Sea Of Tranquility



The Web Source for Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal & Jazz-Fusion
  Search   in       
Main Menu




Sweet: New York Groove Plus

Thanks to the folks over at Ange Air Records, their just doesn't seem to be a shortage of releases coming out of the two Sweet camps these days. New York Groove Plus is the latest from the Andy Scott version of the band, a re-release of sorts of 2012s New York Connection covers album, (see our original review ) here getting a make-over with a few bonus tracks. Guitarist Scott is joined by Pete Lincoln (vocals/bass), Tony O'Hora (guitar/keys/vocals) and Bruce Bisland (drums/vocals).

The track listing here on this release is the same as on New York Connection, but with the inclusion of a few bonus tracks. The cover of Electric Frankenstein's "It's All Moving Faster" is listed as a 'PDQ Mix', but it's still a frantic take on this mini punk classic, while a live take of Dead or Alive's '80s new wave/pop/disco hit "You Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record)" still kills with its wealth of heavy metal guitars and vocal wailing. Rounding out the bonus material is an acoustic rendition of "New York Groove", a fun take, but inferior to the very fine electric version found at the beginning of the CD.

Whether you will want to purchase New York Groove Plus if you already have New York Connection is debatable. The bonus tracks are certainly not essential, but for completists, this might be worth seeking out.


Track Listing
1. New York Groove
2. Gold On The Ceiling
3. It's All Moving Faster
4. New York Connection
5. Shapes Of Things
6. You Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record)
7. Because The Night
8. Sweet Jane
9. Blitzkrieg Bop
10. On Broadway
11. Join Together
BONUS TRACKS
12. It's All Moving Faster (PDQ Mix)
13. You Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record) (live at Sweden Rock 2013)
14. New York Groove (acoustic)

Added: February 18th 2016
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Angel Air Records
Hits: 2434
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend Send to a Friend ]

  

[ Back to the Reviews Index | Post Comment ]

» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Sweet: New York Groove Plus
Posted by Jon Neudorf, SoT Staff Writer on 2016-02-18 00:12:44
My Score:

Making new music can be a real dilemma for bands that have been around the block a time or two so when Sweet were contemplating whether to record an album of new material band leader Andy Scott had some major reservations. He didn't feel new Sweet music would fly so on the recommendation of his son Damian they decided to go the cover route instead. The said album was released as New York Connection a couple years ago and has now been rereleased as New York Groove Plus by the good people at Angel Air Records, now containing three bonus tracks.

Of course this is not the original '70s line-up save for Scott but the other three members Pete Lincoln (bass, lead vocals), Bruce Bisland (drums, lead vocal track 9) and Tony O' Hora (keyboards, lead vocal track 7) have been together for many years now.

At first some of these tunes might seem like odd choices but after hearing the album nothing could be further from the truth. These covers really do work, from the classic melody of Patti Smith's "Because The Night" to Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Right Round" and its heavy chugging riffs recalling classic Sweet. This is a fun album through and through. More favourites include The Yardbird's "Shapes Of Things" remolded with passages from "Fox On The Run" and the heavy rocking Ramone's classic "Blitzkrieg Bop" with a nod to "Ballroom Blitz". Another interesting mix is George Benson's "On Broadway" with vocal harmonies recalling "Love Is Like Oxygen". The lead vocals of Pete Lincoln are excellent throughout and the vocal harmonies will almost have you thinking it's the '70s all over again. The acoustic version of "New York Groove" ending the disc is particularly poignant and uplifting.

I really enjoyed listening to these guys rocking like it was yesterday and although this doesn't quite reach the level of their '70s period (I would never expect it to), New York Groove Plus is better than most rock and roll you will hear over the airwaves. Well done gentlemen!




© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility
For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility

SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com