A 21 minute four track twelve-inch, mentioned in ”The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music” in the postcript of 100 bands that didn't make it to the main book. All tracks are originals (three in English, one in Swedish) but none of them make much of an impression being mainly AOR-ish rock with faint symphonic/hard rock inflections. Very forgettable, and seemingly not much in demand either.
With Gunnar Idering, Marie-Louice Söderström and Crister Jonasson from Fria Proteatern at the core of Höj Rösten, this album made me want to smash my furniture in anger and disgust before I had even heard it. (Patient followers of this blog know well what I think of Fria Proteatern.) But as I'm actually a very peaceful man, I restrained myself and chairs and tables are still intact around here.
What's more surprising is that Höj Rösten's lone album is actually very listenable. While the kitchen sink politics are still tiresome (it is, after all, an Oktober release), the songs themselves are much better here than on any Proteatern album. Tobias Petterson wisely points out in his ”Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music” that, ”here the focus on the music content is much greater, retaining the pop sensibility from Idering's 60's band The Mascots so clearly lost on Fria Proteatern”. Very true. ”Femtio år vid maskinerna” is downright beautiful, and ”När man kör en Scania-Vabis” has a lilting groove that reminds me of a slowed-down ”Sympathy For The Devil”, and the reoccuring guitar solo retains that feel. Some biting guitar can also be heard on ”Historien är gravid”.
It's indeed a rare thing with a
political album sporting any proper interest in real songwriting –
it's almost always message before music – but this is a very fine
exception. ”Höj Rösten” is genuinely enjoyable, and it firmly
puts the lid on the garbage can where I threw my Fria Proteatern
albums and buries it right where it belongs, in the ground where all toxic waste is buried.
Full album playlist
With
music written by Gunnar Evander (and lyrics by Per Lysander and
Suzanne Osten), this stands as something of the third part in the informal
feminist trilogy beginning with ”Sånger om kvinnor” in 1971 and
continuing with ”Jösses flickor – befrielsen är nära” in
1975. While not great, ”Sessornas sånger” stands head and
shoulders above the previous two. It's more refined, the perfomances
are smoother thanks to seasoned studio pros such as Rolf Alex and Jan
Bandel but it's also a bit lacklustre, and the songs are at least
occasionally better. Although they originate from a stage
performance by Klarateatern, several of them are focused enough to stand on their
own, in particular the almost-funky ”Den svarta prinsessan och den
röda”, the evocative ”Sessornas magar” and the brooding
gospel-tinged ”O Gud gör mig fattig”. ”Äntligen en prins”
isn't that great, but fans of wah-wah might appreciate it
nevertheless. Some songs have male vocals, but the songs featuring
female vocals fare generally better.
Being musical excerpts from a stage
play, the songs tell a story, with the plot centered around the
Swedish princesses. Given ”Sessornas sånger” was released at the
height of progg era, it's critical of the Swedish monarchy.
All in all, the album's value is
greater as a period piece than a musical work.
Comes with a lyric sheet.
No links found
Most A-Disc albums are best described
as 'just another A-Disc album'. A bitter few of them has anything to
distinguish them; at best it's mediocre
artists with mediocre talents to match the label's desire for mediocrity.
”Väderkvarnsväder” is no exception.
Thomas Frykberg was a
decent songwriter, somewhere at the end of Mikael Ramel's spectrum
with a dash of Blå Tåget's cabaret-like moments, but his qualities
are dampened by a boring studio mafia sound. As a lyricist, Frykberg
isn't even on the same planet as Ramel; the lyrics are a yawn,
riddled with bland politics and the occasional toothless satirical
edge. Frykberg vocal delivery is less than inspiring too. He's a dull singer with a rather weak and non-descriptive
voice, and the semi-jazz fusion backing provided by fusion royalty like Jan
Tolf (Häxmjölk, Resa) and Ulf Adåker (Egba) is obviously competent, or if you prefer a more
honest phrasing: typically bloodless. Best song in the lot is the slightly
melancholy title track with an appealing melody, laced with a
fairly elegant string arrangement and a few amiable flugelhorn
lines. Best song, yes, but not good enough to save the rest of the
album from being destined for oblivion.
No links found
English lyrics
Only 300 copies were pressed, and on the rare occassions ”8691” comes up for sale, it has a rather hefty pricetag attached to it. I can see why: genre fans must drag their drooling tongues on the ground over this! This one is certainly ripe for a proper reissue. Shadoks, are you listening?
Ma Connection also had a live cassette
out, ”Live At Elvira”, of which I know nothing.
For those who may wonder, the cryptic album title refers to Martini Bianco.
Full album playlist
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***
I didn't expect this to be anything but a disappointment after Lena Ekman's first proper album: ”Hjulspår” is simply one of the best yet-to-be-properly-discovered progg albums, at times a haunting LP that beats Turid in her own game by a mile and gives Stenblomma a run for her money too. With three years apart and a new label (Mistlur instead of Silence), ”Det beror på ögonen som ser” was deemed to have lost something, or at least be different enough to be a let down. Not that change is a bad thing, but ”Hjulspår” is in a special league with qualities that are hard to repeat, and even harder to follow up on a second album.
And no, it's not another ”Hjulspår”, but do not repeat my mistake: ”Det beror på ögonen som ser” is a very fine achievement. Ekman's slightly husky, mature voice is as inviting as ever, and the songs are mostly very good. As a matter of fact, it's hard to pick a weak one and much easier to choose a favourite, which is the excellent ”Vänner ändå”. Almost all of them are Ekman originals, but she manages to sneak in a cover of Danish singer/songwriter Trille as first track. Name players such Hasse Bruniusson, Marie Selander, Turid, Thomas Almqvist and, at the top of the heap, Kjell Westling offer a very pleasing lowkey backdrop that puts Ekman's appealing vocals in the sweet centre spot. The album has a pronunced acoustic feel; a delicate setting for Ekman's delicate songs.
”Det beror på ögonen som ser” is
definitely worth picking up by those into the singer/songwriter side
of progg, and it's good enough also for those who just happened to
have a love for well-crafted and subdued songs well-equipped for
playing at dusk.
No links found
Instrumental
International relevance: **
Hawk On Flight are what I get for my sins, and if the punishment is proportional to the nature of my sins, I must truly have been a low-life knuckle-dragging bottom-crawler of the worst kind.
I find absolutely no redeeming qualities in Hawk On Flights totally antiseptic, academic, sexless jazz fusion drivel. This is music for people who jerk off to test tubes. They make Kenny G sound like bloody Little Richard.
To me, this is the sheer anti-thesis to what music is supposed to be. Believe me, there's more sex and life and blood and human feelings in an old sagging sofa than anywhere on these two albums. Listening to them – and remember, the second of the two is EVEN WORSE! – is like drowning in a thousand gallons of disinfectant fluid.
Forget I even mentioned it. Move on.
In Time For Hawk On Flight full album playlist
From "Hawk On Flight"
Alive Again
Journey In E
