GÁBOR SZABÓ – The Swedish albums

Gábor Szabó was a Hungarian born American guitarist whose best known albums are ”Bacchanal”, ”Dreams” both from 1968, and unfortunately also unbelievably cheesy ”Jazz Raga” from 1967. If you want to hear stunningly bad sitar playing, please choose ”Jazz Raga”, one of legendary jazz label Impulse's greatest brainslips. ”Bacchanal” and ”Dreams” however are two lovely examples of pop jazz with psychedelic tinges. Two albums of quality cool kitsch.

 

Small World (Four Leaf Clover, 1972)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

Recorded in two days in August 1972 in Stockholm, this is the first Szabó album to feature Swedish musicians, this time Schaffer and Nils-Erik Svensson of Svenska Löd AB!, Stefan Brolund, Sture Nordin, and Berndt Egerbladh. It's one of Szabó's best 70s albums, very close to his 60s work, with his characteristic guitar sound set to a groove-laiden background. Szabó recorded the Oriental sounding ”Mizrab” several times, but this version is the best of them all, with a great, funky ensemble performance. (A mizrab is the special kind of plectrum you put on your index finger when you play sitar.) ”Small World” is an often overlooked album which deserves more attention. Several different cover variations exist.

 

Belsta River (Four Leaf Clover, 1979)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

Another two-day session in Sweden, this time in January 1978 (but not released until the following year). Only Schaffer is left from ”Small World”, with Wlodek Gulgowski, Malando Gassama, Peter Sundell (from De Gladas Kapell), and Finnish/Swedish Pekka Pohjola joining him. Nowhere near as good as ”Small World”, this is muzak fusion, decorative but dull. The Latin affected ”24 Carat” has some life in it, but it's still not very good. (The album was also released in Japan as ”24 Carat”.)

”Belsta River” was to be one of Szabó's last albums. He died in 1982 while visiting his birth town Budapest only 45 years old from liver and kidney failure caused by drug abuse.

Small World full album playlist
Belsta River 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

MADE IN SWEDEN – Where Do We Begin (Love, 1976)

English vocals, instrumental

International relevance: ***

After five albums (depending on how you count – Jojje Wadenius' children's record ”Goda' goda' from 1969 is effectively a Made In Sweden album too), Made In Sweden split and Jojje Wadenius opted for an international career with Blood, Sweat And Tears. Upon returning to Sweden, he reformed Made In Sweden in 1976 with entirely different musicians, former Solar Plexus vocalist Tommy Körberg, Polish expatriate and keyboardist Wlodek Gulgowski (Pop Workshop) and Finnish bass player Pekka Pohjola (Wigwam) and his compatriot Vesa Aaltonen (Tasavallan Presidentti) on drums. So if it was a fair move of Wadenius to call this outfit Made In Sweden is up for debate, especially since it sounds quite different to original band's energetic and inventive brand of jazz rock.

Of course ”Where Do We Begin” wears its jazz rock characteristics on its sleeve, but in a full on prog fusion style which is less playful than the early Made In Sweden albums. The musicianship is top notch as anyone could tell just by looking at the names on the back cover, but with a few rare exceptions (you can count Körberg's powerhouse performance on ”Pop-Poem” among those) it's as boring as spending your summer holiday in a wardrobe.

Full album playlist