English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance:
***
It happens ever so often that a band who released a good –
even great – single severaldecades later instigates archival
releases by labels specializing in reissues and archival releases.
Sometimes those releases are best left ignored, while others actually
unearth something worthwhile. This album offers a bit of
both.
Norrköping based duo (sometimes trio) Cymbeline had only one 45 out on
MNW's subsidiary Green Light, with ”New York” backed with ”Sixth
Image” in 1970. ”New York” is an excellent slice of melodic
fuzz-laced proto power pop in English (back when it was still OK to
sing in English!) whereas the 'B' side has a dreamier mood akin to
transient UK folk/psych/prog of the era.
With Guerssen's overview of a career
that never happened dating back to 1965, it's obvious it has some
poppier and less successful mid-60's moments. ”Fifth Image” is
overall pretty bad while ”Look at the Stars” is sweet enough.
”Imagination” is rather evocative despite being a bit
underdeveloped. Cymbeline did have a promising melodic sense already
early on although it never reached the heights of highly talented
Swedish beat groups such as Tages and Mascots.
There are also a few other later tracks
that burden the compilation, like the painfully wimpy ”Mary Anne”
and the second version of ”Stolta vingar”, decidedly inferior to
the first recording of the song. The Swedish version of Jimi
Hendrix's ”The Wind Cries Mary”, ”Vinden viskar Mary”, is a
bit on the embarassing side too.
But when it's good, it's really good,
and that goes beyond the seven-inch tracks. ”Third Image” (spot a
title pattern here?) is unpolished but crunchy freakbeat with an
understated chugging beat and howling guitars. ”Motala Ström”
comes off like a semi-funky crossbreed of
Pugh Rogefeldt and Anders
F. Rönnblom. ”Flicka” in turn sounds like something a more
psychedelically inclined John Holm could have come up with (although
the tucked on jazzy ending is as illogical as it is unnecessary).
”1965-1971” is obviously
inconsistent, with said inconsistency further emphasized by the
bewildering track order. Members Michael Journath and Anders Weyde
might have dreamed of putting out an album for some 40 odd years, but
had they been given the opportunity to do so before their breakup
soon after their lone 45 was released, it would definitely have been
a more cohesive record. But that said, and with the primitive nature
of many of the recordings firmly in mind, this is an essential trophy
of previously unrecognized talent. The good bits easily make up for
the lesser moments here.
Full album playlist (Bandcamp)