Pughish (Metronome, 1970)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, other
languages
International relevance: ***
Pugh Rogefeldt is widely acknowledged for being the first one to make a rock album in Swedish, but he was also the first artist so sing in Pughish. No wonder – he invented the language himself and it can be heard on the track ”Aindto”. The rest of the album is in Swedish with parts of it in English.
As on debut album ”Ja dä ä dä”,
Janne Carlsson appears on drums and Georg 'Jojje' Wadenius supplies
bass. It's a very different album to his first LP however, somewhat
darker in tone with a greater melancholy permeating the breezier
tracks like ”Sail With Me, Come on and Try – I Love You” and
the aforementioned ”Aindto”. ”Föräldralåten” rocks out a
bit more (but isn't very good), while ”Om du vill ha mej” and
”Stinsen i Bro” have a bluesier sound (although the two part
”Stinsen i Bro” really is hard to pinpoint in style). Remaining
track ”Klöver Linda” is a summery track, not unlike ”Små
lätta moln” on ”Ja dä ä dä”.
”Pughish” is Pugh's second album (housed in an eerie cover) and so a part of his classic informal 'trilogy' beginning with ”Ja
dä ä dä” and ending with ”Hollywood” in 1972. It's a good
album but it has something oddly insular about it that makes it
harder to connect with. My guess is that Pugh wanted to try something
entirely different this time, and while he succeeded doing so, he
wasn't exactly sure what he was aiming at. ”Pughish”
drifts off in so many peculiar directions that it's hard to percieve
it as a coherent work. It's mystifying and intriguing, but mostly I
play only a few tracks off it.
Hollywood (Sonet, 1972)
as Pugh
as Pugh
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***
If ”Pughish” was a bit confused, this is the
product of a much clearer vision. Great songs with the fantastic ”Jag
är en liten pojk” leading the way to ”Jag har en guldgruva”
(where Pugh shows his remarkble blues harmonica skills), ”Till
gröna skogar” and the heavy ”Home, Home” to mention but a few.
With a different set of musicians to
his first two albums – no Jojje Wadenius or Janne Carlsson here –
it's obvious already one beforehand that ”Hollywood” is different
in nature to ”Ja dä ä dä” and ”Pughish”. It's tighter and
more lavish sounding, but without losing in strength one bit. There
are moments I actually think this is even better than some on ”Ja dä ä
dä”.
Pugh on the Rocks (Metronome, 1973)
as Pugh
Swedish vocals
as Pugh
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
It's sometimes said that a live album
or a covers album is something you put out when creativity is running
low. That's of course not always the case, but I dare say that it's a
much valid assertion when it comes to Pugh Rogefeldt's ”Pugh on the
Rocks”. With three excellent albums behind him, why would he bother with
something like this had he more top notch material to choose from?
The title is supposed to be funny I
guess, referencing the album's content of only translated rock &
roll classics made famous by the likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley
and Little Richard. But the other meaning of the expression is even more appropriate, because
Pugh is really on the rocks with this one.
I love old rock & roll, I think the
50's were one of the true and few really golden ages of rock, but I already have all
the aforementioned artists and I don't need somebody
hyperventilating his way through versions of their songs. I can't even pick one track
here that's even decent but if you point a gun to my head and
threaten to lock me up in a cupboard and play the complete works of
Guns 'n' Roses on repeat, then I'd probably say ”Långsamma timmar”
(”Seems Like a Long Time”) but only to escape the inhumane torture.
An outtake from the sessions was
released on Gump compilation ”Voice of the Wolf”.
Bolla och rulla (Metronome, 1974)
as Pugh Rogefeldt & Rainrock
Swedish lyrics
as Pugh Rogefeldt & Rainrock
Swedish lyrics
International relevance: **
There's something about this album that
makes me feel very unpleasant. Maybe it's the profound discomfort the
hit song ”Dinga Linga Lena” provokes in me – with a 27 year
old man lusting for a 15 year old girl – that rubs off on the rest
of the album, but I think there's someting more (if the paedophiliac
vibe of the aforementioned track wasn't disturbing enough). Maybe
it's in the way Pugh's then newly formed backing band Rainrock plays
(it sounds like fake rock), maybe it's how Pugh sings with a
sleazebag sneer, or maybe the songs just aren't very good. Except for
the title track and perhaps and ”Kajans sång”. Whatever the
reason, I can't stand listening to ”Bolla och rulla”.
Just to make it clear: Pugh gave up
playing ”Dinga Linga Lena” live many years ago, for the same
reason I find it disagreeable.
Following the release of "Bolla och rulla", Pugh took his new band Rainrock on a package tour that also featured newly baked record artist Ola Magnell and veteran pianist Janne 'Lucas' Persson. It was probably a great show to attend, but the surviving tour document is very uneven. Lucas Persson is basically a Swedish Elton John (make what you will of that), Ola Magnell wasn't an entirely convincing live artist this early on, and Pugh's contributions are a bit hit and miss. He sings with that sleaze voice he developed for "Bolla och rulla", but some of his contributions work quite well in this setting, such as the acoustic "Hog Farm" and old chestnut "Små lätta moln". New track "Storseglet" is the highlight in this collection, a towering and gut-wrenching track that goes on for a full ten minutes without ever letting go of the grip.
The 4CD box set simply entitled "Pugh" features several demos, alternate takes, live recordings and singles from his golden years. He was also supposed to be included in "Progglådan", but failed to approve his participation in time, why he was left off the set.
Pugh Rogefeldt has released plenty of albums after "Bamalama"; some of them are OK, others are not, but none of them comes even close to what he did in the early days of his career.
Pughish full album playlist
Hollywood full album playlist
Ett steg till (Metronome, 1975)
as Pugh & Rainrock, Ola Magnell, Lucas Persson
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: ***
Following the release of "Bolla och rulla", Pugh took his new band Rainrock on a package tour that also featured newly baked record artist Ola Magnell and veteran pianist Janne 'Lucas' Persson. It was probably a great show to attend, but the surviving tour document is very uneven. Lucas Persson is basically a Swedish Elton John (make what you will of that), Ola Magnell wasn't an entirely convincing live artist this early on, and Pugh's contributions are a bit hit and miss. He sings with that sleaze voice he developed for "Bolla och rulla", but some of his contributions work quite well in this setting, such as the acoustic "Hog Farm" and old chestnut "Små lätta moln". New track "Storseglet" is the highlight in this collection, a towering and gut-wrenching track that goes on for a full ten minutes without ever letting go of the grip.
Bamalama (Metronome, 1977)
as Pugh
as Pugh
Swedish vocals, English vocals,
instrumental
International relevance: *
International relevance: *
OK, so this dull exercise in AOR rock
with the occasional stab at disco and country (the obvious mix, no?) doesn't quite belong here but
I didn't want to miss the opportunity to bring some attention to
Rogefeldt's excellent Swedish language version of Woody Guthrie's
”Vigilante Man”, entitled ”Vår kommunale man”.
The 4CD box set simply entitled "Pugh" features several demos, alternate takes, live recordings and singles from his golden years. He was also supposed to be included in "Progglådan", but failed to approve his participation in time, why he was left off the set.
Pugh Rogefeldt has released plenty of albums after "Bamalama"; some of them are OK, others are not, but none of them comes even close to what he did in the early days of his career.
Pughish full album playlist
Hollywood full album playlist
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