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Bitter Sweet wasn't quite as immediate and entertaining as King's first outing, Steps in Time, but the British quartet's colorful take on arena rock ensured that the follow-up would never be boring (despite the absence of their trademark garish suits and spray-painted leathers). In fact, it's a fairly accomplished album, saved from pretentiousness at every turn by the strong melodies and Richard James Burgess' muscular production. He pumps up the fine single "Alone Without You" and "I Cringed, I Died, I Felt Hot" (a worthy successor to Steps in Time's "I Kissed the Spikey Fridge" in the canon of head-scratching King titles) with huge, crunching drums and big guitars, as gang backing vocals supply easy to remember hooks and offset Paul King's dramatic warble. As before, the band breaks up the straight-ahead dance-rock with some stylistic dabbling: "Platform One" is giddy, singalong reggae, while "2 M.B." harks back to the ska of Paul King's old band, the Reluctant Stereotypes, and "Mind Yer Toes" is a pretty piano ballad with lyrics that seem to address the problems of merry old England. Not that anyone bought King albums for their topicality: the pleasures here are sheerly aural and not to be discounted. But Bitter Sweet turned out to be the group's final platter; Paul King went on to made a 1987 solo album, Joy, before becoming an MTV VJ.
© Dan LeRoy /TiVo
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King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Phill Brown, Engineer - Richard James Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phill Brown, Engineer - Richard James Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
King, Performer - M. Roberts, Composer - P. King, Composer - Phill Brown, Engineer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
Jim Lantsbery, Composer - Jim Lantsbery, Lyricist - King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Phill Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer - Tony Wall, Composer - Tony Wall, Lyricist
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
King, Performer - M. Roberts, Composer - M. Roberts, Lyricist - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Richard James Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phill Brown, Engineer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
King, Performer - P. King, Composer - Phill Brown, Engineer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Richard James Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
Groucho, Mixing Engineer - King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Richard James Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Michael Roberts, Composer - Michael Roberts, Lyricist - Mick Roberts, Composer - Mick Roberts, Lyricist - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Richard James Burgess, Producer
(P) 1984 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Richard James Burgess, Producer - Richard James Burgess, Re-Mixer
(P) 1985 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
King, Performer - Paul King, Composer - Paul King, Lyricist - Phil Brown, Engineer - Richard Burgess, Producer
(P) 1985 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) Limited
Album review
Bitter Sweet wasn't quite as immediate and entertaining as King's first outing, Steps in Time, but the British quartet's colorful take on arena rock ensured that the follow-up would never be boring (despite the absence of their trademark garish suits and spray-painted leathers). In fact, it's a fairly accomplished album, saved from pretentiousness at every turn by the strong melodies and Richard James Burgess' muscular production. He pumps up the fine single "Alone Without You" and "I Cringed, I Died, I Felt Hot" (a worthy successor to Steps in Time's "I Kissed the Spikey Fridge" in the canon of head-scratching King titles) with huge, crunching drums and big guitars, as gang backing vocals supply easy to remember hooks and offset Paul King's dramatic warble. As before, the band breaks up the straight-ahead dance-rock with some stylistic dabbling: "Platform One" is giddy, singalong reggae, while "2 M.B." harks back to the ska of Paul King's old band, the Reluctant Stereotypes, and "Mind Yer Toes" is a pretty piano ballad with lyrics that seem to address the problems of merry old England. Not that anyone bought King albums for their topicality: the pleasures here are sheerly aural and not to be discounted. But Bitter Sweet turned out to be the group's final platter; Paul King went on to made a 1987 solo album, Joy, before becoming an MTV VJ.
© Dan LeRoy /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 18 track(s)
- Total length: 01:16:58
- Main artists: King
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Sony Music UK
- Genre: Pop/Rock
This compilation (P) 2010 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
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