One of the less celebrated phenomenon of the seventies are the Hallmark 'Top Of The Pops' compilation albums. Seemingly endorsed by the BBC from their title, each boasted a stellar line-up of recent hit singles for only a fraction of the price they would cost if you bought them individually. You even got a picture of a dolly bird on the cover - what could be better? Well, plenty as it turned out, because the pop fan on a budget got a bit of a shock when they got the album home and played it because the catch was that all of the songs were cover versions recorded by soundalike (or is some cases, soundnothingalike) jobbing musicians making cash on the side.Listening to 'Sad Sweet Dreamer', I can't help but be reminded of those albums because this song is also a sawn off approximation of something else. Writer David Parton had obviously been taking note of the popularity of Philly soul amongst UK record buyers and so chanced his arm at writing something similar. Unfortunately, Manchester (where the band hailed from) is not Philadelphia, and try as he might, Marcel King was not Curtis Mayfield. Completely lacking the confident touch of Gamble and Huff, 'Sad Sweet Dreamer' is a home-grown gloop of overloaded strings heavily spooned on to cover the shortcomings of a song that only ever comes alive at the chorus. And with no filler in-between, it's a chorus that's milked harder than a cow on market day.
Just like the 'Top Of The Pops' compilations, 'Sad Sweet Dreamer' is a cheap and cheerful knock-off that may at first blush have fooled people into thinking they were getting a piece of the real deal, but just like the false economy of buying supermarket own brand cereal, it only takes a few mouthfuls before you wish you'd opted to pay that little bit extra for something decent. *
*Though in a splendid moment of supreme irony, the version of 'Sad Sweet Dreamer' that appears on 'Top Of The Pops Volume 41' is a less orchestrated, more funky guitar led take on the song and is all the more enjoyable for it.
No Marcel was not Curtis. But that tune was a classic track. How can you do a write up slagging them off. They are a decent band and done everything they could to be successful.
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