The Sweet
Band members Related acts
line up 1: (-71) - Brian Connolly (RIP) -- vocals - Steve Priest -- bass - Frank Torpey -- vocals, lead guitar - Mick Tucker -- vocals, drums
line up 2: (1971-) - Brian Connolly (RIP) -- vocals - Steve Priest -- bass - Andy Scott -- vocals, lead guitar (replaced Frank Torpey) - Mick Tucker -- vocals, drums
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Genre: rock Rating: 4 stars **** Title: The Sweet Company: Bell Catalog: 1125 Year: 1973 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring and edge wear Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5 Price: $10.00
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After several years with little to show for their efforts in the US market, the band finally scored a top-10 hit with 1972's 'Little Willy' b/w 'Man from Mecca' (Bell catalog number 45251). More than willing to take advantage of the band's unexpected commercial breakthrough, Bell Records hastily cobbled together a ten track compilation pulling together the hit plus earlier English 'A' and 'B' side singles. Produced by Phil Wainman, the cleverly titled "The Sweet" wasn't exactly a major creative statement, but it served as a nice introduction to the band's highly commercial blend of pop and glam moves. It also served to showcase the differing dynamics between the band's own compositions and the material being fed to them by writer/producers Nick Chinn and Michael Chapman.
"The Sweet" track listing: 1.) Little Willy (Nick Chinn - Michael Chapman) - 3:13 2.) New York Connection (Brian Connolly - Andy Scott - Mick Tucker - Steve Priest) - 3:35 3.) Wig-Wam Bam (Nick Chinn - Michael Chapman) - 3:03 4.) Done Me Wrong Alright (Brian Connolly - Andy Scott - Mick Tucker - Steve Priest - 2:58 5.) Hell
Raiser (Nick Chinn - Michael Chapman) - 3:15 (side
2) 2.) Need a Lot of Lovin' (Brian Connolly - Andy Scott - Mick Tucker - Steve Priest - 3:00 3.) Man from Mecca (Brian Connolly - Andy Scott - Mick Tucker - Steve Priest - 2:45 4.) Spotlight (Brian Connolly - Andy Scott - Mick Tucker - Steve Priest - 2:47 5.) You're Not Wrong for Loving Me (Brian Connolly - Andy Scott - Mick Tucker - Steve Priest - 2:58
In some ways, the Sweet epitomized all the
tacky hubris and garish silliness of the early '70s. Fusing bubblegum
melodies with crunching, fuzzy guitars, the band looked a heavy metal band,
but were as tame as any pop group. It was a dichotomy that served them well,
as they racked up a number of hits in both the U.K. and the U.S. Most of
those hits were written by Nicky
Chinn and Mike
Chapman, a pair of British songwriters that had a way with silly,
simple, and catchy hooks. Chinn/Chapman
and Sweet were smart enough to latch on to the British glam rock fad,
building a safer, radio-friendly and teen-oriented version of Queen,
T.
Rex, and Gary
Glitter. By the end of the '70s, the group's time at the top of the
charts had expired but their hit singles lived on not only as cultural
artifacts, but also as the predecessors for the pop-metal of the '80s.
One of the original glam rock bands, Sweet released a number of successful singles in England between 1970 and 1973 before making a breakthrough in North America. In 1973, the band finally hit it big with the single "Little Willy," which hit number three on the U.S. pop charts. With the success of that single, management at the band's U.S. label, Bell Records, felt it was time to treat the market to an LP, so they gathered together some earlier U.K. chart successes (along with some B-sides) and rush-released the ten-track album simply titled Sweet.
http://www.algonet.se/~sweetfa/
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