Ola Magnell is one of Sweden's finest
songwriters and lyricists. Largely influenced by Bob Dylan, his
lyrics are well written with a strong poetic feel, and dealing with
inner doubts as well as sharp observations of society. His political
songs are never bogged down by cocksure slogans or stubborn
fingerpointing, and being contracted to 'commercial' label Metronome
way into the 80's, he was never really embraced by the music
movement. He was too ambiguous to those preferring dogmas and
simplistic explanations. In a translation of Kate & Anna
McGarrigle's
”Complainte
pour Ste-Catherine” for fellow Metronome artist Marie Bergman, he
stated that ”ingen kommer undan politiken”, ”no-one can escape
politics”, adding ”no-one can ignore the polemics, no matter if
you're tired every night”. A music movement outcast, Magnell
certainly knew what he was talking about.
Magnell's work in music actually began
with translating songs for various Swedish vocal stars in the 1960's,
something he kept doing even after his own recording career began in
1973. He grew increasingly tired of it however, feeling uncomfortable
with getting the original lyrics in the evening and having to deliver
a finished translation the next morning. Magnell's meticulous writing
needs time, and is after all best represented on his own albums.
Unfortunately, this means foreign listeners miss out on a lot not
knowing Swedish, even if Magnell's songs have tuneful and highly
appealing melodies.
Some may consider Ola Magnell's voice a
bit too 'twangy', but if you're new to him, don't let that stand in
the way because there's so much here worthy of discovery and
enjoyment.
Påtalåtar (Metronome, 1974)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Magnell's solo debut appeared in the 7”
format in 1973, with ”Påtalåten” which became an instant
success. Much to the record buyers' chagrin, the song wasn't included
in its hit form on Magnell's album debut the following year. The song
was on the album, but in an semi-instrumental 'party' version. The
original 45 was released on the Telefunken label, and not to breach
the copyright, they decided to leave it off the album. (”The music
business still had some honour left in those days,” Magnell later
remarked in an interview for the Swedish Radio. He also added that he
thinks the album version is fun, ”but I might be the only person to
think so...”)
But while ”Påtalåtar” doesn't
feature a worthy version of the title track, there's still a whole
lot here to rejoice over. It has the charm of a first album from
someone knowing what he wants but who hasn't yet achieved it. It's a
bit rough around the edges, but it has several fine moments, like the
xylophone laced ”Vals i Hades” and the excellent ”Sångerna
vrenskas”, one of his best ever songs (later re-appearing on 1979's
”Straggel och strul”).
In late 1974, Ola Magnell joined Pugh Rogefeldt and piano player Janne 'Lucas' Persson for a package tourin
1974, documented on the double album ”Ett steg till” the following
year.
Nya perspektiv (Metronome, 1975)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Magnell had matured considerably for
his second album, displaying a greater amount of self-confidence.
”Kliff” soon became one of his best loved songs, and rightly so.
”Ungmön dansar” is a beautiful stripped down ballad utilizing
the instrumetal fluency of British fingerpicking guitarists. ”På
snespår” is a beautiful example of Magnell as Sweden's premiere
Dylan translator and interpreter; the original song being ”Lily,
Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”. He also throws some Loudon
Wainwright III into the mix, ”När jag dör” ("Unrequited to the Nth Degree"). ”Min nye
magister” might not be his finest song but it's a much needed slap
in the fundamentalist face of the sectarian left. (It's just my guess but I suspect that Mikael Wiehe of Hoola Bandoola Band is the song's main
target.)
Höstkänning (Metronome, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Magnell's best album up to that point,
with a string of excellent songs – ”Rulltrappan”,
”Vällingklockan”, ”Fåfängs sång”, ”Höstkänning” and
the heart-wrenching ”Pappa” about Ola Magnell's dad. The album
was partly recorded in the States with American musicians including
blue eyed soul legend Eddie Hinton, but it still sounds like a
genuinely Swedish album. A classic.
Straggel och strul (Metronome, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Even better than ”Höstkänning”, this is Magnell's best album. Like ”Höstkänning”, ”Straggel och strul” consists of original songs only but the marvellous opening track ”Damen i svart” shares quite a few melody lines with Bob Dylan's ”Sara”. ”Mammons hage” is a lilting country number that fits Magnell's voice perfectly, ”Sångerna vrenskas” is a welcome rerun of the song from his first album, ”Tidsdåren” captures Magnell's certain brand of melancholy, ”Hos kuratorn” is a funny funk spoof with disco handclaps and a perky clavinet, and ”Skomakarvals” finishes off the album in a beautiful and touching way, Another classic.
Europaväg 66 (Metronome, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
The Dylan references are obvious, with
the album title alluding to ”Highway 61 Revisited” and the cover
art hinting at the promo clip for ”Subterranean Homesick Blues”.
The album has a slicker sound than Magnell's previous releases and
the calypso touch on ”Tungeltoken” is questionable, but the songs
are often strong with ”Tomma tunnor” and ”Dimman igen” being
the obvious highlights. Also featured is ”Ta det kallt, det är
allt”, likely the best ever translation of ”Don't Think Twice,
It's All Right”.
Like many 70's artists, Magnell's
transition into the synthesizer glossy 80's wasn't very smooth. His
albums from that dreadful decade is a hard listen today. From the
90's on, he's been less productive, with only three albums released
between 1993 and 2010. Interviews from that period have sometimes
suggested Magnell inhibiting a bitterness over the lack of attention,
but in recent years, younger artists have begun to acknowledge him as
the great songwriter he is. He also played live more often again in his final years (he died in 2020). His
knack for memorable songs and intelligent and poetic (but not
pretentious) lyrics is a rare thing that should be praised
accordingly.
Påtalåtar full album playlist
Påtalåtar full album playlist
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