JOHNNY 'MBIZO' DYANI – Witchdoctor's Son 'Together' (Cadillac, 1987; rec. 1979-80)

Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: *

Not to be confused with the ”Witchdoctor's Son” album from 1978, this album was recorded in Stockholm winter 1979/80 with Kenny Håkansson, Bosse Skoglund, Hassan Bah (of Kebnekajse) and Dudu Pukwana. It wears Johnny Dyani's South African heritage proudly, and despite Dyani being best known as a jazz pianist and bassist, there's very little actual jazz here. It's much closer to Soweto's township music. A huge exception is the track ”Kalahari” clocking in at almost nine minutes with Kenny Håkansson really letting it loose, firing off psychedelic fireworks almost as if it was Baby Grandmothers all over again. It comes a real surprise as there's nothing else on the album even close to that. The rest of the album isn't too interesting from a progg perspective, but that track alone is worth the price of admission.

Together
Johnny's Kwela
Marabi Soweto
High Priest
Kalahari
Crossroads
Tula Tula

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Ljud från Friberga (Bröderna Surf, 1978)

Chilly Chimes / Fifth Avenue / Overdoze / High Voltage / Santa Luzia / Superstition 
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

A case of 'progg by association', as the main motive for including ”Ljud från Friberga” is that it has two exclusive tracks by Chilly Chimes that eventually developed into Mörbyligan. Two bad tracks at that, sounding like revved-up singalong second rate rhythm & blues. Santa Luzia has vague progg credentials too sounding like an electrified youth recreation center version of Röda Bönor. The album's often classified as punk, and while some of the six bands on this short disc have a punky edge, some of them sound more like garage rock bands lost in time. One of those is also the best of the lot, Fifth Avenue which comes off as a lingonberry version of British band The Cannibals.

The album was released in two versions, the first (in 400 copies) had a yellow background and brown picture, the second edition had a brown background with a yellow picture. The first edition seems rarer but the second edition is rather scarce too these days, but the album's not really worth looking for.

Full album

PETER NORDSTRÖM – Ensam och fri (Bastun, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Little known rock singer/songwriter that worked hard on his Ulf Lundell look on the album cover but sounding more like a lesser version of Swedish country/soft rock singer Lalla Hansson.

Peter Nordström debuted in 1978 with one-off single ”Det kommer nya tider”/”Salongsbolsjeviken” featuring Björn J:son Lindh on piano. He appears on the ”Ensam och fri” album too, plus Kebnekajse's Mats Glenngård, Berndt Egerbladh and a number of seasoned studio musicians such as Jan Bandel, Ola Brunkert and Peter Lundblad.

The album is insignificant and Nordström's lyrics are full of ”lonely man drifting restless through the world” clichés that are quite irritating as he doesn't sound at all like somebody with a romantic hobo lifestyle. Rather like a perfectly ordinary bloke who sends his kids to school in the morning and walks the family dog named Fluffy when he comes home from his boring work at the local insurance agency xeroxing papers no-one really needs.

The best track is ”Det här är mitt liv” but that's a Swedish cover of Danish band Gasolin's hit ”This Is My Life” from a few years earlier. In short, this is a redundant album and the only one Nordström made.

Full album

SALIH BAYSAL – The Myth (Sonet, 1978)

Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: **

Imagine a Sevda album where the spotlight is almost exclusively on their deft violin player Salih Baysal and you'd get ”The Myth”. It's a solo album of his to all intents and purposes, but with Maffy Falay and Okay Temiz appearing on various drums and percussion, it's still something of a lost Sevda album, or at least a Sevda stripped to the basics. Especially the second side where Temiz really have a go at it on the drums.

But the focus is really on Baysal's violin and, on several tracks, his throaty, experienced voice. The material is all Turkish folk tunes, collected and arranged by Falay. If you enjoy the Turkish melodics, you'll probably love both sides of the disc equally. If not, the B side is still worthy of many spins as it's always such a rousing pleasure hearing the multifaceted rhythms of Okay Temiz. A little gem from the outskirts of progg!

Full album

MATS GLENNGÅRD – Violin Race (Bastun, 1980)

Instrumental, English vocals
IRG: **

The expression ”don't be fooled by the name” has rarely been as appliable as here. If you expect anything close to Kebnekajse violinist Mats Glenngård's first solo album, the lovely ”Kosterläge” from 1972, then you'll be sorely disappointed. This is closer to Kebnekajse's last album ”Vi drar vidare” which had Glenngård at the helm as Kenny Håkansson had left the group by then. ”Vi drar vidare” is an insult to the band's once glorious name, with limp fusion jazz, and that goes for ”Violin Race” as well. This is an equally bloody awful piece of shit, with fretless basses (and ”funky” slap bass), appalling keyboards and even electronic disco handclaps, featuring members of EGBA, Häxmjölk, Wasa Express and Hörselmat. It's almost scary thinking that this is what an ex-member of one of the greatest Swedish progg bands really had in him.

I hate this album so very much.

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MODERN SOUND QUINTET – OTINKU (Odeon, 1971)

Instrumental
International relevance: **

A real oddity, this. The music itself is rather straight ahead jazz funk but what sets it apart from other jazz funk albums is that the main instrument is steel pans! Pannist Rudy Smith left Trinidad for Sweden in the late 1960's and played with plenty of Swedish musicians including Bernt Rosengren, Ingemar Olsson and Ewert Ljusberg. His Modern Sound outfit went through several changes, from quartet to quintet before becoming Modern Sound Corporation in the late 70's. While steel pans produce a sound that's extremely annoying to me, Smith uses them more like a piano making them fit surprisingly well into the music. The pans work particularly well on the African flavoured title track, Joe Zawinul penned ”Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”, the modal ”Ursia” and their take on Herbie Mann's ”Memphis Underground”.

Internationally sounding as it is, the album had an international becoming as well. Recorded with musicians from Finland, Ghana, Triniad, Barbados and Surinam, it was recorded in Stockholm and produced by arranger, trumpeter etc Lasse Samulesson and released only in Finland! It will never be a favourite album of mine, but I must admit it's much better than I ever expected it to be, with some rather appealing moments.

A revamped band released one further album in 1978 (as Modern Sound Corporation) through the Swedish branch of low budget label K-Tel.

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TOTTA'S BLUESBAND – Live At Renströmska (Nacksving, 1981)

English vocals
International relevance: *

Totta's – or Tottas to use the Swedish possessive form – Bluesband began life as a side project to the other two bands Torsten ”Totta” Näslund was part of in the 70's, Nynningen and Nationalteatern. This side project was even called Nynningens och Nationalteaterns Fritidsorkester ("fritidsorkester" meaning something like ”hobby orchestra”), before eventually evolving into Tottas Bluesband with several members from the old Nynningen and Nacksving label coterie. With the blues always close to Totta Näslund's heart, this was a chance for him to fully immerse himself in songs by the likes of J.B. Lenoir, Otis Rush, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Rogers. They became a popular outfit during the 80's, and also had a weekly spot every Monday on Näslund's and bassist Nikke Ström's own restaurant C Von in hometown Gothenburg. This particular album, the band's debut, was taped live during two consecutive evenings at the Renströmska jazz club in the late summer of 1981.

A lot of people will disagree with me, but I don't think Totta Näslund was a good blues singer. His voice is dull and and colourless and while I'd never question his love for the blues was serious and honest, Tottas Bluesband still sound just like a band playing pubs to beer burping buddybuddies and the occasional married couple with the husband touching his wife in more appropriate ways the later the hour and the drunker he gets. To me, this simply sounds as any old bores with hats and sunglasses on and think they're ”bloooooze, man”. They go through every well-rehearsed move in the book but they never get the blues down for real. It's all form and very little real content. Put on a proper Howlin' Wolf track and this album will run home crying for mum. And if you want straight pub rock go for the real British stuff instead – any early Dr. Feelgood album with Wilko Johnson grinds this album to tiny shards between the teeth.

An equally uninteresting single coupling ”Ain't Your Business” with ”Too Bad” appeared in 1982, and a few more albums followed sporadically during the rest of the 80's. Totta Näslund later had several solo albums before passing away in 2005. His very last regular album was a tribute album to Bob Dylan together with Mikael Wiehe.

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