Desolation Boulevard

Sweet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DQX6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,195 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Pop > Oldies > Bubblegum

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly classic rock CD, September 28, 2000

By 

B. Lynch "the_onewhoknows" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desolation Boulevard (Audio CD)

Any rock fan has probably heard "Ballroom Blitz" somewhere. But that's only the beginning. Every song here is a rock gem, with loud guitars, a pounding rhythm section and strong vocals (like all great rock music). It's really a sign of how bad rock radio programming is that this CD was not a major AOR staple (most programming & music directors in radio have no music knowledge or sense, and only play what some consultant tells them is good).

The Sweet were unfairly typecast as a "galm rock" act, and unfortunately, this CD came out just as "glam rock" was being eclipsed by the rise of disco [a revolting development that was corrected only after several years of insufferably bad musical noise had almost ruined popular music].

Fans of David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust), the Ramones, the Rolling Stones (from the time of Sticky Fingers to It's Only Rock & Roll) and even early Aerosmith material will love this CD. While The Eagles sang about how nice it was to be rich and famous in Hollywood or take it easy some place, The Sweet sang about life among the not-so rich and not-so famous, and about how Real Life could hit--hard sometimes. California wasn't all paradise then [in 1974], just as it's not today. And Teenage Angst (a mainstay for rock material) has rarely found a voice for expression so clear as "Desolation Boulevard".

Outstanding cuts: Fox On The Run, Ballroom BLitz, The 6 Teens, AC/DC, and Into The Night.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out on Desolation Boulevard, October 24, 2004

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Desolation Boulevard (Audio CD)

Like The Sweet's American debut album on Bell, the second album to see the light of a US release (on Capitol) stitched together two halves of their previous British albums and an extra single. You also get to hear Sweet make their final break from the Chinn/Chapman stranglehold and write their first all-band hit, the classic "Fox On the Run."

The first side of this "Desolation Boulevard" album was the usual Chinn/Chapman teen teasers, like "Ac/Dc" and "The 6-Teens." This isn't to say that they weren't amazing songwriters; "Ballroom Blitz" still sounds incredible and Pat Benatar laid claim to "No You Don't" for her debut. Also, it does sound like Chinn/Chapman were trying to push into Bowie/Alice Cooper territory with "I Wanna be Committed."

But on side two, the Connolly-Scott-Tucker-Priest lineup staked their songwriting turf for good, forever ditching the bubblegum tag that was dogging them since "Little Willy." That they were capable of harmonies that would make Queen jealous helped push the drama of "Sweet F.A." and "Solid Gold Brass." And Andy Scott shaped himself into guitar hero mold here, putting the energy into "Ballroom Blitz" and setting himself up for Sweet's even heavier albums to come (especially "Give Us A Wink"). But for the times as they were, this remains a great CD for 70's nostalgia. "Desolation Boulevard" deservedly put The Sweet on the roadmap.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glam Rocker's Finest Ever!, May 8, 2002

By 

highway_star (Hallandale, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desolation Boulevard (Audio CD)

Released in 1974 "Desolution Boulevard" produced two hits from this l.p. which one could hear on radio back then. These were , "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox On The Run". Though both were excellent I felt the other songs on the l.p. to be superior. The Sweet who were considered a glam rock group (and released a bublegum hit in the early 70's called "Little Willy) became very metal rock oriented with the release of this l.p... Listen to "Set Me Free" or "Sweet F.A.". Both are classic metal for that period of time. One thing I always liked about the group was the harmonizing. Very similar (almost too much) to the rock group Queen. This l.p. and it's followup "Give Us A Wink" (which produced the hit "Action")were really the last of the metal oriented Sweet. In 1978 they did release a gem of a song called "Love is like Oxygen" but after that in my opinion The Sweet were pretty much a thing of the past. This really is the cd to buy if your into 70's metal. If you can pick up the European version of "Desolution Boulevard" which has been remastered and includes a very different version of "Fox On The Run" then I would grab that one also. Highly recommmeded!