Certif1ed Half a star shy of a metal masterpiece - and here's why;

The Sweet are best known as a Glam Rock band, and so they were. However, they were the hardest rockin' badass, leather-wearing riff maestros in the business when they chose to be - and this album sets the second most obvious precendent for Judas Priest after Black Sabbath.

That precendent is set with the first track, the barnstorming "Set Me Free", a riff of awesome ferocity and power not heard since Deep Purple's "Highway Star" (only a good deal faster), or their contemporaries, Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy".

Metallica's "Whiplash", Priest's "Exciter" and a good number of Vardis songs are among those metal masterpieces that owe their very existence to this track.

The insane falsetto harmonies of the latter, which verge on screams, round off Brian Connolley's authoritative and commanding vocals, as the irresistable overdriven Marshall crunch and pounding drums featuring Philthy Animal Taylor influencing rhythms give you all the metal you're likely to hear from 1974.

It's certainly in a higher class than Kiss, more aggressive than Slade, only trumped by UFO's mighty Phenomenon album - and you might as well write off the Heavy Metal Kids self-titled release of the same year. Priest's "Rocka Rolla" is just a Black Sabbath clone in comparison.

The outro is packed with bits and pieces of metal experimentation including some astonishing whammy bar action for those who think that Eddie Van Halen did it all first.

"Heartbreak Today" is a great hard rock chugger, featuring an achingly beautiful, polished, and superbly architected twin guitar lead, with tones suspiciously like those of Brian May. It does sound a LOT like some later Priest songs though.

The outro features even more experimentation, with lipsmackingly good production - surprising given that the band themselves had a major hand in it.

"No You Don't" has a brilliant, tension-building introduction, and some great rhythm guitar experimentation with some really sensitive build-ups and amazing atmospheric effects, many reminiscent of "19th Nervous Breakdown" by the Rolling Stones, but taken to the next level.

Next up is Rebel Rouser, a Glam Rock classic, and a bit lighter weight than the previous tracks, quoting Eddie Cochran, while sounding like David Bowie on the amphetamine of your choice.

Rounding off side 1 is Peppermint Twist, an obviously derivative rock and roll party number. Great fun, if you're in the mood for it.

The title track is the most meaty song on the album, and is hugely experimental, and VERY Priest-sounding. Ripper, anyone?

Loaded with tritones and fanfares, occasionally dropping down to something altogether lighter, this is The Sweet at their most aggressive, expressive and, um something else ending in essive. Oh yes. Progressive. Really.

The multiple sections of quite disparate music conjure up the earliest Progressive Metal you're likely to hear outside of UFO and the Scorpions. Again, The Sweet go for some wild jamming following the song per se, and come up with some very interesting and influential ideas that you may well have heard many metal guitarists using - Zakk Wylde, for example.

Restless is a great chugger, spoiled only a lot by the blatant rip-off of Free's Alright Now. Or maybe I'm missing the point... there's plenty of other stuff to enjoy in this track.

Into The Night begins with that familiar "Woompah Doompah" drum beat so beloved by The Glitter Band and other Glam Rockers, but soon reveals its had as something a bit more sinister, substantial and heavy than those other luminaries. The guitar solo is a bit more of the same, but a mean punch follows it, with crashing gongs, tubular bells and seriously creepy sounds - this is one helluva dark piece. As we've come to expect, the outro is not at all short of other surprises and experimentation of a metal nature.

AC/DC is probably the least interesting song on the album, despite the outrageous lyrical content. It's got nothing to do with the band, by the way, who formed a year earlier.

This is a truly astonishing album, not least because it was largely written, performed and produced by a band who had gained a reputation for not being able to write or play. The title track is largely a response to this (not unfounded) criticism, and the venom with which it is delivered has heavy metal attitude down to its very core.

I can't recommend this flawed masterpiece enough.

AtomicCrimsonRush The Sweet’s “Sweet Fanny Adams” was the first heavy album from the band with some absolute killer tracks that were as heavy as it got in 1974 at the time. The image was glam but The Sweet were not short on aggression and very infectious riffing.

The band were at their best on ‘SFA” and the album begins with the raucous guitar blitz of ‘Set Me Free’ with the most outrageous lyrics; “gagged ball and chain, feel just the same, making your mark, don’t leave me here in the dark, set me free, call me a saint that’s what I aint, Inside my head, maybe I feel better dead, Set me free!” The riffs are fantastic and there are many time changes. The lengthy instrumental passage features psychedelic phased lead guitar from Scott and Priest’s bassline is well executed. The drums are frenetic from Tucker who bashes the living suitcase out of them. But it is Connolly’s rasping metal vocals that sell the song and take it to that extra level of intensity.

This finishes and there is no gap before the guitar riff crunches in and the echo swells of shimmering keyboards merge in to introduce the melodic ‘Heartbreak Today’. The track has infectious choral harmonies on the chorus and a very cool outro with bass and guitar dominating.

‘No You Don't’ is another heavy track with echo vocals and tight arrangement on guitars. The lyrics are aggressively sung; “no you don’t have to treat me like a fool, no you don’t have to act so bloody cool, no you don’t have to make up all the rules, no you don’t...” The acoustic break features an estranged falsetto keyboard sound that adds to the bizarre atmosphere of the track.

‘Rebel Rouser’ starts with Tucker bashing those skins and then Scott brings the killer riff that drives the track. The lyrics are again more aggressive than previous Sweet songs; “Inside out gonna burn tonight cos the heat is on and the time is right...” Priest is heard on this with his trademark echo vocals (that will become part of The Sweet sound on all their singles such as ‘Fox on the Run’, ‘Stairway to the Stars’ and ‘Ballroom Blitz’); “Wanna rocker and a roller in a outer space” It was always tongue in cheek nonsense but so refreshing when everyone was singing “breaking up is hard to do “ and other such fluff in the 70s. This has a nice refrain with cool guitar break and time change. A classic track for the band.

‘Peppermint Twist’ is a great cover version of Joey Dee and Henry Glover’s 60s classic. The Sweet add loud guitars and rasping shouting vocals to bring it to a new audience. Like most of the early hits, this reeked of bubblegum pop but it was still fun to sing in its day, though definitely dated by today’s standards.

‘Sweet F.A.’ is a terrific song with lengthy instrumental sections and many time changes. It clocks in at 6:14, which is way over the usual 3-4 minute time of most Sweet songs. I rate this track highly due to the musicianship which is excellent. Scott on guitar is incredible and very creative. The verses are once again a lot more aggressive than bubblegum tripe of their early years; “Well its Friday night and I need a fight, if she don’t spread I’m gonna bust her head, you’re just my size but if you’re so wise, see the chick in black, maybe she’ll come back”. The ending of this song is awesome with innovative guitar licks and effects and it ends with a huge explosion. One of the best Sweet tracks.

‘Restless’ is more a filler than a great track though it has some nice moments. It grew on me over the years as I used to crank this up in the 70s, and I always liked the feel of this with whispered vocals echoed by strong harmonies.

‘Into The Night’ is another filler but the guitars keep it interesting and the instrumental break which features gong effects and bells and a monster voice saying something weird is compelling. It was a strange track but still shows the creative side of the band at their most experimental.

‘A.C.D.C.’ is a bad way to end this excellent album with shouting vocals and bad structure, but it has some merits as being one of a kind with gender bending lyrics about a bisexual. The silly stop start sections with long pauses I could do without and the lead break is terrible. I never cared too much for this track but it’s easy to skip so no harm done.

Overall I believe this is one of The Sweet’s best albums, certainly a breakthrough when you consider what they were doing before this on the bubblegum teeny bopper circuit. This album marked a departure in that fluff and showcased the raw vibrant energy the band exuded; their heavier side was irresistible. It has some of the definitive early metal influenced tracks such as ‘Sweet FA’ and ‘Set Me Free’ which has been covered by many metal bands including Krokus, among others. I recommend this album if you want to discover the greatness of The Sweet. Interestingly this entire album was featured on one of the many “The Sweet’s Greatest Hits” compilations.