International relevance: ***
(This
review refers only to the bonus disc accompanying the 2026 reissue of
”Rock för kropp och själ”, originally released in 1972. The
original album is reviewed here.)
There's no shortage of
archival Träd, Gräs Och Stenar material. I don't keep track of how
many archeological excavations there are, but they're overwhelming to
me. And I doubt there's an end to them, because the commercial need
for them seems endless. Fans obviously crave yet another, and yet
another, and then yet another disc of recordings that sounds exactly like
every previous one. I can't help but wonder, can even the die-hards
tell one 1972 sedated drone from another 1972 sedated drone? I
volunteer to manage a blind test. If you fail it, you owe me a perfect replica of Kebnekajse's original tour bus including a
driver as I don't have a driver's license myself. If I lose, I promise to listen to Fria Proteatern's song "Vi skyddsombud kräver vetorätt" one more time before I die. Do we have a deal?
One thing's true: I can't tell them apart. The only exception is the imposant Pärson Sound compilation, and that one's also the reason I question their later recordings. Because, how come they knew how to play in 1967/68 when they usually performed with the precision of five hoodlums on a bender after that? Musicianship doesn't work that way. You don't get worse the more you play. You don't. I've said it before but I just can't shake the feeling: I think Träd, Gräs & Stenar are fake, coquetting with an ideological ineptitude, turning themselves inside out to sound 'anti-establishment', 'independent' and 'of the people'. They're mendacious faking their deficiency to appear 'interesting'. A few true fine moments they had, but in general they were but fraudelent poseurs.
That Träd Gräs & Stenar are massively influential these days say nothing else than they're massively influential these days. It's not a proof of their alleged greatness. Such reasoning holds as much water as that old saying "50 billion flies can't be wrong – eat shit". Stephen Malkmus can't change that.
This disc was compiled from three different dates, one Danish one and one from Gothenburg recorded by their roadie Per Gud, known to Dag Vag fans as Stig Vig, known to his mother as Per Odeltorp. Additional recordings were made by Silence Records honcho Anders Lind in Nacka near Stockholm. The Lind recordings were abbreviated and edited in with the other two tracks, taking up the space of one vinyl side each. The editing work is quite seamless, but it's not that surprising as it's equally samey. Well, actually, ”Drone 5-4” on the first side catches some speed towards the end, but it doesn't change anything. It's still the same old droopy, monotonous drab as always. Only in a higher tempo.
I mean, come on: There are a good thirty, probably even more, kraut rock albums out there relying on repetition but hitting the mark a gazillion times more accurately than this. Albums that are genuine. I stick to them until the next batch of humdrum mannerisms comes my blog way.
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