LIFE – Life (Columbia, 1970)

Swedish vocals [Swedish edition], 

English vocals [export edition], instrumental
International relevance: ***

Life's only album was released in two versions, one with Swedish vocals aimed at the domestic market, and one with English vocals intended for export. However, the export edition never reached outside Sweden but is still one of the rarest progg albums ever with only 800 copies made. Both versions have been reissued, the English version with bonus tracks.

I personally prefer the English variant of the album because the vocals, oddly enough, sound better than on its domestic counterpart. But the vocals in general are the weakest point here. Certainly not as good as Anders Nordh's guitar playing.

”Life” isn't as good as its reputation. ”En bit av evigheten/Sailing in the Sunshine” is a fine slice of heavy Sweden, but the album is extremely uneven, constantly losing momentum due to several short but pointless instrumental bits between the proper tracks. And string laden ballads like the ”Jag stod ensam på min väg/Nobody Was There to Love Me” and ”En gång i tiden/Once Upon a Time” almost sound like something David Bowie pulled out of Elton John's wastebasket.

Yes, ”Life” is a classic, and it's reasonable to mention it along with November since both bands were first generation Swedish heavy rockers, but history is history and music is music, and this time history is better.

Full album playlist (Swedish version)
Full album playlist with bonus tracks (English version)