Search - Sweet :: Funny Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be

Best sound quality ever for 1971 UK debut album

Philip A.Cohen | Bay Harbor Islands, Florida United States | 02/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First,I'd like to say that this remaster is a dramatic improvement in sound quality over the original UK vinyl and the only previous CD release(an obscure German Ariola mid-price CD from the early 1990's).I've owned two different UK vinyl releases,each of which had a different album cover,and this CD presents yet another different set of artwork,one which shortens the title to "Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be".Is this the actual original artwork? I don't know.This release adds on all the non-L.P. singles A's & B's from this period,plus two BBC tracks("Paperback Writer" & "Lucille/Great Balls of Fire") and the album outtake "Be With You Soon"...all of which have appeared on German CD's on Repertoire or RCA.The disc is generously filled with music.Too bad that BMG/Sony couldn't have found some actual unreleased material from this period.Much of this material is bubblegum pop,rather than the hard rocking Glam sound for which the group later became known.The group had already been through 2 lead guitarists(Frank Torpey & Mick Stewart)and four failed singles for two labels(Fontana & Parlophone),so when guitarist Andy Scott joined,and the group signed with RCA/UK,they had to agree to a less than ideal setup forced on them by producers Phil Wainman,Mike Chapman & Nicky Chinn:At the time of the first 5 RCA/UK singles and this album,on cover versions or songs written or supplied by the producers,Sweet would appear only as vocalists backed by studio musicians,but on songs written by the group,the group would play the instruments AND sing.The reason for this was because the producers weren't that interested in the group's hard rocking sound.The producers wanted to make bubblegum novelty records.But on the group's 5th RCA/UK single,"Little Willy",the sessionmen created a hard rock sound similar to the group's own.When the record was a huge hit(and U.S.A. breakthrough),there was clearly no more reason to use sessionmen.Starting with the 6th RCA/UK single "Wig Wam Bam",the group would henceforth always play the instruments,whether or not they wrote the song.This album wasn't released in the United States.In fact,with the exception of "Little Willy",the tracks featuring sessionmen were squelched from ever appearing as album tracks in the U.S.A.(though a few had appeared as failed singles on the "Bell" label).For America,a different album was compiled by the "Bell" label,"Sweet,featuring Little Willy & The Blockbuster",which brought together all of the songs to that date which featured the group's real playing.Don't bother with the American CD of "Sweet,Featuring Little Willy & The Blockbuster"(which uses a live version of "Need a Lot of Loving" by mistake).All of the correct takes appear in the new RCA/BMG UK remastered series,many of them on this CD.By the way,for unknown contractual reasons,the group took credit for the songwriting of "Jeannie".Deep Purple's Roger Glover(then an apartment roommate of Sweet's Brian Connolly) actually wrote it.And it wasn't the first time that Connolly had sung Glover's material(see "Questions" on "Sweet-The Early Recordings,a Roger Glover-Ian Gillan composition,with Glover credited under his early writing pseudonym "Roger David").The standout tracks on this disc are the hard rock numbers played by the group("Spotlight","Done Me Wrong Alright","Man From Mecca","New York Connection","Wig Wam Bam" & "Be With You Soon") where the group's real sound emerges."

Sweet Bubblegum!

Raymond Talbot | LaBaie, Quebec Canada | 04/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a SWEET fan since first hearing "Ballroom Blitz" at a friend's house, I have long-time dreamed of one day owning the entire and original (British) SWEET discography. Lucky me, the moment I finally managed to save few dollars, bingo, they release this edition with remastered sound and extra tracks!



This is SWEET in their "infancy" before such songs as "Ballroom Blitz" and "Action". Think more along the lines of the "Partridge Family" meets the "Beach boys". So those of you who are looking for that hard rockin' group, stay away. The guitar's distortion pedal is only used on a couple of songs. For the collectioners (like me) and those who enjoy this type of music, this is the most "bang for the buck" of the entire collection. There are 22 "feel good" songs including great renditions of "Reflections" (The Supremes) and "Paperback writer" (The Beatles). Keep in mind these are older recordings and although they have been remastered, there is some tape hiss present but not enough to ruin the experience and a heck of a lot less hiss then when we used to listen to these songs on mini-cassettes.



Favourite songs include Funny Funny, Be With You Soon, Poppa Joe, Paperback Writer and Little Willie (their first American single I believe and the first SWEET song I ever heard).

"

Sweet by name and nature

Stephen Russell | 02/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long time fan I am since the days of Hellraiser and blockbuster. I was just a wee fella then but grew up enjoying Sweet's music which I always found bought a smile to my face. This album came as a surprise but a most enjoyable one. I had only heard a couple of their early songs such as Jeanie, Spotlight and Funny Funny and found them nice simple tunes to sing along with. When you feel like listening to some early 70's relaxing tunes on a Sunday on the way to the beach then this sure is the album, and yes Sweet's version of 'Reflections' is a beauty. However if it's Sweet's rockier sound you're after then maybe a later album will suit you, but this album to me proves what a versatile group Sweet were, and although there sound changed over time they were always musically competent and enjoyable."