Sweet

Sweet's knack for merging hard rock, glam and straight-up sing-along pop music into one airwave takeover after another was never stronger than on this 1974 classic. They gave us "Ballroom Blitz," "The 6-Teens" and the first 15 seconds of "Fox On the Run," not to mention the rest of it, amid better "filler" than most bands' singles.

The first side of Desolation Boulevard (actually a compilation from two English LPs) is
devoted to material written by producers Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn -- five reasonably
timed, concise and overwhelmingly direct assaults on the senses. The song structures are
played with almost military precision with an emphasis on repeated guitar riffs and catchy
hook lines. The production is designed to capture the electricity and raw energ... More >

Bazooka-rock lives, even without Chapman and Chinn. In the absence of Slade (whose failure to participate on the recent LP that bears their name must be considered disquieting), these guys play second-bill steamroller to Kiss. (Grade - B-)