Sweet Albums (11)
'Stairway to the Stars: Live and Rare'
Release Date 11/5/2002
Tracks 30
Label Castle
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
How sad it is that the words "live" and "rare" have become so devalued over the years, until their mere presence in a CD title is sufficient to send you running for cover. And how sad that the memory of the Sweet has been so besmirched by a flood of tawdry compilations and re-recordings, that their "new" releases, too, leave the heart unmoved. All of which renders Stairway to the Stars: Live and Rare the kind of album that only the most desperate fan could really be expecting miracles from, and he ought to have most of its contents already. Rounding up over 30 tracks, the bulk of every other "live" and "rare" Sweet CD to have appeared since the late '80s, Stairway offers a workmanlike selection of marginally alternate takes, B-sides and offcuts, all dating from the latter part of the band's '70s career, and sometimes even later. The in concert selections are stronger, beginning with highlights from the show first released as Ballroom Blitz 1973, but unless you really need to be bludgeoned by their heavy metal ambitions, even that's a dispensable treat. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
By the time of 1980's Waters Edge, the Sweet had lost pretty much all of their fan base and had cast aside the experimental edge of their previous record, going back to a more straightforward approach that played to their strength, namely, bashing out memorable pop tunes. They didn't sound much like the Sweet of old, but tracks like "Sixties Man," "At Midnight," "Getting in the Mood for Love," and "Hot Shot Gambler" are hooky, streamlined '80s pop that are surprisingly good. They stack up well next to the artists of the day like ELO (whom they ape convincingly well on "Tell the Truth" here) or Rick Springfield. Fans of the Sweet of "Ballroom Blitz" or "Little Willy" may find this slick, radio-friendly approach somewhat off-putting, but then they always aimed to be radio-friendly. Don't let any preconceived notions let you pass this minor gem by. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After recording Level Headed, an album that mostly forsaked their hard rock leanings for pure pop, longtime lead vocalist Brian Connolly left Sweet for good. The rest of the group decided to press on as a trio, combining their pop/rock sound with a variety of other musical styles in a bid to gain a more progressive image. The result was Cut Above the Rest, a bizarre combination of the hard-rocking pop that dominated classic Sweet singles with progressive flights of fancy in a 10cc/Electric Light Orchestra vein, plus a dash of lounge lizard-ish soft rock balladry thrown in to cover all the pop/rock bases. There's no way an album that tries do so many things at once could succeed at all of them, but Cut Above the Rest is a surprisingly listenable affair. When the elements jell, the songs are positively addictive: "Play All Night" is a blistering rocker that contrasts glam rock guitar riffs with candy-coated vocal harmonies worthy of Queen, and "Mother Earth" is an odd but fascinating hybrid of pop hooks and prog instrumental virtuosity that sounds like Electric Light Orchestra collaborating with Manfred Mann's Earth Band. "Eye Games" is another successful experiment, a purely acoustic tune with perceptive and witty lyrics about the dating rituals that take place in nightclubs. On the downside, Cut Above the Rest is weighed down by an unfortunate penchant for melodramatic balladry: the attractive harmonies that light up "Big Apple Waltz" are undone by its sappy romance lyrics, and "Hold Me" is histrionic to the point of being unintentionally funny. Despite these lapses, Cut Above the Rest is a distinctive and memorable outing whose experimental edge and strong craftsmanship make it stand out amongst Sweet's late-'70s output. It is too erratic for the casual listener, but hardcore Sweet fanatics will find plenty enjoy on this album. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Sweet struggled to earn credibility as album artists and/or score hits after finally wresting themselves free of songwriting/production team Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman in the summer of 1974. They turned out a few albums before achieving both goals with Level Headed. The album gave them their final Top Ten hit with the dreamy "Love Is Like Oxygen," a single that suggested that its accompanying record was a trippy mainstream pop record. Instead, it was one part of an ambitious sonic mosaic where Sweet tried a little bit of everything, cloaking it all in a neo-prog aesthetic. If it was hard to hear the candy crunch of early Sweet on "Love Is Like Oxygen," it seems like "Little Willy" in comparison to the rest of Level Headed, where the group runs wild in the studio. Throughout the first half, they indulge in catchy pop, dressing it up with mild psychedelia, elongating melodies with breezy harmonies and studio swirl. This is just a teaser for the second side, where they delve deep into album rock weirdness, trying on classical-inspired art rock with "Anthem No. 1" and "Anthem No. 2," waltzing along with the Europop "Lettres d'Amour," and livening the proceedings with "Strong Love," a horn-spiked disco tune. Certainly, this is not classic-era Sweet, but that's precisely what's good about Level Headed -- they're off-kilter and adventurous, occasionally stumbling but always making interesting music on an album that's anything but what the title promises. If Level Headed didn't spawn another hit, so be it -- it remains one of Sweet's most fascinating albums, compared to both what came before and after. Yes, it was "Ballroom Blitz," "Fox on the Run," and other early hits that influenced the pop-metal of the late '70s and '80s, but for hardcore Sweet fans, Level Headed is a gem to treasure. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Building on the momentum caused from the runaway success of Desolation Boulevard, Sweet forged ahead and shoved Give Us a Wink out to satisfy their growing legions of rabid fans. Doing it all without the aid of Chinn & Chapman, they truly held their destiny in their own hands for the very first time. "Action" gave them another Top Ten hit, and along with such other notable cuts as "Cockroach" and "Yesterday's Rain," they proved they had the goods. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Sweet hit the peak of their powers on Desolation Boulevard, a wonderfully lightweight collection of fizzy melodies and big, dumb hooks. Essentially, the album consists of three dynamic singles buoyed by a bunch of filler, but those singles -- "Ballroom Blitz," "The 6-Teens," and "Fox on the Run" -- are addictive slices of bubblegum glam rock. And the filler is ridiculously silly and enjoyable, with "Sweet F.A.," "I Wanna Be Committed," and "No You Don't" sounding like a kind of bizarre prototype for the Ramones' punky bubblegum (only without the irony, of course). Although the filler is relatively strong, there are a number of weak patches on Desolation Boulevard, but it remains an intoxicatingly fun record and one that sounds surprisingly fresh, even with all of its kitschy '70s production techniques. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although they were often dismissed as a fluffy singles group in their day, Sweet crafted a handful of strong albums in the mid-'70s that sported some surprisingly muscular hard rock. A fine example of this trend is Sweet Fanny Adams. Although this album got little exposure in America on its own, over half of this album's contents ended up on the American edition of Desolation Boulevard. Sweet Fanny Adams' tone is set with the opening track, "Set Me Free," a fiery rocker that blends ultrahigh vocal harmonies to a furious succession of guitar riffs that jack the song up a level of speed metal frenzy. Other hard-rocking highlights include "No You Don't," a Queen-styled putdown of an unkind lover that was later covered by Pat Benatar, and "Into the Night," a complex track that pits mid-tempo verse against lighting-fast choruses over a surprisingly funky drumbeat that was later sampled by the Beastie Boys. However, the album's heavy metal masterpiece is the title track, a seedy portrait of juvenile delinquency whose brutal lyrics anticipate the grim imagery of punk rock. The song's vivid lyrics are effectively brought to life by a blinding succession of speed metal guitar riffs that are fleshed out by the kind of spacy synthesizer work that later graced "Fox on the Run." The remainder of the album doesn't always jell (there is a cover of "Peppermint Twist" that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the hard rock tunes), but Sweet Fanny Adams remains a solid release full of tight performances and scorching riffs. Anyone with an interest in Sweet beyond the hit singles should check this album out. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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. ~ Keith Pettipas, All Music Guide
