issues. He left the band in November 1978.
Sweet continued as a trio with bassist Steve Priest taking on most of the vocals but by the early 1980s, they had disbanded.
In 1985 guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker formed their own version of Sweet with Paul Mario day (ex- Iron Maiden) on vocals and the inclusion of Phil Lanzon (ex-Grand Prix) on keyboards and Mal McNulty on bass.
The reformed Sweet, with many continuing line-up changes, kept going right up until the 2000s but from the mid-1980s onwards they were mainly playing smaller venues and the pub scene.
In particular they extensively toured Australia and New Zealand for three or more months at a time throughout the mid-1980s.
This compilation of 52 songs provides you with all the big hits and important album tracks including concert favourites.
As well as digital, it comes in 3CD and also a 2 LP format.
The LPs are in transparent coloured vinyl with one disc being violet and the other one pink.
