It would have been amazing if the four monkees had recorded around an album around 1980 "justus" style-- like Nesmith mentioned doing in an article around the same time.
Today’s song is Sweet Heart Attack: A strong way to finish the album, even if I think it would have worked better as the opening track. A fine vocal from Micky, good syncopation and a nice use of fuzz guitar help to make this one of the best songs on the album. A low 4/5.
Sweet Heart Attack - A great album closer. Micky’s performance is excellent, the Rockin’ instrumentation suits the song. Would have been great if they performed it in concert, at least they didn’t at the shows I saw. With the passing of Davy Jones the song has become sadly ironic. Still, a nice way to close the album. 5/5.
I forgot to save my vote on "Savin' My Love For You" but would've given it a very low 2/5. Not the greatest song, waaaay too much echo echo echo echo and very dated sounding. Drat, I didn't remember to vote for "I Remember The Feeling" but would've given it a very high 3/5. Great vocals and energy raise up a pretty ordinary tune. I will give "Sweet Heart Attack" a low 2/5. Don't think much of the song, pretty forgettable to me.
"Sweet Heart Attack" -- 3/5 A very high 3/5 for this one, which I think it's one of the better tunes on the record. It's not as great as "I Remember The Feeling", but coming out of that song into this one there's not much of drop off. All of the album tracks should've been of this caliber, with good energy and catchy hooks. After a very confusing and disappointing journey to get there, the last two songs on the album end things on a high note.
“Sweet Heart Attack”: Again, it’s OK. Micky sounds good, the guitars sound good and yet... Not sure. Lyrically, not a lot of meat on this bone (“Like a train rolling down the track”? Guess something needed to rhyme with “attack”). It’s also pretty short. Mostly though, that sound of “fairy dust” being sprinkled (I don’t how else to describe that) every so often sure got on my nerves. Sort of kills any rock and roll that was happening there. Not even sure what instrument that is. Oh and I thought the track was over and then that creepy computerized voice scared the crap out of me. Weird, but not in a good way. 2/5 for this one. Take away the “fairy dust” sprinkling and I’d maybe have given it a 3. Or at least 2.5.
Sweet Heart Attack-Hate the title. The song itself is kinda nice. Is it anything that I would seek out? Probably not. So, I will give it a low 3/5. This will be the next topic, I'm sure, so I will chime in now. Overall, this album was a disappointment when I first got it back in the 1970's, and my opinion really hasn't changed much over the years. The sum of it's parts (which is so many of the people who helped shape the Monkees sound back in the 1960's) is less than the individual pieces assembled. This could and should have been so much more, but this seems to be an album thrown together rather hastily, and the results are just not very good.I do like 1970's music (it is the era that I grew up in), but this is no better than where I found this album in the record store-in the cutout bin. If I rate this as a Monkees album, it would be neck and neck with Pool It! as to which is the bottom of the barrel for worst Monkees album. a very low 2/5 for Dolenz, Jones, Boyce And Hart.
Sweet Heart Attack The title and most of the lyrics are stinkers. There's a lot of "Moon" and "June" rhyming with the B/H songs on this record. They pretty much split as a writing team after this record, correct? However, I like the way this one sounds. Micky sounds great! I'm going to give it a low "3" out of five.
My own feeling is that 'Sweet Heart Attack' is a rather weak ending to the album. It's not a bad song, but it doesn't seem like a strong finish to me. It's also a bit hyperbolic and clichéd in drawing on the 'heart attack' metaphor while also calling it 'sweet'. But it's an otherwise serviceable track. Not bad. Given the potential of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart as a studio act, as demonstrated on this LP, it seems very sad that we finish with Votrax signing off with 'See you next album'. Ah, well...
The TV special posted here a couple of weeks ago ends with B or H (Don’t remember which, don’t care enough to check again) saying “See you next show!” Sure. How any of them thought that show was good or they were getting another one (It makes 33 1/3 look coherent) is mystery. It was the 70s, so maybe they had some really good Peruvian or something.
Sweet Heart Attack Not bad but nowhere near a masterpiece. The lyrics are a bit too clever for their own good. 3/5
SWEET HEART ATTACK It's okay. Again, powerhouse vocals by the Mickster, but it doesn't leave much of an impression afterwards. You can definitely hear David towards the end repeating the song title. 3/5
SHA -- 3/5. It's not an awful follow-up to the previous track. I agree that overall there's very little to make me ever revisit this album again, though.
The verses kind of just seem to be an excuse to get to the chorus, but the payoff is worth it. Good vocal by MD. I dig the layers of fuzz guitar, too. 3/5
Unfortunately, it wasn’t played on the radio here in Pittsburgh. I grew up listening to the radio day and night from the late 60’s.
Sweet Heart Attack Not fond of the lyrics - but this song keeps your foot tapping. Slightly better than some of the other cuts on this album. Decent album closer. 3/5
Sweet Heart Attack The heart drumbeat is a nice way to open the song, and Micky's vocal is nicely understated during the verse before exploding on the chorus. And the fuzz guitar is AWESOME (as are the little guitar solos during the chorus)—it's cool to have a bit of a rocker. It's also nice to be able to hear Davy a couple of times on backing vocals. And yes, I like the Votrax ending! 5/5
I took another listen after a few years and I think I actually like it more than I remembered. However, it's the title that just seems weird to me-- singing about a "Sweet Heart Attack." It is a good rocker though.
I know what you mean, especially in lieu of Davy’s passing. It’s how I feel about ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ in regards to John Lennon.
Today we will discuss the album Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart. While this album is no classic, it is a better Micky and Davy LP than Changes. They sound much more enthused with the material, they both contributed to the songwriting and they sing together on far more songs. These songs are also generally superior with I Remember the Feeling, It Always Hurts the Most in the Morning, Sweet Heart Attack and You and I probably the highlights. Along with the cover of Along Came Jones. As mentioned ad nauseum, the running order is certainly a negative and if they had placed some of the uptempo numbers at the start then it would flow much better. A solid 3/5 as it is. My tracklisting now when I listen to the album: Sweet Heart Attack I Remember the Feeling Savin' My Love for You Teenager in Love It Always Hurts the Most in the Morning You Didn't Feel That Way Last Night (Don't You Remember) Along Came Jones Moonfire Sail on Sailor I Love You (and I'm Glad that I Said It) Right Now You and I
I've listened to - or at least attempted to listen to - each of the tracks on this album, but refrained from commenting or rating as I didn't feel I had anything useful to say. Ultimately I would just say that it's not my kind of 70s music. I will be jumping back on board for our excursion into the 80s, though!
