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