Tuesday, October 10, 2017

TOMMY BROMAN – Efter midnatt (YTF, 1976)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

”Efter midnatt” is something of an all-star affair, featuring keen session musician Jan Bandel (formerly of Atlantic Ocean) on violin and tablas, Panta Rei's Georg Trolin on harmonica, commercially successful songwriter Peter Lundblad (who had a roaring national hit with ”Ta mig till havet” in 1986, and died a few days short of Christmas in 2015) on guitar, and oft-hired studio players Rolf Alex and Peter Sahlin on drums and bass respectively. Also featured is Björn J:son Lindh on flute and keys. Lindh co-produced the album with Bo Anders Larsson, co-founder of MNW and previously in Scorpion (of ”I Am the Scorpion” fame) and Ron Faust. Tommy Broman himself had been in E=mc² which turned into Telefon Paisa which turned into Sogmusobil which turned into Levande Livet. He also played guitar on several albums by Tom Zacharias, including the infamous ”Belinda” in 1975. (As a side note, the girl on the ”Belinda” cover was Broman's girlfriend at the time, Karin.)

”Efter midnatt” is quite different to what one would expect from an album released by YTF, a label best known for their many releases by troubadours and singer/songwriters (and still in operation). The album is heavy on guitars (no wonder as Broman was a talented guitar player), including a thundering cover of folk/folk rock standard ”Morning Dew” performed in a Neil Young & Crazy Horse style, albeit instrumental like the rest of the album. ”Delilah” plays like a less overwrought Santana while ”När jag vaknade i morse”, ”Nattjamaren” and ”12-12 Blues” all have a funky swagger. The weakest track is the last one, a pointless rendition of ”Sailing”, the mawkish Sutherland Brothers song that Rod Stewart had turned into a worldwide hit the previous year.

While the Broman's guitar is prominent all through, he steers clear of most of the guitar hero bombasm; instead, he focuses on the smooth and gentle groove. ”Efter midnatt” might not be the most memorable album, but it's pleasant enough to put on while doing other things.

Sadly, Tommy Broman died an untimely death in 1990, reputedly from an overdose, only 38 years old. 

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