brENsKi wrote:
i wouldn't touch the expanded version of sabb's heaven and hell...it's just a load of live stuff
if you want a good copy of the original: only £4.07
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0002XMF4O/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new
...and there really isn't a bad track on this album
as regards rainbow: £2.60 & £2.64
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00000IMTF/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346180362&sr=1-1&condition=new
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00000IMTH/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346180395&sr=1-1&condition=new
if you have a tenner to spare - get all three...honestly, you'll love it.
Hi brENski
I think you're right. I think I will love these albums. So I have ordered the first Storm album, Heaven and Hell and also both those Rainbow albums.
I only got the single Heaven and Hell album as the expanded album was a lot more expensive and had only extra live cuts as you say.
I used Ebay for the purchases as the prices were similar yet Amazon charges through the nose to send stuff here.
Thread
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brENsKi wrote:
i don;t understand the Andy Scott perspective - unless it's a bit of bravado?
Dio had just left Rainbow and was far from "on hard times", in fact he was certainly making more money thatn Sweet were at that time...sweet had (until LILO in june 78) had not had a top ten hit for over 3 yrs in the UK....
Dio had come off the back of a gold and silver UK album, in truth all four Rainbow albums that Dio was on (incl on stage) all made the UK top 20...
not ONE sweet (non compilation) album made the UK top 20
Hi again brENski
You are right about Sweet's non compilation albums not making the top twenty in the UK (I think Sweet Fanny Adams charted for one week at number 27), but Sweet were still pretty big in the rest of Europe, and especially in Germany and Scandinavia where their albums certainly did make the top ten.
Their is a rumour claimed as fact going around Sweet circles that Sweet was the largest grossing touring band in the world for the year in 1976 when they did a rather massive tour of the US (and a smaller one of Europe). I have just tried to verify that but have drawn a blank. In any event, there is no doubt that Sweet's income largely from touring went through the roof in 1976.
Unfortunately they had already deserted English shores and had only one concert on the UK mainland between the years 1975 and 1979 inclusive. Incredible when you look at it in hindsight. A huge mistake really I think.
Regarding Ronnie, having been sacked from Rainbow, maybe he felt a bit lost being outside a band. Even if he didn't, it may just be that Sweet was a band he wanted to join.I can't really say. However I will try and dig up something from the Sweet end on this. I almost seem to recall that Brian was still with the band when he supposedly made his offer, but then again maybe they just wanted to go on as a trio after Brian was left or was sacked. Will be interesting to see what I can come up with.
i don;t understand the Andy Scott perspective - unless it's a bit of bravado?
Dio had just left Rainbow and was far from "on hard times", in fact he was certainly making more money thatn Sweet were at that time...sweet had (until LILO in june 78) had not had a top ten hit for over 3 yrs in the UK....
Dio had come off the back of a gold and silver UK album, in truth all four Rainbow albums that Dio was on (incl on stage) all made the UK top 20...
not ONE sweet (non compilation) album made the UK top 20
Hi again brENski
You are right about Sweet's non compilation albums not making the top twenty in the UK (I think Sweet Fanny Adams charted for one week at number 27), but Sweet were still pretty big in the rest of Europe, and especially in Germany and Scandinavia where their albums certainly did make the top ten.
Their is a rumour claimed as fact going around Sweet circles that Sweet was the largest grossing touring band in the world for the year in 1976 when they did a rather massive tour of the US (and a smaller one of Europe). I have just tried to verify that but have drawn a blank. In any event, there is no doubt that Sweet's income largely from touring went through the roof in 1976.
Unfortunately they had already deserted English shores and had only one concert on the UK mainland between the years 1975 and 1979 inclusive. Incredible when you look at it in hindsight. A huge mistake really I think.
Regarding Ronnie, having been sacked from Rainbow, maybe he felt a bit lost being outside a band. Even if he didn't, it may just be that Sweet was a band he wanted to join.I can't really say. However I will try and dig up something from the Sweet end on this. I almost seem to recall that Brian was still with the band when he supposedly made his offer, but then again maybe they just wanted to go on as a trio after Brian was left or was sacked. Will be interesting to see what I can come up with.
Lord Fickle wrote:
I can't point to any evidence to back up either version, but like Brenski, I can't really see that Dio was desperate for work, given the success of the Rainbow albums. Indeed, Dio left Rainbow because Blackmore wanted to go in a more commercial direction, so I can't really see him leaving one 'pop' band (as it was turning into) for another, such as Sweet, despite the 'rock' respect they were gathering at the time, mainly for the albums and single b sides. Can't really see Dio singing Little Willy or Wig Wam Bam (lol!), and can't really see Sweet doing the dungeons and dragons stuff either. The two just weren't suited, although, there are rumours of some existing audition tapes that would be very interesting to hear.
Wow! I never knew there were audition tapes. Andy Scott keeps everything, so I am going to ask if anyone on the Sweet website knows about that. Seems unlikely to me that it got that far. But if there were audition tapes, that would suggest to me that he was trying to get into the band, rather than vice versa.
The other thing is that my version of Holy Diver has Ronnie talking about his past and most particularly that it was the second time that he had been "booted out" of a band when he left Black Sabbath. Hence on that occasion he tried to form his own band with Dio. Now my impression from that tape is that he took getting "booted out" pretty badly, so I can imagine, especially the first time that happened that he may well have wanted to get into a band like Sweet. They had just been touring their heaviest album Give Us A Wink, which Andy has subsequently said was heavier than Purple at the time. The other thing is, Sweet wouldn't have been seen dead doing songs like Little Willy or Wig Wam Bam at that time. Funny (Funny)how things have gone in a circle in that respect.
Another thing I would mention is that Ritchie Blackmore was in Rainbow with Dio before he got sacked. And it just so happens that Ritchie was a huge mate of The Sweet's, going back to his Deep Purple days. So maybe that influenced Ronnie's decision as well, especially if Brian Connolly had been sacked at that same time. It just made sense I think.
Just to show what good mates Sweet were with Ritchie, here is a link to a Sweet concert in Santa Monica in 1976, where Ritchie Blackmore got up on stage with Sweet to pay tribute to Paul Kossoff from Free who had just died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs0599eskBo
I have a copy of the whole concert and they miss a bit at the start when Brian Connolly is trying to get Ritchie up on stage and says something like "common fuckface". I think they must have been really good mates to have said something like that to each other.
I'm also pretty sure that Blackmore was in Wainwright's Gentlemen (have to check), because if so, Brian and Ritchie actually knew each other and were in the same band before they joined Sweet and Purple.
I can't point to any evidence to back up either version, but like Brenski, I can't really see that Dio was desperate for work, given the success of the Rainbow albums. Indeed, Dio left Rainbow because Blackmore wanted to go in a more commercial direction, so I can't really see him leaving one 'pop' band (as it was turning into) for another, such as Sweet, despite the 'rock' respect they were gathering at the time, mainly for the albums and single b sides. Can't really see Dio singing Little Willy or Wig Wam Bam (lol!), and can't really see Sweet doing the dungeons and dragons stuff either. The two just weren't suited, although, there are rumours of some existing audition tapes that would be very interesting to hear.
Wow! I never knew there were audition tapes. Andy Scott keeps everything, so I am going to ask if anyone on the Sweet website knows about that. Seems unlikely to me that it got that far. But if there were audition tapes, that would suggest to me that he was trying to get into the band, rather than vice versa.
The other thing is that my version of Holy Diver has Ronnie talking about his past and most particularly that it was the second time that he had been "booted out" of a band when he left Black Sabbath. Hence on that occasion he tried to form his own band with Dio. Now my impression from that tape is that he took getting "booted out" pretty badly, so I can imagine, especially the first time that happened that he may well have wanted to get into a band like Sweet. They had just been touring their heaviest album Give Us A Wink, which Andy has subsequently said was heavier than Purple at the time. The other thing is, Sweet wouldn't have been seen dead doing songs like Little Willy or Wig Wam Bam at that time. Funny (Funny)how things have gone in a circle in that respect.
Another thing I would mention is that Ritchie Blackmore was in Rainbow with Dio before he got sacked. And it just so happens that Ritchie was a huge mate of The Sweet's, going back to his Deep Purple days. So maybe that influenced Ronnie's decision as well, especially if Brian Connolly had been sacked at that same time. It just made sense I think.
Just to show what good mates Sweet were with Ritchie, here is a link to a Sweet concert in Santa Monica in 1976, where Ritchie Blackmore got up on stage with Sweet to pay tribute to Paul Kossoff from Free who had just died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs0599eskBo
I have a copy of the whole concert and they miss a bit at the start when Brian Connolly is trying to get Ritchie up on stage and says something like "common fuckface". I think they must have been really good mates to have said something like that to each other.
I'm also pretty sure that Blackmore was in Wainwright's Gentlemen (have to check), because if so, Brian and Ritchie actually knew each other and were in the same band before they joined Sweet and Purple.
Hi again brENski and Lord Fickle
Here is a thread from The Sweet Forum which refers to Ronnie and Sweet's rumoured connection.
http://thesweetglamforum.yuku.com/topic/3580/Ronnie-James-Dio-Lead-Singer-of-SWEET
While it is based on a quote from Wikipedia, obviously Wikipedia can be crap as it is written by ordinary people and sources can be dubious.
Having said that, I do know that I have read an interview where Andy Scott says exactly the same thing.
You will also note that a Sweet fan makes the point about Ronnie singing Wig Wam bam etc, but as I said, there was no way that would have happened at around the time of the mooted joining because Sweet completely rejected their bubblegum past.
Here is a thread from The Sweet Forum which refers to Ronnie and Sweet's rumoured connection.
http://thesweetglamforum.yuku.com/topic/3580/Ronnie-James-Dio-Lead-Singer-of-SWEET
While it is based on a quote from Wikipedia, obviously Wikipedia can be crap as it is written by ordinary people and sources can be dubious.
Having said that, I do know that I have read an interview where Andy Scott says exactly the same thing.
You will also note that a Sweet fan makes the point about Ronnie singing Wig Wam bam etc, but as I said, there was no way that would have happened at around the time of the mooted joining because Sweet completely rejected their bubblegum past.
the Sweet were well past the sweet FA tour by the time Dio was "kicked out" of Rainbow
he departed round about nov78-feb79, by which time sweet had released another album - level headed (very queen like in places)
weren't they acutually recording the next album when BC left?
my favourite song on the H&H album "children of the sea" is supposed to have come into being during his audition jam to join the band
he departed round about nov78-feb79, by which time sweet had released another album - level headed (very queen like in places)
weren't they acutually recording the next album when BC left?
my favourite song on the H&H album "children of the sea" is supposed to have come into being during his audition jam to join the band
Heavenite wrote: Unfortunately they had already deserted English shores and had only one concert on the UK mainland between the years 1975 and 1979 inclusive. Incredible when you look at it in hindsight. A huge mistake really I think.
That is incredible, as I was there! Feb 24th, 1978, Hammersmith Odeon. I hadn't realised it was their only UK gig for all that time. Glad I went now!
Also, interesting to note reply #8 in the thread on the Sweet forum, seems to bear out the version of events being that Sweet approached Ronnie:
"I already said it hear a few months ago that I spoke to Ronnie on the phone when he was on a live radio show here in NYC 8 years ago and he did say that he was approached by Andy and Mick about working with them but nothing came out of it. "
I think it's probably one of those things that gets distorted with time, and one of the only people that knew for definite is dead, so we can only go on Andy Scott's version. I guess it's feasible that Sweet wanted to try to regain some 'heavy' status, by getting Dio on board, but then again, after Brian left, they could have gone in that direction as a threeosme, but didn't. Doesn't really matter, it never happened anyway. :)
some songs:
dream on, silver bird have a disctinctly "queen" feel about them either musically, or harmony
air on a loop - feels a bit 10cc/ELO/JM Jarre feel
and the doobie/steely dan/purple mkIV funk thing definitely slipped into, oxygen, strong love, california nights
and fountain reminds me of an old "jigsaw" song
dream on, silver bird have a disctinctly "queen" feel about them either musically, or harmony
air on a loop - feels a bit 10cc/ELO/JM Jarre feel
and the doobie/steely dan/purple mkIV funk thing definitely slipped into, oxygen, strong love, california nights
and fountain reminds me of an old "jigsaw" song
I have to say, the Level Headed album didn't really do it for me. I loved LILO, Silverbird, and Lady of the Lake, primarily because Brian sang on them, but I didn't really go much on the other tracks. Fountain wasn't bad, and apparently, Brian did do a vocal for that, but I don't think it's ever surfaced.
brENsKi wrote:
the Sweet were well past the sweet FA tour by the time Dio was "kicked out" of Rainbow
he departed round about nov78-feb79, by which time sweet had released another album - level headed (very queen like in places)
weren't they acutually recording the next album when BC left?
my favourite song on the H&H album "children of the sea" is supposed to have come into being during his audition jam to join the band.
It was also in late 1978 early 1979 that Sweet went back into the studio to record Cut Above the Rest. Brian made a few demos that were not deemed satisfactory. A huge mistake based on other factors I would think in hindsight. I have already placed a copy of the demo Brian on this thread. It is much better than Stay With Me version, that Steve sings on the final version of Cut Above the Rest, and a finished version may well have been a successful followup single to Love is Like Oxygen I think.
So it seems that the timing was perfect with Ronnie. Andy says that he was the one that spoke to Ronnie about this, although I sort of doubt that they did demos because Steve Priest, the bassist in Sweet says he has subsequently spoken to Ronnie's wife, who says that no approach ever took place. If it did, then why doesn't Steve know about this and why does Ronnie's wife deny this ever happened?
Well Steve Priest has had an axe to grind over the years with Andy, and he also had a relationship that was blooming with an American record exec, who is now his wife, so maybe he wasn't there at the time any approach or any demos were made. As far as what his wife said goes, well she was Ronnie's business and marketing person wasn't she? So getting booted out of two bands and then getting refused by another wouldn't look too good on the resume I guess. Alternatively, as with many husbands, maybe he never told her.
Its doubtful we can ever know, unless Andy pulls out a demo from the session one day, but in any case, if Ronnie went to England to audition, I think it is much more likely that Sweet didn't agree to him joining because they were still getting over the loss of such an incredible singer as Brian Connolly. Maybe also Ronnie's harder rock sounding voice also didn't fit with the Sweet harmonies in quite the same way as Brian's did. And Sweet also still had two very good singers of their own in Andy Scott and Steve Priest but not to be compared with Brian of course.
Don't know, but whatever happened at the time, Ronnie would have sent their hard rock cred. over the moon. The 1979 tour of the US for Sweet was apparently very difficult without a regular lead singer, as was their subsequent mini tour of the UK in early 1981. And when Andy and Mick reformed, they learnt their lesson and have always had a separate lead singer, and that has been the case up to today with Andy's version of the band.
the Sweet were well past the sweet FA tour by the time Dio was "kicked out" of Rainbow
he departed round about nov78-feb79, by which time sweet had released another album - level headed (very queen like in places)
weren't they acutually recording the next album when BC left?
my favourite song on the H&H album "children of the sea" is supposed to have come into being during his audition jam to join the band.
It was also in late 1978 early 1979 that Sweet went back into the studio to record Cut Above the Rest. Brian made a few demos that were not deemed satisfactory. A huge mistake based on other factors I would think in hindsight. I have already placed a copy of the demo Brian on this thread. It is much better than Stay With Me version, that Steve sings on the final version of Cut Above the Rest, and a finished version may well have been a successful followup single to Love is Like Oxygen I think.
So it seems that the timing was perfect with Ronnie. Andy says that he was the one that spoke to Ronnie about this, although I sort of doubt that they did demos because Steve Priest, the bassist in Sweet says he has subsequently spoken to Ronnie's wife, who says that no approach ever took place. If it did, then why doesn't Steve know about this and why does Ronnie's wife deny this ever happened?
Well Steve Priest has had an axe to grind over the years with Andy, and he also had a relationship that was blooming with an American record exec, who is now his wife, so maybe he wasn't there at the time any approach or any demos were made. As far as what his wife said goes, well she was Ronnie's business and marketing person wasn't she? So getting booted out of two bands and then getting refused by another wouldn't look too good on the resume I guess. Alternatively, as with many husbands, maybe he never told her.
Its doubtful we can ever know, unless Andy pulls out a demo from the session one day, but in any case, if Ronnie went to England to audition, I think it is much more likely that Sweet didn't agree to him joining because they were still getting over the loss of such an incredible singer as Brian Connolly. Maybe also Ronnie's harder rock sounding voice also didn't fit with the Sweet harmonies in quite the same way as Brian's did. And Sweet also still had two very good singers of their own in Andy Scott and Steve Priest but not to be compared with Brian of course.
Don't know, but whatever happened at the time, Ronnie would have sent their hard rock cred. over the moon. The 1979 tour of the US for Sweet was apparently very difficult without a regular lead singer, as was their subsequent mini tour of the UK in early 1981. And when Andy and Mick reformed, they learnt their lesson and have always had a separate lead singer, and that has been the case up to today with Andy's version of the band.
Lord Fickle wrote:
Heavenite wrote: Unfortunately they had already deserted English shores and had only one concert on the UK mainland between the years 1975 and 1979 inclusive. Incredible when you look at it in hindsight. A huge mistake really I think.
That is incredible, as I was there! Feb 24th, 1978, Hammersmith Odeon. I hadn't realised it was their only UK gig for all that time. Glad I went now! Also, interesting to note reply #8 in the thread on the Sweet forum, seems to bear out the version of events being that Sweet approached Ronnie:"I already said it hear a few months ago that I spoke to Ronnie on the phone when he was on a live radio show here in NYC 8 years ago and he did say that he was approached by Andy and Mick about working with them but nothing came out of it.
I think it's probably one of those things that gets distorted with time, and one of the only people that knew for definite is dead, so we can only go on Andy Scott's version. I guess it's feasible that Sweet wanted to try to regain some 'heavy' status, by getting Dio on board, but then again, after Brian left, they could have gone in that direction as a threeosme, but didn't. Doesn't really matter, it never happened anyway. :)
Hi Lord Fickle
You were at the Hammersmith Odeon gig in 1978? You lucky so and so. It was a date that was added on to their European tour because of the success that they were having at home with Love is Like Oxygen. Andy has always regretted that gig or another from that tour was never filmed. Even the audio of it is dicey, and his offsider Kevin Smith has been trying to obtain the best copies of the audience tapes that night and make the best sounding concert they can from what is still available. Apparently some guy was there with an 8 track, but he has never surfaced. Maybe it was wiped years ago anyway.
As far as what is said on The Sweet website goes, there was a lot of confusion about this there too. I was never really confident until Andy came out and explained it in an interview. But never a word about any demos that I can recall. I will see if anyone on The Sweet website can track down the particular interview when Andy explains his version of what happened.
Heavenite wrote: Unfortunately they had already deserted English shores and had only one concert on the UK mainland between the years 1975 and 1979 inclusive. Incredible when you look at it in hindsight. A huge mistake really I think.
That is incredible, as I was there! Feb 24th, 1978, Hammersmith Odeon. I hadn't realised it was their only UK gig for all that time. Glad I went now! Also, interesting to note reply #8 in the thread on the Sweet forum, seems to bear out the version of events being that Sweet approached Ronnie:"I already said it hear a few months ago that I spoke to Ronnie on the phone when he was on a live radio show here in NYC 8 years ago and he did say that he was approached by Andy and Mick about working with them but nothing came out of it.
I think it's probably one of those things that gets distorted with time, and one of the only people that knew for definite is dead, so we can only go on Andy Scott's version. I guess it's feasible that Sweet wanted to try to regain some 'heavy' status, by getting Dio on board, but then again, after Brian left, they could have gone in that direction as a threeosme, but didn't. Doesn't really matter, it never happened anyway. :)
Hi Lord Fickle
You were at the Hammersmith Odeon gig in 1978? You lucky so and so. It was a date that was added on to their European tour because of the success that they were having at home with Love is Like Oxygen. Andy has always regretted that gig or another from that tour was never filmed. Even the audio of it is dicey, and his offsider Kevin Smith has been trying to obtain the best copies of the audience tapes that night and make the best sounding concert they can from what is still available. Apparently some guy was there with an 8 track, but he has never surfaced. Maybe it was wiped years ago anyway.
As far as what is said on The Sweet website goes, there was a lot of confusion about this there too. I was never really confident until Andy came out and explained it in an interview. But never a word about any demos that I can recall. I will see if anyone on The Sweet website can track down the particular interview when Andy explains his version of what happened.
Hi again Lord Fickle and brENski
Another interesting point should be made about Sweet's desertion of the UK during the years 1975 and 1979. They had two huge hits during that time with Fox in 1975 and Oxygen in 1978 and also had minor top forty hits with Action and Lies in Your Eyes, which did very well in toured countries like Germany (number 2 and number 5) and Denmark (ever better I think).
People say Sweet lost it during this time, but I don't agree. They did two massive tours of the US in 1976 and 1978 with a few European and one English date thrown in. They also got to Japan in 1976. They didn't tour at all in 1977, despite releasing Off the Record.
The point I want to make is that Queen never toured the US after 1982 through to the time they stopped touring in 1986 and well we know what happened to Queen's chart success during that time over there. The highest chart position they got was with Radio Ga Ga at number 16, which was a hit in the UK and also in many other places including Australia.
So Sweet's chart performance in the UK is actually superior to Queen's chart performance in the US during their respective periods of non-touring (Hammersmith excepted of course), but the rock critics say that Sweet's demise was related to the parting of the ways with Chinn and Chapman.
Bollocks I say. C&C were the masters of singles writing, no doubt about it. But in the three years after their break Sweet released Fox, Action and Andy co-wrote Oxygen. They also had singles from the Off the Record album (Lost Angels, Fever of Love and Stairway to the Stars) that charted just inside or outside the top ten in Germany. The first two songs also went top ten in Sweden.
So personally I think Sweet has been harshly judged by the British music critics (as Queen was) and then didn't last long enough or completely take over the US to make them eat their words. Like Queen fortunately has done, starting from around the time of Live Aid I think.
Another interesting point should be made about Sweet's desertion of the UK during the years 1975 and 1979. They had two huge hits during that time with Fox in 1975 and Oxygen in 1978 and also had minor top forty hits with Action and Lies in Your Eyes, which did very well in toured countries like Germany (number 2 and number 5) and Denmark (ever better I think).
People say Sweet lost it during this time, but I don't agree. They did two massive tours of the US in 1976 and 1978 with a few European and one English date thrown in. They also got to Japan in 1976. They didn't tour at all in 1977, despite releasing Off the Record.
The point I want to make is that Queen never toured the US after 1982 through to the time they stopped touring in 1986 and well we know what happened to Queen's chart success during that time over there. The highest chart position they got was with Radio Ga Ga at number 16, which was a hit in the UK and also in many other places including Australia.
So Sweet's chart performance in the UK is actually superior to Queen's chart performance in the US during their respective periods of non-touring (Hammersmith excepted of course), but the rock critics say that Sweet's demise was related to the parting of the ways with Chinn and Chapman.
Bollocks I say. C&C were the masters of singles writing, no doubt about it. But in the three years after their break Sweet released Fox, Action and Andy co-wrote Oxygen. They also had singles from the Off the Record album (Lost Angels, Fever of Love and Stairway to the Stars) that charted just inside or outside the top ten in Germany. The first two songs also went top ten in Sweden.
So personally I think Sweet has been harshly judged by the British music critics (as Queen was) and then didn't last long enough or completely take over the US to make them eat their words. Like Queen fortunately has done, starting from around the time of Live Aid I think.
Heavenite wrote: Hi Lord Fickle
You were at the Hammersmith Odeon gig in 1978? You lucky so and so.
Yup, I was 13 at the time, and it was my very first gig. My older cousin took me on the back of his motor bike. Trouble was, we got there and realised we'd forgotten the tickets, so had a mad dash back through London to get them! Luckily, I think the band came on late, and we didn't miss anything. I remember being deaf for a couple of days afterwards lol!
I was also thinking earlier, how interesting it would be to have the tables turned somewhat, and hear Brian Connolly singing stuff like Gates of Babylon, Stargazer, Man on the Silver Mountain, Kill The King, etc. I think he would have perhaps fitted in with Rainbow, better than Dio would have with Sweet. Now, there's a thought... :)
the sweet missed the boat, and by 1979 it was way too late
bands get taken seriously thru album sales...they never had a UK/USA top 10 album for five years i think...once they'd been established as a "singles-only" band it's difficult to undo
bands get taken seriously thru album sales...they never had a UK/USA top 10 album for five years i think...once they'd been established as a "singles-only" band it's difficult to undo
Hi Lord Fickle
That's a great story. You really were there at a piece of significant Sweet history. You would have seen a bunch of Level Headed tracks no doubt like Lady of the Lake and maybe even Fountain. Wow! They haven't played that sort of stuff, except for Love is Like Oxygen for years.
Your experience also actually reminds me of the very first time I went to see what was left of Sweet myself. I jumped on a plane and saw them in Melbourne in 1985.
Sweet were late on stage that night too, and didn't get on until way into the early hours. And secondly, my hearing was smashed for a couple of days. They were so loud. I haven't experienced anything like it before or since. Having said that, they really were fantastic!
That's a great story. You really were there at a piece of significant Sweet history. You would have seen a bunch of Level Headed tracks no doubt like Lady of the Lake and maybe even Fountain. Wow! They haven't played that sort of stuff, except for Love is Like Oxygen for years.
Your experience also actually reminds me of the very first time I went to see what was left of Sweet myself. I jumped on a plane and saw them in Melbourne in 1985.
Sweet were late on stage that night too, and didn't get on until way into the early hours. And secondly, my hearing was smashed for a couple of days. They were so loud. I haven't experienced anything like it before or since. Having said that, they really were fantastic!
Hi brENski
Sweet was as you say a singles band. Such bands only seem to have album success if they have a single that does well. Another one was 10CC. I have seen an article where Eric Stewart from that band laments how bands like Zeppelin and Floyd didn't need a massive single to have a huge album.
Sadly Sweet never achieved album success in the UK/USA as you say and didn't seem to understand the importance of continuing to have singles success in order to potentially change that.
Although, as I said, things were different in Germany and Scandinavia They certainly did have top ten albums success in those places.
The other place where they had some success in the album charts was here in Australia. The Sweet Singles got to number 2 (number 25 for the year) and Strung Up got to number 9 , which wasn't bad for a double album. Check out this Wiki discography link for the details.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_discography
PS Also check out their singles success in Germany and Denmark while you're there. A run of seven number ones in a row in Germany (total 8) and a run of 10 number 1's in a row in Denmark (total 11). In 2008 they were also voted the first or second most popular band from the 70's in Germany, depending on the poll and the fourth or fifth most popular band of all time. Those polls had huge voter turnout as well. Not bad don't you think for a band whose classic lineup split at the end of 1978?
Sweet was as you say a singles band. Such bands only seem to have album success if they have a single that does well. Another one was 10CC. I have seen an article where Eric Stewart from that band laments how bands like Zeppelin and Floyd didn't need a massive single to have a huge album.
Sadly Sweet never achieved album success in the UK/USA as you say and didn't seem to understand the importance of continuing to have singles success in order to potentially change that.
Although, as I said, things were different in Germany and Scandinavia They certainly did have top ten albums success in those places.
The other place where they had some success in the album charts was here in Australia. The Sweet Singles got to number 2 (number 25 for the year) and Strung Up got to number 9 , which wasn't bad for a double album. Check out this Wiki discography link for the details.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_discography
PS Also check out their singles success in Germany and Denmark while you're there. A run of seven number ones in a row in Germany (total 8) and a run of 10 number 1's in a row in Denmark (total 11). In 2008 they were also voted the first or second most popular band from the 70's in Germany, depending on the poll and the fourth or fifth most popular band of all time. Those polls had huge voter turnout as well. Not bad don't you think for a band whose classic lineup split at the end of 1978?