Reviewing as much music as we do at The Rockpit there are always a few albums you put aside for a while and only stumble across later in a panic after release date has passed. Needless to say it’s always an album that proceeds to make a real impression. ‘Sulo’s Full English’ is a wonderful album from the ex-singer of Sweden’s Diamond Dogs, a band who put out some mighty fine albums over the twenty plus years before disbanding in 2015. Sulo takes that sound of the early 70’s adds a jot more Country to the mix and ends up with a minor masterpiece…
But just to bring you up to date…
Sulo (Diamond Dogs) cooks up a traditional British dish and invites along some of finest chefs for a greasy spoon of rock n’ roll”. Since Diamond Dogs called it a day after releasing their final effort “Quitters and Complainers” frontman Sulo Karlsson has been a very busy man. Sulo has seen active duty touring and recording with his UK supergroup “The Crunch” (Terry Chimes (Clash); Dave Tregunna (Sham 69, Lords of the New Church); Mick Geggus (Cockney Rejects), releasing a country duet album “Sulo’s Brilliant Outsiders” that saw him share the microphone with artists such a as Maria McKee, Bellamy Brothers, Paul Young, Janis Ian, and more as well as releasing an Americana masterpiece with “The Piggyback Riders” featuring legendary U.K. guitarist Chris Spedding. But even if Diamond Dogs is now history, his deep love for British 70′s rock by the likes of Rod Stewart Frankie Miller and Mott the Hoople has not cooled and “Sulo’s Full English” kicks off in classic Diamond Dogs fashion.
As the presser said ‘Sulo’s Full English’ starts out in rather fine fashion with ‘Lady Jane’ a track that will instantly remind listeners of his former band and plonk you right back in the UK of the early 70’s. It’s a great start to an album that not only contains 12 new tracks on the album proper, but there’s also a bonus disc of seven further songs that were recorded to accompany the book ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ Sulo released last year to further entice you.
Let’s set the scene just a little – the clue is really in the title – this is a celebration of the UK rock scene at a point in time let’s say around 1973. It’s a time when music is raw and unpretentious, its a time when artists borrow from every where, it’s a time when music is cherished and loved. But these are also dirty time, hard times, life is a struggle, it’s cold and sometimes the only sustenance for the day is that full English breakfast – both heart-starter and hangover cure in one.
This album sounds like you might expect (and hope for) with the rock and roll of bands like Mott the Hoople, The Faces and Bowie; and strays, as you might expect from Sulo’s recent excursions, into Country via The Stones’ ‘Exile on Main Street’. It’s main pull is its absolute authenticity and the real feeling that these songs are undiscovered gems unearthed from 40 plus years ago and have just had the dust blown from them and are getting their first outing jammed in the backroom of an English pub somewhere.
There are all kinds of tones at play and all kinds of moods enveloped from the light filled optimism of ‘Something About That Girl’ to the Glam Rock, horns and slide guitar of ‘Sorry For The Young’ (featuring Guy Bailey ex-Quireboys). Add to the mix the unexpectedly sweet and mellow lap steel country of ‘Among The Angels’ and the sheer hedonistic rock and roll of ‘Run For Your Life.’
And it just continues as the 70’s barroom boogie of ‘Hit Me With Your Rock n’ Roll’ bursts forth before ‘Lightning Strikes Twice’ takes us back to bluesy acoustics and ‘Stand On The Rocks’ to unfiltered honky tonk, before the contemplative ‘Is It Love On Your Mind’ which taps a rich singer-songwriter vein and cruises beautifully to a sunny conclusion.
The glorious ‘Finest Words’ is pure The Faces in a way that only a real lover of their music could write and capture that essence. ‘Life’s Work’ takes that feeling and ups the tempo, it’s a great song and one that feels like you’ve known for years, there’s a smattering of The Cars in there for me adding a little Pop crunch to the mix. The album closes with the slow vintage Country Cowboy Blues of ‘My Bounty From Above’ giving the final work a downcast feel to contrast with the brightness of ‘Life’s Work’. It works as almost a thank you and closes with the words “That’s all.”
BONUS TRACKS
With no idea of the provenance of the songs recorded on the bonus disc except that they were recorded for the book all I can say is that they are pretty loose and a lot of fun sounding like they may have been recorded live. There’s an impressive and interesting set of guests and an unexpected love of early 70’s UK rhythm and blues with both the legendary Wilko Johnson (Dr Feelgood) who cameos on ‘Roxette’ and Dave Higgs from Eddie and the Hot Rods (who sadly died in 2014) on a wonderful take their classic ‘Teenage Depression’.
Add to that Billy Bremner (from Rockpile and Nick Lowe) who plays on the barroom boogie of ‘Hot Swagger In The Big Smoke’ (a song I’m not familiar with) and Dave Tregunna (Sham 69, Lords of the New Church) on ‘Borstal Breakout’. There are also cameos from Billy Bremner, Robert Wyatt and Spike from the Quireboys covering ‘Roses and Rings’ rather raspily even for him.
The bonus disc though is just the icing on the cake. The 70’s for me was the very best decade for music when music was still fresh and exciting, experimentation was rife and anything went. If you think they don’t make them like that anymore I’ll take my hat off to Sulo because he does. Wonderful, simply wonderful.
Track listing: 1. Lady Jane 2. Something About That Girl 3. Sorry For The Young 4. Among The Angels 5. Run For Your Life 6. Hit Me With Your Rock n’ Roll 7. Lightning Strikes Twice 8. Stand On The Rocks 9. Is It Love On Your Mind 10. Finest Words 11. Life’s Work 12. My Bounty From Above
Bonus tracks: 13. Hot Swagger In The Big Smoke (with Billy Bremner) | 14. Roxette (with Wilko Johnson) | 15. Enjoy The Risk (with Robert Wyatt) | 16. Poor, Poor Heart (with Billy Bremner) | 17. Borstal Breakout (with Dave Tregunna) | 18. Roses & Rings (with Spike Gray) | 19. Teenage Depression (with Dave Higgs)
