GAARDA BAND – Vi bygger landet (A Disc, 1980)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Another A Disc album to test your patience. This time by Gaarda Band, an acoustic three-piece stylistically somwhere between hootenanny folk singing and jolly Swedish visa. All lyrics are in Swedish and rich with the usual bland political platitudes typical to A Disc releases. Bad to begin with it gets even worse with embarrassing stabs at ”humourus” portrayals. ”Om det händer mig nåt” is surprisingly enough a pretty good song, but there's no way it can outweigh the otherwise ropey songwriting and singalong message ditties.

Full album (poor sound)

OMAR – Archival releases 1978-1982

 

 Omars Greatest Hit... And 14 More 1978-1986 (no label, 2014; rec 1978-1986)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

 International relevance: *

Omar were a four-piece from Värnamo in the Småland region who released one sole 12” on private label Lucas in 1978. But they taped a lot more, although much of it was live recordings, rehearsals and demos, eventually released on streaming-only compilations. ”Omars Greatest Hit... And 14 more” contains the full 12” thus including their best song ”The Love That Once Bled”. The rest is what standard rock music of little personality. Their ”greatest hit” was apparently ”Värnamo, Värnamo” about their hometown, here featured in a live version. There are no recording dates given, but judging by the style and sound, a little more than half of the material is from 1982 or earlier. The assumably later songs is similar to what Ulf Lundell did in the mid-80s.

 

Live, Demos & Studio 1978-1986 (no label, 1999; rec. 1978-1986)

 Swedish vocals, English vocals

 International relevance: *

Covering the same period but with entirely different songs. Sound quality varies heavily from terrible to decent but the style is similar to ”Omars Greatest Hit” only with fewer songs in the 1986 style. Best track is ”Kärlek bränns” but it's still too undistinguished to make an impression.

 

Live 1982 & 1984 (no label, EP 2022; rec. 1982-1984)

 Swedish vocals

 International relevance: *

Again in the streaming-only format, this four-track live EP has only two songs within the blog's time frame and one of them was already on ”Live, Demos & Studio”. ”Om dom bara visste” was on ”Live, Demos & Studio” but in a different version, but it still sounds like most of their usual pedestrian repertoire.

 

Värnamo, Värnamo (Live och i replokalen 1978) (no label, single 1998; rec. 1978)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Two versions of the same song, the live one also being on ”Omars Greatest Hit”. Not a good song to begin with, and the rehearsal take hardly makes it any better. Probably only of interest to the friends of the band and others living in Värnamo hating the town as much as Omar did.

Several other releases of later Omar material exist, also only for streaming.

Omars Greatest Hit... And 14 More full album playlist (Spotify)
Live, Demos & Studio 1978-1986 full album playlist (Spotify)
Live 1982 & 1984 full EP playlist (Spotify)
Värnamo, Värnamo full single playlist (Spotify)

NISSE SANDSTRÖM GROUP – Öppet Ett (Caprice, 2023; rec. 1965-67)

  
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

”Öppet” (=”open”) is a series of releases curated by free jazz saxophonist and standard-bearer Mats Gustafsson and archivist Roger Bergner, with the ambition to unearth previously unreleased, high quality recordings from the Swedish jazz and avantgarde underground 1965-1975. The series was initiated in 2023 with the very hands-on help from Caprice Records who release the albums in vinyl-only editions and for streaming.

The first volume was by Nisse Sandström, a saxophonist whose 1972 album ”The Painter” in 1972 has become an awarded Swedish jazz classic. Sandström's been more of a sideman, working with numerous performers over the years including Björn J:son Lindh, bassists Red Mitchell and Sture Nordin, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Bernt Rosengren, Monica Törnell and American born piano player Horace Parlan. ”Öppet ett” is notable for several reasons. The recordings predates ”The Painter” with several years, and it features musicians then largely unknown but soon-to-be progg heavyweights: Erik Dahlbäck (Fläsket Brinner), the aforementioned J:son Lindh, and Bella Linnarsson (Baby Grandmothers, Kebnekajse).

The two tracks on the 'A' side predate the time range of this blog, being taped in 1965 and 1966. Nevertheless, they're prime examples of early Swedish free jazz; a must-hear for anyone interested in its regional development. But side 2's ”Bränn fläsket” is something out of the ordinary. Not only does it fit here because of the 1967 recording date, it's a massive 21+ minutes chunk of free-thinking, explorative, explosive free jazz that transcends its own genre. Thanks to Erik Dahlbäck's hard-hitting drumming, it's a visionary, ahead-of-its-time mergence of avant jazz and rock music unheard of in Sweden in 1967. It's the 1960s equivalent to what Mats Gustafsson himself would do some 35 years later with The Thing and Fire! Orchestra. With Linnarsson's electric bass, J:son Lindh's tape treatments and what have you, it almost predicts noise rock in a time when nobody could imagine such a thing (except perhaps for two or three New Yorkers around Angus MacLise).

”Bränn fläsket” was recorded by Swedish Radio for broadcast in early autumn 1967. Had it actually been released back then, it's not unlikely it would have changed the course and sped up the evolution of experimental rock as we know it today. And not only does it significantly move the historical markers, it's bloody great too with the energy of a nuclear power plant!

”Öppet ett” is a top level release, a must from every perspective.

Full album playlist 

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 10: Rock

  
RESPEKT – Den stora bron / Rebellernas afton (Respekt, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

It looks like an biker hard rock single but it sounds more like average singer/songwriter rock. ”Den stora bron” is quite OK (although overlong at 6+ minutes), with an acoustic rhythm guitar and a harmonica solo to put it firmly in the Ulf Lundell/Bob Dylan/Neil Young tradition. ”Rebellernas afton” is musically weaker and particularly suffers from singer Bengt O. Johansson's attempts at sounding Ulf-Lundell-as-John-Wayne macho.

 

MOTVIND – Plockepinn / Törst (Nacksving, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

First ever single by Motvind, released between their third and fourth album, and their only 1979 lifesign on vinyl. The style is typically Motvind with two songs approaching boogie rock and hard rock. Typically Motvind also means typically ignorable.

 

DRÖMPOJKARNA

 Sofi / Ny i stadens ljus (Musiklaget Slick, 1979)
Final Single (Svenska Popfabriken, 1980) as F.D.Drömpojkarna
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Featured here for the sake of completion as Drömpojkarna's only LP is already included. Both singles have some of their better songs, and doesn't suffer too much from the contrived 'controversial' tone that was evident on the album. The 1979 single was produced by Pål Spektrum, an underground legend responsible for most of what was released on Svenska Popfabriken, a label that was hot as a waffle iron in the late 70s/early 80s thanks to the strong regional air to their many pop and rock'n'roll styled releases. For the aptly titled ”Final Single” (actually released as F.D. Drömpojkarna – ”f.d.” meaning ”ex-” – signalling the band had split up before its release) they took the full step and became a Svenska Popfabriken act. I personally have a weak spot for Svenska Popfabriken and what they stood for, but neither of these singles are at all recommended to progg fans.

FRONTALROCK – Nattens barn / Angår oss inte (Gadd, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Sometimes classified as punk or hard rock, this has very little of either. It was taped in 1979 but not released until 1980 at the band's own expense in a 500 copies edition. ”Nattens barn” shows very faint traces of the then popular neo-ska of the British 2 Tone label, but is basically a mid tempo rock song which is quite good with a discreet but ornate piano and a rather fiery lead guitar. The title of the B side means ”Doesn't concern us”, and that's how I feel about the song too. It sounds more like a Kylans Rockorkester throwaway, a silly rock'n'roll pastiche that is has none of the decent songwriting qualities of ”Nattens barn”. 

Bassist Christer Höglund was also in Musikgruppen ACP and Istid. 

 

DJUSH BAND – Just nu / Lilla Lisa (no label, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Categorized as hard rock on Discogs, but that's wrong. It's a private release with a somewhat quirky track on the A side and the more straightforward proggish ”Lilla Lisa” on the flip. ”Lilla Lisa” sounds a bit like a later Nationalteatern song and deals with at-risk youth and related social issues. The phrase ”livet är en fest” even appears in the lyrics (alluding to one of Nationalteatern's best known tracks, meaning ”life's a party” which is purely ironic). Several clues lead to Gothenburg as the band's origin, which would further explain the Nationalteatern influence.

RENDEZ-VOUS – Plugget är slut / Åh dessa dagar (GMP, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

An outlier on the GMP (Great Music Production) label that was more into Swedish dance bands than the budget kind of commercial sounding symphonic rock of Rendez-Vous. Singer and keyboardist Thomas Nanor had an MNW single of classical interpretations out in 1971, a semi-rare space electronics album in 1982, plus another 7” in 1986. Needless to say, both ”Plugget är slut” and ”Åh dessa dagar” are heavy on keyboards. The latter is in fact a half-decent ”dramatic ballad” in itself, but I find Nanor's high pitched vocals with a threating vibrato quite irritating. Perhaps the symphonic vibe is too light to appeal to seasoned symph fans, but then again, I'm not sure who else would be very interest in this. Judging by the low market value and the fact it's fairly easy to come by, the answer is: no-one.

 

PER P – Ackumulerad skuld / Sabine / Novalucol / Hon var våt (Eko, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Per Paulsson had previously released the album ”Tro, hopp och kaffe” in 1974 while his backing band Ruff is featured on the various artists comp ”Ruff & Fukt & Suck”. This four track EP was released with two B sides according to the sleeve and labels and was pressed in red vinyl. It's pretty pedestrian rock progg although some of the lyrics are a bit peculiar. I've never heard of ”drunken guitar picks” before I heard the punk inspired ”Ackumulerad skuld”... Probably the best track here, and as that's not very good you can take this as an encouragement to pass on this.

 

ICTUS – Jag vill ut / Yesterday Song (Plebb, 1980)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

Released through the label run by Plebb/Purple Haze in an edition of reputedly only 285 copies, this might seem more interesting than it is. ”Jag vill ut” is a mediocre power pop track, so it's ”Yesterday Song” that has to offer up some progginess to justify its place here. It has a slightly off-kilter rhythm suggesting funk and reggae without being any of it plus some knotty guitar playing. The melody is oddly elusive. Elusive apparently also to the singer who seems to struggle with it. Rare yes, but that's really the only thing it has going for it. Avoid.

GRÖNA HISSEN – Statt! (Ori, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Although titled ”Statt!”, the two songs on this small label release are named ”Ute” (several meanings, here ”out of fashion”, ”unpopular”) and ”Samhällets fiende No. 1” (=”Public enemy no. 1”). Often considered a hard rock band, Gröna Hissen were a more a plain rock band with a punk/progg edge. ”Ute” borrows shamelessly from ”Jumpin' Jack Flash” while the bass line on ”Samhällets fiende No. 1” is reminiscent of neo-ska band Specials. Which is not to say that Gröna Hissen were mere copycats. Although they weren't the most original band around, ”Statt!” nevertheless has a certain appeal thanks to its strong underground aura. They're not the best players, and not always tight, but these two songs have an urgency to them which I like. Prices vary, but not being an established sought-after rarity, it should still be fairly easy to come by relatively cheap for those interested (as of early 2026).

SPINNROCK – Nighttime Is The Righttime / I Remember You (Hit-Records, 1981)

English vocals

International relevance: *

Although there's nothing particularly wrong with this – ”Nighttime Is The Righttime” [sic!] even has some mildly interesting harmonic turns – it's pretty mundane. The lead guitar has some hard rock glitz to them, and the harmony vocals are OK for a release like this, but both tracks leave me cold and a little bored, especially the ballad ”I Remember You”.

Respekt 
Rebellernas afton 
Motvind
Plockepinn / Törst 
Djush Band
Lilla Lisa
Rendez-Vous
Plugget är slut 
Gröna Hissen
Ute
Drömpojkarna
Sofi full single playlist 
Final Single full single playlist 

Frontalrock full single 
Ictus full single playlist 
Spinnrock full single playlist 

Per P no links found 

ORIENTEXPRESSEN – Orientexpressen (Urspår, 1979)

  
Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: **

Orientexpressen may not be the most imaginative name (meaning, as easily guessed, ”the Orient express”), but it gives as rough although not perfectly accurate idea of what they sound like. Founded in 1975, they've made quite a few albums over the years with members coming and going. For this debut album they consisted of one Turkish born flute and darbouka player and five members Sweden born and bred, of which several also played with Södra Bergens Balalaikor. Add to that two guest singers. They performed traditional music from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Serbia and the Balkans, a mix that was far from unique in those days. ”Orientexpressen” isn't as good as the less authentic but marvellous Ramlösa Kvällar but much better than the unsatisfactory and polite Radio Balkan. Performances are passionate, and the music has that certain rawness I want from recordings such as this.

The instruments are of course adequate to the music, upright bass, accordeon, fiddle, flutes from near and far, tamboura, clarinet, gajda (bagpipe)... Not to mention the thunderous drum sound of tapan and darbouka. There can never be enough of thunderous darbouka!

All in all, a convincing debut from this long standing band. 

No links found 

MONTEVIDEO – Montevideo (SweDisc, 1980; rec. 1978-1979)

 
Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: **

Emotionless muzak fusion (fuzak?) with Ulf Wakenius (Mwendo Dawa, Sundance, Hawk On Flight) on guitar. Also features drummer Michael Anderson and trumpet player Salomon Helperin from a later Mount Everest line-up. The album was only released in Japan meaning there's only a smaller risk you'll stumble upon it by malicious coincidence. The only remotely decent track is the Spanish sung ”El Travajo”, mainly for its half-interesting percussion work. The rest is provocatively antiseptic. Hadn't it been for Nexus and Life (on Coop), this would probably be the most nothinged-out jazz fusion album to ever be recorded in Sweden. And what an irkingly lousy sleeve!

Light Hour 

LÖTSJÖN – Live 1978-1979 (Holmia, 2013; rec. 1978-1979)

 English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: *

Lötsjön released two albums in 1976 and 1982 respectively, and this EP released on streaming platforms some 35 years later shows what they did inbetween, i.e. the same thing they always did. That means playing covers of stuff like ”California Dreaming” and ”Hello Stranger” and the occasional original tune in such a sexless manner they make Peter, Paul & Mary sound like Motörhead. I mean, this is a bunch of gals and pals that would be kicked out from a campfire party for spoiling the mood by being too mawkish. So unprovoking its provocative.

Full EP playlist

PETER VON SOLYMOSSY – Den 30:e februari (Buda, 1980)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A little known or should I say deliberately ignored album by one Peter von Solymossy of whom I know just about nothing. Looking like a private release, but distributed by EMI with a pretty extensive list of musicians credits including Rune Carlsson on drums (not the jazz drummer with the same name). Recorded in a studio situated just below Greg FitzPatrick's synthesizer shop in Stockholm, and produced by Håkan Wollgård who worked with numerous acts as diverse as punk legends Rude Kids, feminist proggers Mixed Media, Mats Glenngård, and postpunk synth band Ståålfågel to name but a few. The sound is quite lavish – it sounds more expensive than it probably is.

”Den 30:e februari” is a strange one. All songs were written by von Solymossy, and although pretty well written, they seem rather mainstream on the surface. But the entire albums has some weird underpinnings of light symphonic rock, as evident on tracks like ”Själens uppvaknande” and ”Snödrottningen”. The guitar work is quite heavy, especially on ”Den plötsliga dödens minut” and ”Disc-Yockey” [sic!]. Not a masterpiece, but a bit of a grower, and it's actually really pleasant to listen to even if it's far from a Mr. Brown or a Saga. Von Solymossy wasn't untalented and it's a pity that ”Den 30:e februari” were his only album. You might not take to it, but I think it's still worth hearing at least a couple of times.

Den plötsliga dödens minut / Själens uppvaknande / Sången är skriven för oss / Dimman bakom horisonten / Snödrottningen / Disc-Yockey / Allting är så nära / Avsked

BOSTONVÄRK – Bostonvärk (Bakhåll, 1980)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

This is very much a beast of its own. Bostonvärk were more of an experiment than a proper band even though they existed for about two years during which they went through three line-ups. They came from Lund in the Swedish south, and recorded this one album that marks the birth of Bakhåll, a book publisher that has since become something of an institution for both international and domestic off-pist literature. But yes, it all started with this peculiar vinyl record in June 1980.

”Bostonvärk” documents the band's first line-up and most notably included Bakhåll's founder and Bostonvärk stahlwart Örjan Gerhardsson. His role was not the singer's but the reciter, reading self-written bizarre, half surrealist pieces to the primitive mangling drone of the four musicians behind him. The words are the focal point here, with the music being turned down when Gerhardsson's voice enters the music. It's equally annoying and fascinating because the music (sans the voice) is for the most part really good. The acoustic portions are less interesting, but when the full band roars ahead it's wonderfully abrasive cult-like rock (think Americans Ya Ho Wa 13 or Zendik Farm Orchestra with a dasb of Sogmusobil).

To coincide with the album's 25th anniversary, it was reissued on CD in a cardboard sleeve and three bonus tracks, one from 1981 and two from the band's final year 1982. One of them, the 7+ minute live take of ”Motorvägen” (available in a shorter version on the proper album) is the best thing on the entire disc, a menacing variation on ”Wild Thing” with wailing guitars somewhere in the region Rävjunk's stoned moments on ”Uppsala Stadshotell Brinner”.

It's hard to give this an unconditional recommendation given the sort of double nature of the album, but it's certainly interesting. It's better than Psynkopat, not as good or out there as Imp.Ink, but it takes a certain mood to appreciate it. If you don't feel like it, it's nerve-grating but if you don't feel like it, but if you're up for it, it's confusingly mesmerizing. 

Motorvägen (original version) 
Ställen
Labyrinten

M.A. NUMMINEN & TURID – Fårskallevisor (Svenska Love, 1978)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

To understand this record, we first have to take a look at who M.A. Numminen is.

Mauri Antero Numminen was born in Somero, a very small town in southern Finland. He began writing songs in the mid 60s, putting music to selections from other people's books, something he never quite gave up on – as late as in 1989, he set music to philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's ”Tractatus logico-philosophicus”! Numminen was involved in the late 60s/early 70s Finnish radical underground scene that included avantgarde groups such as The Sperm, Nalle Puh Big Band and Numminen's own constellation Suomen Talvisota 1939–1940. While most of his discography is in Finnish (with the occasional foray into German, English and Latin), he released several albums in Swedish. He became an anti-hero of sorts in Sweden, well-known for his deliberately bad singing in a dislocated, squeaky voice. He gained unlikely hits with a Swedish version of teenybopper Bobby Vee's early 60s hit ”Rubber Ball” as ”Som en gummiboll kommer jag tillbaks till dej” in 1977, and an equally warped version of Ian Dury's ”Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” as ”Slå mej med din rytmenpinne” together with Aston Reymers Rivaler in 1983. His vocals are incredibly annoying, but it's hard to criticize him for it as that was his very raison d'être and a reflection of his contrarian avantgarde past. He collaborated with several different artists over the years, but the most improbable co-operation has to be with Turid.

Known for her high, clear voice, it's hard to imagine Turid appearing alongside Numminen. There has rarely been any one more inconcordant pairing of voices than that. Nevertheless, that happened in 1978 when they shared vinyl space on ”Fårskallevisor”, released through the Swedish division of Love Records, famous for airing International Harvester's ”Sov gott Rose-Marie” ten years earlier. In all honesty, it has to be said that they don't actually sing together but appear roughly on every second track. Several tracks also have a children's choir, and that helps giving the album some kind of consistency even if it's an annoying feature. The songs themselves are cheerful and show no traces of Turid's thoughtful cuteness known to fans of her regular albums. As a matter of fact, hadn't it been for Turid's involvement, this album wouldn't have been here on the blog at all. It's not at all progg per se – ”Fårskallevisor” is basically children's album, very standard hadn't it been for Numminen's vocals. There's no denying it's a curiousity, but it's best left as such, untouched.

Some of Numminen's songs here were re-used on other albums of his.

No links found

OXID – Eklatant (Hit-Records Of Sweden, 1981)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Svalöv is situated in the midwest part of Sweden's southernmost region Skåne, not too far from Landskrona on the coast. With a population less than 13,000 in the 70s, Svalöv was hardly a metropolis then and hasn't been since, but the region nevertheless produced some music, much thanks to Hans Greebach's studio and label Hit-Records Of Sweden. The shortlived label is already known to blog readers thanks to Grassroots. Greebach produced Oxid's ”Eklatant” and also contributed a guitar solo to the album. 

Oxid were four buddies barely in their moustache age thanking one Angelika for buns and coffee on the back cover. Their attempt to look heavy metal on the front falls flat as padded jackets have a very low Judas Priest factor. (Only the guy second from right had parents that agreed to pay for his leather.) In short, they don't come much dorkier than this. And if you think the outer appearence reflects what's inside, you're perfectly right.

”Eklatant” is not a good album. But the simplistic songwriting, simpleminded execution and the lyrics' painfully adolescent observations scores high on the charm scale if you can accept it for what it is. Oxid were sincere and what can four poor boys do in Svalöv except play in a rock'n'roll band? Their hard rock ambitions are endearing but without the necessary skills, ”Eklatant” ends up closer to a smalltown punk album that wouldn't take them anywhere but back to mum and dad's disappointment over low school grades. The album is a snapshot of a Sweden long before Instagram influencers and twisted TikTok challenges. The innocence of ”Eklatant” dressed up in vanilla buns rebellion is heartwarming. The strong DIY vibe, a clear heritance from progg filtered through the punk ethos, is hopeful. From that persepctive it doesn't really matter that the music is bad.

No links found

ED THIGPEN'S ACTION-RE-ACTION – Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action (Sonet, 1974)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Ed Thigpen was a Chicago born drummer growing up in Los Angeles who played with several major league performers. He's probably best known for his work with Oscar Peterson from the late 50s to the mid 60s. He moved to Copenhagen in 1972, and spent the remainder of his life there (he died in 2010 and is buried in Copenhagen). ”Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action” was recorded in Denmark in spring 1973 but with a partly Swedish line-up including Lennart Åberg, Sabu Martinez and Kjell Öhman. It was first released on Swedish Sonet in 1974.

Split in two suites ”House Of Poets” and ”Action-Re-Action” divided by standalone track ”Danish Drive”, it's an often funky fusion affair touching on soul jazz, with slight hints at early 70s Miles Davis. The short ”Adventures Of A Duck With Friends” from the title suite even suggests Don Cherry's organic music. While the music isn't always stone cold excellent, it's actually a pretty pleasant experience to listen to the exceptionally tight line-up. It's indeed a high-level performance that everyone involved seem to love being a part of. And compared to several other Swedish jazz fusion albums that sound like they were recorded by a group of social workers on a day release trip to a conference center, this album ought to be a given choice for those into the genre.

The album was reissued on a CD as a twofer with another Danish but lesser 1973 set, "Resource", as "Ed Thigpen In Copenhagen 1973-74" in the mid noughties.

House Of Poets: Le Matin
House Of Poets: Le Soir
House Of Poets: Who's Kidding Who?
Danish Drive 
Action-Re-Action: Illusions
Action-Re-Action: Adventures Of A Duck With Friends
Action-Re-Action: Action-Re-Action

RÖDA RÖTTER – Kom igen (Röda Rötter, 1982)

 
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

But for fuck's sake...

This is a perfect example of an album I wouldn't even touch with a twelve feet stick and eight pairs of gloves if it wasn't for this blog. It's a private pressing released by Röda Rötter (="red roots"), a women's choir affiliated with the local Social Democratic section of Staffanstorp in the south of Sweden. So expect the sloganeering to be a bit more watered down than on your regular Stalinist shout fest. Also, the acoustic guitars are swapped for accordeons (not a positive thing). The B side has a couple of solo performances but of course they suck too.

Now if you excuse me, I have an album to smash.

No links found 

JUKKA TOLONEN & COSTE APETREA – Touch Wood (Sonet, 1981)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Originally released in the UK and Germany but not in Sweden, this is basically a continuation of ”Vänspel” minus Stefan Nilsson on piano, leaving Jukka Tolonen and Coste Apetra to their acoustic guitars (with Apetrea doubling on bouzouki). Give Tolonen and Apetrea free reign and you know it will be a circle jerk. They can't resist the flamenco moves by way of Paco de Lucia, and the whole album ends up right where you expected: in self-gratifying finger acrobatics where fretboard technique is mistaken for substance. Painful.

Another 35 minute show-off recorded live in 1982 was released as CD+DVD as "In Concert" in 2015, available digitally for purchase and for streaming..

Touch Wood full album playlist (reversed order) 
In Concert full album playlist 

MERIT HEMMINGSON OCH BEPPE WOLGERS MED FOLKLIGA - Det for två vita duvor... - Folkton i Vikens kapell (EMI, 1973)

  
Swedish vocals, spoken word, instrumental
International relevance: **

Merit Hemmingson made a great splash in the 70s with her groove heavy Hammond organ interpretations of Swedish folk tunes, and her popularity has grown in later years after being largely neglected inbetween. Her career started out already in the 60s with a couple of pop soul jazz albums, but it's her first two folk inspired albums ”Huvva!” and ”Trollskog” (1971-1972) that garner most interest. ”Det for två vita duvor...” from 1973 is a bit of an oddity in her discography, being recorded with Beppe Wolgers. Wolgers is very well known to a certain age group of Swedes, having made absurdist television series in the 60s before breaking through to a younger audience with a couple of highly beloved children's shows in the 70s, now considered almost canonical.

Wolgers was a multifaceted character; a writer and a poet, a TV personality, a humorist... He's known for his softspoken voice and warm personality, but he was also a troubled thinker with a melancholy side. Those two sides of his soul came through on ”Det for två vita duvor...” where he recites poems to Hemmingson's musical backdrop. Not only Hemmingson's actually, because the temporary constellation Folkliga consists of four Splash members plus folk fiddlers Kalle Almlöf and Roland Keijser/Arbete & Fritid collaborator Anders Rosén. Also Staffan Sjöholm from Keijser's early jazz quartet.

Being recorded in the Viken chapel in Merit Hemmingson's home county of Jämtland, the sound is heavy on mystical atmosphere which fits like a glove with the acoustic instrumentation. However, it takes a certain listener to appreciate the spoken word portions. That especially goes for foreign listeners as the words are in Swedish. The poetry readings may seem distracting to those not familiar with the language. Then again, some tracks have no readings, and are either instrumental or have vocals by Hemmingson herself (and she has a really beautiful voice, all too seldom heard). Few of the tracks are that easy to remember afterwards; they work together as a mood piece, like aural incense. As a whole, this double album is definitely overlong but in smaller doses, it creates an archaic mood that is quite captivating.

Full album playlist

ART OF MUSIC – Sessions (Allt För Laget, 2021; rec. 1972-1974)

  
English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

This is actually only half an album as it wasn't a standalone disc with a specific cover, but a bonus album to the 50th anniversary reissue of Art Of Music's sole, self-titled 1971 album. That album is already reviewed here, so this review is for bonus disc ”Sessions” only.

Art Of Music had existed for four years when their original album was recorded under primitive circumstances. Taped on a Tandberg reel-to-reel machine in their rehearsal space using sound-on-sound technique by Staffan Odlander, certified Beatles expert and owner of Buttercup Records who initially released the album on his label. It's now a massive collectors' item, better known than the subsequent Art Of Music seven-inches that followed in 1972, one of them a split disc with Swedish dance band Mattis (Buttercup's release plan – if there ever was one – was far from consistent).

When Odlander invested in better recording equipment including a mixer and a trusty Revox tape recorder and a mixer, fidelity got immediately better. The band too had matured and become tighter, and the songwriting here is a more focused in a post-Beatles vein (and there are even two Beatles covers). So ”Sessions” ought to be a better album than ”Art Of Music”, but truth is I think something got lost in the advancement. Despite all its inadequacies, I prefer the debut album for its vibe of underground secrecy. Imperfections don't always add to experience but rather spoil it (as exemplified by Axelsson or Prefix), but in the case of Art Of Music the insufficiencies intertwine with the experience and enriches it. There are of course some enjoyable moments here, especially the rather intense ballad evocatively entitled ”Today Is A Day Without Future”, but most of ”Sessions” sounds too mediocre and ordinary to my ears.

”Sessions” includes all tracks previously only released on singles, plus takes planned for a never issued 1974 EP along with other unreleased tracks. The ambition to present Art Of Music's complete recordings unfortunately also extends to leaving distracting studio chatter and broken down takes intact, a modus operandi I've never liked (and happening a bit too often these days with the flood of archival releases from everyone from Bob Dylan and The Beatles down to The Nowhereburg Nobodies).

That said, I'm happy the reissue exists because it's the only viable way to get the hysterically rare original album in your hands. That album is an entity of its own, and the bonus material doesn't lesser its impact. You simply don't need to play ”Sessions” except for a track or two, but stick to the real album. The liner notes are a nice feature too, sharing lots of information from both Odlander and the band.

No links found

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 9: Political, religious & theatrical

 
JOINT EFFORT – Du, värld / I morgon (Kyrkoton, 1969)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

A very rare single from a very obscure Christian trio, so obscure it's not even listed on Discogs at the time of writing. Released on the Kyrkoton label who also gave us the collectable Vergers which should pique the interest of some readers. Not that it needs any pull from others because it stands up well on its own. The B side is the weaker track of the two, although that one's OK as well with a Sir Douglas Quintet styled organ and a pretty catchy drive. But the real treat is ”Du, värld” which is just excellent, a rare Swedish example of what's internationally known as moody garage. Absolutely haunting with brooding organ, reverbed rimshots and a mesmerizing atmosphere created by a slow, almost ghostlike, harmonized melody. In a time when everything appears excavated, discovered, comped and reissued all over again, it's a mystery how this one slipped through the cracks. It's not even of Discogs at the time of writing. It's one of the best Xian tracks I've ever heard from Sweden, almost up there with New Creation's ”He Is There”.

Joint Effort later changed their name to Mission Possible and as such released another Kyrkoton single in 1971. The A side, in a style similar to ”Du, värld”, is featured on the ”Frälst!” compilation.

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Jubileum SSU 60 år (Frihets Förlag, 1977)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: -

Four tracks recorded for the ”Democratize Sweden” conference in January 1977 and released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Social Democrats' youth association SSU the same year. The focus is obsviously on the message, delivered by singing groups Nacka-gänget, Nya Gesällerna and Lasse-Maja. The music was written by Göran Blomqvist known from some other Social Democratic releases, with words by journalist Bernt Rosengren (no, not that Bernt Rosengren). A couple of the songs – with hot titles such as ”Var börjar socialismen” (=”where does socialism begin”) and ”Socialismen är solidaritet” (=”socialism is solidarity”) – appear rooted in the Eisler/Weill tradition but are melodically paralyzed. The whole thing just sounds unmusical, but it wouldn't surprise me if some perverted hipster DJ takes a liking to ”Du duger” (=”you're OK”) because of its, ahem, 'funkiness'.

 

FRISKT VATTEN – Tågsång / Marknadsföring (A Disc, 1980)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Two non-album tracks released inbetween Friskt Vatten's last two albums. ”Tågsång” is a ballad of sorts, unpleasantly close to yacht rock but with some fine piano playing. ”Marknadsföring” speaks out again mindless consumption and shares the sentiment with Peps Persson's ”Hög standard” but lacking Peps's ability to transform observation to sharp-witted lyrics on his level.

KYRKSTÖT – No Smoking / Dr. Jekyll (no label, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A Christian hard rock band familiar from the V/A comp ”Rockplock”. This single was the only other outing from Kyrkstöt. The A side is competent but entirely uninteresting boogie rock, while ”Dr. Jekyll” is radio friendly pop rock that feels overlong despite being of 4 minute standard length. Best avoided.

 

SKOGSNÄSKOLLEKTIVET – Odlad jord ska förbli odlad (Ljudbarrikaden, 1980)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

The title of this single is ”Odlad jord ska förbli odlad” (=”cultivated land should remain cultivated”) but the song titles are actually ”Fattig på de fattigas planet” (=”poor on the planet of poors”) and ”Den trygge” (=”the safe one”). It was recorded within the long running environmentally concerned and anti-capitalist Skogsnäs community in the Northern Sweden.

I was afraid ”Odlad jord ska förbli odlad” would be just another fingerpointing pamphlet progg release, so I was completely taken aback when ”Fattig på de fattigas planet” proved to be an outright fantastic minor key folksy track in a Townes Van Zandt vein, augmented with a wonderful, gnarly fiddle like straight out of cult movie ”The Wicker Man”. Even the children's chorus sounds good (!), adding another emotional layer to the splendid track. The guy who wrote it is Kåre Wigforss who I think is still musically active (judging by a Youtube channel dedicated to Kåre Wigforss Band) although I can't find any proof of him having released anything apart from this one knockout track.

The B side is credited to the band Ryktet Går and while their ”Den trygge” isn't on par with ”Fattig på de fattigas planet”, it's still better than expected. It's more of an early 80s folk rock track with jangly guitars – think a slightly more garage-y but relaxed early R.E.M. and you're not exactly correct but going in the right direction.

MUSIKGRUPPEN NEJRÖSTERNA – Solen och vinden och vattnet och jorden / Kärnkraftsman (Live Studio Lane, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A twelve-piece band formed in late 1979 when the Gothenburg fraction of The Anti-Nuclear Movement needed music during their meetings. (”Nejrösterna” means ”the no votes”, referring to the nuclear referendum held in Sweden in March 1980). Two songs were recorded in November 1979 but the release was belated by the pressing plant until early 1980 when the single was finally released in an edition of a 1000 copies (with about half of them sold by the band). The lyrics for the A side were found in a leaflet distributed during an anti-nuclear protest march, while the words for the B side used The Beatles' ”Nowhere Man” as a source inspiration. Let's get it over with right away: This sounds nothing like The Beatles. It doesn't sound like anything you'd want to hear. As opposed to Skogsnäskollektivet above, this is exactly the kind of stuff that makes me want to rip my ears off my head. Ten people singing at once in a smug tone, backed by flutes, bongos and accordeon and an unnecessary large number of maracas. My only question now is how far this piece of shit will fly if I throw it from a cliff.

SKOTTES MUSIKORKESTER / THOMAS WIEHE, PER DUNSÖ, OLA STRÖM & TRULS – Antikärnkraftverk (Källan, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

The resistance against nuclear power was well spread in the cultural world prior to the referendum mentioned above. Plenty of actors, musicians and artists spoke out against it in 1979-1980 as proven by several charity singles and albums released at the time. This one gathered Skottes Musikorkester, and Thomas Wiehe together with Per Dunsö, Ola Ström and Ström's nephew Truls. Per Dunsö and the two Ströms were known from TV where they produced appalling children's shows, and their track ”Vaggvisa fem i tolv” (=”lullabye five to twelve”) could very well have appeared in one of them. The clarinet and the fiddle are pleasant features, and the acoustic framework is nice enough, but the song itself is oddly formless. And there's way too much Truls singing.

Skottes Musikorkester in turn contribute a klezmer styled track with a few instrumental turns that are quite nice but it's spoiled by the overzealous vocals.

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE – SUSB / Pyret (CC Records, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Checkpoint Charlie formed in 1976 and had a few active years before eventually disbanding in the early 80s. In the meantime they appeared on the various artists comps ”Vi har rätt till jobb” and ”Umeå Rocks, Vol. 1”, but had only one single out under their own banner. Heavily rooted in the semi-heavy rock style of the Umeå/Luleå region as represented by Rekyl and Kylans Rockorkester. The title ”SUSB” is short for Stiftelsen Umeå Studentbostäder (Umeå Student Housing Foundation) with some wonderfully acidic lyrics against the local lack of housing. The track is credited to guitarist Urban Bergman, but it's so much Chuck Berry that it's almost a cover of every Berry song in the style of ”Johnny B. Goode”. Still, the hard driving performance and the great lyrics (if you can understand them) have a certain appeal. ”Pyret” slows things down a bit, a dark observation written from a two-year-old's perspective. Some heavy guitars and a couple of progressive sections are nice features, but it's not as effective as the rousing A side.

 

TURMANS BAND – Bluesen kommer från Tierp (Mistlur, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Three songs recorded in 1979 and released the next year by the Mistlur imprint that at the time, early in their existence, was one of the companies that most strategically documented progg's extension into punk. As the title of this EP suggests (meaning ”the blues come from Tierp”, Tierp being the band's hometown situated between Uppsala and Gävle), Turmans Band dealt with blues, but not very proficiently. There's no real edge to it, and the main focus seems to be on the lyrics (also printed on an insert) that address a dull everyday life, unemployment and the troubles getting somewhere to live. The vocals could have strengthened the pedestrian performance but they're too weak to help the cause.

Mora Träsk's Thomas Örstrand appears on harmonica, and the EP title is a nod to Mora Träsk's album "Rocken kommer från Gävle" (="the rock music comes from Gävle"). 

MIKAEL WIEHE, NYBERG, FRANCK & FJELLIS – Gökungen / Livet efter 30 (Amalthea, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

”Gökungen” was later included on Wiehe's 1983 album ”Lindansaren”, one of the best tracks off that album. It has a a scary, sinister atmosphere and is by far one of the best tracks on that album. The B side is unique to this single and it's easy to see why it was left off the album. A weak track with an ironic lyric about the ”joys” of turning 30 when your body has been broken down by hard work (although the hard work bit is merely implied).

SÄTRASKOLANS MUSIKTEATERGRUPP – Tjejsans nya kläder (no label, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A real oddity with seven songs taken from a school play performed at a suburbian Stockholm school. (The title is an impossible to translate wordplay on the "emperor's new clothes" expression.) Probably of interest mainly to those participating in the play (about fashion peer pressure among youths), but several of the songs actually have pretty cool solo guitar. A couple of surprisingly catchy performances, especially on ”Mode, mode, mode”. But there's also a couple of tracks which suggests some of the songwriters (teachers?) had listened too much to political progg in the 70s. The EP is generally better than I expected, but not worth looking for unless you're a collector of school projects.

The track "Discolåten" was included on "Annorlunda Underground", a CD-r compilation released in 2000.

 

ETOS – Den nakna sanningen / Skulden (A Disc, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

One of very few singles released on the pathologically humdrum A Disc label. That this is one of their best releases says way more about the label than the music on this disc. It's very commercial sounding with some hard rock aspirations mixed in with the lacklustre pop rock and ska influences, but they fall flat due to a submissive production. Minus also for the shouty singer and the A Disc-typical bland lyrics.

 

PISTOLTEATERN – Reggae från Torsgatan (Alice, 1982, EP)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Pistolteatern (=”the pistol theatre”) is probably best known to proggsters as a venue where bands such as International Harvester and Fläsket Brinner played. But their main purpose was of course that of an independent theatre group, and their progressive stance has made them legendary. The four tracks on this seldom seen 33 rpm EP all come from the play ”Alive”, and features the busy Göran Lagerberg on bass and Sven Bjärhall (Solen Skiner, Jan Hammarlund) on lead guitar. Guitarist/keyboardist Håkan Möller also appeared on a late Thomas Mera Gartz album. The vocals are shared by Jonas Uddenmyr (later appearing on a cassette-only release by Thomas Tidholm) and Lars Källenius. All tracks are suprisingly solid reggae numbers, much more credible than I expected from their ephemeral origins. There's a relieving lack of ”jokiness”, but one of the songwriters is Lars Naumborg, friend of Aston Reymers Rivaler, and thus respectful and knowledgeable enough of reggae not to waste his efforts on any unserious silliness. Can very well be of interest to those into Swedish reggae.

Friskt Vatten full single playlist
Etos full single playlist (Spotify) 
Musikgruppen Nejrösterna 
Solen och vinden och vattnet och jorden (poor sound) 
Jubileum SSU 60 år
Ditt eget ansvar / Socialismen är solidaritet / Du duger / Var börjar socialismen
Skottes Musikorkester
Frihetens eko 
Turmans Band
Till arbetsmarknadens förfogande blues / Bostadsblues 
Mikael Wiehe
Gökungen / Livet efter 30 
Sätraskolans Musikteatergrupp
Brain Tango / Mode, mode, mode / Discolåten / Sången om Tom / Pia Jansson / Barbies sång

Joint Effort / Kyrkstöt / Skogsnäskollektivet / Checkpoint Charlie / Pistolteatern no links found