Customer Reviews

Desolation Boulevard

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

 

 

This is not your mom's version of the North American "Desolation Boulevard" if you want all those songs you need (and want) to get the "Sweet Fanny Adams" album also. This being said and done, SWEET continue their adolescence here. The songs are about growing up teens (the Sixteens), Rebellion and of course girls. By now we know to expect the great guitar riffs and vocal harmonies SWEET is so good at delivering. Also a rarety for SWEET, a slow song! The original version of "Lady Starlight", it slightly differs from the one that was included on the North American release of the album give us a wink. Slightly less polished but, the song remains the same (Ha ha ha). Also, nice of them to include the original and single version of "Fox on the Run" which are very different. Again a lot of very nice extras like "Burn on the Flame" which in my opinion is one of the best "B" side songs to never have made it to an album (until now that is).

I saw this band live in concert back in 1974 and the memory of that performance is still with me today. This band features the hard hitting vocals of the late , great Brian Connelly and Andy Scott paved the way for future aspiring rock guitarists. These guys were a "glam band" for a long time but their music was SOLID ROCK.Do yourself a big favour and buy his album which contains 30 year old songs which sound as fresh today as they did way back then.Rest In Peace Brian. You ae sadly missed.

Sweet was unique in that a variety of album versions were released due to the country, which has become frustrating for some fans who want a CD release of an LP they remember or are seeking out due to hearing about the band.

The top five U.S. single - The Ballroom Blitz - is not included on this CD, which is the U.K. album from 1974. An incredible version of The Who's My Generation, an "alternate" version of Lady Starlight - which appeared in the U.S. on the 1976 album, Give Us A Wink - along with The Six Teens, the power pop Fox on the Run and Breakdown are the highlights.

It may be a different road travelled, but it shows the band beginning to emerge out of the "Glam Rock" era with a distinctive sound and style that would reach its peak several years later.

Just few days ago I had the opportunity to listen this new SWEET version of the Desolation Boulevard recording from 1974 with some interest in the bonus tracks: "Medusa", "Burn On The Flame" and "Someone else will" mainly. I had listen these last two in the Sweet Live album from 1995 and the versions that were presented there, were more polished from the originals; for example, in the live version the track "Someone Else Will" has a more interesting riff guitar that reminds the powerfull rhythm base from the Led Zep's "Imigrant Song" track, and in this CD, the acompased pace of the song, makes it weaker and lack of emotion because the lose of feeling...
Tracks like "Miss Demeanor" or "Lady Starlight" were extracted from the maravelous "Give Us A Wink" album; and in a wider perspective, this CD sounds like an experimental album with unfinished raw versions from the recordings that we already know and results very different from the Capitol version. there is no "Sweet F.A.", "Set me Free" or "Ballroom Blitz" and the version of "Solid Gold Brass" is again, weaker...But an interesting complement for the american version!...Good Luck!

SWEET FANS. I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW. I HAVE THE 1999 REMASTER OF THIS CD. BUT HAD TO TAKE A CHANCE AND GET IT AGAIN. I DID NOT THINK THAT ALL THE SONGS ON THE 1999 RELEASE WERE CLEAR AS OTHERS. LIKE, TURN IT DOWN, MY GENERATION, TEENAGE RAMPAGE AND I WANNA BE COMMITTED. IT WAS GOOD, THAN THE NO REMASTER ADD. IN THE 2005 RELEASE IT WAS RESTORED. THE WAY IT SHOULD BE CRISP, CLEAR AND ENHANCED. THE ORIGINAL FOX ON THE RUN (7" VERSION) IS ON THE BONUS TRACKS. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE 1999 REMASTER AND WANT BETTER TO EXCELLENT. GET IT. BUT THERE IS ONE THING I WOULD MISS. THE PICTURE DISC ON THE CD OF THE FRONT COVER. THIS IS YELLOW DISC, WITH THE WORD SWEET ON IT.

Despite their "bubblegum" moniker in the '70s, growing up in the '80s showed me that Sweet was an innovative band. You can hear their influence all through the hair bands that dominated the rock and metal scene for more than a decade. There are plenty of top 10 artists out there that owe Sweet a few bucks for stealing riffs and hooks, beyond the true song covers. Their sound is considerably more complex than the other bubblegum acts of the time and on occasion their songwriting was as well.
Still reminds me of rollerskating, though, I can't help it.

2005 release of Desolation Boulevard, in one word, is "Spectacular". The raw version of "Fox On The Run" alone, is worth the purchase of this disc. The disc also contains the well known hit version of the same song and Sweet's version of The Who's "My Generation" that is absolute blast of fun. If you don't enjoy this 76 minutes worth of Sweet's classic, well, then go bury yourself. An absolute must buy.

Still a good CD but I thought I was getting the original American release which apparently was different then the original European release. Completely different track list. Make sure you review before purchasing!

I have the orig LP record GIVE US A WINK which has a better version of Lady Starlight on it. This song is not on the CD. So I found this import version of Desolate Blvd which has Lady Starlight on it - only it's a more primitive version of the song. I can't find the version of LADY STARLIGHT that I have on the LP record. I am still looking for Lady Starlight.

The rest of this CD is crappy. Not very good songs at all. BOO HOO HOO