Leaving (For A New Land) / Ballgame (Philips, 1977)
Busker / Frida's Bank (Hi-Hat, 1978)
English vocals
International relevance: *
A Finnish-Swedish band active in Stockholm. They only made two singles, the first one also released in Finland on Hi-Hat with sides reversed and a different cover, the second one only released in Finland. They are mentioned in ”The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music” but none of them is very proggish at all. Ball was more of a classic rock band who probably thought they were very metal, but only ”Ballgame” could possibly be called hard rock. Bass player Kaj Söderström and drummer Henrik ”Hempo” Hilldén were previously in Splash and later went on to the rhyming Trash, a heavy metal band who made two albums in the 80s. Hilldén also played with Pugh Rogefeldt and Mikael Ramel in the 70s and later had an international career.
English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Two tracks both on Sydkraft's bad full length album but in different and better versions. ”Surfway” works vastly better as the surf punk number it's here than as the terrible fake reggae track on the LP, If you want great neo-surf pop, please go to UK band The Barracudas debut album instead. Flipside ”Så tung, så lång” has more energy in this early version than on the re-recorded album version. Yes, better, but still not good.
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -
Peripherally interesting for being on Kjell Höglund's Alternativ label. The 'A' side is an anti-nuclear song and the 'B' side is a cabaret styled song against tax refugees. Not worth the effort. Another single exists plus a full album, both on Alternativ.
STAFFANS LÄRJUNGAR – Tures trumpet / Dresden '45 (Staffan Records, 1979)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **
Private 45 from a
Gävle band with no further releases. ”Tures trumpet” sounds a
bit like an inferior early Dom Smutsiga Hundarna track, with a whacky
trumpet solo at the end. ”Dresden '45” is a bit more interesting,
an instrumental with a bit of atmosphere with organ and clumsy
guitars. Recorded in two days in Mora Träsk's studio. Bassist
Bengt-Olof Tedeborg later went to other Gävle bands including new
wave band Grenzfall. Trumpeter and organist Jan Lindström later changed his surname to Berglin and became one of Sweden's most brilliant cartoonists.
STEVE ROPER BAND – Freda'n är här / Betonglåten (Opel, 1979)
Umeå band with Lars Gillén on drums.
Gillén later co-founded Umeå label Garageland Records that did some
early reissues of Lea Riders Group and Friends. ”Betonglåten” is
the best and most proggish track of the two with some prominent
guitar playing. ”Freda'n är här” is more pop oriented, and later
Steve Roper Band releases are mediocre power pop. They also have a track on V/A compilation "Vi har rätt till jobb".
Yet another act from the north of
Sweden, this time from Luleå. The 'A' side is a forgettable ska
track but ”Brända barn” is OK, not entirely unlike a slow
Nynningen or late Nationalteatern track in style. I suspect Tomas
Forssell might have been an inspiration here as he moved to Luleå
after Nynningen's demise.
Swedish vocals
Second to last outing from this Gothenburg band, only followed by their final album ”Framtiden rusar emot dig” in 1983. By this time they had lost their early scruffy appeal and become just another Nacksving band, and hadn't it been for the saxophone, this could have been any mediocre band of 1982.
Gotlands Teater was a theatre
ensemble who made its vinyl debut already in 1974 with single-sided
LP ”Modell /74”. Eight years later three singles appeared,
including five track 33 1/3 EP ”Knark” and ”Rockpojken”.
Obviously styled after the edgier side of Nationalteatern, most of it
is just unexceptional rock music. Best track is ”Horor och
knarkluder” from ”Knark”.
"Rockpojken" was released with three different covers.
Worth noting is the theatre's creative director and actor Anders T. Peedú who was in garage band Friends in
the 60s.
Crut is
already on this blog with their album ”Världspremiär”.
”Jönköping” and ”Grand Finale” are both on the album in
very similar versions, while ”Balladen om puben Lycka” is an
entirely different recording. The basement hard rock of ”Efter 5
långa år” is the best thing they ever did while ”Hååvee” is
absolutely moronic crap. Remaining tracks fall somewhere inbetween,
but closer to crap.
GUNNAR EDANDER – Musiken ur ”Kameliadamens kärlek och död” (Skådebanan, 1981)
Instrumental
International relevance: **
Gunnar Edander composed the music for ”Kärleksföreställningen”, ”Jösses flickor”, and ”Sånger om kvinnor" to name but some of his best known work. This seven-inch belongs to his most obscure efforts however. It's two instrumental tracks from a play based on Alexander Dumas' ”The Lady of the Camellias” (also knowns as simply ”Camille”) and performed at Stockholm City Theatre in 1981. ”Kameliavalsen” (with French subtitle ”La Valse aux Camélias”) is almost akin to 20th century modernist piano music. Or perhaps even a spastic unknown recording by a completely psychotic Lars Hollmer. B side is the title track from the play, ”Kameliadamens kärlek och död” (”L'amour et la Mort de la Dame aux Camélias”) and a very different thing. Starting off like a variation on ”Fûr Elise”, it soon expands into a romantic, spacious piece with strong melancholic underpinnings. A very moody composition and quite captivating. This is by and large the most intriguing music I've ever heard from Gunnar Edander and it's a shame it remains virtually unknown.
Sydkraft full single
Hets full single
Staffans Lärjungar full single
Aldrig I Livet full single
Dom Smutsiga Hundarna full single
Ball:
Leaving (For A New Land)
Ballgame
Busker
Frida's Bank
Steve Roper Band:
Freda'n är här
Betonglåten
Gotlands Teater:
Knark full single
Rockpojken full single
Crut:
Efter 5 långa år full single playlist
Jönköping full single playlist
Hååvee full single playlist
Gunnar Edander no links found
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