FROZEN FIRE – Good Times Cherry / I
Get A ”Roadrunner” (Efel, 1977)
English vocals
International relevance: *
Second single from this band
originating from Degerfors near Örebro (home of Nature). It's
energetic and amusing hard rock with glam tendencies which makes me
think a bit of Sweet during their transition from teenyboppers to
heavyrockers. It's the kind of fume-smelling mid 70s rock'n'roll that
gets better with every beer (and worse with every degree of
sobriety). It sounds exactly like the cover pic looks. Fun, but isn't
a synonym for great. Nothing for stone cold intellectuals but those
with a closely connected reptile brain will surely enjoy it. "Good Times Cherry" was included on "Swedish Meatballs Vol. 1".
DREAM – Lovely Rain / Catch The Lifeline (Great Music Production, 1979)
English vocals
International relevance: *
Great Music Production, G-Produktion
and GM-Production were all branches on the same label tree who gave
us Acke & Gurra and Axelsson. Mostly releasing Swedish dance
bands and soft pop, Dream was one of the few – perhaps the only –
hard rock act on the label. They appeared on the 1982 comp ”Musik i
Skellefteå 2”, but ”Lovely Rain” was their only release under
their own name. The A-side is discofied hard rock/AOR, while the flip
”Catch The Lifeline” is more in a straight-up hard rock style
with some vocal cues taken from Robert Plant including some jarring
falsetto shrieks. Rare and terrible.
FLASH – Förortsmiljö / Hemlängtan (no label, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
Sometimes classified as hard rock why I
tossed it in here, but it is admittedly a bit of stretch.
”Förortsmiljö” is pretty straghtforward rock dealing with the
dull, grey suburbian life, with a light Johnny Thunders touch to the
guitar solo. Although the song hardly will see any risen eyebrows, it
has a decent drive which is substituted for a ballad tempo on the
flip. As it happens, ”Hemlängtan” is both the most proggish and
best track of the two. ”Förortsmiljö” isn't particularly rare
for a private release, but it's not particularly memorable either.
Flash hailed from Gothenburg and had a second single out on Nacksving
the following year which makes perfect sense.
MIRAGE – In The Winter / Utrangerad (no label, 1980)
English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
A very rare and virtually
unknown, sleeveless private release from Sundsvall. Basically hard rock with a
few heavy metal moves but fewer than expected for a local 1980
release. The heavy metal influence is mainly tangible in the
galloping guitars of ”Utrangerad” (=”rejected”,
”eliminated”). Oddly enough, the guitar riff reminds me of New
Order's ”Blue Monday”!! The English language 'A' side has a
simplistic melody set to a psuedo boogie rhythm. Both tracks have a
strong homemade aura but none of them is good.
TYFUZ – Häng på / Arbetslös (TYF, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
A legendary and much sought-after single recorded up north in Radio Västernorrland's studio. Retaining the DIY vibe, it's very credible local old school hard rock dealing with everyday circumstances with the exactly right denim clad nimbus. Especially on ”Arbetslös” (=”unemployed”) that laments the fact that nine years in elementary school won't give you a proper job. An honest social commentary set to a forceful musical drive and biting guitars. A real classic that surprisingly enough has yet to appear on a compilation documenting the underground hard rock of the era.
FAKE – Dreamgirl / Warlord (Lacerate
Music, 1981)
English vocals
International relevance: *
Originally
a hard rock/heavy metal band who took one most unpredictable turn to
synth pop when they moved to Italy prior to their second single in
1982. ”Dreamgirl” was self released the year before, and while
the main track is completely uninteresting heavy metal of no
particular quality, the hard rock of ”Warlord” at least strays
from the most formulaic moves and has some mildly interesting guitar
work. Still, not worth the effort, and the crappy singer spoils it completely.
SHAME – Birdie Num Num / On And On (Shames Etikett, 1981)
English vocals
International relevance: **
Shame was a hard rock five-piece from Gothenburg who released this one single in 1981. Funded partly by a local hairdresser and released as a demo disc on Shames Etikett, simply meaning ”Shame's label”. (See the ad on the rear cover just below a 'thank you' list longer than a rainy summer holiday, namechecking everyone from Mum and Dad to Lennon and McCartney, with Sophia Loren, Ensamma Hjärtan, Hawk On Flight, Sky High, Mwendo Dawa, Motvind, E.F. Band, Svartvitt and Nationteatern [sic!] inbetween.)
The title of the A side is of course a reference to comedy classic ”The Party” and the song is aptly dedicated to Peter Sellers. ”Birdie Num Num” (”Birdie Namnam” on the label) is a bloody lousy title for a hard rock song but the track itself is in a melodic chuggy metallic Thin Lizzy vein. Decent enough, but the B side ”On And On” is clearly better with faint underpinnings of 70s Southern rock, showing lead guitarist Oloph Skam's knack for melodic yet stinging solos.
Although the the more obscure side of FWOSHM (= first wave of Swedish Heavy Metal) has become re-examined and increasingly sought after, Shame's rare outing seems to have gone under the radar.
KARLSTAD KORV – Hutter-hutter / Jag vet ett ställe (CTR, 1981)
Swedish vocals
Internationl relevance: **
With a name as strange as it is stupid
(translating to Karlstad Sausage) – especially for a Stockholm band
with no ties to Karlstad at all – it's hard to imagine that behind
it is a band with hard rock, symph, prog and punk pop in unequal
measures. Also, it must be one the most reverb drenched single ever
released in Sweden. I can understand the singer's reluctance to
flaunt his shortcomings, but the solo guitar also sounds as if
transmitted from outer space even if there's no need to hide it. The
ambiguous genre blend and the outlandish mix add up to a skewed
allure. Especially ”Hutter-hutter” (= ”shudder shudder”)
pulls me in with its 6/8 time signature and the overall elusive vibe and mysterious gravity. The 'B' side ”Jag vet ett ställe” (=”I
know a place”) is OK too but not as intense or magnetic. The disc
is pretty rare but doesn't seem to be in very high demand. Perhaps
the bonehead band name puts people off?
Almost all Karlstad
Korv members later went to on to other bands, but few of them getting
any further than to demo tapes and stray tracks on various artists
comps.
Frozen Fire Full single
Dream Lovely Rain / Catch The Lifeline
Flash Förortsmiljö
Mirage In The Winter / Utrangerad
Tyfuz Full single playlist
Fake Dreamgirl / Warlord
Shame no links found
Karlstad Korv Hutter-hutter / Jag vet ett ställe
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