Free Peace Sweet is the third studio album by English rock band Dodgy. It was released on 17 June 1996 through A&M Records. Following frequent touring in the support of their second studio album Homegrown (1994), the band recorded its follow-up in Wessex Sound Studios in London with producer Hugh Jones. Additional recording was later done at Battery and Orinoco Studios.

Free Peace Sweet received generally favourable reviews from critics, some of whom saw it as a strong but underwhelming collection of songs. The album reached number seven in the UK Albums Chart, eventually being certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Out of all its singles, "Good Enough" peaked the highest at number 4 in the UK. Bookending a three month UK tour, "In a Room" and "Good Enough" were released as the album's first two singles in May and July 1996, respectively. "If You're Thinking of Me" and "Found You" followed as the third and fourth singles in November 1996 and March 1997. "Good Enough" would be certified silver by the BPI in 2015.

Background and recording

Dodgy released their second studio album Homegrown in October 1994. It peaked at number 28 on the UK Albums Chart; all of its singles peaked within the UK top 40, with an alternative version of "Staying Out for the Summer" reaching the highest at number 19. The album was promoted with a UK tour at the end of 1994, and constant touring throughout 1995, which included their first tour to mainland Europe and Japan, as well as supporting the Cranberries in the UK. Frontman Nigel Clark lived in a flat in Primrose Hill with his pregnant wife; he wrote new material and demoed songs on a TASCAM four-track recorder. They had 35 songs in the running for inclusion on their next album, which were eventually whittled down. Free Peace Sweet was produced by Hugh Jones at Wessex Sound Studios in London with engineer Robin Evans. Additional recording was done at Battery and Orinoco Studios, both which served as the mixing locations for the recordings. Jones did the mixes with engineer Helen Woodward, before the album was mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studios with digital editing done by Crispin Murray. "Ain't No Longer Asking" comes across as a mix of "Loser" (1993) by Beck and "Rocks" (1994) by Primal Scream.

Release

"In a Room" was released as the lead single from Free Peace Sweet on 27 May 1996. The 7-inch vinyl version included "Out Clubbing", while the CD version featured "Self Doubt", an acoustic version of "Long Life" and a remix of "U.K.R.I.P." renamed "Jungle UK (No Rest in Peace)", which was done by Pietro and Phil Mossman. The single was promoted with a short, four date tour of the UK, running into early June 1996. Free Peace Sweet was released on 17 June 1996 through A&M Records. Between July and September 1996, the band embarked on The Summer Big Top Trip tour across the UK, which included an appearance on the main stage of the Reading Festival, with a variety of supporting acts. "Good Enough" was released as a single on 29 July 1996. The 7-inch vinyl version included "Nutters", while the CD version featured "Speaking in Tongues" and "Lovebirds on Katovit". The music video for "Good Enough" was planned to be filmed in India, before it was ultimately shot in Jamaica. The 7-inch vinyl version included a live acoustic version of "In a Room", while the CD version featured "Pebblemilljam", "Forever Remain" and an alternative version of "Good Enough". The music video for "If You're Thinking of Me" was filmed in Malta in a pool that was set up specially for filming. The 7-inch vinyl version included a cover of the Small Faces' song "I Can't Make It" (1967) and a cover of the Beatles' "Revolution" (1968), while the CD version featured "I Can't Make It", a live version of "Stand by Yourself" and an alternative version of "Found You". The music video for "Found You" was filmed in Andorra and centred around snowboarding. "In a Room", "If You're Thinking of Me", "Good Enough", "Ain't No Longer Asking" and "Found You" were included on the band's first compilation album Ace A's + Killer B's (1999). "In a Room", "Good Enough", "Found You" and "Homegrown" were included on the band's second compilation album The Collection (2004). "In a Room", "If You're Thinking of Me", "Good Enough", "Ain't No Longer Asking", "Found You" and "Homegrown" were included on the band's third compilation album Good Enough: The Very Best Of (2013).

Reception

Free Peace Sweet was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. In a review for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine found Free Peace Sweet to not be as "consistently engaging" as its predecessor, and while their "style is beginning to sound a bit formulaic," he could not deny that they had an "infectious, exciting sound that makes the similarities between their albums forgivable". Kennedy said it was a "super effort from the Dodgy chaps, proving their versatility, their chart worthiness, but most of all that they can be evil rock beasts like the best of 'em". Kevin Courtney of The Irish Times said the band had "traded in their fried out old transit van in a hid to get a seat on the bright, shiny Britpop bus, and there's no longer a faint whiff of Crust wafting in the air around them". In his collection The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin considered it a "solid album containing some memorable songs", though it "fell short of the greatness that many had expected". All of its singles charted highly in the UK: "In a Room" at number 12, "Good Enough" at number four, "If You're Thinking of Me" at number 11 and "Found You" at number 19.

Track listing

All songs written by Nigel Clark, Mathew Priest and Andy Miller.

Dodgy

  • Nigel Clark – lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Mathew Priest – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Andy Miller – lead guitar, slide guitar, sitar, backing vocals

Production and design

  • Hugh Jones – producer, mixing
  • Robin Evans – engineer
  • Helen Woodward – mix engineer
  • Ian Cooper – mastering
  • Crispin Murray – digital editing
  • Chris 'Namaste' Priest – design
  • Derrick 'Coolio' Santini – photography

Additional musicians

  • Richard Payne – keyboards
  • Jerome de Pietro – additional programming and remixing on interludes and track 1
  • Janet Ramus – additional vocals on tracks 4, 5 and 10
  • Michele Douglas – additional vocals on tracks 4, 5 and 10
  • The Kick Horns:
  • Tim Sanders – brass on tracks 2, 6, 11 and 14
  • Neil Sidwell – brass on tracks 2, 6, 11 and 14
  • Roddy Lorimer – brass on tracks 2, 6, 11 and 14
  • Simon Clarke – brass on tracks 2, 6, 11 and 14
  • Nick Ingman – string arranger on tracks 5, 9 and 12
  • Tim Kent – banjo on track 9
  • Teena Lyle – vibraphone on track 4

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Chart performance for Free Peace Sweet

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1996)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|}

Certifications

References

Citations

Sources

<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->

  • Free Peace Sweet at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)