Sean Rowley Presents: Guilty Pleasures 20th Anniversary review [Demon Records]

Some classic 70s pop favourites, in this all-new vinyl release for Sean Rowley’s Guilty Pleasures Collection from Demon Records

Guilty Pleasures is a double album LP complied by Sean Rowley and was originally released 20 years ago on CD, but it definitely passed me by at that time. Rowley’s BBC Radio London show reached out to its audience and asked the listeners to share their favourite tracks of the 70s, but very specifically ones that may not have been declared as iconic to history but were actually really popular with the listeners.

This is basically where the term ‘guilty pleasures’ grew from, as the likes of national newspapers, Q Magazine, the Guardian and beyond dived headfirst in the fashionable, and unfashionable, phenomena and took it on to make a whole host of almost forgotten songs completely cool again. Or, at least, a reminder of tunes that deserve a fresh listen. Of course, as these were originally released on vinyl, it’s only right that Rowley and Demon Records have teamed up to release in 2024 – and even as a music lover, there’s a lot that surprised me in this collection!

Interestingly, as a young kid of the 80s, most of my introductions to music was through the 90s but the 1970s, bar the later work of The Beatles and obvious major hits, has always been lesser known until recent years. You can actually thank James Gunn with his Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks to open up a few bands and tracks to a new audience, including young (hah!) folk like me.

While not every track might not be your instant addiction, there really are classic tunes you might have heard in passing or know another of the band’s ‘bigger’ hits, without even realising. The thing is, which so many artists being new to me on this collection I thought about guilty pleasures and cheesy music but – I can’t get past it – there’s absolute bangers on here! I’d also like to thank Sean Rowley’s sleeve notes for the bonus knowledge, obviously alongside ponderings of my own along the journey.

Side A

Side A has a particularly perfect track listing to head into this album, with the likes of Alessi’s Oh Lori kicking off proceedings, as well as the likes of Captain and Tennille, Pilot, and Climax Blues Band amongst the bands, plus ELO’s Sweet Talking Woman, Ace’s How Long (which is embedded somewhere in my head from years ago and I love it – plus the ‘real’ reasons that it’s not about love, but about the bass player being sneaky and playing with other bands – and having to stay with them when this song was released. A classic awkward.

Billy Swan’s I Can Help closes this side and it’s a fine way to end; he had a hit with it in 1974 – and even Elvis covered it. Overall, Side A gets you in the mood for the right vibe, and on the record player – and let’s make this a Sunday, it’s a killer way to start the day.

Side B

Side B begins with The Fortune’s Storm in a Teacup and is a major upbeat hit from 1971. We then move into David Essex and while I know what a big star he was, I can’t ever quite get into his swing of things, sorry! Sherbet’s Howzat is a funny one, and cricket fans will know that term – in this context the band’s build of the song was the music composition, with even creator Gareth Porter said the lyrics are pretty bad – despite its tremendous success for the Australians.

Now, Andrew Gold’s Never Let Her Slip Away has a strange place in my heart – for some reason I picked up the 7” single when I was about 10 and listened to it a lot on an old plastic Hi-fi system. It’s an utter killer tune, with an uncredited Freddie Mercury on backing vocals (which I learned today), plus extra harmonies from Eagles J.D. Southern and Timothy B. Schmit – oh and Dave Grohl said about the song “maybe one of the most melodically sophisticated songs I’ve ever heard.” There’s no denying the sound of 10cc and The Things We Do for Love (even if the band were splitting into different sounds at the time), followed by Marshall Hain and the prolific Carole Bayer Sager.

Side C

And into Side C we delve into more melodic tunes with the superb Pinball from Brian Protheroe, and Helen Reddy’s Angie Baby fitting together expertly in the middle of the record. While Side C starts with Peter Skellern’s Hold on To Love, even that one was a bit too on the nose for me, yet it’s not long before the top-notch sounds of Gallagher & Lyle with I Wanna Stay with You. Following this is Andy Kim’s Rock Me Gently, Jim Gilstrap with the curiously named Swing Your Daddy – let’s not deny Gilstrap’s impact on music, not only starting his career with Stevie Wonder but also working with Harry Styles recently.

Andy Fairweather-Low’s Wide Eyed & Legless was ironically a Christmas hit in 1975, even if the song was meant to be about stopping drinking. And then the completely unique Say You Don’t Mind by Colin Blunstone closes this side, with a vocal and string arrangement – it feels very modern and of an era, but it’s quite beautiful, with one Neil Tennant commenting he believes Blunstone is “the missing link between Dusty Springfield and Nick Drake” – and you can see why from this song.

Side D

Finally, we’re onto Side D and Charlie Dore with Pilot of the Airwaves, which may be been lyrically a bit of a call out to radio DJs, and making cheeky in that respect, but it worked – they all got hooked in – and this country-vibed, Nashville-recorded song and just impacted on the UK charts, but also found a respectful Top 20 spot in the States. NOW then, April 1976 saw the release of Starland Vocal Band’s Afternoon Delight and while it hit top spot in America, this is song I only knew due to 1997’s Good Will Hunting, but then 2004 gave it an unexpected worldwide renewal thanks to Will Ferrell and the genius of Anchorman, that’s if you didn’t know it already – of course.

Liverpool Express evokes sweltering summer days, and even a bit of Fleet Foxes and occasional Vampire Weekend, with You Are My Love – effortlessly produced as well – with more welcome The Beatles touches. Then Lynsey de Paul’s Sugar Me arrives, she was the first British female to have Number 1’s in the UK, Belgium, Spain, and Netherlands – not to mention she wrote The Fortune’s Storm in a Teacup that we spoke about earlier! Sugar Me has Celtic-edges and so catchy – she was supported by Dudley Moore to get it released, even if it was written about a former boyfriend, in the shape of Peter Noone from Herman’s Hermits.

Clout’s Let It Grow didn’t really do it for me, even if Eric Clapton-penned, but Rupert Holmes knowing side (he’s the man who had a hit with Escape – another GOTG mention!) and it’s a fine balance of pop and melody, with some lovely layered production – even if the song content is that of a supposed heartbreak… or is it? I enjoyed the storytelling.

We close with Eric Carmen’s She Did It, and if you’re wondering why it’s got such The Beach Boys sound, well it’s because they’re on this track, with Brian Wilson and Bruce Johnston – as well as Andrew Gold with the guitar solo. A really enjoyable way to conclude these so-called Guilty Pleasures, many of which are nothing but hot classics from the 1970s.

Sometimes you hear the edges of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Barry Manilow, The Eagles, or the Bee Gees, in choruses and melodies, and who’s to know who influences who – as it’s art, everything is a go. Also, in a classic pop song lore sense, many melancholy tracks are hidden underneath a cheery-like musical accompaniment, and with so many kinds of stories and characters, it’s an adventure. Let’s also not forget that lovely 3:30 minute runtime [average] on most of these songs – fitting the 7” originally, I believe – so a little bit of pop culture there as well.

I had many ‘no way!’ moments with these Guilty Pleasures, and so a ‘thank you’ shout out to Sean Rowley and those listeners, this was a proper education – and a reminder of some favourites I never knew I knew!