Although a hard rock band rather than a
progg band, I still think it's fair to include them here – if
Rhapsody fits, so does Neon Rose. But they didn't fit in with the
righteous music movement of the 70's. Too 'commercial' in sound,
style, language and label choice, they were obviously never on good
terms with the 'right' crowd. That, of course, let Neon Rose play
whatever they felt like playing. If they wanted to support bands like
Nazareth and Dr. Hook on their visits to Sweden, they did. (Scary, I
know.)
A Dream of Glory and
Pride (Vertigo, 1974)
English vocals
International relevance: ***
English vocals
International relevance: ***
Neon Rose formed in Stockholm in 1969
as Spider. In 1973 they changed their name to Neon Rose, releasing
their debut album the following year after signing with the Swedish
division of Vertigo Records. ”A Dream of Glory and Pride”
consists of seven tracks of competent heavy rock, including the ten
minute title track that ends the album and that definitely has its
share of progressive moves. Several of the songs are allowed to
stretch out, with only ”Sensation” and ”Love Rock” being less
than five minutes long. In many ways, ”A Dream of Glory and Pride”
sounds more like a British effort of the day, and is a decent genre
effort.
The album was later reissued on CD,
expanded with four bonus tracks including a terrible cover of Eddie
Cochran chestnut ”C'mon Everybody” originally released as a B
side, two live songs and a previously unreleased studio track.
Two (Vertigo, 1974)
International relevance:
***
English vocals
Some time before Neon Rose's second
album (released only months after their debut), Gunnar Hallin was
handed the guitar duties by Roger Holegård who from now on wanted to
focus on his vocals. Hallin plays a prominent role on ”Two”, a
more typically riffing hard rock effort than the previous one, with
the most progish track again being the longest one, the ten minute
”Bloody Wellfare” [sic!]. But there's still room for a couple of
softer moments, most notably the ballads ”My Lady” and
”Thoughts”, the latter somewhat akin to David Bowie around the
time of ”The Man Who Sold the World” and ”Hunky Dory”. The
sound of ”Two” is denser than that of ”A Dream of Glory and
Pride” and should have enough of appeal to genre fans, but it's a
much duller album on the whole.
Reload (Vertigo, 1975)
International relevance:
**
English vocals
Productive they were, you
have to give them that. Two albums in 1974, with a third following
already in 1975, featuring new drummer Thomas Wiklund (formerly of
Uppåt Väggarna who released one fine 45 on Efel Records in 1971,
”Jag hatar politik” b/w ”Jag färdas”). But by the time
”Reload” was recorded, everything vaguely appealing on ”A
Dream of Glory and Pride” was long gone. In its place, all standard
hard rock moves inflated by a tiresome production. The track ”A
Man's Not a Man” has a surprising power pop chorus reminiscent of
Cheap Trick – no wonder it was chosen for a 45 release. (The single
mix is included on the CD reissue as a bonus track.)
The most interesting thing to me is that the cover art is by Anders F. Rönnblom, a graphic designer and an excellent artist in his own right.
The most interesting thing to me is that the cover art is by Anders F. Rönnblom, a graphic designer and an excellent artist in his own right.
Roger Holegård joined Wasa Express
following the demise of Neon Rose in 1975. Two years later, guitarist
Piero Mengarelli opted for a Neon Rose reunion with him as the only
previous member of the band. An unsuccessful venture – they
disbanded after only recording a couple of demos. A further attempt
at reviving the band (this time with Piero Mengarelli and his brother
and bass player Benno) only got as far as to an unreleased single for
the Rosa Honung imprint in 1981. In 2015, Piero Mengarello again
tried to bring Neon Rose back to life, and again with him as
the only original member. This version of the band, known as Neon
Rose Chapter III, quit in 2017. Time to give up trying perhaps?
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