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Cut Above the Rest | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1979 (US) October 1979 (UK) [1] | |||
Genre | Rock, hard rock, disco | |||
Length | 40:50 | |||
Label | Polydor, Capitol | |||
Producer | Sweet | |||
Sweet chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Cut Above the Rest is the seventh studio album by the English glam rock band Sweet, released on Polydor Records in April 1979. It was their first album release following the departure of their original lead vocalist Brian Connolly. Connolly had begun recording this album with the band at the TownHouse Studio in Shepherd's Bush, London, but his vocals were subsequently wiped and replaced by vocals from bass player Steve Priest and guitarist Andy Scott. Original outtakes of "Play All Night" and "Stay With Me" (a.k.a. "Log One/That Girl") featuring Connolly's vocals have been recovered and were released on the rarities CD Platinum Rare .
Cut Above the Rest was released with two different sleeves: one for the US/Canada/Japan/UK markets and another (a wood carving of the three members' faces) for Europe.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
In their retrospective review, AllMusic described Cut Above the Rest as "a bizarre combination of the hard-rocking pop that dominated classic Sweet singles with progressive flights of fancy in a 10cc/Electric Light Orchestra vein, plus a dash of lounge lizard-ish soft rock balladry thrown in to cover all the pop/rock bases." They found that some of the excursions in this hodgepodge of styles were disastrous, but that the stronger cuts were distinctive and compelling enough to make the album as a whole memorable, albeit "too erratic" for casual listeners. [2]
All songs written and composed by Steve Priest, Andy Scott and Mick Tucker except where noted.
Sweet are a British glam rock band who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best-known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker.
Brian Francis Connolly was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band the Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and known for his charismatic stage presence and distinctive voice.
Michael Thomas Tucker was an English musician, best known as the drummer of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet.
Stephen Norman Priest was an English musician who was the bassist of the glam rock band The Sweet.
Desolation Boulevard is the third studio album by the British glam rock band Sweet, originally released in the United Kingdom in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and another by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan.
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Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be is the debut album by English glam rock band the Sweet, released in November 1971 on RCA Records in the UK. It reached number one in Finland in February 1972. The album contained two singles which were hits in the UK: "Funny Funny" and "Co-Co". In the United States, only "Co-Co" dented the chart, reaching No. 99 in October.
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Identity Crisis is the ninth and final studio album by English glam rock band Sweet. Originally released exclusively in Germany and Mexico via Polydor Records, it was recorded from 1980 to 1981 and finally released after the band's break-up in 1981.
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Off the Record is the fifth studio album by the English glam rock band Sweet. It was recorded at Audio International Studios in London between October 1976 and January 1977. The band produced with assistance from engineers Louis Austin and Nick Ryan. It peaked at No. 151 on the Billboard 200.
Andrew David Scott is a Welsh musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and a backing vocalist in the glam rock band Sweet. Following bassist Steve Priest's death in June 2020, Scott is the last surviving member of the band's classic lineup.
Black 'N Blue is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Black 'n Blue, released in 1984. The album includes the band's only song to chart as a single, Hold On to 18. In 2015, the album was ranked 28th at Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time".
The Sweet is a compilation album released as Sweet's debut album in the US and Canada, substituting for the 1971 UK album Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be.
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"Turn It Down" is a song by the British glam rock band the Sweet, from their 1974 album Desolation Boulevard. The song was removed from the US version of Desolation Boulevard however, along with two other songs. "Turn It Down" was the second single released from the album. In the UK, the single reached number 41 on the charts but fared better in Europe, reaching the top five in Norway and Germany.
"Little Willy" is a song written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and performed by the British glam rock band The Sweet, released in 1972 as a non-album single in the UK, peaking at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. It was released in the US in January 1973 and also appeared on their US debut album The Sweet and became their biggest hit in the US, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked it as the number 18 song for 1973.
"Wig-Wam Bam" is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, released as a single in September 1972. It was the first Sweet single on which the band members actually played their instruments, as previous singles featured producer Phil Wainman on drums, and session musicians John Roberts and Pip Williams on bass and guitars respectively.
"The Six Teens" is a 1974 song by British glam rock band Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, appearing on Sweet's album Desolation Boulevard. The song was Sweet's first single simply as "Sweet". The B-side is the band composition "Burn on the Flame".