PROMILLE – Tonåring (UFS, 12", 1979)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A small scale release with four tracks pressed onto twelve inches of vinyl. Promille had a melodic sense but also a rather heavy sound – last track ”Drömmen” for instance has a lot of AC/DC in its hereditary material. The 'political by proxy' lyrics deal with social issues of small town youth (”tonåring” means ”teenager”) and are quite well written. All songs are band originals and OK. The performances are convincing and it's clear that Promille had more talent than a lot of other obscure bands lacking the financial back-up from proper record companies. Unfortunately, they wasted it when they changed their name to Midnight releasing two dreadful AOR tracks on the Pang Records compilation ”Göteborgsrock/Ytterrock” in 1982. 

Full 12"  

PEDS POL – Blueskatarr (GoodWill, 1982)

 

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

A blues based band featuring musicians that would later go to other bands such as neo-garage rockers The Maryland Cookies and a reformed Solen Skiner. Peds Pol's only album was engineered by ex-Tempelrock guitarist Sten Tempelman.

I say ”blues based”, because Peds Pol wasn't an all out blues band. Judging by opening track ”Hungry Boogie”, they did count John Mayall among their influences, but there's a bit of straightforward pop rock here, as well as indistinct heartland rock. The most progg tinged tracks are ”Dimman” with a sort of Grateful Dead inspired ending, the ballad ”Kvinna i svart” and the jam soaked title track that ends the album. Overlong at 15 minutes, but still the best moment with some pseudo-psychedelic moves that would have livened up the entire album had they dared to show them more often. 

Dimman 
Kvinna i svart
Blueskatarr 

NANNIE PORRES, TORGNY BJÖRK, BERNT ROSENGRENS ORKESTER & HERR T OCH HANS SPELMÄN - Horisontlinje (YTF, 1974)

 
Swedish vocals, spoken word
International relevance: *

Consider this a peripheral inclusion, as it's in fact rather low on progg content. It still might interest the occasional reader as it features the great talent of Bernt Rosengren. And one of Rosengren's tracks, ”Tortyr” (=”torture”), is in fact an excellent free jazz blast. Unfortunately it's tainted by a poem recital, but that's actually the theme of the album: It's all centered around the works of poet Per E. Rundquist, some with a clear anti-war and anti-fascist stance, so lots of spoken word here. 

On the other hand, you also get the wonderful voice of Swedish jazz singer Nannie Porres which I consider to be just one notch below the untouchable queen of Swedish jazz singers, Monica Zetterlund. Other participants here are visa singer Torgny Björk and folk outfit Herr T & Hans Spelmän. Some fine arrangements and efforts, but as a totality, the album is disjointed and frustrating to listen to. 

Full album playlist

PURPLE HAZE – Det är så man undrar... (Plebb, 1981)

 

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

Purple Haze were the continuation of Plebb who released the excessively rare ”Yes It Isn't It” on their own label in 1979. The hard rock leanings of Plebb were mixed up with an AOR style in Purple Haze. Although ”Yes It Isn't It” wasn't a particularly great album, it was better than ”Det är så man undrar...”. The vocals are still the weakest link – I hear what Purple Haze are trying to do, but they don't get there because of the lacklustre singing.

Originally a mini album of six tracks, ”Det är så man undrar...” was expanded with four songs when reissued on streaming platforms in 2013. There's no info on when those were recorded but they sound similar to the original album so perhaps they were outtakes left off to cut pressing costs. Ironically enough, their best track ”Koppla av” is among them. It's not great, but a tad better than anything on the original release.

Full album playlist with bonus tracks

PEPS PERSSON – Walking By Myself: Live At Fattighuset 1972 (Mellotronen, 2025; rec. 1972)

English vocals
International relevance: **

This is very strange. It was released through streaming sites only in early 2025 with the info that Mellotronen's behind it, but it's an unusually shoddy release coming from them. To begin with, it's short on info. What we know, or at least are told, is that was recorded at Club Fattighuset in Stockholm. But there are no musicians credits (although it sounds like Slim Notini on piano) and the recording year is uncertain. The ”cover” says 1972 (a date also given by long running Swedish blues magazine Jefferson on Facebook shortly before the release) but every streaming platform says it's from 1973. The ”cover” is as unimaginative as it gets and looks more like the work of some kitchen table bootlegger. The sound is in stereo; it's either an execeptionally good audience tape or a B+ soundboard recording. 

Being from the early 70s it's an all blues set but edited down to a six songs of a mere 25 minutes. What's interesting is that it only has songs not on any other Peps album, and being a good performance it's highly interesting to Peps fans. But if someone bothers to release it even in such a disappointing fashion, why cut it down to EP length, and why such careless presentation? Being of musical as well as great historical value, I wish whoever's responsible for this hack job would have paid more respect to the source material and Peps devotees.

Full EP playlist

PHILEMON ARTHUR AND THE DUNG – Skisser över 1914 års badmössor (Silence, MC 1987; rec. 1967-72) / Får jag spy i ditt paraply? (Silence, 2002; rec. 1967-72)

 

Skisser över 1914 års bandmössor (Silence, MC, 1987; rec. 1967-72)

Får jag spy i ditt paraply?: The Pest Of Philemon Arthur And The Dung (Silence, 2002; rec. 1967-72)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Philemon Arthur And The Dung's 1972 album is a stone cold classic of absurdist, nonsensical, anti-fi craziness that killed the Swedish Grammy Awards for 15 years. Ironically but probably perfectly planned, once they revived the Awards in 1987, the first new Philemon Arthur release appeared as a riposte. ”Skisser över 1914 års badmössor” (= ”sketches of 1914 swimming caps” -- don't ask!) was a cassette-only release that came in a sardine can. To play the tape, you had to open it. A great fuck you to mint condition collectors! (Although some probably bought two, one to play and to keep for posterity. Or they bought one and never played it. You know how collectors are.)

The tape contained 24 previously unreleased nuggets from the secret archives of the equally secret group, recorded around the same time as their LP. (Yes, the true identities of the Philemon Arthur And The Dung members is still unknown to all but a handful people.) It simply was more of the same meaning two brothers (or were they friends?) strumming a guitar sometimes tuned, banging away on pots and pans, and hollering out lyrics about flyswatters, braces, dromedaries and soup bowls. Nothing strange about that.

Thing is, you can never get too much of the same. This world always needs more Philemon Arthur And The Dung. Which is why “Får jag spy i ditt paraply” (=”may I puke in your umbrella?”), subtitled “The Pest Of Philemon Arthur And The Dung” was just as welcome as the archival collection before it. But here the discography a wee bit complicated.

“Får jag spy i ditt paraply?” was actually a complementary CD release to “Musikens historia del 1 & 2” (=”the history of music, parts 1 & 2) released ten years earlier, in 1992. “Musikens historia” in turn was a re-release of the original album with selections from the cassette added as bonus tracks. Due to popular demand, “Får jag spy i ditt paraply?” gathered the remaining tracks from the tape plus 19 more previously unreleased tracks from the original golden days. To uncomplicate things a bit: if you get “Musikens historia del 1 & 2” and “Får jag spy i ditt paraply?” you'll have a complete collection of all Philemon Arthur's released material in two convenient CDs. And believe me, you need it. At least if you're anything like me. It helps understanding the strange lyrics, but the unhinged zaniness of Philemon Arthur's music comes through loud and clear (or unclear) no matter what.

Actually, there is one more Philemon Arthur track out there, found a bonus 12" that came with the 2023 vinyl reissue of the original album. The single has Swedish art punk band Bob Hund doing a Philemon song on one side and Philemon Arthur doing a Bob Hund song on the other. But that is an afterthought, a curious modern day postscript that doesn't count.

Instead of messing about with the tracklists trying to re-create the running order of the original cassette, the links below are the two CD's as they come.

Musikens historia del 1 & 2 full album playlist
Får jag spy i ditt paraply full album playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Festplatsen 1974 (Happy Cop & Hiphop Bee, 2024; rec. 1974)

 Featured artists: Monica Törnell / Risken Finns / Nynningen / Mikael Ramel / Peps Blodsband / Cornelis Vreeswijk
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

”Festplatsen 1974” follows obscure label Happy Cop & Hiphop Bee's overwhelmingly brilliant ”Hälsa på som förr” by Mikael Ramel & Unga Hjärtan, and what it is is best explained by the liner notes: ”Festplatsen (='the festival grounds') was an entertainment show made for both radio and TV and recorded live at small festival grounds in July and August 1973, The music and the talk should, as much as possible, reflect the locality by mixing local talents and invited national and sometimes international personalities.” The show was aired in five episodes and was hosted by Mikael Ramel and Bengan Dalén of Fläsket Brinner and at the time also member of Ramel's band. Satirical duo Risken Finns were musical regulars on the show.

This album has selections from three of the five episodes, and apart from the obvious inclusions of Risken Finns and Ramel himself, there are appearences from Monica Törnell, Peps Blodsband, and Sweden's prime troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk. There's also an unusual example of Nynningen backing Risken Finns in a wonderfully raucous version of Risken's chestnut ”Du känner väl mig”. If Nynningen's own albums would have been that unhinged they'd have been way better! Risken's two other contributions are good too although more in their usual acoustic vein.

Mikael Ramel's songs with Dalén are more low-key than those on ”Hälsa på som förr” but still absolutely great. These four tracks are an essential addition to his regular albums and the splendid live album mentioned earlier.

I'm a bit disappointed with Peps Persson and his Blodsband though. This was around the time when Peps switched from blues to reggae, and here they occasionally sound as if they're not sure which to choose. Both ”Falsk matematik” and ”Djupt i mitt hjärta” sound confused, especially with the addition of accordeon which seems to have a hard time finding its place in the mix. The Swedish cover of ”Little Red Rooster” – ”Liden rö tocke” – fares better by being a straight-ahead blues, but all four Peps tracks seem a bit off.

The sound quality is excellent mono all through and the album was released in a minimal edition of only 100 copies on vinyl, no CD.

The full fifth episode of ”Festplatsen” is available for streaming on Mikael Ramel's website and has a couple of Kebnekaise tracks not on this album. 

 No links found

PANTA REI – The Naked Truth (Mellotronen, 2012; rec. 1973)

English vocals, instrumental

International relevance: ***

The live session included in ”Progglådan” was a welcome addition to Panta Rei's uneven yet worthwhile album – the only thing they released – and their small output was further expanded when Mellotronen put out ”The Naked Truth” in 2012. Four tracks recorded in concert in Kummelnäs near Stockholm 1972 , with another '72 excerpt from a show in Panta Rei's hometown Uppsala. The Kummelnäs tape shows Panta Rei at their vivid best and has songs not on their album (including one Chick Corea composition), but the sound quality is questionable. I'm not too sensitive when it comes to the fidelity of archival releases, but the mono sound here is flat, and the lack of dynamics doesn't really do Panta Rei's intricate music justice. The Uppsala track is in even lesser fidelity, with a rather intrusive distortion on especially the vocals.

Mellotronen's original idea was to reissue the original album, but Portuguese label Golden Pavillion beat them to it, so ”The Naked Truth” is a kind of 'plan B' solution. I'm not sure if there even exists any better sounding tapes of the original Panta Rei, maybe this is the best there is, but it would benefit from a cleaned up reissue. With the modern AI technology, it could surely be remixed in stereo and better dynamics be extracted from the source tape. It's also a bit disappointing they re-used the cover art for the original album. One of progg's most stunning sleeves, it feels a bit lazy not bothering to come up with something more imaginative.

Full album playlist

JOHAN PETRÉN – Bevingade ord (Spegling, 1982)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

With too many people carelessly throwing the word 'pretentious' around for anything they don't understand, let's see what the Oxford Dictionary has to say about the word:

pretentious adjective
/prɪˈtenʃəs/
(disapproving)

trying to appear important, intelligent, etc. in order to impress other people; trying to be something that you are not, in order to impress

Johan Petrén is a Gothenburg local singer/songwriter who released two albums, ”Bevingade ord” in 1982, and ”Ut i det blå (Sånger från Scilla)” in 1995. He emphasizes his lyrics and this is where 'pretentious' comes in. He has literary ambitions, but many of his wordings come off as cringeworthy. Like many a self-aggrandizing writer, he has a way of making banalities sound VERY IMPORTANT when they're in fact not, further emphasized by his somewhat pompous way of singing.

But Petrén is in fact an otherwise good songwriter. Some songs here are simply great, such as album opener ”Du är alldeles unik” with an lilting drive and an irresistably melancholic melody laced with the windy wooden sound of Maria Apelmo's simple but very effective recorder. ”Och floden fortsätter flyta” is the second best track in this lot and another perfect slice of Petrén's melodic talent.

”Bevingade ord” is – to the best of my knowledge – one of only three LP's released by the Spegling label (the other two being a classical record and a choir album). Their ambition was to record music unaffected by excessive production; they strived for a natural sound. The sparse instrumentation – the acoustic guitar, the flutes, the electric and acoustic basses etc – sounds full and rich and very inviting.

I oftentimes say that a dimension is lost on listeners who don't know the Swedish language, but in this case, it's quite the contrary. The lyrics are indeed the weakest link in Petrén's songs, so I'd say you're much better off not understanding them. That makes the songs stand tall on strictly their musical terms. While Johan Petrén carves out a slightly personal niche, I believe fans of (a much less lyrically talented) Kjell Höglund and (a much less political) Dan Berglund very well might love this.

There are lots of unreleased songs on Johan Petrén's Youtube channel, some dating back to the early 70's.

Tåglåt från Hestra
Ödets tärning
Visa till min käraste
Utan nån skugga
Och floden fortsätter att flyta

FUNCTION – Play It Maestro (Prim, 1979)

English vocals

International relevance: **

Function gets an A for ambition and execution, but they also score high on the 'so boring it hurts' scale. They were a Christian band on the Prim label, run by the Swedish Pentecostal Movement , and ”Play It Maestro” also had a U.S. release in 1982 on Lamb & Lion Productions. The music is of the most dreaded kind, inbetween AOR, prog rock and fusion. Competent for sure, but that's certainly not an end in itself. Whatever redeeming qualities the use of violin brings to the table, the cheesy jazz rock synths quickly pollutes them to a toxic degree. Vocalist Lars Ludwingson doesn't make it any better either, sounding just like you can expect from somebody having every bit of real soul crippled by a cocksure and annoyingly stubborn faith. A mind uniform that's too tight to let your head breathe properly with different ideas.

The only track even remotely agreeable here is "Unborn Child", but that would have been much better if performed by Pink Floyd. Mind you, I think Pink Floyd is the longest valium party that ever happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and... So thinking they would do anything better is hardly a compliment.

Quite honestly, I can't see how even the most hardcore Christian could bear listening to these suffocatingly boring 43 minutes all through. Play it, maestro? No, please, don't.

Full album playlist (Spotify)

JONAS PALM – Ze Wörmnest (Piglet, 1980) / De-compositions (Djuring Phonogram, 2011; recorded 1981)

Ze Wörmnest (Piglet, 1980)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Usually considered a synth/minimal artist, but there's really no reason why Jonas Palm shouldn't be included here. His main influences came from kraut bands, obviously early Tangerine Dream and less obviously Can, plus 70's ambient and 20th century composers like György Ligeti. He began exploring the possibilities of the synthesizer in 1975 but his only album release at the time was ”Ze Wörmnest”. It's close to Anna Själv Tredje's "Tussilago Fanfara", only with darker undercurrents. If Anna Själv Tredje is the sound of nature right before dawn, then Jonas Palm is the sound of nature by late dusk. Or perhaps the place where the city ends and a no man's land of the mind begins. A compelling album.

De-compositions (Son of Ze Wörmnest) 

(Djuring Phonogram, 2011; recorded 1981)
Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Palm's second album went unreleased for a full thirty years before industrial/darkwave/avant synth label Börft unearthed it and released it through their Djuring Phonogram subsidiary. The album is subtitled ”Son of Ze Wörmnest” and it is pretty much an extension of Palm's original album. It begins with ”Ängen är grön, ängen är giftig” (”the meadow is green, the meadow is poisonous”) with ”Zeit” era Tangerine Dream-like soundscapes illuminated by cold lights of unknown origins before slowly evolving into something even more sinister.

Sometimes ”De-compositions” sound like what I imagine Anna Själv Tredje spin-off Cosmic Overdose would sound like if they were all instrumental and had an even sparser sound. But when push comes to shove, neither of Jonas Palm's albums need any comparisons. They both stand tall in their own right.

Ze Wörmnest full album

"La Città Futura"

PISKA MIG HÅRT / ELDVARN – Albums 1974-1978

These are the humble beginnings of one of Sweden's best known rock bands, Eldkvarn from Norrköping, led by guitarist and main songwriter Per 'Plura' Jonsson. The Plura Jonsson of today is very different to the Plura Jonsson of the 70's. What he is the most probably depends on who you ask, and the age of the person you ask. To some he's first and foremost Eldkvarn's frontman. To others, he's the troubled soul of 80's cocaine scandals. Younger people might not know nothing about all that, thinking he's just that laidback, overweight, bare-chested host of cable TV cooking show ”Pluras kök” (”Plura's kitchen”). But he's all of that, and more.

Elisabet (MNW, 1974)
as Piska Mig Hårt
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ** 

The band was founded already in 1971 and chose the controversial name Piska Mig Hårt (”whip me hard”). Their first – and only album as Piska Mig Hårt – came in 1974. In his autobiography ”Resa genom ensamheten” (”journey through loneliness”) Plura Jonsson says it's probably the worst produced Swedish album ever, and he might be right. The sound is 'bony' and amateurishly underdeveloped, like a sloppy demo. But it's doubtful a better mix would have made it much. The songs are far too ambitious for the band's abilities. It's not without moments, but ”Elisabet” is a failure as a whole.

A better, although not great, representation of Piska Mig Hårt can be found in ”Progglådan” in the shape of a 1973 Tonkraft session.

En lång het weekend (MNW, 1976)
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Two years and a name and lineup change later Eldkvarn's original sound slowly began to gel, although the album still suffers from some production issues. New female members Liten Falkeholm and Wenche Arnesen expanded their aural palette with vocals, clarinet, vibraphone and electric piano. More importantly, Jonsson opted for a more economical songwriting style, trying not to overload the songs with too many unnecessary twists and turns. He still had a long way to go but ”En lång het weekend” reveals a growing understanding of the compositional craft.

”Sömnlösa dagar” was culled from the album for a 45 with non-album 'B' side ”Rebellen”.

Pantad och såld (MNW, 1978)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Third album marked further changes within the band. Liten Falkenholm's participation was reduced to playing the xylophone only, and a new female singer was brought into the band, Johanna Lindström. Kjell Westling also joined on sax. Jonsson had moved further and further away from the the over-complicated songwriting he couldn't handle very well in favour of a more straightforward style that makes ”Pantad och såld” Eldkvarn's best album up to that point. For instance, it includes the female led ”Holberg Hotel”, Jonsson's first truly great song. ”Pantad och såld” might not be a masterpiece but it definitely shows that the band was heading in the right direction.

After ”Pantad och såld”, the girls left the group. When Eldkvarn returned in 1979 with ”Pojkar, pojkar, pojkar”, they were a much tighter and much better band. (The album was their last for MNW before switching to Silence for three albums.) Plura Jonsson the songwriter had matured a lot and began cultivating his talent for a snappier new wave pop rock, making ”Pojkar, pojkar, pojkar” the first proper Eldkvarn album, followed by a series of albums in this new found style. Albums up to ”Barbariets eleganter” in 1984 are almost all fine. Eldkvarn was also a great live act in those days. Soon after, they had their big commercial breakthrough and became musically less interesting.

In 2011, a career spanning 10CD box set was released, including a USB stick full of previously unreleased recordings, including several rehearsals, demos, radio sessions and live tapes from 1971 and on, providing a unique peek into the band's development. Sound quality varies but a couple of the recordings are better than the original albums.

Elisabet full album playlist

En lång het weekend full album playlist
Pantad och såld full album playlist
"Rebellen" B side

MELVYN PRICE – Rhythm and Blues (Meldor, 1974)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

Born in Pontiac, MI, Melvyn Price left the U.S.A. following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr as the political situation in his native country grew increasingly worse. Upon his arrival in Sweden, trombonist and conga player Price found his way onto the vital jazz scene and was often seen sitting in with notable musicians.

He set up his own record label Meldor and released two early 70's albums of jazz and Latin rhythms meant for use in dance classes, ”Jazzbalettrytmer” and ”Rytmer II”. In 1974, he released his first 'proper' LP, ”Rhythm and Blues”, also on Meldor, featuring renowned performers such as drummer Fredrik Norén and bassist Björn Alke. A couple of tracks have congas and percussion only, but the lion's share is pretty straight, i.e. not very adventurous late 60's/early 70's jazz with faint traces of afro funk.

More or less a 'lost' album for decades, its reputation eventually began to grow and had a reissue on Wax Poetics Records in 2008. It's not bad but kind of pedestrian. Swedish jazz from the same time had more exciting things to offer.

Full album playlist

PUGH ROGEFELDT – Complete albums 1970-1977

Pughish (Metronome, 1970)

Swedish vocals, English vocals, other languages

International relevance: *** 

Pugh Rogefeldt is widely acknowledged for being the first one to make a rock album in Swedish, but he was also the first artist so sing in Pughish. No wonder – he invented the language himself and it can be heard on the track ”Aindto”. The rest of the album is in Swedish with parts of it in English.

As on debut album ”Ja dä ä dä”, Janne Carlsson appears on drums and Georg 'Jojje' Wadenius supplies bass. It's a very different album to his first LP however, somewhat darker in tone with a greater melancholy permeating the breezier tracks like ”Sail With Me, Come on and Try – I Love You” and the aforementioned ”Aindto”. ”Föräldralåten” rocks out a bit more (but isn't very good), while ”Om du vill ha mej” and ”Stinsen i Bro” have a bluesier sound (although the two part ”Stinsen i Bro” really is hard to pinpoint in style). Remaining track ”Klöver Linda” is a summery track, not unlike ”Små lätta moln” on ”Ja dä ä dä”.

”Pughish” is Pugh's second album (housed in an eerie cover) and so a part of his classic informal 'trilogy' beginning with ”Ja dä ä dä” and ending with ”Hollywood” in 1972. It's a good album but it has something oddly insular about it that makes it harder to connect with. My guess is that Pugh wanted to try something entirely different this time, and while he succeeded doing so, he wasn't exactly sure what he was aiming at. ”Pughish” drifts off in so many peculiar directions that it's hard to percieve it as a coherent work. It's mystifying and intriguing, but mostly I play only a few tracks off it.

Hollywood (Sonet, 1972)
as Pugh

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

If ”Pughish” was a bit confused, this is the product of a much clearer vision. Great songs with the fantastic ”Jag är en liten pojk” leading the way to ”Jag har en guldgruva” (where Pugh shows his remarkble blues harmonica skills), ”Till gröna skogar” and the heavy ”Home, Home” to mention but a few.

With a different set of musicians to his first two albums – no Jojje Wadenius or Janne Carlsson here – it's obvious already one beforehand that ”Hollywood” is different in nature to ”Ja dä ä dä” and ”Pughish”. It's tighter and more lavish sounding, but without losing in strength one bit. There are moments I actually think this is even better than some on ”Ja dä ä dä”.

Pugh on the Rocks (Metronome, 1973)
as Pugh
Swedish vocals

International relevance: * 

It's sometimes said that a live album or a covers album is something you put out when creativity is running low. That's of course not always the case, but I dare say that it's a much valid assertion when it comes to Pugh Rogefeldt's ”Pugh on the Rocks”. With three excellent albums behind him, why would he bother with something like this had he more top notch material to choose from?

The title is supposed to be funny I guess, referencing the album's content of only translated rock & roll classics made famous by the likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. But the other meaning of the expression is even more appropriate, because Pugh is really on the rocks with this one.

I love old rock & roll, I think the 50's were one of the true and few really golden ages of rock, but I already have all the aforementioned artists and I don't need somebody hyperventilating his way through versions of their songs. I can't even pick one track here that's even decent but if you point a gun to my head and threaten to lock me up in a cupboard and play the complete works of Guns 'n' Roses on repeat, then I'd probably say ”Långsamma timmar” (”Seems Like a Long Time”) but only to escape the inhumane torture.

An outtake from the sessions was released on Gump compilation ”Voice of the Wolf”.

Bolla och rulla (Metronome, 1974)
as Pugh Rogefeldt & Rainrock
Swedish lyrics

International relevance: **

There's something about this album that makes me feel very unpleasant. Maybe it's the profound discomfort the hit song ”Dinga Linga Lena” provokes in me – with a 27 year old man lusting for a 15 year old girl – that rubs off on the rest of the album, but I think there's someting more (if the paedophiliac vibe of the aforementioned track wasn't disturbing enough). Maybe it's in the way Pugh's then newly formed backing band Rainrock plays (it sounds like fake rock), maybe it's how Pugh sings with a sleazebag sneer, or maybe the songs just aren't very good. Except for the title track and perhaps and ”Kajans sång”. Whatever the reason, I can't stand listening to ”Bolla och rulla”.

Just to make it clear: Pugh gave up playing ”Dinga Linga Lena” live many years ago, for the same reason I find it disagreeable.

Ett steg till (Metronome, 1975)

as Pugh & Rainrock, Ola Magnell, Lucas Persson

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: ***

Following the release of "Bolla och rulla", Pugh took his new band Rainrock on a package tour that also featured newly baked record artist Ola Magnell and veteran pianist Janne 'Lucas' Persson. It was probably a great show to attend, but the surviving tour document is very uneven. Lucas Persson is basically a Swedish Elton John (make what you will of that), Ola Magnell wasn't an entirely convincing live artist this early on, and Pugh's contributions are a bit hit and miss. He sings with that sleaze voice he developed for "Bolla och rulla", but some of his contributions work quite well in this setting, such as the acoustic "Hog Farm" and old chestnut "Små lätta moln". New track "Storseglet" is the highlight in this collection, a towering and gut-wrenching track that goes on for a full ten minutes without ever letting go of the grip.

Bamalama (Metronome, 1977) 
as Pugh

Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: *

OK, so this dull exercise in AOR rock with the occasional stab at disco and country (the obvious mix, no?) doesn't quite belong here but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to bring some attention to Rogefeldt's excellent Swedish language version of Woody Guthrie's ”Vigilante Man”, entitled ”Vår kommunale man”.

The 4CD box set simply entitled "Pugh" features several demos, alternate takes, live recordings and singles from his golden years. He was also supposed to be included in "Progglådan", but failed to approve his participation in time, why he was left off the set.

Pugh Rogefeldt has released plenty of albums after "Bamalama"; some of them are OK, others are not, but none of them comes even close to what he did in the early days of his career.

Pughish full album playlist
Hollywood full album playlist

Pugh On The Rocks full album playlist

Bolla och rulla full album playlist 

Ett steg till full album playlist
Bamalama full album playlist
"En gång tog jag tåget bort" with Nature full single playlist

"Slavsång" with Nature full single playlist

PEPS PERSSON – The reggae years 1975-1982

Hög standard (Sonet, 1975)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

1975 saw the release of Peps' collaboration with Slim Notini, ”Blues på svenska”, but also his first fullblown reggae album. ”Hög standard” caused some puzzlement among the blues fans. What was this?
Well, it was Peps Persson having discovered The Wailers' ”Catch a Fire” before most other people had. ”Hög standard” was probably the first time ever a lot of Swedes were exposed to the Jamaican beat, and it was a most amazing introduction. With drummer Bosse Skoglund, Peps pulled off a trick that few have pulled off with such credibility and artistic grandeur.

In an interview for Jefferson blues magazine, Peps said that meeting Skoglund is one of the best things that have ever happened to him, and it was indeed a musical marriage made in heaven. Skoglund is an incredibly versatile player; he doesn't just play, he understands the concepts of beat, rhythm and flow. He's a musician deep within his heart, deep within his soul, and in every molecule of his body. Bosse Skoglund is a perfect drummer, not shying away from any style thrown at him. He made anything he played on cooking and swinging, and that's something sadly missing from too many progg albums – it's as progg sometimes had to be stiff and rigid and boring to be 'authentic' or whatever nonsense. (Then again, it takes some skill to make music physically appealing, and that too is sadly missing from way too many stupid progg albums made by musical analphabets.) So without trying to diminish any other of Peps' musicians, Skoglund was indeed the perfect contributor to whatever Peps set out to do.

In the same Jefferson interview, Peps says that the blues was a dream, while reggae brought him closer to reality. Well, with ”Peps Blodsband” from 1974, it was far more than a dream; the album's certainly true and real to me with its spot-on observations of society. But, ”Hög standard” is too. The title track has become a part of the Swedish musical canon; it's one of those tracks that people immediately recognize and could sing along to for at least a couple of lyric lines criticizing our society fixated with mindnumbing superficial pre-fab 'happiness'. Already the album cover art is a spoof on the glamour depicted on the cover of ABBA's eponymous album, like ”Hög standard” released in 1975.

But the whole album ”Hög standard” is fantastic, with the possible exception of ”Persson ifrån stan”, written by Peps' dad in the 20's. Two other covers appear here, originally on Bob Marley albums and merituously translated by Peps, ”Styr den opp” (”Stir It Up”) and ”Snackelåt” (”Talking Blues”). But exceot for ”Persson ifrån stan”, the entire album consists of first-rate material.>

Droppen urholkar stenen (Sonet, 1976)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

Peps most varied album up to that point, mixing reggae, calypso and blues. Great Swedish versions of Bob Marley's ”Small Axe” (”Liden såg”), Peter Tosh's ”Mark of the Beast” (”Vilddjurets tecken” subtitled ”Snea figurer”) and blues classic ”Going Down Slow” (”Det roliga é slut”). Plus high calibre original material like ”Babylon” and ”Identitet”. Despite lesser tracks like ”Varför blev jag terrorist?” (written by bassist Göran Weihs) and ”Rus”, this is another essential Peps Blodsband album.

In 1976, Peps Blodsband backed up Ronny Åström on his first Peps produced album ”Den ensamma människan”.

Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan... (Oktober, 1977)

as Pelleperssons Kapell
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

At the time a surprising release, made on behalf of SKP (The Communist Party of Sweden) and released on their Oktober imprint. Explains Peps in the Jefferson interview: ”[SKP] were Marxist national romantics campaigning for people to play Swedish music. Their angle was that all American popular music was imperialist propaganda, including black music. They published a pamphlet around that time, called 'You can't conquer to the music of the enemy'. They wanted an album from us with old labour movement songs and songs about strikes, but we soon realized that songs like that would have a longevity of a maximum of six months – so we substituted most of them for songs that were more fun. They didn't like that very much, especially as the musical backing sounded pretty un-Swedish to them. But if you dance with the devil, you have to pay the piper so they put the album out and it sold well.”

It wasn't the only time political organizations and the music movement in general tried to lure Peps over to their side. For some reason, Peps was always acceptable to the movement crowd despite being signed to a so called commercial label, Sonet. But Peps never really responded to their invitations, having too much integrity to join any clubs or cults.

”Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan...” is more than anything a curio. I have a soft spot for opening track ”Auktionsvisa” but the rest of the album really isn't very good. The songs are too silly, but the musicians apparently enjoy playing them. Perhaps it offered a relief from the often dead serious atmosphere of the music movement? And it's a fine line-up including Roland Keijser (who also appears on ”Hög standard” and ”Droppen urholkar stenen”), Per Odeltorp (later of Dag Vag), Bertil Pettersson (later of Blue Fire and Chicago Express), plus the usual Peps Blodsband suspects.

Spår (Sonet, 1978)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals, English vocals 

Internationl relevance: ***

 

An excellent album blending reggae, rock, calypso touches and African influences. The few bad tracks (”Drängavisa”, ”Moliendo Café” and ”Mors lilla Olle”) can't drag the strong ones down, such as the classic ”Hyreskasern” (Jacob Miller's ”Tenement Yard”), ”Maskin nr. 2”, the two tracks from newly recruited guitar slinger Babatunde Tony Ellis, and percussionist Lester Jackman's excellent ”Games”. The use of multiple singers works in the album's advantage, and ”Spår” stands out as one of the best albums by Peps Blodsband.

Rotrock (Sonet, 1980)

as Peps Persson med Blodsband och Kapell
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

A very uneven album bringing together tracks from the proper Peps Blodsband and a couple of songs by Pelleperssons Kapell that are similar to the inferior ”Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan...”. Great tracks like ”Illa” and ”Rotrock” mix with not so great tracks like ”Då måste detta va' blues” and ”Främmande”, and some terrible ones like ”Motorcykeln”, ”Karna & Ola” and ”Ain sorgeli visa om vauillen pau tinged i Auby”. To put it straight: the album is a frustrating mish-mash with too few real highlights.

Persson sjonger Persson (Sonet, 1982)

Pelleperssons Kapell

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Another full album from Pelleperssons Kapell is not what you need. This time Peps sings songs originally recorded by the infuriatingly jovial Edvard Persson, an actor famous in the 1920's through the 50's, and whose movies appeared on TV well into the 70's like a swarm of wasps in a glass of juice. His music was just as lousy as his movies and it didn't get any better just because you put a reggae or calypso beat to it. Easily Peps Persson's worst album.

Peps Persson kept enjoying an artistically successful career but largely withdrew from music in the 00's due to health issues. He died in 2021.

Hög standard full album playlist

Droppen urholkar stenen full album playlist

Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan full album playlist

Spår full album playlist

Rotrock full album playlist 

Persson sjonger Persson full album playlist

PEPS PERSSON – The blues years 1968-1975

Although his albums aren't uniformly excellent, it's absolutely impossible to overrate Peps Persson. Not only is he a top-notch performer, an excellent lyricist (and translator) and in possession of one of the greatest backing bands ever to come out of Sweden, he's also a highly influential character who more or less single-handedly introduced blues and reggae to Swedish audiences. His first band was rock & roll and instro band Pop Penders Kvartett. In 1966-67 he made a name for himself locally with blues and rhythm & blues band Down Beat Crowd. Around that time, Peps left Hässleholm in Skåne in the south of Sweden and moved to Stockholm where he hung out in the legendary psychedelic underground Club Filips. He released a couple of unimpressive singles for the Olga label before his career took on. His discography is vast and varied, also including production work and collaborations with other artists.

Blues Connection (Gazell, 1968)
as Linkin' Louisiana Peps

English vocals
International relevance: **

After the Olga Records 45's released as Linkin' Louisiana Peps (named so after a misunderstanding; it should have been Limpin', not Linkin'), he made his album debut with this pedestrian set of Chicago blues. Peps was simply too derivative in his early days, the song choices – all covers – are unimaginative in retrospect.

Sweet Mary Jane (Sonet, 1969)

as Peps & Blues Quality
English vocals

International relevance: ***

 

Peps teamed up with Örebro band Blues Quality for one album. (They later evolved into Nature.) ”Sweet Mary Jane” is much more interesting than his debut but it's pretty fuzzy around the edges. Even magnificent drummer and long-time Peps cohort Bosse Skoglund plays surprisingly sloppy, and I suspect that the band had gotten a bit too friendly with the Mary Jane of the album title and Sture Johannesson's cover art... (The 70's reissue was housed in a less controversial cover, see below.)

After "Sweet Mary Jane", Peps returned down south to Skåne.

The Week Peps Came to Chicago (Sonet, 1972)

English vocals
International relevance: **

Any non-American Chicago blues singer would have been extremely delighted by a trip to Windy City to play with some of the city's top blues names including guitarist Mighty Joe Young and pianist Sunnyland Slim. So was Peps, but ”The Week Peps Came to Chicago” proved to have an entirely different long term effect on him. He realized it was a bit silly coming from Sweden to the U.S. to play the blues to the people who were basically born into the genre. Peps realized he wasn't adding anything original singing the blues in English. He had to do it in his native tongue. While Peps had developed into a very good singer at this point, the album is indeed redundant compared the the sound of the original artists. ”The Week Peps Came to Chicago” was the end of an era, and the beginning of another.

Peps Blodsband (Sonet, 1974)

as Peps Blodsband

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

Ranked #10 on the blog's Top 25

Suddenly, everything fell into place. With Peps switching to Swedish lyrics, his music became so much more powerful. It's still blues in the classic urban style, but now Peps step inside the words and music in a much more credible way. The two translated covers (Don Nix penned ”It's the Same Old Blues” and Elmore James' ”The Sky Is Crying”) fit in seamlessly with Peps' original material, and everything's delivered with so much conviction and prowess that the results are absolutely irrefutable. The lyrics are often political but descriptive, never proselytizing. Peps shares his brilliant observations of the capitalist society but trusts the listener with his/her own conclusions. With not one single inferior track, ”Peps Blodsband” is a 24 carat masterpiece, still as relevant as when originally released. And so it will remain as long as greed and egotism run the world.

Blues på svenska (Sonet, 1975)
as Peps och Slim
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

An album split with pianist Per 'Slim' Notini; five tracks by each, all translated covers of blues standards by the likes of Muddy Waters, Eddie Boyd, Elmore James, Willie Dixon, and Lowell Fulson. Although Peps' contributions are fine enough, the LP's a bit disappointing following the perfect ”Peps Blodsband”. Slim Notini's also better with his Blues Gang on the 1971 album ”The Blues Ain't Strange”. In short, a little too mediocre to be fully recommendable.

"Progglådan" features a 1973 Tonkraft recording with Peps and Blues Set.

from Blues Connection

"Shake Your Moneymaker"

"Rooster Blues"

"Dimples"
"Dust My Blues"
"Five Long Years"

Sweet Mary Jane full album playlist
The Week Peps Came To Chicago full album playlist with bonus tracks
Peps Blodsband full album playlist
Tonkraft 1973 full album playlist

Blues på svenska full album playlist

PSYNKOPAT – Har vi någon stil? (Mistlur, 1978)

Swedish vocals, English vocals, spoken word, instrumental

International relevance: **

A curious piece that merges poetry, jazz rock and avantgarde to an immature mess of Myrbein garage recordings played at 16 rpm and experimental post punk band Boojwah Kids throwing up in the gutter. Psynkopat had no ideas but tried to mask it with fundamentally failed attempts at improvisation. Their lack of talent is gargantuan. ”Have we got any style?” the album title asks, and the answer is NO, you don't, you've got nothing except a record company that should forever grieve the amounts of vinyl ruined by this abysmal joke of a record.

Unfortunately, Psynkopat also released a single in 1979. 

Full album

PREFIX – Brustna illusioner (PIM, 1974)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

One of the rarest progg albums ever, privately released by Prefix main man Pierre Blom on his own record label PIM. According to Tobias Petterson in ”The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music”, it's not a group effort as much as a Blom solo album.

Whether it would have been better if Pierre Blom had actually used other musicians than his equally untalented wife and one Åke Eriksson on vocals is hard to say but I hope so. Because playing most of the instruments himself in his basement was clearly not a good idea. ”Min kära” is a bad track but on top of the dung pile. In ”Stupid Record Company”, reeking with self-pity, Blom complains that no label wants to release his music – hmm, I wonder why that is... The title to the opening track is ”Alla toner är ledsna”, meaning ”all notes are sad”, and well, I would be sad too if I was a bum note on this album...

Prefix is in the same category as Malaria, John-Erik Axelsson and Radiomöbel, i.e. unlistenable crap with few or no recognizable traces of talent. If you find a copy of this album, be sure to put on protective suit and gloves before handling the album. You really don't want to touch it. It might be hazardous.

Band name and album title are sometimes mixed up when listed.

Full album

POP WORKSHOP – Vol. 1 (Grammofonverket, 1973) / Songs of the Pterodactyl (Grammofonverket, 1974) / WLODEK GULGOWSKI – Soundcheck (Polydor, 1976)

A super group of sorts including Jan Schaffer, Wlodek Gulgowski, Ola Brunkert, Stefan Brolund, and on ”Songs of the Pterodactyl” drummer Tony Williams of Miles Davis and Lifetime fame. Just by reading those names you should get a clear idea of what the music's like, funky fusion permeated by technical talent. Which it is. 

POP WORKSHOP  – Vol. 1 (Grammofonverket, 1973)

Instrumental 

International relevance: ***

”Vol. 1” is a heavier and proggier album than expected though with some riveting guitar work from Schaffer. The powerful ”Perforated Mind” should appeal to Zappa heads while Magma fans ought to be delighted by ”Equinox”, but ”Vol. 1” is a solid affair way too good to be held hostage by the fusion crowd!

POP WORKSOP – Songs of the Pterodactyl (Grammofonverket, 1974)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

”Songs of the Pterodactyl” is good too, almost great but lacks some of the debut's freshness, as if they tried to consciously repeat the quirky angularity of their first album. Everything is in the right place with thorough compositions by Gulgowski and his Polish countryman Zbigniew Namysłowski, but it doesn't thrill quite as much as ”Vol. 1”. Still a fine effort though, with fantastic cover art by Swedish horror painter Hans Arnold.

 WLODEK GULGOWSKI – Soundcheck (Polydor, 1976)

International relevance: ***

Instrumental

Wlodek Gulgowski had two albums of his own out in the 70's, although the first one he made was co-credited to Rory Vincent, ”Dream World”, so ”Soundcheck” is technically his first to count as a solo album. Unfortunately it's a very disappointing album coming after the two he did with Pop Workshop. It's full of slick fusion, very polished and not dissimilar to some of the weaker funky library albums that have gained collectors' interest in recent year.

Both Pop Workshop albums cry out for a reissue but ”Soundcheck” is definitely one to pass on.

Vol 1 full album playlist
Songs of the Pterodactyl full album playlist
Soundcheck full album