Desolation Boulevard

Desolation Boulevard is the third studio album by the British glam rock band Sweet, originally released in the United Kingdom in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and another by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan. The album contains the band's best known songs, "The Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run".

Desolation Boulevard
Original UK Cover
Studio album by The Sweet
Released	30th November 1974
Recorded	1974
Studio	Audio International Studios, London
Genre	Glam rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length	41:09
Label	RCA
Producer	Mike Chapman in association with Nicky Chinn
The Sweet chronology
Sweet Fanny Adams (1974) Desolation Boulevard (1974) The Sweet Singles Album (1975)
Singles from Desolation Boulevard
"The Six Teens" Released: July 1974 "Turn It Down" Released: November 1974 "Fox on the Run" Released: March 1975

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B−^[2]
Soundblab	^[3]
The Vinyl District	A−^[4]

The RCA version contains the single "Turn It Down" and the original recording of "Fox on the Run." The Capitol version, released in the United States in July 1975, includes the band's 1973 hit single "The Ballroom Blitz" and the single version of "Fox on the Run." In the U.S., the album peaked at #25 on October 25, 1975.

Desolation Boulevard is considered by many to be the band's best album. Andy Scott, Sweet's guitarist, said of Desolation Boulevard: "Such diversity only proves that the band was never going to be just formulaic, giving this album a definitive place in Sweet history".^[5]

Cover artwork

The album artwork was done by art design group Hipgnosis, famous for working with the likes of Pink Floyd, Genesis, The Alan Parsons Project, and Led Zeppelin. The background photo was shot near the entrance of a rock music club called Filthy McNasty's, located at 8852 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. Today, it is the site of The Viper Room, which is where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning in 1993.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Brian Connolly, Steve Priest, Andy Scott and Mick Tucker except where noted.

RCA release

Side one

1. "The Six Teens" (Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn) – 4:02
2. "Solid Gold Brass" – 5:33
3. "Turn It Down" (Chapman, Chinn) – 3:30
4. "Medusa"^[6][7] ("Medussa", on remastered CD editions 1999 and 2005^[8]) (Scott) – 4:45
5. "Lady Starlight" (Scott) – 3:12

Side two

1. "The Man with the Golden Arm" (Elmer Bernstein, Sylvia Fine) – 8:27
2. "Fox on the Run" – 4:47
3. "Breakdown" – 3:06
4. "My Generation" (Pete Townshend) – 3:59

Bonus tracks on 1997 reissue

10. "Burning" – 4:07
11. "Rock & Roll Disgrace" – 3:50

Bonus tracks on 1999 reissue

10. "I Wanna Be Committed" – 3:10
11. "Teenage Rampage" (single A-side) – 3:32

Bonus tracks on 2005 reissue

10. "Teenage Rampage" (Chapman, Chinn) – 3:52
11. "Own Up, Take a Look at Yourself" (B-side of "Teenage Rampage") – 3:58
12. "Burn on the Flame" (B-side of "The Six Teens") – 3:37
13. "Someone Else Will" (B-side of "Turn It Down") – 3:25
14. "Medussa" (home demo – previously unreleased) – 5:51
15. "Burn on the Flame" (home demo – previously unreleased) – 3:57
16. "I Wanna Be Committed" (Chapman, Chinn) – 3:10
17. "Fox on the Run" (7" version) – 3:24
18. "Miss Demeanor" (B-side of "Fox On The Run") – 3:17

Capitol release

Desolation Boulevard
Capitol version cover
Studio album by Sweet
Released	July 1975
Recorded	Recorded in England 1973, 1974, 1975
Genre	Hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal
Length	43:01
Language	English
Label	Capitol
Producer	Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn, Sweet
Singles from Desolation Boulevard
"Ballroom Blitz" Released: June 1975 "Fox on the Run" Released: 1 November 1975

The Capitol version of Desolation Boulevard was released in the United States and Canada in July 1975. It was different from the U.K. version and included several songs from their previous album Sweet Fanny Adams in addition to the "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run" singles.

Side one

1. "Ballroom Blitz" (Chapman, Chinn) – 4:00
2. "The Six Teens" (stylized as "The 6-Teens") (Chapman, Chinn) – 4:04
3. "No You Don't" (Chapman, Chinn) – 4:36
4. "A.C.D.C." (Chapman, Chinn) – 3:28
5. "I Wanna Be Committed" (Chapman, Chinn) – 3:14

Side two

1. "Sweet F.A." (Scott, Tucker, Connolly, Priest) – 6:16
2. "Fox on the Run" (Scott, Tucker, Connolly, Priest) (single version) – 3:28
3. "Set Me Free" (Scott) – 3:59
4. "Into the Night" (Scott) – 4:25
5. "Solid Gold Brass" (Scott, Tucker, Connolly, Priest) (with guitar overdub) – 5:35

Personnel

Sweet

• Brian Connolly – lead vocals (except as noted)
• Steve Priest – bass, lead vocals (UK tracks 9, 18; US track 3), backing vocals
• Andy Scott – guitars, synthesizer, lead vocals (UK tracks 5, 6; US track 9), backing vocals
• Mick Tucker – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1975) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[9] 13 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[10] 5 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[11] 9 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[12] 9 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[13] 17 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[14] 17 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[15] 2 US Billboard 200^[16] 25

Year-end charts Chart (1975) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[17] 19

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[18]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Desolation Boulevard - Sweet | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Robertchristgau.com. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
3. Penczak, Jeff. "[21261] Sweet - Desolation Boulevard - Classic Albums - Albums - Reviews". Soundblab.com. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
4. Little, Michael H. (17 June 2016). "Graded on a Curve: Sweet, Desolation Boulevard". The Vinyl District. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
5. Swanson, Dave. "Sorting Through Two Versions of Sweet's 'Desolation Boulevard'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
6. Desolation Boulevard, German LP pressing, 1974. Discogs. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
7. Desolation Boulevard, UK CD edition, 1989. Discogs. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
8. Desolation Boulevard. EU CD edition, 2005 Discogs. Retrieved 201-12-19.
9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 302. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4070a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Sweet – Desolation Boulevard" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
13. "Charts.nz – The Sweet – Desolation Boulevard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Sweet – Desolation Boulevard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
15. "Sweet - Se alla låtar och listplaceringar". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
16. "Sweet Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
17. (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1975. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
18. "American album certifications – Sweet – Desolation Boulevard". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2 April 2022.