Sweet, still led by original guitarist Andy Scott, return with a mashed-up new studio project that blends choice covers with elements of the band’s most memorable hits. Check out the new video preview below!
New York Connection, due on April 27, 2012, is the band’s first studio project since 2006’s Sweetlife. Scott, who has continued maintained a rigorous touring schedule as Sweet, is joined on the new album by lead singer and bassist Pete Lincoln, guitarist and keyboardist Tony O’Hora and drummer Bruce Bisland. Original lead singer Brian Connolly left the band in 1979.
Featured tracks on the new project include the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” The Who’s “Join Together,” Electric Frankenstein’s “It’s All Moving Faster,” the Black Keys’ “Gold on the Ceiling,” Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record),” Kiss’ “New York Groove” and the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” among others. But listen closely: You’ll hear the guitar signature from Sweet’s “Burn on the Flame” nestled in “All Moving Faster”; their ageless No. 5 U.S. hit “Ballroom Blitz” is referenced in the Ramones song. George Benson’s “On Broadway” is cross-pollinated with their No. 10 U.S. hit “Love is Like Oxygen.”
“It’s a case of buy one, get one free!” Scott says, laughing. “It’s all meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. The whole point of doing something like this was to enjoy it. We had a stab at ‘You Spin Me Right Round’ as a bit of a wind-up, but it came together so well and sounded so right that it was very hard to turn our backs on. We definitely gave it the Sweet stamp.”
Sweet, in a principal hitmaking period covering glam rock, pop music and hard rock that lasted from the early 1970s until the early 1980s, logged more than 55 million in album sales on the strength of standout tunes like “The Ballroom Blitz,” “Blockbuster,” “Hell Raiser,” “Teenage Rampage” and “Love is Like Oxygen.” Their multi-tracked guitar work and layered production provided inspiration for later acts like Queen, the Electric Light Orchestra, Def Leppard and the Darkness.
Connolly died in 1997 from liver failure at age 51. Original drummer Mick Tucker passed at 54 in 2002 after a battle with leukemia.
Here’s a look back at our recent thoughts on Sweet. Click through the titles for complete reviews …
ONE TRACK MIND: SWEET, “LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN” (1978): “Love Is Like Oxygen” was Sweet’s last top ten hit and before the year was up, Connolly’s drinking problems forced him to leave the band. The remaining three principals soldiered on without causing much chart action until calling it a day in 1982, just before the pop-metal fad of that decade that they anticipated took off. Sweet’s music still inspires nostalgia today, symbolic perhaps of a time when music that sounded a lot like the Monkees with better amplified guitars was fun listening. Hey, I can dig that. When they got all serious and mature as they mostly did for “Love Is Like Oxygen,” Sweet also brings back memories of a time when a pop song could be both ambitious and melodic…and still be popular.
FORGOTTEN SERIES: SWEET – SWEET FANNY ADAMS (1974): Initially released in 1974, Sweet Fanny Adams is often thought of as the first genuine Sweet album. It was here the British band was finally able to write and play the material of their choice. Assembled of punishing riffs and bone-rattling rhythms, Sweet Fanny Adams definitely did mark a departure for the Sweet. But amid the driving jamming, the band still retained a nip of a pop consciousness. And that was a wise move, because most of the Sweet’s original fans readily accepted their supposedly new image. The hooks were just as punchy as ever, while the harmonies were downright explosive. A nice touch of glitter rock also lined Sweet Fanny Adams, but no way could the band be excused of following trends, considering they were one of the pioneers of the genre. There’s not a stitch of filler to be found on this record.
THE FRIDAY MORNING LISTEN: SWEET – THE BEST OF SWEET (1993): If I have anything to say about technology in this space, it’s usually negative. This is because I’m not much of a gadget person. So what the hell got into me last night with the Spotify thing? Well, I’m definitely attracted to the idea of a service that allows you to play any particular song at any particular time. Several months ago, I woke up and had the urge to hear Sweet’s Love Is Like Oxygen. I don’t know where the urge came from but I couldn’t (easily) do anything about it. Now I can.
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