Level Headed is the sixth album by Sweet. Different versions were released by Polydor in Europe and by Capitol in the US, Canada and Japan.
The album features "Love Is Like Oxygen", the band's last single to hit the top 40, peaking at #8 in the US and #9 in the UK. The single version of "Love Is Like Oxygen" is substantially shorter than the album version. A second single, "California Nights", was released from the album but only reached #76 in the US.
This was the last album to feature the classic Sweet lineup, as Brian Connolly departed around a year after the album's release, in order to embark on a solo career. The remaining trio of Steve Priest, Andy Scott, and Mick Tucker continued on and delivered three more albums before breaking up in 1981.
Sweet struggled to earn credibility as album artists and/or score hits after finally wresting themselves free of songwriting/production team Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman in the summer of 1974. They turned out a few albums before achieving both goals with Level Headed. The album gave them their final Top Ten hit with the dreamy "Love Is Like Oxygen," a single that suggested that its accompanying record was a trippy mainstream pop record.
Instead, it was one part of an ambitious sonic mosaic where Sweet tried a little bit of everything, cloaking it all in a neo-prog aesthetic.
If it was hard to hear the candy crunch of early Sweet on "Love Is Like Oxygen," it seems like "Little Willy" in comparison to the rest of Level Headed, where the group runs wild in the studio. Throughout the first half, they indulge in catchy pop, dressing it up with mild psychedelia, elongating melodies with breezy harmonies and studio swirl.
This is just a teaser for the second side, where they delve deep into album rock weirdness, trying on classical-inspired art rock with "Anthem No. 1" and "Anthem No. 2," waltzing along with the Europop "Lettres d'Amour," and livening the proceedings with "Strong Love," a horn-spiked disco tune.
Certainly, this is not classic-era Sweet, but that's precisely what's good about Level Headed -- they're off-kilter and adventurous, occasionally stumbling but always making interesting music on an album that's anything but what the title promises.
If Level Headed didn't spawn another hit, so be it -- it remains one of Sweet's most fascinating albums, compared to both what came before and after. Yes, it was "Ballroom Blitz," "Fox on the Run," and other early hits that influenced the pop-metal of the late '70s and '80s, but for hardcore Sweet fans, Level Headed is a gem to treasure.
Side A
A1. Dream On - 2:52
A2. Love Is Like Oxygen - 6:57
A3. California Night - 3:42
A4. Strong Love - 3:27
A5. Fountain - 4:44
Side B
B1. Anthem No. I (Lady of the Lake) - 4:12
B2. Silverbird - 3:27
B3. Lettres D’Amour - 3:28
B4. Anthem No. II - 1:04
B5. Air on ‘A’ Tape Loop - 5:54
The album features "Love Is Like Oxygen", the band's last single to hit the top 40, peaking at #8 in the US and #9 in the UK. The single version of "Love Is Like Oxygen" is substantially shorter than the album version. A second single, "California Nights", was released from the album but only reached #76 in the US.
This was the last album to feature the classic Sweet lineup, as Brian Connolly departed around a year after the album's release, in order to embark on a solo career. The remaining trio of Steve Priest, Andy Scott, and Mick Tucker continued on and delivered three more albums before breaking up in 1981.
Sweet struggled to earn credibility as album artists and/or score hits after finally wresting themselves free of songwriting/production team Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman in the summer of 1974. They turned out a few albums before achieving both goals with Level Headed. The album gave them their final Top Ten hit with the dreamy "Love Is Like Oxygen," a single that suggested that its accompanying record was a trippy mainstream pop record.
Instead, it was one part of an ambitious sonic mosaic where Sweet tried a little bit of everything, cloaking it all in a neo-prog aesthetic.
If it was hard to hear the candy crunch of early Sweet on "Love Is Like Oxygen," it seems like "Little Willy" in comparison to the rest of Level Headed, where the group runs wild in the studio. Throughout the first half, they indulge in catchy pop, dressing it up with mild psychedelia, elongating melodies with breezy harmonies and studio swirl.
This is just a teaser for the second side, where they delve deep into album rock weirdness, trying on classical-inspired art rock with "Anthem No. 1" and "Anthem No. 2," waltzing along with the Europop "Lettres d'Amour," and livening the proceedings with "Strong Love," a horn-spiked disco tune.
Certainly, this is not classic-era Sweet, but that's precisely what's good about Level Headed -- they're off-kilter and adventurous, occasionally stumbling but always making interesting music on an album that's anything but what the title promises.
If Level Headed didn't spawn another hit, so be it -- it remains one of Sweet's most fascinating albums, compared to both what came before and after. Yes, it was "Ballroom Blitz," "Fox on the Run," and other early hits that influenced the pop-metal of the late '70s and '80s, but for hardcore Sweet fans, Level Headed is a gem to treasure.
Side A
A1. Dream On - 2:52
A2. Love Is Like Oxygen - 6:57
A3. California Night - 3:42
A4. Strong Love - 3:27
A5. Fountain - 4:44
Side B
B1. Anthem No. I (Lady of the Lake) - 4:12
B2. Silverbird - 3:27
B3. Lettres D’Amour - 3:28
B4. Anthem No. II - 1:04
B5. Air on ‘A’ Tape Loop - 5:54
Notes
Release: 1978
Genre: Glam Rock
Format: LP
Label: Polydor Records
Catalog# 2344100
Vinyl: VG
Hoes: VG
Prijs: €10,00
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