Led by singer/songwriter Sulo and keyboardist The Duke of Honk, Sweden’s Diamond Dogs have been rock & roll standard bearers around the world (except, of course, in the country which invented it, which seems to have lost interest). After a four-year hiatus following the sudden death of saxophonist Magic Gunnarsson, Sulo and the Duke assembled a new lineup and kickstarted phase 2 with 2019’s Recall Rock ‘N Roll and the Magic Soul, a hybrid release of new and old songs that served more as a friendly “huzzah” than a cogent statement. That arrives with Slap Bang Blue Rendezvous, a double album that coincides with the band’s thirtieth anniversary.
Outside of adding some dollops of 70s glam to their already established Stones/Faces rock & soul core – cf. “Everything’s Fine,” “Vanity Villains,” and “Rocked, Wrecked, Robbed and Ruined” – the sextet simply does what it always does, just more of it. And that’s fine – there are few acts still trodding these particular boards, and no one that does it as well as the Dogs. Looking for tunes for your next rock mixtape? Try “What If I Knocked,” “Golden Wheel,” “Lose to Get By” or “You Shouldn’t Be Lonely On a Saturday Night.” Want to slow it down for heartbreak, contemplation or just a slow dance? Throw on “Blind Broke Patron Saint,” “Ghost Pain of Your Love” or “Anyway I Can Make Her Smile.” Just looking for something to sing along with? Spin “Common Form of Life,” “Get Me Out” or “Queen of the Milky Way.”
Slap Bang Blue Rendezvous may be almost ninety minutes long, twice as long as some wags think it should be, but the length works in the band’s favor, as they’re not a bummer in the bunch. With their mojo as potent now as it ever was, the Diamond Dogs’ ability to knock out gem after gem of timeless rock & roll still astonishes.
