Customer Reviews

Sweet, Live in America

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is Stuart Smith, the guitarist of Sweet and this is a reply to "Rock Godd's" comment. This is not a bootleg and this is not a CDR. This CD was recorded at The Morongo Casino in California using the Westwood One mobile recording unit and it was mixed by producer Dave Jenkins at The Wine Cellar Studios. We have signed a 90 day exclusive with Amazon so the fans can get it before it officially hits the stores. The sound quality is excellent and we are extremely proud of this CD. [...].

You really have to doubt the credibility of any of "Rock Godd's" comments as if you check out his other "reviews" it seems that he has nothing good to say about anybody.

Best regards, Stuart Smith.

[...]

There are now TWO groups called "Sweet", each featuring one of the original group's two surviving members. In England "Andy Scott's Sweet" featuring lead guitarist/vocalist/main songwriter Scott has been established since the mid-1980's, and they perform in England and Europe. The "Sweet" heard on this live concert CD is a very recently established group based in Los Angeles, and featuring bassist/vocalist Steve Priest. After the original disbandment of "Sweet" in 1982, Priest moved to Los Angeles, married a lady who worked for Capitol Records, and he's kept a fairly low profile since(doing songwriting and production), until the formation of this new "Sweet" group.

Both Scott & Priest's bands have more members than the original(vocalist + guitar/bass/drums) line-up, and hence they can reproduce the records better onstage than the original group. All the expected hits are here, and one new song, a "power ballad" type of song that doesn't really fit. Steve Priest's "Sweet"(and for that matter Andy Scott's UK-based group) play the original group's recorded arrangements with great attention to detail.

The people that attended this concert got a well-performed show, and it is faithfully documented here. The lead singer of Steve Priest's group(and most of the various singers employed by Scott's group) can't really adequately replace the late Brian Connolly, but that is inevitable.

Sweet completists will want to add this disc to their collection, but if you are just starting to collect the group's music, I would recommend buying the Sony/BMG-Uk or BMG-Germany imported CD's of "Sweet Fanny Adams", the UK "Desolation Boulevard", "Give Us a Wink" & "Off The Record" or Capitol's U.S.A. CD of "Desolation Boulevard"(a hybrid combination of tracks from "Sweet Fanny Adams" & the Uk "Desolation Boulevard") or buy one of the numerous hits compilations on the market.

Once, the Sweet were a four 4 piece successful glamrock band in the 70's. In 1979, lead singer Brian Conolly left the band and in 1981 they remaining 3 piece Sweet broke up. One of the original members, Steve Priest, moved to California. In Europe, the former Sweet members started individually touring again. Two of the three European Sweet members passed away and nowadays only original member Andy Scott is still - succesfully - touring under the brand name Sweet in Europe. Given the success of Andy Scott's version of Sweet in Europe, Steve Priest decided two years ago to start his version of Sweet in the US. He brought together some talented performers and this CD is the result. Appreciating and following Sweet since 1971, one can only be happy that one of the original members is getting involved here. I listened this CD a couple of times and I'm happy I bought it. The quality is excellent, this is clearly a fresh wind reviving the once so successful songs of Sweet. Steve Priest has successfully revived Sweet in the US. This is supposed to be a live CD, but the songs sound very polished to me for a live performance. There's also a new song Steve composed recently called "Sweet dreams", but it sounds to much like "Sweetlife" of Andy Scott's Sweet in Europe.Sweet was always know for its high chorus, but this band can't get as high as the original version of the 70's. Neverthless these small remarks, I consider this CD as a success. It feels good and it revives the 70's glamrock scene. Good Job, well done !

This has to be sweets best live album since the rainbow show in 1973,the band steve has got together is first class joe retta is the best vocalist sweet have had since brian connolly left the band in 1979 even though tony o,hora was good in andys band,the band open with action an all time favorite and from the first song you can tell this band is good and know how to put on a great show,all the hits are here plus a great song steve wrote called sweet dreams,the sound on the disc is first class no complaints from me,all in all a great buy for any rock fan who likes the seventies style of music.

Excellent recording,extremely tight band, great to see Steve Priest back keeping the music alive, just wondering if this show might have been filmed for a possible dvd release, if not I hope they do one soon, a performance like this should also be seen and no this is "NOT" A CD-R bootleg as another reviewer said it was, I ordered mine from the band's website, I got the autographed one and it is a factory pressed silver sided disc, cool cover also.

Fully realizing Steve Priest is the only original member of Sweet I'm still very happy with "Live In America". Each song is performed immaculately by this line-up and the sound quality is amazing. It's worth owning just to have these classic Sweet tracks with amazing, modern sound quality. Recorded live on 8/30/08. You have to hear this if you're a Sweet fan new or old.

Ya know how so much in life is crap? Well music is the same as life, bucko. Inasmuch as a nod is as good as a wink, this is the real deal. I was skeptical at first, since Steve Priest is the only original member. Repeated listenings to this CD have changed my mind. I challenge anyone to say that the live version of Love Is Like Oxygen is inferior to the studio one. Guess what, they match practically note for note. Bravo Steve, Stuart, Joe, Stevie and Richie!

Of course, being somewhat of a third generation Sweet fan, I wasn't expecting Joe Retta to sound like Brian Connolly nor for Richie Onori to perfectly mimic Mick Tucker's famous drum licks on "Ballroom Blitz"(rest in peace, Brian and Mick.) But nevertheless, I found myself wishing I was at the Morongo Casino where this CD's tracks come from. Really, I was quite impressed. Steve Priest, the original and current bassist can still keep the rhythm going. I don't want to say much more as I don't want ruin the potential buyer's expectations but I would call this a case of where "nostalgia meets now." This re-formed Sweet does a fantastic job!! I know it's not the original four members...but if Brian and Mick had been there listening, I'm sure they would have smiled their approval.

Sweet just will never be the same without the phenominal vocals of the late Brian Connoly. That said, this is about as perfect a performance as you will ever hear by any era of SWEET. This is quite simply the BEST sweet cover band in the world. All due respects to the bass player who is the only original member, he has surrounded himself with musicians that are far superior to Sweets original line up. This makes for a flawless "Live" CD. The original band could never pull this off live. They were awesome in the studio but ragged and raw live (Which was also one of their strongpoints) This lineup is smooth and professional. The recording is flawless with every instrument and vocal harmony crystal clear. Well worth buying.

although i rather see the remainding member of sweet together, this is still with good sweet sound, live album