Reissued 1979 album. This was the bands first LP without vocalist Brian Connolly. Guitarist Andy Scott proves he's no slouch in the singing department on this 9-track release, which hit No. 49 in Germany, and includes t... more »he singles 'Call Me' and 'Big Apple Waltz'.« less
Reissued 1979 album. This was the bands first LP without vocalist Brian Connolly. Guitarist Andy Scott proves he's no slouch in the singing department on this 9-track release, which hit No. 49 in Germany, and includes the singles 'Call Me' and 'Big Apple Waltz'.
CD Reviews
Not What You Expect From 'The Sweet'
Jon J. Jacobs | New Orleans, Louisiana USA | 07/20/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First, let me begin by saying that this was probably the hardest release to find on anything (cassette, 33 1/3, 8 track, or CD) that I have ever run across. I had searched for a copy of this music for at least 10 years. I traveled to every two-bit record store and second-hand music shop in the city of New Orleans looking for it, without success. I was overjoyed to find it here at Amazon.com last month. My 'quest for the grail' had ended. Before you pass judgement on this album, wipe the lyrics and music of 'Little Willy' and other 'candy rock' singles The Sweet did out of your head. 'Cut Above The Rest' (CATR) is a more sophisticated type of music than what The Sweet is known for. Originally, a friend gave me a cassette of CATR in 1980, and I was hooked on it. After listening to it about 30 times, I went out and bought other 'The Sweet' albums, and honestly, I wasn't impressed with their earlier stuff. CATR is quite different. Songs like "Hold Me', 'Mother Earth', and 'Big Apple Waltz' are more in sync with their big hit 'Love is Like Oxygen' than 'Ballroom Blitz'. Songs include 'Call Me'; which is a catchy little number about a guy getting a massage, and 'Play All Night'; which has a hint of their earlier works.Overall, I sincerely feel that 'Cut Above The Rest', if it had been promoted properly, could have elevated The Sweet's status to a new level, and wiped out their 'bubble gum rock' image. Unfortunately, it is a relatively unknown piece of artistic work that has been unacknowledged for the past 21 years. For the cost of this import, it's worth the price. If you enjoy music from The Who in the late 1970's and 1980's, this album is for you."
Grossly underrated
Juan Ramirez | Kirkland, Wa United States | 08/21/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's too bad that hard rock /heavy metal(especially from the 70's)is so critically overlooked and underrated, one case in point is the great british group The Sweet. Probably best remembered for their early 70's glam era bubble gum hits such as WigWamBam and Little Louie (which are among the most finely crafted specimens of the form, easily ranking next to anything by T-Rex or Bowie),later proving their metal with hard rocking classics such as Set me free and Action, Cut above the Rest gives us a collection of songs from a band that is musically and artistically more mature than what they are usually given credit for. This album was released after the bands hit making heyday and as far as I can recall got little (if any) radio play and was something of a comercial failure (especially compared to past success, remember Fox on the Run?!!) but it's still a solid piece of work with great catchy songs (personal faves being Call Me and Dorian Gray). I highly recomend it to any one who is even remotely fond of the band, and I guess it's a good a place as any to start for those who have never checked them out before. Much better than the usual drek critics are quick to point out when cynically deriding 70's guitar rock."
A CUT ABOVE MOST
HIPPIE DAVE | Shelf, w.yorks United Kingdom | 05/18/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Too many people judge this album due to the lack of the late great Brian Connelly.I think it is certainly one of their best,and one I still play often.It has numerous classic tunes,'Call me' should have charted in the U.K.,'Big Apple Waltz' also,and there certainly is not a weak track on the album.'Discophony' is very tongue in cheek,and such as 'Eye games', 'Dorian Gray' or 'Mother Earth' would also have made good singles.The main things about the Sweet were they could write very good songs,play their instruments well, and all very good vocalists.Certainly one of the best 70s bands, and their music sounds as fresh as ever. Hippie d"
Unbelievably Good!
Mark Gordon | Tasmania, Australia | 11/25/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A heavily criticised bubblegum band switches to harder rock leaving its successful songwriters behind and after a number of hit singles, its trade mark lead singer leaves the band. The band reduced to three memebers soldiers on with its next release. It makes number 150 in the US and doesn't even chart in the UK.
Not the stuff to recommend an album you would think. I agree with the earlier critiques of the album except that I don't think they went far enough.
The tunes on this album are simply gorgeous. The musical skill and craftmanship are superb. How they managed to write "Mother Earth" is just beyond me. "Discophony" is another super track with some great solos in the middle and showed that messers Scott, Preist and Tucker had as vindictive a hatred for disco as myself at the time. The classic line in the song goes "Disco ain't what you're masturbating, rock and roll will still keep on celebrating, I'll always be the there."
Earlier tunes on the album such as "Call Me", "Play All Night" and "Big Apple Waltz" are just the pinnacle of commercial musicianship. "Dorian Gray" is an interestingly crafted song with another great solo and the harmonies in "Eye Games" are simply as "SWEET" as syrup. "Hold Me" and "Stay with Me" are interesting changes in tempo and finish the album off in a great way.
Sweet albums didn't sell that well, despite their enormous success in the singles market. Bad PR may have had something to do with this, I'm not totally sure. Whatever the case, many of their albums are just super music and I feel the world missed out badly by not buying more of them in the late '70's. They deserve to be sitting on the same pedestal as bands such as Queen, Pink Floyd and Styx (whom I also love). In my opinion, this album was their best ever and is surprisingly different to most of their other great stuff. I stongly recommend it and would suggest that the reader of this review not make the same mistake that the critics and record promoters of the late '70's did."
Highly recommended !...
Tony | Mechanicsville, Maryland United States | 01/26/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"...Okay, this was the 1st "Brianless" cd that The Sweet made and he was the "Voice" of Sweet. However the 3 remaining members still managed to make a great album. Mother Earth was a minor hit in the U.S. and reminds me a little like "Love Is Like Oxygen". Stay With Me and Play All Night are 2 other outstanding songs on this cd. The only thing missing is the neat cover that my vinyl album had on it. The picture on the cd is terrible (when did John Oates join the group? hee hee). But its the music that counts and this cd has plenty of great songs. God Bless Brian and Mick!..."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1