STACK November Issue 68

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48 NOVEMBER 2015
Sweet Sweet Action!: The Ultimate
Sweet Story
Secondhand prog-rock vinyl is usually in mint
condition; secondhand glam always damaged beyond
repair. The reason? Prog albums were for home-play
on headphones; glam albums were trashy party
animals who just wanted to dance all night. Sweet
were one of the great glam-rock bands who ticked
off eight UK number ones, enjoyed the services of legendary if formulaic
songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and also had the glitter'n'colour
look of Bowie-T.Rex. But more of it. Sweet were simple, party-time fun
celebrating youth, dancing and freedom from the concerns of adulthood which
would come soon enough. And even now when you listen to their simple
but widescreen songs – either on the double CD here or the terrific DVD of
previously unseen concert and television footage – you can't help but smile at
the cheerful, unpretentious inanity of it all. Sweet looked back to simple but
effective '50s rock'n'roll (Little Willie, Peppermint Twist) but also extended on
into disco (their later Love Is Like Oxygen). If you can't dance to Little Willie,
Blockbuster , Ballroom Blitz and others here, check your pulse. You might be
dead. Or worse, listening to prog on the headphones.
The Beatles
1+
If you already have the Beatles
CD compilation 1 from 15 years
ago, the inducements here are
the two additional Blu-ray/DVD
discs of remastered, digitally
enhanced live footage, promo
clips, studio performances and
early videos. Feel the excitement
of Beatlemania, thrill to A Hard
Day's Night, see John and
Paul obviously stoned as they
mime hits in 1966, watch them
get psychedelic in Strawberry
Fields Forever, sing along with
All You Need Is Love, clench
your fists during the electrifying
Revolution , observe them pulling
apart . Comes with a 127-page
book, plus an audio commentary
by McCartney and Starr.
Essential.
The Incredible
String Band
Wee Tam & The Big Huge
In the late '60s this multi-
instrumental duo wove together
British folk, exotic world music
instruments, mysticism, Biblical
phrases, esoteric tripped-out
nonsense and much more
into a colourful, confusing,
eccentric tapestry. Nothing
like them before, nothing like
them since. Producer Joe
Boyd – who worked with early
Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, REM
and dozens of other interesting
artists – considers recording
The Incredible String Band one
of his greatest achievements. A
strangely delightful double from
hazy 1968.
visit
Then Play On (1969)
The third album as a British blues band, the last with
legendary guitarist Peter Green, and the first with
guitarist Danny Kirwan (they played together on the
instrumental hit Albatross). Here they were stretching
beyond blues covers (Closing My Eyes) and the version to get is the
2013 remastered and expanded edition (with Oh Well, The Green
Manalishi and World in Harmony). It's Mac, Jim.
But not as you know it.
Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974)
Californian guitarist Bob Welch was an important
five year-conduit between the group's British blues
to American pop-rock sound (although wasn't
acknowledged when they were inducted into The
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1998). He convinced them to come
to the US and introduced them to Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie
Nicks. For this album Mac were a four-piece, Welch was peaking as
writer/player, and Christine McVie stepped up with great songs.
A much ignored cornerstone in their catalogue.
Four FromThe Famous Five
Fleetwood Mac (1975)
We presume you have the follow-up Rumours (50
million copies sold) but this was where global success
started. Welch left and in came Buckingham and Nicks,
so with Christine McVie the group now had three
excellent writers, two female vocalists, and in singer Buckingham,
an innovative guitarist-writer. It sprung Rhiannon, Landslide and
Say You Love Me (among others). The start of the most successful
phase of their long career.
Tusk (1979)
After you've sold 50 million of Rumours you get to
make an adventurous, different, sometimes edgy
and extremely expansive double album. Helmed by
Buckingham who had his ear on New Wave and punk,
Tusk – which took over 18 months to record and cost about US$1
million, the most expensive album ever to that point – sprung hits
(notably Nicks' sublime Sara) but mostly pushed back the slick and
successful sound in favour of a leaner Mac attack. Stands up well.
Further Listening
So many albums, so many phases to consider... Cheaters will go for
the comprehensive four CD box set 25 Years; The Chain.
For more from Graham Reid visit
By Graham Reid
FLEETWOOD MAC