ATLANTIC OCEAN – Tranquillity Bay (Love, 1970)

English lyrics, spoken word
International relevance: ***

A legendary album with an impressive members list in retrospect: Björn J:son Lindh, Jan Bandel, Johnny Mowinckel, Staffan Stenström, Sten Bergman and Greg FitzPatrick (appearing under visa escaping pseudonym Göran Ahlin), most of them later to turn up on a number of stellar progg albums.

”Tranquillity Bay” was the first LP in a series of co-productions between Finnish Love Records and bands from the not yet fully developed Swedish progg scene. The 1970 release date suggests a strong influence from late 60's pop and rock, and it's indeed a product of its time. The album's very unfocused, with nonsense tracks (”The Critics”, ”Able Baker Charlie Dog”, ”Relapse (incl. United Fruit)”, some with spoken parts), post-psychedelic numbers (”Take a Look Around You”, ”Very Special Dream”), pre-progg (the side long ”Weather”), and pop (”Can't You Hear Them Shooting”). The short a capella snippet ”What Is the Time” reappears a few times to give the album a conceptual sense, but the truth is that the songs are way too disparate to work together in a cohesive fashion. But the best ones are very good. ”Tranquillity Bay” is a legendary album but admittedly largely because of future history and what became of the members.

Prior to the album, baroque pop song ”Your Sister Juliet” was released as a single backed with the much better pop psych track ”Would You Believe It”. Atlantic Ocean can also be heard on the original soundtrack to Roy Andersson's ”En kärlekshistoria” (international release: ”A Swedish Love Story”) from 1970, The movie songs are better than most of what ended up on their proper album.

Full album 

7":

Your Sister Juliet 

Would You Believe It