Second
single from Södertälje's Blueset. ”Midnight Rambler” is a
pointless cover of The Rolling Stones monolith while the 'B' side is
an autobiographical revamp of Willie Cobbs' ”You Don't Love Me”
(which in turn was a modification of Bo Diddley's ”She's Fine,
She's Mine”). Not any of Blueset's best moments.
RÖDA KAPELLET & UNGA GARDET – EP (Arbetarkultur, 1974)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
Recorded in 1973 and released as a four-track EP the following year, this was Röda Kapellet's first release. Two of the songs are performed with vocal group Unga Gardet in a typical political leftwing style à la a less militant Freedom Singers/Knutna Nävar. Not good. The two remaining tracks are by the electric (and better) incarnation of Röda Kapellet. Not that neither ”Västeråsvisan” nor ”Rätt till ett meningsfullt jobb” is particularly good, but both have some drive to them that make them at least a little bit catchy.
Something as unusual as a single
from the magnificent Okay Temiz, released only in Turkey in the same
year as the ”Turkish Folk Jazz” album but very different. It's
actually rather different to most of Temiz did, especially in the
70s (although I do recognize the riff from somewhere). ”Denizaltı Rüzgarları” has a persistent, driving groove and
is one of the funkiest tracks in his ouvre, and I could imagine
someone remixing it for the dance floor unless it has already
happened. ”Dokuz Sekiz” in turn is a freaky percussion workout
with downright psychedelic shadings. An excellent non-album two-sider
from both ends of the spectrum, thankfully reissued in 2017 by UK
based label Arsivplak specialized on Turkish rarities – originals
are rare and costly.
JAJJA BAND – Tårarna / Linda (MNW, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *
A supergroup
of sorts with members from November, Träd Gräs & Stenar,
Eldkvarn, and Sigge Krantz from everyone from Bröderna Lönn to
Archimedes Badkar. Not that it says much about how Jajja Band sounds
– they were more of a standard period rock band with light strokes
of punk and new wave. Interesting as a footnote to the abovementioned
bands but nothing that stands up on its own merits.
The 'A' side is stupid horn rock boogie, the 'B' side
is better but only just. And what's better about it is effectively
ruined by Boel Peterson's intrusive back-up vocals anyway. Said to be
a private release but the labels are suspiciously similar to the
labels of Janne Goldmann's R & P Records so maybe there's a
connection.
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
One of many, many bands lured to the rogue label Pang Records
by the dodgy Lars E. Carlsson who ran it between 1978 and 1984. The
single was pressed, as often with Pang, in 500 copies and the band
was gravely dissatisfied with the results. They were a hard rock band
with some symphonic moves, and the inferior four track studio was not
what they were promised and couldn't capture the sound they aimed
for. They remixed the single in 2024 for streaming platforms, and
while still an insufficient recording, it does sound better now. It's
musically not very good though. Those who nevertheless want to hear
more early Achilleus material can check out their streaming
compilation ”The Sins Of Youth 1982-1984”.
The
singer's dialect suggests Tiebreak might have been from the Swedish
West Coast. They sound very much like a Gothenburg version of
Sydkraft, meaning irrelevant stupid rock'n'roll. Both songs are
bad.
Clumsy hard rock verging on heavy metal
from Vimmerby in the county of Småland. Poorly rehearsed and with a
horrible, insipid singer. The cover art is bad even for a Pang
release. Very expensive these days, but that has definitely more to
do with rarity grade than musical value.
One more Pang 45, and one of the better. The band was from the small town of Yxbo in the Hälsingland county in the middle of Sweden and might have taken their name from the Sir Lord Baltimore song. The guitars are a bit metallic but Helium Head is generally closer to good old fashioned hard rock. ”In The Sky” is really catchy, and while the 'B' side ”Take Me Home” is also very melodic, it's not as good as the other track – it's a little bit too poppy for the style. Still a pity they never released anything else, they had more talent than many other bands screwed over by Pang.
Released without a picture sleeve.
Reggae band of little significance. They came from Umeå as revealed by the single's title, and despite a prime time television appearance, nothing came of the band except this one self-released and self-produced 7”. The only member I recognize is drummer Jan Gavelin who was in Harald Hedning in the mid 70s. Closer to brit reggae acts like Aswad and Steel Pulse and not very close to Jamaica, the 'A' side ”This World” is OK albeit formulaic, while 'B' side ”Welcome Brother” is entirely forgettable.
Blueset no links found
Helium Head no links found
Okay Temiz full single playlist (Bandcamp)
Tiebreak full single
Victim full single
Röda Kapellet & Unga Gardet:
Västeråsvisan / Världsungdomssången (with Unga Gardet) / Unga gardet (with Unga Gardet) / Rätt till ett meningsfull artbete
Jajja Band:
Tårarna / Linda (Soundcloud)
Music Team:
Funny Way Of Livin'
Achilleus:
Allt vi begär / Öbergs präster
Full remixed single playlist
Dread Not:
This World / Welcome Brother