Customer Reviews

Desolation Boulevard

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

This cd (American version) is actually a combination of the original Desolation Boulevard and Sweet Fanny Adams, both of which I own. This cd takes the best songs from both and is rock solid! This band started out writing cute little pop songs with writers Chinn and Chapman, but by the mid 70's they were on their own writing kick ass rock! Andy Scott's playing is very underrated. I love the unique "Sweet" vocal harmonies with Brian Connolly and the rest of the band. The Sweet were a very creative and original band that should have gotten more respect. Every song on here is good. Get it while you can!!!

This CD took 28 years off my age. I became 18 again. This CD is really as good as I remember, and now I know why Sweet was one of my favorite bands back in the 70's. Great drum work, heavy bass and those unique vocal harmonies make Sweet a classic 70's hard rock band. Get this CD instead of other Sweet compliations. The original songs are much better than any of the alternate versions available.

This album is 25 years old this year (2000), and it stills blows me away! I fell in love with the single 'Fox On The Run' when it hit the airwaves in 1976, and it remains a favorite to this day, though I will admit that it is not my fave from this album, which has only one major flaw...there are not enough songs on it! Seriously though, I would have to say that this album, if it were released today, would still be competitive with current hard rock bands like Firehouse.

Don't believe me? Check out Andy's awesome guitar playing and solo on 'Sweet F.A.', a song with ATTITUDE!

I was a teenager when this album was released, but didn't buy it right away. I started my voyage into Sweet with "Give Us A Wink" and didn't pick this one up until after "Off The Record" came out. At that point I was starved for more of this group and finally had a job and enough money to start back-tracking to the earlier stuff. And this album definitely satisfied my thirst. It wasn't until years later that I learned many people dismissed this group as cheap. Having loved them for years by that point, I was amazed at how shallow people can be. Sweet had almost unbelievable talent considering the genre they were lumped in with. Simple yet brilliant song arrangement and melodies, phenomenal chord changes, superior harmonizing, extremely tight performances with every single recording a mastery of spot-on timing. A distinctive and energetic vocalist, powerful guitar chords, a great bass-line, and (my personal favorite) a drummer who knew what a good drum-fill meant, always placing his accents perfectly without overpowering the overall sound. I realize I haven't discussed much about any particular songs here. Suffice it to say that the two radio hits on this album were not the best ones. The songs are an eclectic bunch, covering a variety of styles, and expertly so. If you're just starting your Sweet collection, this is as good a place as any to start.

Anyone who has been a long-time fan of Sweet knows that they basically had 3 different careers as a band: first as a teeny-bop bubblegum band in the very early 70's who used session musicians, second as a heavyweight Glam/Hard Power-pop hit machine from '73 to '75, and third as an above-average Classic/Hard Rock/Metal band with pop leanings. This album captures the Sweet in all their mid-period hard-Glam glory and is without a doubt their most consistent album and one of the top 3 best albums to ever surface from the original Glamrock scene in early 70's Britain, even if (in this American release) it is a compilation of highlights from the original British release and the previous album ("Sweet Fanny Adams").
No one camped it up as hard as these guys did at the time, and all the fun, energy, and excess of the day comes exploding out of each and every mini-masterpiece of a song on this platter. This album blew me away when I first heard it as a kid in the 70's and it still delivers the same visceral rush today. It influenced many different genres, including both Punk and Heavy Metal.
In my opinion, this is THEE definitive Sweet album. Previous efforts were too lightweight, and later albums had their moments, but were never anywhere near as consistent (or fun!) as "Desolation Boulevard". Highlights are: "Ballroom Blitz", "Set Me Free", "Sweet F.A.", "Fox On The Run", "The Six-Teens", and "Solid Gold Brass"... but all-in-all this entire album rocks in all it's mascara'd glitter-damaged platform glory!!! HIGHLY recommended and essential if you're a Sweet fan or a fan of 70's Glamrock.

One day when I was at a record store looking for a great rock 'n' roll album and they were having a half off sale on vinyl LP's and I was lucky enough to get this album for only $.50 and it was in very good condition and all of the songs on this album are awesome, it's a rare thing that every song off an LP is perfect (other than greatest hits).
This album starts off with the classic rock staple Ballroom Blitz which was done memorably by Tia Carrere from Wayne's World and that was how I first heard of this song, The 6 Teens is a great mid-tempo rocker with good lyrics, No You Don't is a killer classic and it deserves to be released as a single, A.C.D.C. is another Sweet rocker and about a year later or so the Austrailian metal band would have the same name, I Wanna Be Committed is another good rocker and it reminds me of listening to the Ramones, Sweet F.A. is one of the heaviest songs on this album and the vocals are harder than normal, Fox on the Run is another single on this album and it was on such movies as Dazed and Confused (which was how I first heard of this song) and later, Detroit Rock City, Set Me Free is one of my favorites off of this album and it would later be covered by Saxon and Heathen, Into the Night is my #1 favorite song off of this album and it has great choruses and lyrics, and the album closes with Solid Gold Brass which is a top form rocker.
If you like classic rock music, then you're in serious need of owning this album cause a lot of the 1980's hair metal bands would be influenced by Sweet cause they were a real melodic hard rock band that recieved some attention during the 1970's and it is my understanding that the singer Brian Connelly died a while back and that means I can't see them in concert, DAAAMMMMNNNN!!

Sure, most rock fans will instantly recognize the opening lines of "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run", but most of the rest of this record has been lost to the ravages of time. That's a damn shame. Everytime I listen to this record, I am blown away by Tucker's drum work. This guy givers even the great Don Brewer a run for his money. It's also funny how the guitar and keyboard parts seem like they were intended to be psychedelic but end up sounding almost new wave. The closer, "Solid Gold Brass", is quite possibly the most rocking song ever written. Are they not men? They are Sweet. The european version of this release is supposed to be even better but I dare you to find it.