Album Review by Bradley Christensen
Sweet – Desolation Boulevard
Record Label: Capitol
Release Date: July 1975
My last review, which was on Survivor’s 1982 LP, Eye Of The Tiger, was about the idea of the “one-hit-wonder,” and how some bands are criminally underrated, especially if they’re one for one hit. You can look at a bunch of bands for good examples of that, too, such as Men Without Hats, The Outfield, The Fixx, and tons more bands that you’ve never heard of, but you most likely would know their biggest hits. In my review of Eye Of The Tiger, I talked about how some of those bands, well, the album doesn’t eclipse their biggest hit. In Survivor’s case, it really doesn’t. In case you missed it, their biggest hit is the title track of that album. It’s a song that was the themesong for Rocky III, but it’s since been used in tons of sports movies, montages, and highlight shows on ESPN, I’m sure. It’s one of those songs that everyone knows, and everyone loves, but you don’t know who does it. In some cases, you’re missing out, because the band / artist in question is really damn good, but with that record, you’re not missing out on anything at all. Eye Of The Tiger, the album, wasn’t half bad, because it was a decent rock / hard-rock / arena-rock album, but it was generic, lackluster, and forgettable. I liked it fine, but the album didn’t measure up to “Eye Of The Tiger,” both in terms of being as great, or being as interesting, and the album just didn’t do much for me at all. Today I’m going to talk about another album that is from a band that’s known for a couple of songs, but they’re from a decade less. That’s the band, Sweet, and their 1975 LP, Desolation Boulevard. I’m going to be talking about the US release, even though this band is from the UK, because the US version of this record actually includes one of their biggest singles, “Ballroom Blitz,” since that’s what a lot of labels did during that time.
If a single did really well, especially when it came to a band from across the pond, they would re-release the album (or just re-work the tracklisting if the album hadn’t come out yet in the US) with that single on it, so people would buy the album. In the case of Sweet, the song(s) you might know from the album are the aforementioned “Ballroom Blitz,” or “Fox On The Run.” I knew them more so for the former track, but I’ll be honest. When I got to “Fox On The Run” while listening to the album, I knew I recognized that song, because it sounded like something you’d hear in the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies. Turns out, I was right, because “Fox On The Run” is featured in the trailer of the second film (or it was the teaser, I forget which), as well as on the official soundtrack, so that’s how I’ve heard it. I knew that I recognized it. Quick side note, for the record, I love the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies, because they put an emphasis on music. The music is also extremely retro, and I love how that works itself into the story, so there’s an actual purpose for that, versus it being random songs, like a jukebox musical. It’s not a musical, either, but it’s really cool how they bring to light these older songs that most younger kids, teens, and even some young adults, don’t really know. The only thing that I knew about Sweet going into this album is that they had a glam-rock / hard-rock band, and the early to late 70s had a lot of these bands. Hard-rock flourished quite well during that time frame. Bands like AC/DC, Van Halen, Blackfoot, Boston, Deep Purple, and plenty of other bands got their start during this time, and glam-rock was becoming a big thing, too, thanks to T-Rex, David Bowie, and Queen, but the question of the hour is, simply put, does Sweet offer anything that these other bands don’t?
Honestly, I’m leaning towards no, because they really don’t, but that’s not a bad thing, either, because they do something that Survivor didn’t – the songs that aren’t, well, the big hits, are actually pretty good, if not just as good as the big singles. I wouldn’t say any of the songs on this album are as great as the two big singles here, and it is unfortunate that the album opens up with “Ballroom Blitz,” because it’s such a damn good song, but the rest of the album is good, too. Nothing on this album is bad whatsoever, and it’s not like it’s boring, generic, or forgettable. That’s the key difference here. I can’t say that this album is really anything remarkable, worthwhile, or amazing, but it’s pretty good glam-rock / hard-rock from the early 70s. It’s nothing that you can’t get from plenty of other bands, but I will say that “Ballroom Blitz” and “Fox On The Run” are great songs. The latter song appears later on in the album, too, so you have something to look forward to. The rest of it, while not being as great as those two songs, is pretty good, and that’s what I want from these one-hit-wonder acts. As long as the other songs are at least solid, I’m okay with that, and that’s how they are. This band is a relatively generic glam-rock band from the early 70s that only glam-rock fans would be really into, but I’d still recommend the two big singles. They’re those songs that you’ll hear, and go, “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard this before,” so you’ll recognize them. Otherwise, though, I’d say that this is worth a listen if you’re really into 70s rock, especially glam-rock, or you want to hear something a bit underrated or obscure. This band isn’t one that you think of when you think of 1970s rock, but they have their place in rock history, specifically a couple of really great songs that people still obviously remember today. Listening to this album has been a ton of fun, and I’m glad that I randomly picked it up.
