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"Sweet" represents the great question confronting popular music in the early 1970s - should it be rock or should it be pop? Even their name reflects that tension, since the band began as "Sweetshop," switching early on to a name with more mystique - and more ambivalence.

They had long rock star hair and a cool "glam" sound, but the band struggled for years to define their sound. Their first hit was "Funny Funny," a song which was almost too attractive. It opens with bright "Ah" sounds (augmented with a piano and cowbells), and its laid-back vocals complemented the pop, almost bubblegum sound. ("It's so funny-funny, what you do, honey-honey, what you do, what you mean to me...") The band's producers continued the formula with "Co-Co," adding steel drums, hand claps, and another cow bell to a song with a nonsense chorus about a tropical dancer. ("Ho-chi, ka-ka ho, Co-Co...") They cloned the song's instrumentation for a followup hit about a Jamaican dancing song. ("In the midday sun, they beat on their drums when Poppa Joe comes to town...") And the lyrics were just as inconsequential for their next hit, "Alexander Graham Bell." ("Well, he knew darned well, that he could find the only way, to talk across the USA...") This band would never be about deep philosophical messages - but would they stay "sweet," or would they rock?

They continued finding success with slick-and-peppy songs with near-meaningless lyrics, including "Little Willy (go home)" and "Wig-Wam Bam" - ostensibly a story about a native American being seduced by a young maiden, though its hard-driving beat and simple lyrics suggest the song is really more about sexy maidens everywhere. But the band was anxious to create a harder sound, taking more control of their records and ultimately producing "Blockbuster." It echoes the wail in "Little Willy" about a third person who's supposedly plaguing the band's singer, and includes some rugged guitar work at the end. But its most notable development was giving vocalist Brian Connolly a spoken line in the chorus - "We just haven't got a clue what to do!" His histrionic delivery was perfect, sardonic fun - and the band decided to give his now-familiar spoken voice another try on what became their greatest single.

"Ballroom Blitz" is one of the all-time classic rock singles. (One story says its inspiration was a barrage of beer bottles which forced to band to flee the stage in Scotland.) The band lets loose with some hyperactive drum beats and slicing guitars, complemented by cool, slow vocals describing an out-of-control party. "It was electric, and perfectly hectic," squeals Connolly, "And the band started leaving, because they all stopped breathing. Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah..." Sweet had finally found themselves. They released other songs continuing the same theme, including "Teenaged Wasteland" (another tough, glam anthem), and "Fox on the Run," which became the band's biggest success.

Listening to these songs now brings back a time when the music industry was still grappling with its role. They realized that hip young audiences in the 1970s were demanding more from bands like Sweet - and Sweet finally delivered.

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
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