Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Plenty of people were affiliated with
Arbetets Söner & Döttrar at one point or another, including the
omnipresent Kjell Westling (Blå Tåget, Arbete & Fritid, Låt &
Trall, Spjärnsvallet, Vargavinter and many more) and Greg FitzPatrick (Atlantic Ocean, Handgjort, Tillsammans, Samla Mammas Manna etc), and Bosse Hansson which may or may not be the Bo Hansson
of ”Sagan om ringen” fame. This no doubt makes Arbetets Söner &
Döttrar look interesting, but don't be fooled by the names – the
label on their self-titled album is a lot more informative as to how
the music actually sounds. Like all albums released by Oktober (run
by SKP, The Communist Party of Sweden), it's standard fare political
pamphlet progg through and through, with a few folk folk influences
and even fewer rock influences. Although fringe Stalinists Knutna Nävar's political stance is less than appetizing, they made a much
better point musically speaking with ”De svarta listornas folk”
than what Arbetets Söner & Döttrar were ever capable of.
”Arbetets Söner & Döttrar” has very few – if any –
musical merits.
Arbetets Söner & Döttrar also
appeared on Oktober's 1972 compilation album ”Upp trälar” along
with Röda Stjärnan and Västra Söders Sånggrupp before splitting
into two factions releasing one album each, Löpande Bandet och
Opponer. The latter beat the former to the punch, having their
self-released ”Gårdslåtar” out a year before Löpande Bandet
wooed MNW into releasing ”Nån gång måste man landa” in 1975.
OPPONER – Gårdslåtar (Opponer,
1974)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
Opponer continued the slightly
folksier style suggested by Arbetets Söner & Döttrar, but
adding a little bit of rock to the mix. ”Lasse Liten och spindeln”
sports some prominent psych collector friendly guitars, as does
medley ”Jig-A-Reel”, combining two traditional Irish tunes,
”Whelan's Jig” and ”Drowsy Maggie”. However, the folk
influence is mainly of the Swedish kind, as evident in ”Trall efter
Ylva”, ”Rop”, ”Kays gånglåt” and even the diffusely
psychedelic ”Det kan väl hända”. Despite such mildly pleasant
folk moves, it's tracks like the inferior ”Bortgjord”,
”Hjältarnas uttåg” and ”Du måste nog bestämma dig” that
define the album, leaving behind an aftertaste of communal political
brainwashing to add to the semi-religious vibe marring several of the
tracks. Regardless, Opponer was a popular live act among the
politically like-minded, and ”Gårdslåtar” is still sought after
by some, but make no mistake: it's not a great album – at best
decent but forgettable, at worst something you wish you could forget. However,
it's way better than Löpande Bandet's album...
LÖPANDE BANDET – Nån gång måste
man landa... (MNW, 1975)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
”Nån gång måste man landa...” is a
downright horrendous album of the most moronic pseudo-heavy blues
rock imaginable. If the music won't kill you, Lotta Sandberg surely
will. She's one of worst ”singers” I've ever heard on a progg
album – or on any album for that matter. A former opera singer with
obvious Janis Joplin delusions, you wouldn't even want to torture
your enemies with her bleating caterwaul. Thankfully, Löpande Bandet
split up about a year after their cat killer jamboree of an album was
released, setting guitarist Rolf Wikström off to a long and
lucrative solo career.
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