Solen Skiner changed their name from
Hamlet just in time for their appearance at the first Gärdet
festival in 1970. After losing a couple of members and recruiting for
instance Christer Nahrendorf, they released their first album ”Solen
Skiner” in 1976. They gigged extensively between 1974 and 1978 when
they disbanded. performing at youth clubs, music forums, and in
prisons. They made several TV and radio appearences – a 1975
Tonkraft recording is available in ”Progglådan”.
Solen Skiner (MNW, 1976)
Swedish vocals
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***
Definitely one of the better blues
based heavy rock efforts of the era, this easily puts albums in the three-four figure range to shame. ”Solen Skiner” has a certain inherent coolness
to it and features some jammy parts with good guitar playing and
Lennart Holmgren's blues harmonica. The lyrics are politically
inclined but never so overbearing they detract from the music. Tore Berger's production could have been better though. The sound's a bit
lusterless and doesn't really capture the heaviness of the songs the
way it could have.
Strålande tider (Musiklaget, 1977)
Swedish vocals
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***
Solen Skiner left MNW and hooked up
with smaller label Musiklaget with releases from The Underground Failure,
Ragnar Borgedahl and Bättre Lyss under their belts. ”Strålande
tider” has a unglamourous sound that fits the music better than the somewhat
uninspired production of their maiden work. The songs are not quite
on the level of their debut but the aural grittiness matches Solen
Skiner's intrinsic qualities much more to the point, so in a way, ”Strålande
tider” is a better representation of the band.
After the band's demise, several of
their members continued working in the music business, and the band
has reunited several times for the occasional gig. In 2013, Solen
Skiner drummer Håkan Agnsäter released a book with progg posters
from his vast collection, ”Affischerna 1967-1979 från den svenska
musikrörelsen”. A beautiful volume essential to anyone interested
in how progg sounded but also looked like.
Solen Skiner full album playlist
From Strålande tider:
Solen Skiner full album playlist
From Strålande tider:
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