SWEET SENSATION – "Sad Sweet Dreamer"

Ah, this hits the sweet spot of my pop-listening years, and while it may be 2nd rate soul, I’m not objective enough to know it — besides, it had the virtue of not being overplayed. It certainly didn’t come close to #1 here in the U.S., did it? This was one of the first songs I searched for when Napster came along. In other words, it made an impression on me! I remember thinking it was the Jackson 5 the first few times I heard it. Romantic, melancholy and sugary (sad, sweet and dreamy would be another way to put it, I guess).

“Popular” is a fantastic feature — I discovered just at the right time (as I said, you’ve just reached my early teen years), and it’s been immensely entertaining and informative catching up on the archives — thanks!

Sweet Sensation won “New Faeces” and were quite simply appalling. The lead vocalist, who was a Hair Bear lookalike, had the most irritating singing voice in Christendom. Meanwhile, the rest of the numpties merely milled around in the background doing the square root of fuck all. Probably the worst number one of the year. I’m not usually this blunt but this one was pure rubbish. It’s just one of those things you put down to experience.

Actually, having found a couple of clips on YouTube, I’m inclined to think this is rather lovely after all. It’s The Stylistics and The Jacksons with a Tony Hatch production, all a bit derivative if you must, but what a gorgeous, gorgeous vocal performance from the late Marcel King. As Dan M says: it’s sad, it’s sweet, it’s dreamy. Nowt wrong with that.

Mike – without wishing to veer into spoiler territory, are you not counting the ‘Waddy’s finest three weeks in 1976 as a New Faces number one?

Mark G – it truly was a low point for “Buzzcocks” if they did that, bearing in mind that Marcel King died in 1995 of a cerebral haemorrhage. He did have a later brush with at least local fame – the Stuart Maconie show’s celebration of Tony Wilson recently featured a track called “Reach For Love” which Marcel recorded on Factory and which was a popular track at the Haçienda.

This one’s a sweet soul song which I wasn’t crazy about at the time but does what it sets out to do and does it well. And besides, it’s another Manchester number one so it can’t be entirely a bad thing.

I remember “Reach for love”…

I was in the habit of hearing the chart on a monday morning, Radio 1, just as I woke up for school.

One week, I put on the radio, and “Reach for love” is on, so I naturally think “wow, this is top ten at least then!” only, I’d left it tuned to Capital Radio and it wasn’t true.

Owes a lot to The Jackson’s “Show You The Way To Go” but is still sublime, I’ll take even pseudo-Philly (by Tony Hatch no less) over most anything.

The album has one of the worst covers ever – a sad clown!

Oops. Now I have to revise my entire view of music history.

I really should have known that, I bought both records when they came out.

Nice. Sweet. Hummable. Unexceptional. Nothing else to say, except for a Janice Nicholls moment. Oil give it foive.

It’s a very British take on Philly vocal groups, sure, but it’s still soulful. I liked this a fair bit at the time. I reacquired it on a compilation a year or two ago and think it stands up pretty well.

In truth, to understand the pivotal-like qualities of this sublime record it does help to understand the odd schizophrenia of New Faces. On one hand you had the proto-Cowell likes of Tony “The Hatchman” Hatch and Mickie Most, honest and telling it like it is – Hatch tended to be especially acerbic, and while such remarks as “That was bloody awful!” may seem mild now, uttering words like “bloody” on peak-time TV in 1974 still unnerved the grannies (and Whitehouse) – whereas the rest of the panel typically consisted of the real old school showbiz veterans; Arthur Askey, Ted Ray, “Wee” George Elrick and the like, all as old as the century and all inclining towards the school of “oh, the lad was all right, give him a chance” non-committal opinions (even though, as with Showaddywaddy, they were clearly at sea).

Likewise “Sad Sweet Dreamer” (Hatch loved the group so much he signed them to Pye and produced/arranged them) stands at an important crossroads between old school MoR and the about to become emergent Britsoul; King’s voice is clearly in the Michael Jackson mould but has a yearning and uncertainty (not to mention timing) all of its own, and the modest funk of the rhythm guitar and swirling electric piano point forward to Hi-Tension and Light Of The World. The arrangement, however, was the type more commonly ascribed to large-lunged sixties balladeers (and yes, Jackie Trent’s “Where Are You Now (My Love)?” springs instantly to mind) with a Palais band vibrato-laden alto sax which seems to have escaped from the forties ghost of Freddy Gardner (though of course via Hurricane Smith, the New Seekers etc. that sound was at the time back in vogue). You can see where Hatch wanted it to come from but at the same time the band are clearly eager to push forward. What a shame that, one soundalike follow-up notwithstanding (“Purely By Coincidence,” #14 in February 1975), they never got the chance to prove it again.

what a wonderful song !!! i don’t know why people have problems when they listen to it..??? it’s prefect for the 70’s and an absolute true and well-deserved No. 1 !!! there was nothing comparable that time and for all those who like the song: don’t mind the people who are talking bad about it, it’s just a great song. Even, if the band only had 2 hits, they r remarkable. If a song only reaches 1 person on earth and gives him a good feeling, then this is what it’s made for, right??!!!

i wish “sweet sensation” would still exist with a bunch of other hits…. 🙂

Gerry

Great idea! “We’ll show those Slade In Flame who’s boss!” quipped a possibly over-optimistic Dave Bartram.

If only Sid James had lived long enough to play Ronnie van Zandt in the biopic. “Southern Man says – naff off! Hwa hwa hwa hwa,” he cackles to a petrified Neil Young (Charles Hawtrey). “‘Ere! Did someone say something about FREE BIRDS? COR!”

That Talbot Rothwell went to Oxford you know.

“When Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer – Bristow’s only 27!”

Peerless.

“Steve Beaton – he’s not Adonis – he’s THE Donis!”

“Eat your heart out, Harold Pinter – it’s capital D for Drama here in Essex!”

“Keith Deller’s not just an underdog, he’s an underpuppy!”

Jocky Wilson said….;-)

This tune reminds me of school days, I think Marcel King was 16 or 18, it wasn’t a cover and has never been covered with a karaoke type version which also was a big hit like a lot of these songs have.

NMEWatch: 28 September 1974, Charlie Gillett again quite perceptive;

“I heard this three times on the radio before I realised this wasn’t the Jackson Five’s best record yet. Spies tell us that Sweet Sensation come from Liverpool, and the label shows that Tony hatch (of Petula Clark fame) was co-producer along with Des Parton. But no amount of humdrum information can take away the fact that the lead singer is as good as you’ll find anywhere, even Philadelphia. If the sun keeps shining for three more weeks, this could glide into the top ten.”

Gillett awarded the record runner-up status behind his single of the week, ‘Farewell’ by Rod Stewart. Also reviewed in a rather good week;

Ohio Players – Skin Tight
Dave Edmunds – Need A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues
Hall & Oates – She’s Gone
Ace – How Long
Barry Blue – Hot Shot
David Essex – Gonna Make You A Star

It worked well, didn’t it? Mind you he knew what he was getting into. Seemed to be an endless round of shag the baddie’s wife, get beaten up, go after the baddie, get beaten up again, shag his wife again…

sad sweetdreamer,,listen to it,,dont rip it apart and compare it to philly,,just enjoy,,i love it

It’s got a bridge!

You’re right. That sleazy sax doesn’t cut it, knocks off at least one point.

The bridge is my favourite part of the song.

This felt to me like a ‘filler’ number one at the time, slightly fortunate to get there. See also Ms Grace, My Camera Never Lies… All good records but, unlike almost all number ones pre-late 90s, don’t feel with hindsight like they were obviously going to get there.