Sweet

Probably the band the defines what Heavy Metal was in the 70's, flashy but tough. Exuding attitude and chops effortlessly with the cheeky wink of an eye.

A band so far ahead of their time (really an 80's heavy metal band in the 70's). Becoming the prototype for everyone from Saxon to Motley Crue and W.A.S.P. to Manowar. In both music, attitude and image.

Fav album would be Sweet Fanny Adams (1974) with it's total speed metal blitzer 'Set Me Free' and bouncy bubblegum galloper 'Rebel Rouser'. And the John Bonham smacked Black Sabbath dirge of 'Cockroach' from Give Us A Wink (1976).


Check this clip out that Sahbhealer showed me of them in 1974 (Manowar eat your heart out!), check out Andy Scott's guitar solo at 2:20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3hWKV-fX3g

Desolation Boulevard is my favorite, but Give Us A Wink is a close second.

They certainly defined the glam rock sound and look in the 70's.

You check out that clip at the bottom of the post. Heavy Metal dressed in flash. T. Rex defined the glam rock revolution of the early 70's, Sweet defined Heavy Metal in the mid 70's.

You gotta get the album Sweet Fanny Adams from which half the songs went on Desolation Boulevard, the other half of the songs that aren't on Desolation Boulevard are classic.

R.P. Thanks for putting the link to that video up. I wanted to do it but I ain't good with computers.
That's a killer, killer, Heavy metal video. I don't care what anyone says. I'm not even gonna argue about it. Just go ahead and call me an old fart. I know metal when I see it and that's metal.

Oh, and by the way

They make Manowar look like wimps in that video, so much macho posturing and attitude. Along with the ripping Rickenbacker bass playing of Steve Priest and heavy metal guitar heroics of Andy Scott. And of course Brian Connolly's inimitable power vocals.

Sweet wrote the rules for anthemic heavy metal with those mid 70' albums, they make everything since look like a poor derivative. I don't think anyone questions Sweet's heavy metal pedigree they just rarely talk about it.

How about this video of Breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kErH6akoLuc

Love 'em. I've been checking out their entire back catalogue recently.

Sweet!! I was in a band that played this song at Proms & High School dances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4GXV-lCGJ8&feature=related

Not sure if I'd consider them a fully fledged metal band, they have a few metallic songs but the metal/glam rock ratio is way too overbalanced for me to call them full on metal band.

And I do like 'em, but they're certainly no Manowar

Here is a band that was pretty obscure to most but fall into that same genre as Sweet!






Wargod48

Muloc7253 wrote:

Not sure if I'd consider them a fully fledged metal band, they have a few metallic songs but the metal/glam rock ratio is way too overbalanced for me to call them full on metal band.

And I do like 'em, but they're certainly no Manowar

Check this clip out and tell me it ain't heavy metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3hWKV-fX3g


Glam rock isn't a sound like metal it's an image. So in the early to mid 70's you had everyone from David Bowie to Roxy Music to Sweet all glamming it up but 3 bands you could not find more different.

They had a glam image for a short time but Aerosmith and a whole lot of others but make no mistake about it Sweet are primo 70's heavy metal.

I've always kinda been on the fence on Jenny Hahn & Babe Ruth. Interesting, but they don't bust my balls like Sweet did (I agree Sweet wasn't always totally metal, but when they were look out!).
A nice Sweet CD is "Live at The Rainbow" (unfortunately in mono, but quite listenable anyway). They come off with an attitude that they are trying to physically blow all the teenybopper girls yelling for "Little Willy" straight out of the building; so they can get back to their half finished bottle of Scotch backstage. They crash through their set like a bunch of mean drunks that are in a hurry for a drink. Nasty.

I'll have to get that Live one, Brian Connolly could pound em down with the best of them which ultimately led to his demise.

No band was always totally metal in the 70's well maybe a handfull of bands, but the majority of the songs from Sweet Fanny Adams, Desolation Boulevard, Give Us A Wink were hard n' heavy. And that band definately were a prototype for heavy metal bands in the 80's whether it was Manowar or Motley Crue.

I love Desolation Boulevard. But I have one pet peeve about Sweet; especially that album. Most of the music was written by someone else. During that period, the Chinnichap tandem wrote a lot of great tunes for other bands.

Personally, I always have more respect for bands who write their own music.

Chinn and Chapman did indeed write half the songs on Desolation Boulevard, but this was only cause their album Sweet Fanny Adams (written all by Sweet except a cover) wasn't as successful as they had hoped. So they took half of the Sweet penned songs from Sweet Fanny Adams off the record and replaced them with five Chinn and Chapman penned songs and the album Desolation Boulevard was the product. Of course the band were pop puppets in their early days (when known as The Sweet) but they fledged into a primo heavy metal band in the mid 70's.

The album after Desolation Boulevard, Give Us A Wink was entirely penned by them and is one of the greatest heavy metal album's ever!

Interesting. I didn't know that. Oddly enough, most of my favorite songs on Desolation Boulevard are the lesser known tracks like Solid Gold Brass and Committed.

tohostudios wrote:

Oddly enough, most of my favorite songs on Desolation Boulevard are the lesser known tracks like Solid Gold Brass and Committed.

Isn't it always the case, Solid Gold Brass is Sweet penned and Committed is Chapman/Chinn penned.

Sweet wrote heavier less poppier songs and wanted to keep it in that direction but Chapman/Chinn wrote like the pop wh*res they are.

My favs are Set Me Free, Breakdown and Fox On The Run which were all Sweet penned. Actually the UK version has only 3 Chapman/Chinn penned songs while the US version has 5!

Blue Oyster Cult and the Alice Cooper Band are another two examples of using outside writers on their classic songs/albums in the 70's.

Love the Sweet - definitely an inspiration, certainly for the 80s glam-mettalers, as well as a decent handful of heavier bands (just look at all the Sweet covers out there)

Of course, just to add to the confusion is that there are two completely different Desolation Boulevards - the US release and UK release.

The US release is really more of a compilation as it has the backbone of Sweet Fanny Adams with a handful of UK non-album singles (Ballroom Blitz, I Wanna Be Committed, and the single mix of Fox on the Run) as well as two tracks recorded for the UK Desolation Boulevard (Six Teens, Solid Gold Brass).

The UK version was recorded as an album with the following tracks:

Six Teens
Solid Gold Brass
Turn It Down
Medussa
Lady Starlight (originally an Andy Scott solo song)
Man With The Golden Arm (the theme from the movie of the same name w/ a 6 or so minute drum solo)
Fox On The Run (album verision)
Breakdown
My Generation (The Who cover)

Chininchap wrote Six Teens and Turn It Down, the band wrote the rest (except for the two covers of course)

Wow! Those versions of DB are REALLY different!

This reminds me of the differing versions of albums by The Angels.

Welcome to the forum Hellraiser. Nice name to.

Yeah the UK version is definately the one to get, particuarly the reissue which has a huge amount of bonus stuff.

Lady Starlight is definately a departure from most of Sweet's songs, its the rare slower/ballad numer that always reminded me of David Bowie particuarly the guitar which echoes Mick Ronson. I can see know why it was originally an Andy Scott solo song.

rattpoison wrote:

Welcome to the forum Hellraiser. Nice name to.

Yeah the UK version is definately the one to get, particuarly the reissue which has a huge amount of bonus stuff.

Lady Starlight is definately a departure from most of Sweet's songs, its the rare slower/ballad numer that always reminded me of David Bowie particuarly the guitar which echoes Mick Ronson. I can see know why it was originally an Andy Scott solo song.

Thanks!

The re-issuees Sony/BMG did with Andy Scott's help are great as they sort of clean up the band's discography (which is quite a mess with all the re-issues over the years).

The Bowie comparison definitely works with Lady Starlight - very similar vibe. Great song. Never heard the original version though.

My fave track on the UK version though is the original Fox On The Run. No synths, just five minutes of killer 70s heavy metal with Brian Connoly screaming his guts out.

Damn right the original Fox On The Run is the definative version, its crazy riff maddening juxtaposed against it's uncanny pop hookery is stunning.

Fox on the run (no synths)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iTKbwiCNuo

I love The Sweet. Great songs, Action being my favorite. I also love Slade, who are very similar.

Rattpoison, I definately agree that thy had lots of metal songs, I just don't know if I'd call them a metal band based on full albums, or entire careers. Still, I agree that they're an awesome band with some excellent material, I only have one compilation, but I'm gonna track down their three main albums when I can get round to it.

I have a compilation called "Hard Centres-The Rock Years", which if you really want to taste the power that would be the place to start. That or the "Live at The Rainbow 1973" which I mentioned previously. A general compilation just won't do.

and for Slade: "Slade on Stage"
"What Ever Happened To?"
"Til Deaf Do Us Part"