by Rinjo Njori.

Mark Sultan has been quite prolific since 2003, releasing at least four albums via different monikers including his one man band BBQ, the punk heavy Mind Controls, and the raucous King Khan and BBQ Show. So what does Mark Sultan sound like as a solo artist? A little bit of those bands with a little of his other bands, Les Sexareenos and The Spaceshits, thrown in for good measure. The Sultanic Verses definitely doesn't sound like a one man band. The drums have more life and their is more than one guitar at work here. Something new for Sultan is the copious use odd sound effects layered throughout the album.

"Cursed World", the most robust of the tracks, could almost be viewed as gothic garage. The tone of the song's dark commentary on the state of world affairs never gets specific but the picture Sultan paints is no less compelling. In complete contrast "Spinning Ceiling" deftly mixes early Stones and 50's proto rock of Chuck Berry. The guitar could pass for an early Keith Richards riff. Sultan manages to breathe new life into the old guitar sound without sounding anachronistic. "Warpath" uses some of the same 50's guitar licks to fuel a song that would not sound out of place on any of the Spaceshits two releases. "Mortal Man" epitomizes what BBQ (Sultan's one man band) has been putting out for the last four years. Sultan could easily pull this off by himself, but wisely has recorded each instrument independently instead of at the same time. With the full band he can channel all those R&B legends that inspire him and lay down some of the most infectious guitar on the entire album. "Je Ne Savais Pas", Sultan's first French language song since he performed in Les Sexareenos receives the standard two language treatment or as Dan Akroyd alluded to in Canadian Bacon, "Le Quebecoise". Part Lenny Kravitz, part garage rock - the song never reaches the sonic rumble of that Kravitz excels at in his songs. Nonetheless the song is no less powerful than the production soaked tracks Kravitz has been putting out over the last two decades. Things aren't perfect on the Sultanic Verses. "Two Left Feet" is far too familiar for the normally adventurous Sultan. "We're Sinking" fails for similar reasons. The 60's style R&B just doesn't work for this particular song. Unlike the more adventurous "Unicorn Odyssey Rainbow" which has already been covered by Atlas Sound and unfortunately rejected by Mary Weiss for her comeback album.

Mark's Sultanic Verses does nothing to diminish or marginalize BBQ, his work with King Khan or the elusive Mind Controls. This "solo" effort merely furthers his legacy and firmly entrenches him as the master of minimalist Rock and Roll/R&B. The album may not be "absolute killer", but it is safe to say that he effectively skipped some gratuitous filler.