LEIF STRANDS KAMMARKÖR – Complete albums 1969-1982

What's a chamber choir doing here? you might ask. A relevant question for sure, but this isn't just any chamber choir. This lot is far more progressively minded than a whole lot of your standard proggers and the five albums they recorded from the end of the 60s up to the beginning of the 80s have some of the most explorative music of the era.

Leif Strand founded the choir in 1965 while still a student at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm which he attended from 1960 to 1970. He acquainted several prominent performers on the jazz field such as renowned pianist Jan Johansson, bassist Georg Riedel and clarinetist/saxophonist Arne Domnérus as well as future progg illuminaries Jan Schaffer and Björn J:son Lindh. These friendships proved crucial to Strand as his recording career took on by the turn of the decade.

En skiva med Leif Strands kammarkör (Proprius, 1969)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

The title may be unassuming (=”an album by Leif Strand's chamber choir”) but the music is anything but. Promininently featured are the previously mentioned Riedel and Domnérus along with pianist Bengt Hallberg, conga player Rupert Clementine and Lennart Åberg on soprano sax. Composition credits are split between Riedel and Strand with ”Blowing In The Wind” being the Dylan song in an expansive arrangement signed Jan Johansson (who tragically passed away in a car accident the year before this was recorded). It's not that the jazz elements are just tucked onto the classically styled choral arrangements – the exchange is dynamic and works as a truly cohesive unit that's indeed forward thinking and open-minded. Trad jazzer Arne Domnérus particularly surprises coming out as a true modernist.

This is deeply musical and extensively creative music cut from the same cloth as Carl-Axel and Monica Dominique of Solar Plexus, and it's rather surprising they're not involved on any of these Leif Strand records. They would have been a perfect match.

En skiva till med Leif Strands kammarkör (Proprius, 1970)
Swedish vocals, other languages
International relevance: *

The second album has an equally mundane title (=”another album by Leif Strand's chamber choir”) but a tweaked line-up. The Riedel/Domnérus/Hallberg troyka is intact but augmented by tenorist and flautist Claes Rosendahl, guitarist Rune Gustafsson, and noted Norweigan born drummer and percussionist Egil Johansen. The instrumental assets are unfortunately not sufficiently utilized with the emphasis being on the vocals. Too much to the fore and much too operatic bordering on sprechgesang, they make ”En skiva till” the weakest Strand album for me.The high point is probably 8 minute opener ”Gospel”, a chaotic piece of modernist dissonance and intimidating drama.

Sorgen och glädjen (Proprius, 1971)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

The albums here aren't particularly rare (or sought-after), but this is one of the most common. It probably sold better and is a lot more easy-going than the previous album. With many of the songs being traditional material and folk chorals, it's rich with melancholy textures reminiscent of the always popular work of Jan Johansson. Which is not to say it's smoothed out – some parts are certainly moving in weird territories. ”Världens frälsare, kom här” even touches on Oriental scales. It's also the album up to then that most successfully merges the choir and the jazz section. A good entry point for the novice.

Allt under himmelens fäste (Proprius, 1974)
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: **

Released three years after ”Sorgen och glädjen” (=”the sorrow and the joy”), ”Allt under himmelsens fäste” (=”everything below the firmament of heaven”) follows along the lines of its predecessor but has a stronger emphasis on jazz, occasionally even veering towards post-bop. The traditional “Bergkirstis polska” (arranged by Jan Johansson) almost goes off the deep end entirely!

Visa singer/troubadour Göran Fristorp is a new addition here; the album was released the same year as Fristorp's own album “En luffare är jag” that featured the choir. I'm not too keen on his voice, it's a bit too precious, and his contributions spoil the flow a bit. Still, this is the where to go if you want more after “Sorgen och glädjen”.

 

Missa Pro Pace: En fredsmässa (Europafilm, 1982)
English vocals, other languages
International relevance: ***

A seven year recording hiatus was interrupted in 1981 by a collaborative live album on the dreaded A Disc label, with the Chamber Choir's first proper album in ages appearing the following year. A lot had changed since “Allt under himmelens fäste”. Stahlwarts Riedel, Hallberg et al were gone, substituted by the likes of J:son Lindh, Schaffer, Stefan Brolund and Jan Bandel. The personnel change obviously updated the sound and style, and “Missa Pro Pace” (“a peace mass”) is the most overtly proggish album in this lot. Some sections almost sounds like a light version of French band Magma! It's also the first album to utilize other effects than the natural reverb of the recording location. It's the first Chamber Choir album that sounds produced. “Credo” for instance has space echo flute whereas Schaffer's reverb-laiden guitar in “Agnus Dei” isn't that far removed from Terje Rypdal. Most surprising feature though is the electric sitar and tablas in “Gloria” – I didn't see that one coming!

Once you've gotten used to this being a very different album from what you've come to expect, it's actually rather good. Thinking of it, this might be the best first choice to a lot of people coming from progg even if it's not quite in line with Leif Strand's 'original' chamber choir. Then again, it's as free-spirited as any of their work, and that is after all the most striking and important trait of this decidedly imaginative and largely captivating choir.

En skiva full album playlist
En skiva till full album playlist 
Sorgen och glädjen full album playlist
Allt under himmelens fäste full album playlist
Missa Pro Pace: En fredsmässa

BERNDT EGERBLADH - Nybyggarland (Sonet, 1973) / Kristallen den fina (CBS, 1975) / African Suite (Sonet, 1976)

Swedes of certain generations probably remember Bernt Egerbladh hosting a couple of TV series in the 70's and 80's, in which he interviewed other people and remembered his own past. Perhaps it would surprise those that Egerbladh makes an appearance here on this blog.

He was a noted jazz pianist long before the TV series with a discography going back to the early 60's. His debut on record came in 1962 with ”Fanfar!”, an album split with Lasse Lystedt Quintet. Egerbladh favoured a lyrical tone in the Jan Johansson tradition, but he also harboured pronunced modernist leanings early on, as demonstrated on the 1965 title track from ”Schizo”, his first album of his own. His solo output is surprisingly slim, but he was a beloved session musicians, playing on records by and/or writing music for Doris, Gimmicks, Heta Linjen, Ann-Kristin Hedmark, Rune Andersson, James Hollingworth, and Lill Lindfors. Some of these names may not mean much to a non-Swede, but they present a wide span of musical styles and interests. One of his best known tracks is ”You Never Come Closer” on Doris's sole album, a magnificent slice of uneasy fringe psychedelia. Considering his variety as songwriter as well as performer, this progg blog feature may not be that surprising at all. Egerbladh – who died in 2004 – was a curious explorer happy to take part in projects way outside the jazz world that fostered him.

Nybyggarland (Sonet, 1973)
Instrumental
International relevance: **

With all the tracks adapted from folk tunes of Northern Sweden, it's easy to see ”Nybyggarland” as a modernization of sorts of Jan Johansson's massively successful ”Jazz på svenska” released almost ten years earlier. But ”Nybyggarland” has a wider sound palette with Ulf Andersson (EGBA, Feta Heta Linjen) and Ahmadu Jarr on congas. The album starts out cunningly straight, but by the third track ”Vaggvisa från Norrbotten”, things are getting slightly strange. A foreboding organ creeps into one channel, a cembalo sounding instrument searches tinkling for a home in the other. About halfway in, the piano goes off into unpredicted terrain, as if it breaks free from the melodic centre and breaks up into modal streams. 

The melody of the title track is more like a suggestion of what to come, and soon gives way for a bass riff that establishes a strange moving rhythm building up to a mysterious, almost Arbete & Fritid-like bounce. The albums really goes off the rails with the next track ”Ja, kom då!” where Ulf Andersson's flute leads the way into a gurgling, pulsating and flat out trippy haze deepened by Egerbladh's druggy organ competing with his almost Mwandishi-styled electric piano. The album sort of withdraws a bit after that, but it has one surprise left, ”Hjortronmyren”, with a simple and persistent horn riff fleshing out Ahmadu Jarr's conga beat.

There's nothing bad on this album, but had the entire disc been like those three tracks I've singled out, this would have been a full-on masterpiece. Now, it's a good, maybe even great, album with some truly out-of-the-ordinary moments.

Kristallen den fina (CBS, 1975)
Instrumental
International relevance: **

”Kristallen den fina” works as a sister volume to ”Nybyggarland” insofar it's built around Swedish traditional tunes; only two tracks are original compositions but they retain a very folky feel and thus slip seamlessly into the program. The title track will be familiar to some readers as both Harvester and Made In Sweden used the melodic theme to their own ends. This version features what may sound like Jojje Wadenius singing along with his guitar in his typical fashion, but the guitarists here are Jan Schaffer and Jan Tolf (Egba, Häxmjölk). ”Barkbrödlåten” in turn is one of the high points on Kebnekaise's second album, and it's a stand-out also in this collection, largely because of Schaffer's really freaky guitar work. (Or is it Tolf messing about? Hard to tell, but it sounds more like something Schaffer would do.) It's also the track in this collection most likely to appeal to the average progg listener. Apart from that track, this album isn't as bonkers as the best stuff on ”Nybyggarland”, but it's a highly enjoyable album with very fine solo and ensemble playing. The folk material is strong and typically melancholic, and well suited for the careful jazz treatment represented here.

African Suite (Sonet, 1976)
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Anyone expecting more of that bittersweet wistfulness of the two previous albums will be sorely disappointed with ”African Suite”. As the title say, this time Egerbladh looked to Africa for inspiration. It's a far more rousing experience than any of the preceding albums, and it's also the one overall closest to progg if you by progg mean Archimedes Badkar, Bitter Funeral Beer Band and Spjärnsvallet. (Christer Bothén's 1983 ”Trancedance” album with Bolon Bata also leaps to mind.) This demanded a larger ensemble, so Egerbladh drummed up an all-star line-up including several progg celebrities such as Ahmadu Jarr (again), Stefan Brolund (Egba, Oriental Wind, Pop Workshop), Lennart Åberg (Rena Rama, Häxmjölk, Bengt-Arne Wallin), and Malando Gassama (Ablution/Baltik, Häxmjölk). ”African Suite” is, for some reason, more cohesive than the other two in this trio of albums, which isn't to say it's at all samey -- on the contrary, it's a varied collection of tracks. The two I like the most are also the two most jubilant ones, ”Welcome To The Gambia” and ”Fire Dance”. Well, maybe I should mention the forceful ”Worksong” too, with its compelling beat constantly pushing forward relentlessly. But there really aren't any weak moments here. It helps though if you already like the African leanings of the abovementioned bands. If you do, this will be a nice discovery if you haven't heard it already.

Nybyggarland full album playlist
Kristallen den fina full album playlist 
African Suite full album playlist

MONICA NIELSEN & TOMMY KÖRBERG – ...med hjärtat fyllt av trots: Arbetarrörelsens kampsånger (A Disc, 1977)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Monica Nielsen was mainly a busy movie and television actor but as a singer, she was the perpetual co-artist. She only ever released one album of her own and that was back in 1966, with her other vocal participations including merely the odd single, appearances on various artists and duo albums with high profile performers. ”Med hjärtat fyllt av trots” is one of those, focused on Labours movement songs and recorded with Tommy Körberg. Now an internationally widely celebrated singer, but back in the day best known domestically for his early pop albums, Solar Plexus, and the reformed Made In Sweden.

Körberg isn't the only renowned musician here. On the contrary, the credits are littered with names like Janne Schaffer, Ulf Adåker, Egil Johansen, Björn J:son Lindh, Pekka Pohjola and Rune Gustafsson, and the arrangements were written by much beloved bassist, composer and former Jan Johansson cohort Georg Riedel. While this all points to a thoroughly executed project, we have to remember that the album was released by A Disc, the Social Democrats' imprint known to dampen any kind of artistic enthusiasm. Thus the album title meaning ”with a heart full of defiance” seems like impossible wishful thinking, and it is. It's all very well played, well sung and well arranged – in short, technically and musically impeccable – but if you're looking for any inspiration to defiantly fight the powers that be, this is not the place to go. Unless authorities can be fought with sleep, but I for one have never heard of any revolutionary naps. It ought to be wellknown to all by now that I don't ask for any fistwaving loudmouths, but a little more oomph hadn't hurt...

Motsträvigt och med hjärtat fyllt av trots / Arbetsmannen / Oss alla unga / Kom med oss kamrat / Vårt vapen heter solidaritet / Ingen rubbar oss / Arbetets söner / Signalen / Ett enat folk / Det unga gardet / Solidaritetssång / Internationalen

OLLE WIDESTRAND – Jesus Christ Morningstar (Prim, 1972)

 
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

This is not an album for the casual progg fan. It's a rock (well, sort of) musical that begins where Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's "Jesus Christ Superstar" ends. Olle Widestrand wrote the whole thing in only three days and three nights, and it draw quite some attention upon its stage premiere in 1972. It was released on the Prim label owned by the Swedish Pentecostal Movement. Prim was one of the major Christian labels, and like Hemmets Härold and Signatur operating outside the regular pop world, with a well developed distribution network established long before someone even said MNW.

”Jesus Christ Morningstar” wasn't composer Olle Widestrand first foray into the music world, but it was the one that laid the foundations of him as a legend on the Christian scene. It's an ambitious work, involving the voluminous youth choir of the Immanuel Church in Jönköping, smack dab in the middle of the Swedish bible belt. Add to that four solo singers and eight players providing the musical backdrop. 

What makes this album oddly appealing is the overall mood. It has that early 70s sound common to Swedish Jesus music albums from the late 60s/early 70s, with evocative organs and an almost garage-y sound. Some melodies have a folkish feel. ”Jesu begravning” (=”the funeral of Jesus”) has a slightly awkward lyrical meter but is nevertheless rather captivating with a wonderful piano not dissimilar to Jan Johansson's jazz renditions of old Swedish folk songs. The next track, ”Marias upptäckt” (=”Maria's discovery”) is a slow track with that incense-like organ and a lilting rhythm -- it wouldn't have been out of place on ”Frälst! - A Selection of Swedish Christian grooves 1969-1979”.

”Jesus Christ Morningstar” may not be everybody's great everyday spin, but it definitely has qualities that ought to appeal to fans of ”Frälst!”. If anything, it shows how important mood and atmosphere is to an album. Not every song has to be great, but if there's an atmosphere that creeps up on you and draws you in into a world of its own, much is accomplished. Those infatuated with the still underexplored world of Swedish Christian pop, rock and psych from the turn of the decade, will want to hear this if they haven't already.

Han lever

RUNO ERICKSSON'S OMNIBUS – Runo Erickson's Omnibus (Four Leaf Clover, 1980)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

I had never heard of this album until very recently when I stumbled upon it by chance. To be honest, I had never heard of Runo Ericksson's name either until then. At least not knowingly. I have, however, heard his trombone before – he appears on numerous recordings by artists mostly in the jazz field, including national treasures Jan Johansson, Monica Zetterlund and Mikael Ramel's dad Povel Ramel. And strangely yet – he's present on one of my all-time favourite jazz albums, George Russell's dazzling live album ”The Essence Of George Russell”! But somehow, his name never registered in my memory.

In my defence, Runo Ericksson played a successful hide-and-seek spending lots of time abroad, from the end of the 60's mostly in Switzerland. Prior to that, he studied under Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache and French composer, conductor and Polar Music Prize winner Pierre Boulez.

Being something of the eternal sideman, ”Omnibus” was his first – and as far as I know, his only – album as a leader. Recorded in Switzerland with Swiss, Austrian and American musicians, it was released on Swedish label Four Leaf Clover in 1980. And what an album it is!

Taking cues from both spiritual jazz, free jazz and Eastern traditions, it's an elevated work of art, dripping with mysticism without ever getting cheesy (like a lot of spiritual jazz does). It's musically sparse but emotionally dense, and although it often turns its attention inwards, it's never insular or arrogant. ”Omnibus” has a wide-open heart and welcoming arms; an intense care for the listener. It's also no stranger to surprises, as in ”Fiddeling” when a Swedish folk tune suddenly bursts through but vividly coloured with bright Indian pigments. The pieces move lightly, sometimes so lightly they seem to levitate and lit the air with the beautiful colours of the music. I'm not a fan of jazz guitar, but here, Harry Pepl's guitar smoothly adjusts to the essence of the sometimes eerie groove of the collective. This is a masterpiece of an album, unique and strangely detached from time, sometimes bordering on psychedelic in spirit but always moving in its own mysterious ways, never failing to stun, captivate, and amaze.

Full album playlist

BLOND – The Lilac Years (Fontana, 1969)

English vocals
International relevance: **

”The Lilac Years” is essentially the final Tages album minus Tommy Blom who left the band in 1968 for a short-lived and not very successful solo career. Blond was an attempt of the remaining members plus new recruit Anders Nordh (King George Discovery, Life, Bättre Lyss, Figaro) to establish a career outside of Sweden (hence the name change), with the album released in such diverse territories as the U.S. (with altered sleeve design, see below), the Netherlands, the U.K., South Africa and New Zealand.

While retaining their melodic sensibilities refined during the Tages years, their long-time producer Anders ”Henkan” Henriksson provided them with a heavier sound as on ”This Is Mine”, ”I Pick Up The Bus”, the storming ”Six White Horses” and the album's proggiest track ”Caroline”. Some sunshine pop drags the album down a bit, but when they go baroque pop on ”There's A Man Standing In The Corner” and the melancholic ”(I Will Bring You) Flowers In The Morning”, their softer side is utilized to great results. The best track on the entire album is one of those tracks too, ”The Lilac Years”, a wonderful six minute adaptation of the Swedish folk song ”De sålde sina hemman”, also known as ”Emigrantvisa” (and previously recorded by jazz pianist Jan Johansson).

The CD reissue is augmented with four singles tracks including ”How Can I Pray When I Don't Believe” revealing Blond as a band with a heavy rock potential. Also featured is the two part ”Balladen om killen” with Örjan Ramberg on vocals. (Another three songs appear a CD-rom track, from a 1969 TV performance, one a version of ”Caroline” and the other two being covers of The Band and Blood, Sweat And Tears.)

The international launch failed, and Blond split up in 1970, with some of the members going on to other big things.

Full album playlist with bonus tracks
'The Weight' (TV performance)
'My Days Are Numbered' (TV performance)
'Caroline' (TV performance)

GIN & GRAPPO – Gin & Grappo (CBS, 1975)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Featured on ”Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils Volume 4,” 1974 single 'A' side ”Förståelse” is Gin & Grappo's best known song. It's a catchy little track, taking cues from The Rolling Stones classic ”Sympathy for the Devil”. Gin & Grappo released two more singles plus two full length albums, the first one being self released in 1973.

For their second LP, they scored a deal with CBS, confusingly enough eponymous just like their debut. The 1975 albu features eleven tracks, nine of them written by Janne Goldman (the Gin half of the duo, with Bo Johansson being Grappo), with a couple of lyrics penned by Anders Klintevall, at the time host for Swedish radio show Tonkraft. The songs are half decent, not particularly good, not particularly bad but not particularly exciting either. Most of them are in a 'soft-rock with an edge' mould with a couple of them displaying a slight country tinge thanks to steel guitarist Jan Lindgren. The performances are competent utilizing the talents of well-known studio musicians and seasoned performers such as skilled piano player Per-Erik Hallin (the Swedish Christian Elton John of the 70's), percussionist Malando Gassama and back-up singer Agneta Gilstig whose main claim to fame is releasing an album with Vatten's Thomas Ernvik in 1980. The best track is probably album closer ”Så många människor” (ironically one of the two non-Goldmann compositions).

Goldmann later embarked on a solo career releasing a couple of albums and several 45's, occasionally with his backing band Rock Und Roll Gruppe. Bo Johansson appeared on a couple of Goldman albums and wrote ”Christine” for Swedish Traveling Wilburys styled supergroup Grymlings (featuring among others Pugh Rogefeldt, Mats Ronander and Göran Lagerberg formerly of Tages, Kebnekajse et al).

Full album playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Spanien 75: Solidaritet mot fascismen (YTF, 1976)

 
Featured artists: Malin Ek / Jeja Sundström / Eva-Lisa Lennartsson / Narren / Jan Malmsjö / Stefan Demert / Björn Ehrling / 27 Septembergruppen / José Barba / Monica Nielsen / Lasse Johansson / Stog Järrel / Kristina Adolphson, Grynet Molvig & Lis Nilheim
Swedish vocals, other languages, spoken word
International relevance: -

A charity album for Swedish Spanish Volunteers' Companions' Association Solidarity Fund (say that fast ten times) recorded live at an anti-fascist meeting against the Spanish Franco regime in 1975, the same year Franco died. The performers came from various genres. There's visa singers Jeja Sundström & Stefan Demert and Björn Ehrling, singing actors like Jan Malmsjö and Grynet Molvig, and a couple of acts closer to progg such as Monica Nielsen and Narren. Poetry recitals mix with Spanish and Swedish songs, and none of it is interesting to listen to fifty years on. As with basically every album such as this, it's a document frozen in time and it hasn't aged well at all. There's not one single track on this album worth hearing now. Once the proceeds from this album were transfered to the Swedish Spanish Volunteers' Companions' Association Solidarity Fund, ”Spanien 75” died just like artefacts of a purely temprary value die.

José Barba & 27 Septembergruppen - Julián Grimau 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Sånger och musik från Kvinnokulturfestivalen (Silence, 1977)

Rut Hermansson / Eva Blomqvist / Sabina Kristensen / Monika Lundin / Frankie Armstrong / Lena Ekman / Jan Hammarlund / Marie Selander / Lena Granhagen / Monica Törnell / Andra Bullar / Lava / Ulla Bendrik-Johansson / Turid / Margareta Söderberg / Monica Törnell / Cyndee Peters / Röda Bönor 

Swedish vocals, English vocals, a cappella
International relevance: **

Kvinnokulturfestivalen (Festival of Women Culture) was a three day event held in Stockholm in late October 1977 with many of the usual suspects coming together. This album is a selection of songs recorded at the festival and features Marie Selander, Turid, Lena Granhagen, Andra Bullar, Margareta Söderberg and Röda Bönor to name a few. Most of it is acoustic and most of it sounds exactly as expected, meaning political folk with a righteous message.

A couple of tracks have electric backing and those selections are also the best. Marie Selander's ”Carcara” even manages to work up a physical groove very rarely heard on political albums. Lava, a seemingly temporary grouping assembled specifically for the festival, is Lena Ekman backed by the likes of Sigge Krantz (Archimedes Badkar, Stockholm Norra, Torkel Rasmusson, Lokomotiv Konkret et al) and Ola Backström (Stockholm Norra, Torkel Rasmussion, Dag Vag). Their ”Svartsjuk” starts out a bit trying and uncertain but grows organically as it goes on. Ola Backström's slide guitar isn't exactly Elmore James – more of a slurry Robbie Krieger – but it works to good effect and pushes the song almost to the six minute limit. And Monica Törnell is far better here than on any of her own albums from around this time.

The performers are perhaps more interesting than the performances, but as said above, the album isn't entirely without musical merits. It's not a great album by any means, but remains one of the better feminist albums from the period, for what it's worth.

Full album playlist