ACKE & GURRA – Äppeltripp (G-Produktion, 1972)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Karl-Axel ”Acke” Gårdebäck already had a 45 out on MNW subsidiary label Green Light when he teamed up with Gunnar ”Gurra” Johansson for one-off album ”Äppeltripp” (”apple trip”) in 1972. The 'A' side of Acke's solo single, ”There Is a Man”, is a slice of sweet and drowsy pop psych, reincarnated here as ”Det står en man”, complete with Leslie speaker treated vocals.

Dismissed by Tobias Petterson in his progg encyclopedia as a mostly forgettable folk-rock affair, the album certainly has its weak moments, with some seriously moronic tracks such as ”Hela nejden” and ”En old time-låt”, the latter possibly alluding to Lovin' Spoonful's jerkier moments. The jolly title track too is best ignored, in which a certain Gläns Över Sjö Och Strand influence can be traced – not a far-fetched assumption as GÖSOS bassist Börje Olevald appeared on the 1971 Green Light 45.

Other tracks in turn reveal a Beatles infatuation, particularly the melancholy standout track ”På fredag”, ”Paperback Writer” inspired ”Allt känns okey”, and ”Drömvärld”. By the way, the latter wouldn't have been out of place on obscure U.S. Lennon worshippers Lazy Smoke's 1969 album ”Corridor of Faces”. ”Mister Someone” in turn sounds like an involuntary rip-off of Texas band Nobody's Children 60's garage classic ”Good Times”.

I can't blame anyone for writing off ”Äppeltripp” as lacklustre and the songwriting as unoriginal and sometimes too silly, because it is. Still, it has a couple of pleasing tracks and, as a whole, a mild, unassuming, homegrown charm that I find rather endearing.

Acke & Gurra released a 45 in 1975 and three years later, Acke released one further solo single.

Full album