Artist: Mark Sultan
Full Title: The Sultanic Verses
Label: In the Red
Year: 2007
Rating: A/ 9.3/10
Fun Fact: Mastered by Jay Reatard!

1) Beautiful Girl- 9.4- Ahh here we go BBQ here we go! A strong opener about Sultan’s fine lady. I dig the little bell sounds and the lyrics are really catchy. Typical BBQ guitar/drum work.

2) 100 Little Women- 9.2- Sounds great to me! Sultan effectively utilizes the start/stop technique (get your mind out of the gutter Glen!) in which he sings and plays the music then suddenly stops then starts again. Highly reminiscent of late 50s/early 60s rock and roll, like Chuck Berry. Good poppy rocker.

3) Cursed World- 9.5- Introduces the spooky/bizarre theme to this album, which appears from here on frequently. This could be the soundtrack to an old school horror flick, like zombies and shit or Scooby Doo haha. The old school cartoon, not the modern shitty versions. Which now makes me want to watch that show. Anyway, I love how he pronounces cursed as KER SED. Like the first couple tracks this has strong hooks and the BBQ’s vocals are so exquisite it feels like you are taking a stroll through this KER SED World with him. The ending has this cool, noisy, feedback to it. I dig.

4) Spinning Ceiling- 9.3- A real rocker for this album; heavier and more in your face than the previous tracks. This song is more akin to King Khan & BBQ tracks such as “Treat Me Like A Dog” and “Hold Me Tight.” Solid stuff.

5) Two Left Feet- 9.3- In addition to 100 Little Women and Spinning Ceilings, we now come across gals with Two Left Feet. In this catchy, love number, the BBQ describes his love for his double left footed baby. I can imagine this track being great live (I wonder if he played it last May when I saw him?) because it’s a real feel good dance track in the neighborhood of “Shake Real Low.” (of course, not with the same caliber, but still great) and I can picture Sultan getting the crowd goin when he shouts, “everybody clap your hands.” It almost seems funny that that line is in a studio album Haha, well I guess you and your normal footed woman can have fun at home too.

6) Je Ne Savais Pas- 9.0- Sultan pays tribute to his Montreal roots and properly pronounces the phrase at that! Good tune, catchy, only weakness: reminds me of French class :(. P.S. you also think this song is over like three times before it actually is haha.

7) Mortal Man- 9.6- I really dig this rocker! Great guitar and pumping drums. I can picture people pogoing/moshing to this live, I know I can’t stay still when it comes on. His vocals really stand out on this track and demonstrates his (somewhat) range: straight up BBQ vocals to rawer, screaming vocals.

8) Something Wrong- 9.7- My favorite track! It’s a simple little diddy and technically doesn’t sound unique or different from any of his other material, it just works really well. Brings me back to the 1960s Garage Rock era, back in my past life. Shit simply sticks in my head like gum sticks to mah shoes. Just won’t go away.

9) Warpath- 9.1- Fast rocker and as the title indicates Sultan is on a warpath in this track. I dig the pile driver drum work here

10) We’re Sinking- 9.5- The bell noise I dug before has returned! This is a classic and is one of the album’s catchier tracks. Lyrically it describes people who are sinking, but don’t give a damn cause they are in love. Perhaps the poor lads on the Titanic sang this as they were going down….

11) Unicorn Rainbow Odyssey- 9.5-Dayemm this came outta nowhere. Can you say a EPIC CLOSER. When you have a title like Unicorn Rainbow Odyssey, you better live up to it and the Captain certainly does so. The drums sound like hearts beating as I’m sure this was the intention a la “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground. The vocals sound like early 60s doo wop/soul sisters of the Motown persuasion, such as The Supremes. The finale is this pulsing noise; he must have recorded that part at the Lowell Cotton Mills.

Overall, one of my favorite albums and certainly worthy of it’s high grade. I will admit it’s not the same without King, but Mark still delivers. For y’all who bought The Satanic Verses, you’re wasting your time. The real Sinister, Supreme, Supreme Genius lies in The Sultanic Verses.

Chris