One of the many discoveries made by
Metronome producer Anders Burman who brought the likes of Pugh Rogefeldt, Ola Magnell and John Holm to public recognition. Burman
had a penchant for original voices, and Bernt Staf indeed had one of
those, oddly piercing and nasal. Uncommercial some would say, but he
nevertheless scored a huge hit with his song ”Familjelycka”,
culled from his 1970 debut album ”När dimman lättar” for a 45
the following year. Staf's lyrics have a political focus, often
dealing with the depopulation of the non-urban regions of Sweden.
När dimman lättar (Metronome, 1970)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
”Familjelycka” is an incredibly
annoying song, especially with Staf's terrible vocals perforating
your eardrums (the Jan Hammarlund syndrome). Unfortunately,
”Familjelycka” sets the tone for ”När dimman lättar”. The
album is full of twee singer/songwriter stuff marred by Staf's very
unpleasant, infantile voice. Last track ”Uppståndelse” shows a somewhat
more powerful perfomance, but the fake gospel sound still doesn't
make Staf's polyp squeaks any more tolerable. The funky
”Hovmästarsoppa” was released as Staf's first single, and it's a
pretty good track – hadn't it been for the vocals.
Live (Metronome, 1972)
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *
I'm not very fond of live albums since
I don't like the sound of a cheering audience, but in this case an
audience screaming loud would have been beneficial. Perhaps it would
have had drowned out Bernt Staf's vocal mannerisms. Having him
drawling through ”What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor”,
”Havanagilah” and a Swedish version of ”Last
Night I Had the Strangest Dream” is a fucking punishment. In the
live setting, he turns into a third rate protest folk singer who
talks too much between tracks. His speaking voice is every bit as
maddening as his singing voice. And then he whistles...
Vingslag (Metronome, 1972)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Full band backing provided by Sten Bergman, Ola Brunkert, Lasse Wellander, Göran Lagerberg and others.
Which obviously gives Staf the occasional excuse to holler away like
a Dylan with a stomach pain. No harmonica honks; instead Staf
whistles... again...
Valhall (Metronome, 1973)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
This could possibly have been an OK
Kvartetten Som Sprängde album – they're the backing band here (plus a cameo from Bo Hansson). Had
it actually been an album of theirs, it would have been instrumental,
and had it been instrumental, you wouldn't have to endure Staf's
vocals.
Vår om du vill (YTF, 1976)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Substituting Kvartetten Som Sprängde
with a slick radio friendly lush laidback West Coast sound was Staf's
worst idea since the day he decided to sing. And that smug grin on the album cover...
Hycklarnas paradis (Best, 1981)
International relevance: *
Swedish vocals
Mocking reggae on the title track (a
pathetic Swedish cover of Bob Marley's ”Pimpers Paradise”) was Staf's
worst idea since substituting Kvartetten Som Sprängde with a slick
radio friendly lush laidback West Coast sound on ”Vår om du vill”.
Not even having Kenny Håkansson among the session musicians can help
this privately released mess. And oh, Staf whistles too...
Bernt Staf made one further album on
his own Best label ('Worst' would have been a better name) in
1983, ”Hammenhög Airport”, and a comeback album in 1996,
”Klockor”. He also appears on several various artists
compilation, including ”Progglådan” that features an early live recording for Swedish Radio show Midnight Hour.
Wow, you really don't get his music...
ReplyDeleteNo, sorry, I really don't. I've tried and tried but I just can't. :-/
ReplyDelete