Although they were often dismissed as a fluffy singles
group in their day, Sweet crafted a handful of strong albums in the mid-'70s
that sported some surprisingly muscular hard rock. A fine example of this trend
is Sweet Fanny Adams. Although this album got little exposure in America on its
own, over half of this album's contents ended up on the American edition of
Desolation Boulevard. Sweet Fanny Adams' tone is set with the opening track,
"Set Me Free," a fiery rocker that blends ultrahigh vocal harmonies
to a furious succession of guitar riffs that jack the song up a level of speed
metal frenzy. Other hard-rocking highlights include "No You Don't," a
Queen-styled putdown of an unkind lover that was later covered by Pat Benatar,
and "Into the Night," a complex track that pits mid-tempo verse
against lightning-fast choruses over a surprisingly funky drumbeat that was
later sampled by the Beastie Boys. However, the album's heavy metal masterpiece
is the title track, a seedy portrait of juvenile delinquency whose brutal
lyrics anticipate the grim imagery of punk rock. The song's vivid lyrics are
effectively brought to life by a blinding succession of speed metal guitar
riffs that are fleshed out by the kind of spacy synthesizer work that later
graced "Fox on the Run." The remainder of the album doesn't always
jell (there is a cover of "Peppermint Twist" that doesn't really fit
in with the rest of the hard rock tunes), but Sweet Fanny Adams remains a solid
release full of tight performances and scorching riffs. Anyone with an interest
in Sweet beyond the hit singles should check this album out.
Ripped from the 2005 reissue to sturdy MP3 @ 320kbps
Sweet; Sweet Fanny Adams
1. Set
Me Free
2. Heartbreak
Today
3. No
You Don’t
4. Rebel
Rouser
5. Peppermint
Twist
6. Sweet
F.A.
7. Restless
8. Into
The Night
9. AC-DC
10. Blockbuster*
11. Need
A Lot Of Lovin’*
12. Hell
Raiser*
13. Burning*
14. The
Ballroom Blitz*
15. Rock’n’Roll
Disgrace*
Thanx a lot!
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