Glitter Band - Solid Silver: Ultimate Glitter Band, Vol. 1 (CD)

All Music Guide

This double-CD set covers the career of the Glitter Band, who began their career as Gary Glitter's backing band and quickly made the transition to singles act to score a variety of chart hits in Europe during the mid-'70s. All of those hits, plus a copious outpouring of album tracks, B-sides, and outtakes, are represented on Solid Silver: The Ultimate Glitter Band, Vol. 1. At their best, the Glitter Band hit the same combination of pop hooks and rock attitude that typified the best glam songs: "Angel Face" mixes glam chants and a stomping beat to powerful effect and "Goodbye My Love" benefits from a dynamic guitar-driven arrangement that highlights the drama of its lyrics. The group also had strong enough chops to flirt with other musical genres: "Where You Have Been" applies glam firepower to a spacy prog-rock epic and "Makes You Blind" plays up the steady, danceable beat of the Glitter Band sound to create an effective fusion of glam and disco. The problem with Solid Silver: The Ultimate Glitter Band, Vol. 1 is that its track selection is too generous and allows in more than a few misfires to sit beside the highlights: "Jukebox Queen" is a tired retread of the group's retro songwriting themes and "Got to Get Ready for Love" leans a little too heavily on its thudding glam beat in an attempt to cover up its lack of a strong melody. Despite these problems, this set remains a good way to collect the group's hits in one package and will definitely appeal to glam rock historians.

- Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide