Sweet: From The Archives

Sweet
From the Archives: The Best of Sweet

Let me turn you on to The Sweet (or Sweet as they’re more commonly known), the 70’s, four-piece band from England. You might know lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker by their classic hits, “The Ballroom Blitz,” “Fox On the Run” “Little Willy,” and my all-time favorite Sweet tune (and one of my all-time favorite tunes overall), “Love Is Like Oxygen.” But there is so much more to this band who sold 55 million records worldwide, had 34 #1 hits, and are still touring today (although not with that original line-up). A lot of Sweet’s wonderful music is collected on the new From the Archives album.

As mentioned, “The Ballroom Blitz” and “Fox On the Run” are here (they start off this 16-song collection), but then there are tunes from the band’s first album, as well as their second and third, then tracks from throughout their career. Surely there is a lot of trashy rock stuff here (this is a band known for that wild rock sound as much as by their glam color-saturated satin jumpsuits). Tunes like “No You Don’t” and “AC/DC” give you a whirl of the band’s strutting, loud sound. But there are also great rockers here, like the roiling, tom-tom/staccato, guitar-heavy “Sweet F.A.” (which ends this album, actually) and the synth-cutting, absolutely smoking, can’t-help-but-sing-along-to-it hit “Action.” Sweet gets the short end of the stick when it comes to considering classic 70’s rock bands, dismissed for their camp styling. But there is no denying the harmonies, the tight playing, and these infectious tunes. From the Archives is great stuff from a great band.