ANDERS F. RÖNNBLOM – The 1970s albums

Approaching the work of Anders F. Rönnblom's from scratch must be a daunting task for someone who never did before – his discography is moving towards a whopping 40 albums at the time of writing! Just about everyone with such a long creative stretch has artistic dips, but Rönnblom's output has been strikingly consistent. His lesser albums are good, and there are some merely great, but most of them are simply brilliant. At 79 in 2025, he's still as active as a recording artist as ever before, and not only that: for the last decade or so, he has made some of his best albums ever.

Steeped in the American beat poetry tradition with names like Allen Ginsberg, Richard Brautigan and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, he has carved out a completely original niche of lyric writing within the Swedish language. It's as if he watches the world from his own sidelines, always with a sharp vision and often with a spiky wit. A serious admirer of Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Little Feat and The Grateful Dead, his musical sense is just as precise and precious.

Educated at Konstfack, the university of arts and design, Rönnblom has also worked as a graphic designer and he has provided artwork for books as well as record covers for artists such as Monica Törnell, Neon Rose, Telge Blues and Cornelis Vreeswijk to name but a few. He began playing music in the late 1950s and made his first appearence on a commercially distributed record with Bob Major & The G.I:s in 1964, an EP for which he wrote all four songs.

Although he was never an obvious part of the progg movement, he wasn't shunned by it either. ”I was on commercial labels, just like Pugh, Bernt Staf, John Holm and Ola Magnell,” Rönnblom told me in 2017. ”But the music movement still let us into their venues, the so called music forums. True there was a rigid nucleus of strongly politically charged journalists and concert promoters centered around the Musikens Makt magazine, but even if they didn't write a lot about me, I had no problems getting gigs. I even played at Gothenburg's Sprängkullen which was considered one of the movement's seats of honour.”

Then again, he's never been part of any movement. He had a few hits in the early 80s, and his biting 1980 Christmas song ”Det är inte snön som faller” (inspired by The Rolling Stones' ”Sympathy For The Devil”) is a perennial favourite to everyone who despise the commercialized hysteria of that particular December holiday. But he's always been satisfied with being a maverick. As he put it on his 2015 album ”The Subliminal Solo Inferno”: ”Who the hell wants to be beloved by the people?”

This piece will include Anders F. Rönnblom's 70s output only. His albums ”Rapport från ett kallt fosterland” (1980), ”Vit flagg” (1981) and ”Krig & fred & country music” (1982) would of course fit within the time frame of the blog, but they're more in a new wavish vein (comparatively speaking). All wonderful albums, among his finest, but not quite progg blog material.

Din barndom skall aldrig dö (Decca, 1971)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

I have a fetish for debut albums. It's something special watching artists' first steps, hearing their first voice and knowing it was the seed of the future.

”Din barndom skall aldrig dö” came out in 1971. Pugh Rogefeldt's ”Ja dä ä dä” was only two years old, Kjell Höglund's ”Undran” was released the same year as ”Din barndom”, as was Robert Broberg's ”En typisk rund LP med hål i mitten”, the first of his where he really displayed his special outsider talent. In short, Swedish singer/songwriter pop/rock was only in its infancy, and there was still room for original expressions because there were yet no fixed reference points. ”Din barndom skall aldrig dö” is one important piece of that puzzle.

The album title means ”your childhood shall never die”, a beautiful title that says a lot about this lovely, touching album's overall mood. It has a naivité but the innocence comes with a fledgling worry that it might not stay that way forever. There's a kind of a Peter Pan quality to it, but a Peter Pan with a beginning identity crisis.

The title track is an eternal fan favourite, but there are so many great songs here. ”Hon håller ut över vintern” is a cross pollination of The Beatles and Big Star. ”Kärleken är död” echoes of Paul McCartney's early countryside recordings and is a wonderful song. But my favourite song here is the final track, the seven minute ”Mamma hjälp mig” with Dylanesque imagery and desperate underpinnings further emphasized by a distortion-drenched guitar solo soaked in escalating panic.

”Din barndom” has been reissued a couple of times, most recently as a lavish 50th anniversary 3CD set with one disc being the original album, the second being new recordings of unfinished songs from the period finally finished in the early 2020s, and the third one being other artists covering the entire original album
.

Ramlösa Kvarn (Epic, 1972)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

I count ”Ramlösa Kvarn” among Rönnblom's top 5. The songwriting's more focused, the lyrics are stronger, the melodies are more precise and the arrangements are richer, with tastefully applied horns, tablas, accordeon, vibraphone and even an electric sitar on ”Ta väl hand om Louis”. An all-star cast of session players back Rönnblom up, and he himself sings with greater confidence than before. There's not one bad track here, and although the songs are varied, the album's very cohesive – a tight and carefully pieced together unit. Oddly enough, demon producer Anders ”Henkan” Henriksson appears as a musician but not as a producer. It was in fact produced by Claes Dieden, formerly of 60s pop band Science Poption, but he did a great work making the many elements gel. A masterpiece, up there with period Pugh, Mikael Ramel et al.

Måsarna lämnar Gotland och hela Sverige tittar på (Epic, 1973)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

The third album has the slightly unwieldy title meaning ”the seagulls leave Gotland and all of Sweden is watching”. After the majestic ”Ramlösa Kvarn”, the follow-up was perhaps destined to be a disappointment. I said already from the start that Anders F. Rönnblom hasn't made any bad albums, and ”Måsarna” does have qualitues, but it's just not on the same level as much of his other stuff.

Again released on Epic Records, the framework is very different from the predecessor, with a smaller ensemble opting for a jazzy and even funky sound. I get the feeling that Rönnblom deliberately tried to change push his songwriting forward not to repeat himself, and while that signifies a great visionary artist and should be applauded, choosing a slightly bluesy groove based mode doesn't work out that well. The standout track is ”Ulla Hau” with a vibe not dissimilar to Dylan and The Band's ”Planet Waves” which was released the same year.

Still, this might be one of Rönnblom's albums most easily accessible to a non-Swedish listener because of its international style.

A lesser known Rönnblom related album from 1973 is ”Glas” by Marita Mejstam for which both he and Hawkey Franzén contributed several songs. Although some songs are OK, it's a more commercial sounding pop album and mostly interesting as a footnote to Rönnblom's own releases.

Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus (Epic, 1974)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Third and final Rönnblom on Epic Records, and while not another ”Ramlösa Kvarn” it's definitely a step in the right direction after ”Måsarna”. The songs are sharper and the rock oriented sound is a lot more becoming to them. A great addition is drummer Pelle Holm, known from especially Scorpion, Resan and Kebnekajse. His loose, open kind of playing is very important to how ”Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus” turned out. I'd even go as far as to call him the most important element here as I suspect it's his presence that inspires the other players (including Rönnblom himself) to open up a bit more than they did on ”Måsarna”. I like how the album sounds, but the specific song I like the best is curiously enough the most atypical one here, the brooding and oddly claustrophobic ”Guds rosor”.

 

Det hysteriska draget (Tyfon, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

After his stint with major label Epic he took a break for three years until 1977 when he scored a deal with Tyfon Records. Not known as a rock imprint, their output up to his signing consisted of particularly bad dance bands and budget albums of nameless artists covering hits from the last few years. The only other rock act they had was Rhapsody, so I suspect Tyfon's ability to market music of even the smallest merit was limited. Which might explain why ”Det hysteriska draget” is one of the rarer Rönnblom albums from the 70s. Which is a pity, as it's a return to form with plenty of great songs and inspired performances.

Rönnblom explains in his liner notes for the double CD reissue of the two Tyfon albums that he rediscovered Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks around that time, which inspired him to enrich the instrumental palette. A horn and string arranger, Jonny Blomqvist, was hired to give the album a fuller sound – a successful move that gave the album an extra push. As he explains: ”'Draget' became the album that 'Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus' should have been.” Also, the lyrics turned darker. Rönnblom's earlier lyrics often had a romantic gleam, but now torn souls and broken people entered his lyrical world. That makes ”Det hysteriska draget” one of his most multifaceted albums up to then.

Komedia – En tripp nerför Tarschan Boulevard (Tyfon, 1978)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

The modus operandi for the second Tyfon album was vastly different to ”Det hysteriska draget”. The drums were dragged out to the centre of the studio with all the other musicians standing around ”as if it was a rehearsal room gig” as Rönnblom puts it. Overdubbing and meticulous studio work was the order of the day, but producer Börje Forsberg wanted a raw and unpolished sound. Rönnblom's newest songs were too intricate for this method, so instead he had to present simpler and more straightforward material. And that's what you hear on the album.

And what an album it is! Hands down his best since ”Ramlösa Kvarn”, – better even! It certainly is much grainier than ”Det hysteriska draget”, and the no frills songs are in-your-face, almost like a documentary in music. The title track is among the best songs he's ever written with an ominous guitar line running through the verses, while ”Dom rätta kretsarna” captures the bleak mood of Sweden in the late 70s. But there's no point in singling out particular songs because they're all great. Easily one of the best Swedish albums of the era, still sounding fresh and vivid no matter how dark the colours of it are. Simply another masterpiece.

The 2CD reissue of ”Komedia” and ”Det hysteriska draget” features bonus tracks collectively named ”Garagesekvenser”. Songs Rönnblom kept on deteriorating cassette tapes but musically good enough to save for posterity, so as with ”Din barndom skall aldrig dö”, he recorded them anew in time for the reissue. Essential stuff, although it would have been great hearing what they would have been like if recorded properly during his Tyfon years.

 

Vem har satt mina änglar i bur? (Volym 1) (Mercury, 1979)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

”Vem har satt mina änglar i bur?” initiated a new phase in Rönnblom's career, a five album stretch for Mercury Records. A slicker album than ”Komedia” with the occasional influence from country music and old rock'n'roll. That had been part of his music already before, but it's a bit more obvious here. It's a good album; the title track and the lilting ”I ett snöfall” are fine songs, and there are a few more pleasant moments, but overall it feels a bit like an in-between album, like he's going somewhere but not quite sure where. As I decided to cut off at the end of the 70s, his next album ”Rapport från ett kallt fosterland” (subtitled ”Vem har satt mina änglar i bur, volym 2”) isn't included but it's a punchier and better defined album.

* * * 

I tend to think of Anders F. Rönnblom's discography as book, with his various phases being chapters and each album is a set of pages in each chapter. In that regard, he's a Dylan, or a Peter Hammill –  artists to grow with. Anders F. Rönnblom is indeed one of those. But I also realize that something vital is lost if you don't understand his language. A great songwriter for sure, but the lyrical dimension is a great part of why he's enriched my life so much.

Din barndom skall aldrig dö full album playlis
Ramlösa Kvarn full album playlist
Måsarna lämnar Gotland och hela Sverige tittar på full album playlist
Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus full album playlist
Vem har satt mina änglar i bur? full album playlist
Det hysteriska draget:
Side A, part 1 
Side A, part 2 
Side B, part 1  
Side B, part 2 
from "Komedia - En tripp nerför Tarschan Boulevard":
Komedia 
bonus:
Marita Mejstam - Glas full album playlist 

MONGEZI FEZA & BERNT ROSENGREN QUARTET – Free Jam (Ayler, 2004; rec. 1972)

 

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

This is a double punch knockout! Recorded around the same time as trumpeter Mongezi Feza's albums with Johnny Dyani and Okay Temiz, this is miles above them all. (It should be said that Temiz is present here as well, but in a much more appropriate context.) The secret weapon here is Bernt Rosengren's quartet who really goes for it, and his band is a much better match to Feza.

Double CD ”Free Jam” was recorded during two shows in mid and late November 1972, and the title explains it all: this is collective improvisations. A dangerous game if you can't find the flow, but these five gentlemen sure do. They touch on multiple jazz styles, or more like referencing them, because it's all free jazz in the best sense of the word. Powerful, energetic, symbiotic, osmotic. It's so exhilarating when it happens and this is an exhilarating release.

The sound quality isn't top notch, it's a slightly distant audience recording from a somewhat echoey venue, but the force of the music still comes through with crystalline focus. If you're used to listening to free jazz it shouldn't be much of a problem, as many obscure free jazz albums aren't any hi-fi experiences anyway. And this is one of the finest examples of the style recorded and released in Sweden.

Selective album playlist (Bandcamp)

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

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: PROGGLÅDAN

You've probably noticed I mention ”Progglådan” (="the progg box") every now and then. It might be a good idea to explain what it is for those who might not really know.

”Progglådan” is a 40 CD (!!!) box set released by the Swedish Radio in 2013, compiling tons of recordings mainly from their weekly Tonkraft show that ran for 11 years beginning in 1972. The show's forerunner was Midnight Hour in the late 60s. ”Progglådan” came in a slipcase containing four smaller boxes with 10 discs each housed in cardboard sleeves. The four smaller boxes are thematically organized. Box A has heavy rock and blues, box B features instrumental and experimental bands, original proggers and punk, box C is folk progg and singer/songwriters, and box D collects melodic rock. A fantastic testament to Swedish progg with the best recordings from Swedish Radio's vast archive of special sessions – or is it?

In reality, it's not as great as it looks at a first glance and nowhere near as great as it could have been. Compiled by Coste Apetrea who said he worked on it for three years as the project constantly grew. It's hard to believe he put three years into it. Had he said a month, I would take his word for it. It's so shoddily done that not only is it disrespectful to the people who forked out quite a sum for it when it was available, but also to the artists involved.

Several names are misspelt which is a big no-no for a credible presentation – don't you think so too, Cotse Arpetea? The liner notes are so littered with completely moronic spelling mistakes that it sometimes looks as if Cesto Paterea just hammered down his fingers on the computer keyboard at random. Did you know your computer has a spellcheck function? It's impossible to read them without getting furious at the carelessness, and some ”words” take some time to figure out what they're actually supposed to be. I know for a fact that at least one person offered his proof reading services for free before the the whole shebang went to print, but Swedish Radio ignored him and obviously thought that this exercise in aleatoric typing would suffice. (I've done some proof reading myself over the years, and I prmoise you I've never seen anything like this.) I once wrote a Facebook comment when some gala celebrating ”Progglådan” was to be held, complaining about the impetuous writing and I just got the response ”it's supposed to be like that”. Talk about adding insult to injury. I don't know if it was Secto Trepaea who replied, but NO, IT'S NOT FUCKING SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THAT! Don't behave like a complete idiot who doesn't give a shit, and don't be proud of it! Thanks for your consideration.

The recording dates are too often wrong and insufficient. I thought Swedish Radio kept pedantic notes on session details, and if they do, then Tesco Repatae must have ignored them in favour of his own guessing game. I once did extensive research on the correct dates as far as possible, but I've unfortunately lost the document since and I just can't be arsed to do it all over again. Besides, it's not my bloody job to correct some ignorant fucker's deficient work. I don't get paid for it but I'm sure he did.

The editing of the recorded material is sometimes haphazard too. Several of the shows have songs cut from the original sessions and I can live with that even if its irritating, but sometimes a spoken intro to a missing song is left intact. It's like a glitch in the matrix. OK, it's a lot of material to listen through, but if you've worked on it for three years, then you should bloody well have the time to check if it's correct. Right, Tesco Eptarea? Otherwise, work on it one more year to make sure it's right.

 
You can always question the selection done for a compilation depending on your own taste, but some of the choices here are downright dubious. I know that Pugh Rogefeldt was asked to be included, but he failed to reply before deadline why the first disc is wasted on Cosmic Ray, a modern band recorded in Silence's studio in 2012 – not a Swedish Radio recording from the time ”Progglådan” covers, 1967-1985. I suspect this rushed decision has something to with Ocest Ptaaree being the producer of the Cosmic Ray recording... You see, he had a peculiar way of sneaking quite a few of his own recordings on here – De Gladas Kapell, Jukka Tolonen Band, Samla Mammas Manna (appear twice), Ramlösa Kvällar, and Cosmic Rays. It might not look much for a 40 CD box set, but no other musician is that extensively represented. And he never once spelled his own name wrong in the credits...

I don't know how royalties from the sales were shared, but I know – again for a fact – that less known bands weren't payed. And I know at least one musician who shall remain nameless was genuinely pissed off with the crappy presentation of the whole thing, telling me something to the effect of ”'Progglådan' will remain a kind of final statement but we'll have to live with this inferior release forever.' Exactly. This was a one-shot thing, and even though Eosct Aaeeprt at one point opened for a second volume, I doubt that will ever happen. This, I suspect, is what we'll get. A chance blown to produce something excellent and honorable for everyone involved. Including the fans, buyers and listeners.

This is why I've never reviewed ”Progglådan” in detail and never will. I don't think it deserves it. I will continue to mention individual shows in dedicated reviews when appropriate but I won't go through it disc by disc because it pisses me off every time I even look at it on my shelf. If you want to know what artists are included, check Discogs. Some of it is very good music, take your pick and check it on Youtube. Or borrow it from an unlucky friend who bought it and copy the stuff you like. Get it whichever way you prefer to get your stuff. It's your decision. Do what you will. Those responsible for it cared bugger all when it was compiled, so why would anyone care now what you do? If somebody objects, just tell them to send their written complaints to Octse Paertea, in two copies.

TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET – Archival releases 1998-2020 (rec. 1970-1981)

Trettioåriga Kriget's archives have been trawled through several times over the years by mainly Mellotronen. Together these releases make up a parallell history of the band, with both live tapes and other sorts of material, covering Trettioåriga Kriget's entire lifespan, also including the years following their reformations in the 90s and the 00s. 

Glorious War (Mellotronen, 2004: rec. 1970-1971)
English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The most interesting of those archive clear-outs is ”Glorious War”, for the sole reason it doesn't sound much like we know Trettioåriga Kriget's style. Consisting of tapes from the very earliest days of their existence, they hadn't yet taken to the adolescent philosophical rants of their later Swedish lyrics, and they were still too sloppy performers to live up to their own musical pretentions that make most of their records sound so constipated. They try hard, but fail which is relieving to hear. Not that ”Glorious War” is very good – parts of ”Konserten”, overlong at its ridiculous 18 minutes are OK – but it's amusing to hear them make such fools out of themselves. The bass solo of ”Assimilation” is the worst I've heard since Malaria. The track ”Thirty Years War” sounds like a nod to the early Mothers Of Invention but without Zappa's brain. ”Gloriwas War” is 53 minutes of pure spiteful fun.

War Years (Mellotronen, 2008; rec. 1971-2007)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The entire second disc of this double CD is dedicated to the 00's so I leave that aside. Disc 1 covers the band's original ten years. It starts off with a crappy sounding 1971 live recording in the same klutzy vein as ”Glorious War” before moving on to a couple of 1974 selections. The Trettioåriga Kriget sound is beginning to fall into place but the recordings are unbalanced and out of tune which hardly makes the band a favour. Remaining recordings on disc 1 are from '76-'77 amd '79-'81 and tell us what we already knew, that the band went from ostentatious prog rock stuck up on its own holiness to bad new wave.

War Memories (Mellotronen 1998, rec. 1972-1981)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, wordless vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The first compilation of Trettioåriga Kriget's unreleased material appeared already in 1998 and is a mish-mash of studio recordings, radio sessions, live tapes and what have you. So inconsistent and haphazard it's hard to make any sense of it. An early stab at hard rock, later era synth pop and yodeling. (Literally, that is – I'm not talking about Robert Zima's twisted scrotum falsetto.) It does however have early song ”I've Got No Time” which sounds like at least a half decent late 60s/early 70s American rural rock band.

Konserten -73 / King Eric (no label, 2010; rec. 1972-1973)
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

A CD-r single released in 100 copies. ”Konserten” is a trimmed down 1973 recording of the piece from ”Glorious War”, slightly better because it's shorter. ”King Eric” is a crap-fi 1972 recording which starts out as bad jazz before ending in a complete unlistenable mess.

War Diaries, Vol. 1 (no label, 2018; rec. 1974)
War Diaries, Vol. 2 (no label, 2020; rec. 1976)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, wordless vocals
International relevance: ***

Two volumes released through Trettioåriga Kriget's Bandcamp only. The cover for volume 1 says 1974 but some of it is actually from 1975. The four tracks from ”Progglådan” are here too which means that ”Progglådan's” 1973 date is wrong (as is a lot of info in that mess of a box set). Mostly live recordings in good radio sound, plus one demo in OK rehearsal space fidelity.

The second volume is a complete concert recorded Swedish Radio's Tonkraft series in November 1976. The dreaded yodel reappears, but it's still quite possibly the best ever live document of Trettioåriga Kriget, even to my ears, with a focused performance and a well-rounded sound. It's certainly the best to surface officially, head and shoulders above any of the Mellotronen releases. Why this wasn't released first of all is a mystery.

Glorious War full album playlist
War Years disc 1 full album playlist (Bandcamp)
War Memories full album playlist (Bandcamp)
Konserten -73 (first track only)
War Diaries, Vol. 1 full album playlist (Bandcamp)
War Diaries, Vol. 2 full album playlist (Bandcamp)

BENGT SÄNDH & FINN ZETTERHOLM – Complete albums 1969-1977

 Hemtjörda visor (Sonet, 1969) with Finn Zetterholm
OBS. täxten (Sonet, 1969) with Finn Zetterholm
Världens minnsta LP (YTF, 1971, 33 rpm 7") with Finn Zetterholm
Folklår – våra allra fulaste visor (YTF, 1977) with Finn Zetterholm
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Bengt Sändh is a troubadour with a life story much more interesting than his music. He grew up in orphanages and foster homes where he was sexually assaulted by the carers before eventually moving to his grandfather. He went to nine different schools in three years, and was repeteadly held in custody and reformatories. He ran away from one of them, as did he from military service for which he spent a month in open prison. He reputedly stole 46 cars in ten days and had forty different jobs in the course of a few years, including pall bearer, locksmith and mannequin maker. His recording debut came in 1965 with an album together with fellow troubadours Stefan Atterhall and Finn Zetterholm. Zetterholm came to be Sändh's most frequent collaborator over the years, both being controversial figures with a taste for songs and subjects on and over the edge of the commonly morally acceptable. (He also released a couple of albums with two other troubadours, Rune Andersson and Jeja Sundström, plus two solo albums up to 1981 but they're not included here.) 

Rudeness and drinking were two regular characteristics. Always at odds with society and its norms as a person and a performer, his albums were honestly meant manifestations of his denial of acceptability rooted in a disappointment with social rules. But in the end, they're all about shock value. Once the effect wears off which it immediately does, they just sound pueril and empty to an outsider. And with the music being bad too it's absolutely nothing to waste your time on.

After leaving the music scene, Sändh became a snuff producer (not as in snuff movies, but as in tobacco).

Hemtjörda visor full album playlist
OBS. täxten full album playlist
Världens minnsta LP full 7"
Folklår full album playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Framtid – decentralisering (Centerns Ungdomsförbund, EP 1972) / Gemenskap där alla behövs (Centerns ungdomsförbund, 1976)

An infamous pamphlet published by Oktoberförlaget in 1977 decided that ”the people have never triumphed to the music of the enemy”. Perhaps the youth league of the Swedish Centre Party (the right wing party most to the left) adapted that credo years before the communists did. Or they simply thought that it was unfair that only the leftist groupings should release records to push their politics.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Framtid – decentralisering (Centerns Ungdomsförbund, EP 1972)
Sparxs / unknown artist 

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

This four track EP was released already in 1972 and has the incredibly sexy title ”Future – decentralization” (spot the irony). Side A belongs to the otherwise completely unknown Sparxs. “Säga vad man vill” sounds like a Christian song of the 60s while “Vi talar ej – vi tiger” is comparitvely OK. The uncredited performers of side B have nothing going for them however. “Hembygdsmuseet” sounds like an old-timey waltz that certainly doesn't suggest any youthfulness. “Biocider” sounds like any generic attempt at securing a place on the Svensktoppen radio hit list of the 60s. Best thing about the EP is the nice green vinyl.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Gemenskap där alla behövs (Centerns Ungfomsförbund, 1976)
Björn Scharin / Cheese Doodles / Piteå-Långnäs Programlag / Mats Ohlsson / Rodney Liljeholm / Birgit Wallouch / Karin Stattin / Margaretha Bäckstrom / Tommy Engström / Birgitta Söderström / Folke Antonsson / Freddie Hedman / Gert Ove Lundberg / Karin Stenvall / Marianne Olofsson / Per Stenvall / Anette Apleryd / Ann Hallberg / Berith Gustafsson / Elisabeth Larsson / Marie Hallberg / Yvonne Nilsson / Birgitta Johansson / Eva Hansson
Swedish vocals, spoken word
International relevance: -

1976 was the year when the Social Democratic Party lost the power for the first time in 40 years. The Centre Party was the biggest party in the right wing coalition why the Prime Minister spot went to slow-talking leader Torbjörn Fälldin. I can assure you that this album, released in the very same year, had absolutely no role in their victory. Had more people heard it, they surely would have lost. If a four song EP was too much, then a full album becomes a health issue. With songs taken from various theatrical plays, the style is roughly the same, with old-timey stuff, Svensktoppen dross, and that persistent, rosy-cheeked Christian vibe. New to this album are dashes of debile country music which certainly don't ease the pain. “Best” track is Björn Scharin's “Lokalsamhällen” which sounds like cross between Bernt Staf and an underslept Ragnar Borgedahl.

Framtid - decentralisering:
Sparxs - Säga vad man vill
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Gemenskap där alla behövs full album playlist

BENGT-ARNE WALLIN – Varmluft (Sonet, 1972)

Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

Bengt-Arne Wallin is surrounded by an interesting lot of performers on ”Varmluft”. Apart from the internationally renowned swing and bebop trumpeter Clark Terry, there's a number of domestic dignitaries here including Marie Selander, Lennart Åberg (of Rena Rama), Georg Riedel, Sabu Martinez, Anthony Reebop Kwaku Bah and Maffy Falay. And as always, Janne Schaffer. The music could be called progressive big band, but that doesn't quite say much about its variety. There are low-key, moody moments, funky sections, folksy moments – there's a little bit of everything working together as a kaleidoscopic whole. Wallin sometimes wanted too much at once which is the problem with for instance ”Wallin/Wallin”, but ”Varmluft” is a bit better sorted out. Not everything here is successful, but some of it is. And I do appreciate his approach even when it doesn't work out completely. He was a visionary and it's always heartwarming delving into a visionary's work.

The cover art is made by Lasse Åberg.

No links found 

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

PIERRE STRÖM – Complete solo albums 1970-1976

Pierre Ström was one of the prime exponents of the wave of Swedish troubadours, or visa singers, in the 60s and 70s that included among others Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Åkerström, Thorstein Bergman and Finn Zetterholm. The visa singers rarely went progg full on, but they shared progg's general political sympathies more often than not so there's a loose connection between them.

Ström is already on the blog with ”Joe Hill lever!”, a joint release with Oscar Norrman and Anders Granell. Ström had two more collaborative albums out in the 70s (one with Finn Zetterholm), but this review is for the albums solely credited to him.

I vädurens tecken (Intersound, 1970)
Swedish vocals
nternational relevance: *

After making a sneak debut on a various artists compilation in 1969 and a 7” on MNW subsidiary Green Light, ”I vädurens tecken” was his first full length album. It has it's share of mildly brooding moments but it's generally a more good natured collection than the album cover might lead you to believe. The emphasis on Swedish covers of Tom Paxton, Leonard Cohen and Simon & Garfunkel and the light pop backing sometimes augmented with orchestral arrangements suggest that Ström was more in tune with his times than some of his peers. Pleasant but not hugely exciting.

Pierre Ström sjunger sånger av Leonard Cohen (Intersound, 1971)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

The title says ”Pierre Ström sings songs by Leonard Cohen”, and that's exactly what it is, a full disc of translated Cohen songs. Ström never strays far from the original versions, and that perhaps served a purpose in 1971 before the original artist was a household name in Sweden, but 50 years on the album has severely deteriorated into redundancy. The Leslie treated vocals on ”Lavin” (=”Avalanche”) is a nice touch though.

The album was reissued as "Cohen på svenska" (="Cohen in Swedish") by YTF in 1974. 

Rallarvisor (YTF, 1973)
Swedish vocals, a cappella, instrumental
International relevance: *

Two years on and a switch to the visa movement's own label YTF. Still having problems getting original material together, or a lack of interest in such a venture, Ström looked to the traditional songs of the rail layers of old. He obviously felt at home in this material because he sounds much more confident than on his first two albums. The light pop ambitions are gone in favour of a small ensemble consisting of old-timey dance accordeonist Sone Banger, jazz bassist Red Mitchell and folk fiddler Björn Ståbi, giving ”Rallarvisor” a stronger local flavour. A handful of a cappella tracks (or backed with the metallic clang of hammers against railway sleepers) further helps setting it apart from what came before. The problem with thematic albums such as this though is that they can come across as museal, and that goes for this one as well.

På Palmes tid (YTF, 1976)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Finally an album of Pierre Ström originals, and a return to fuller arrangements. Banger and Ståbi are still on board, but the personnel's expanded with drummer Jan Bandel (Atlantic Ocean, Jason's Fleece, Baltik and many more), Bengan Karlsson (Heta Linjen, Svenska Löd AB!) and Björn J:son Lindh (but no Schaffer!). It's not as rockish as one could have hoped for though. Ström's songs are closer to the political progg of the day than say, a Heta Linjen groove although both ”Motströms” and ”Solens gyllne lampa” adds a bit of funkiness to the mix. Best track by far is ”En kväll rätt sent”, politically charged but with a slight mysterious mood brought on by Bengan Karlsson's watery guitar sound and bated playing. A must-hear it is not, but Pierre Ström's best album nonetheless, housed in an eye-catching jolie laide album cover.

I vädurens tid full album playlist
Sjunger sånger av Leonard Cohen full album playlist
Rallarvisor full album playlist
På Palmes tid full album 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

SABU MARTINEZ – The Dalecarlia Recordings (Mellotronen, 2009; rec. 1971-72) / Burned Sugar (Mellotronen, 2008; rec. 1973-74) / Maldito Primitivo (Mellotronen, 2009; rec. 1977) / SABU MARTINEZ & SAHIB SHIHAB – Winds & Skins (Mellotronen, 2008; rec. 1967/1978)

Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: **

Sabu Martinez's 1971 album ”Afro Temple” is obviously some kind of classic, but I find most of it dull percussion excesses with some spoken word over and some dashes of Latin jazz. So I was less than thrilled approaching a full set of four albums released on Mellotronen, covering Martinez's Swedish years.

Martinez moved here in 1967, and the earliest disc in the Mellotronen lot features recordings from that year, with saxophonist/flautist Sahib Shihad and made for the Swedish Radio. One of '67 tracks is only a spoken word piece on 'the theme of good and bad service'. The other one is an OK but unspectacular five minute jazz piece with Palle Danielsson on bass. The 1978 session, also for the Swedish Radio is slightly better with the half-bizarre ”The Distorted Sioux Indian” being an at least interesting little piece next two boring percussion solos.

Stemming from four different sessions, "The Dalecarlia Recordings" opens with thirteen very long minutes of another percussion workout, "The Latin Percussion People", which isn't a good start, but it picks up the steam soon after that. A selection of tracks from the 1971 album "Aurora Borealis" with Björnbobandet works up a great groove, and although I'm not too keen on big band stuff, these tracks are quite good. My favourite track however is "Puertorican Beans And Rice". The sound is murky but it reeks with so much vitality not even the quesionable fidelity can take anything from the contagious vivacity of the moment.

”Burned Sugar” features another Swedish Radio session, this time fron 1973, with the CD being expanded with three tracks recorded in the Polyvox Studio in Stockholm the following year. Not only the best volume of these four, but also the best Martinez album I've heard! It's an incredibly lively document with sweaty, funky, organic tracks. Clearly moving in the fusion jazz direction, but this is fusion that's meaty, beaty, big and bouncy and pretty damn irresistable. The Polyvox takes detracts a bit (especially the "Education" track which is only a minute and a half of the band working out a beat) but I can live with that.

The title track from ”Maldito Primitivo” picks up where "Burned Sugar" left off and would have fit nicely on that collection, and is by far the best track on this disc.The remainder of the disc is jazzy salsa galore, and while it's pretty good, it isn't nearly on the same level as the tremendous "Burned Sugar". 

Taken together, these four volumes are a varied presentation of Sabu Martinez's musicianship. They have their ups and downs, depending on your personal preferences. All in all, they're much better than "Afro Temple", with "Burned Sugar" being my obvious pick of the bunch.

Winds & Skins full album playlist
The Dalecarlia Reordings 1971-72 full album playlist
Burned Sugar full album playlist
Maldito Primitivo full album playlist

FLÄSKET BRINNER FEATURING BO HANSSON – LIVE AT PISTOLTEATERN 1972 (Mellotronen, 2023)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

This is exactly the kind of stuff I want to see excavated from the dust-covered shelves of history's archives, by a band that needs more releases out! True there's the great box set of Swedish Radio tapes released in the early 00's, there simply can't be too much prime Fläsket Brinner in this world. At the same time, it's a Bo Hansson release, as this show taped at the legendary Pistolteatern in Stockholm in 1972 documents his short stint with the band.

It's a rare recording, and the copy that has circulated among collectors was really bad sounding, so the discovery of the first generation tape is a Holy Grail find. It remains an audicence recording with plenty of room ambience, but the sound has been cleaned up and the nuances brought out as much possible.

But the most important thing is of course the music. The performance is explosive. Fläsket Brinner provides the perfect backdrop to a particularly inspired Bo Hansson who travels the organways with equal parts of precision and curiousity. He sounds as if he discovers new melodies all the time, explore them, moves on, returns to them again, constantly pushed on by a band firing on all cylinders. I must especially point out Erik Dahlbäck here. Captain Dahlbäck is just about a flawless drummer in any given situation, but here he really shines like a supernova. His playing is incredibly intense, precise down to a molecular level, following every minimal shift in the music, creating new possibilities. What a powerhouse he is!

So I have no objections to the music pressed on this disc (500 copies in black vinyl, 500 in 'water blue' which more looks like glow-in-the-dark green if you ask me), but I do have a few towards the presentation. There's one ugly midtrack edit that breaks the flow brutally. Other tracks fade out early, others again fade in. It's like going to the loo amidst a concert and hear the music grow in volume as you return closer to the stage. It's actually pretty annoying. It's been decades since I heard the inferior tape dub of this show, so I can't remember whether the music was chopped up, and I can't vouch for what the source tape used for this release is like, but there was definitely more music recorded at Pistolteatern than what's on this disc. Why not make it a double album with the entire show, or at least how much of it was recorded? And why only make it a prefab raririty in limited edition vinyl? Skip the coloured vinyl kollektor skum nonsense and focus on a proper unlimited release instead. And if the songs are cut on the original tape, please let us know in the liners so we don't have to wonder where the rest of the show has gone.

One more Pistolteatern track can be found on the FINALLY reissued first Fläsket Brinner album. True to Silence Records' lazy treatment of their own massive back catalogue, there hasn't been a proper reissue of that monolithic album until now, 2024. Apart from being nicely remastered, the original album has almost doubled its length with three long tracks added as bonuses. ”Gulan” is from Pistolteatern and is to be honest a messier recording than anything on the Melltronen disc. ”Mr. Beautiful” has better in terms of focus and sound quality, but is only a so-so latin-inflected track. The real tour de force among the new stuff is ”Collage från Konserthuset” which is a complete ten minute monster, ending with variations on a theme by Bo Hansson. Those ten minutes would blow The Mothers Of Invention off the stage any given night from the same period. I promise that you've rarely heard Fläsket that dangerous, not even on the Pistolteatern album!

Full album playlist

DYANI, TEMIZ, FEZA – Music For Xaba, Vol. 1 (Sonet, 1973) / Music For Xaba, Vol. 2 (Sonet, 1980) / Rejoice (Cadillac, 1988) (all recorded in 1972)

Instrumental, English vocals, other languages
International relevance: ***

Turkish born drummer Okay Temiz is a true legend to me, partly for his involvement with the amazing Maffy Falay-led Sevda, and partly for his own ensemble Oriental Wind which like Sevda took the Turkish musical traditions into jazzy territories with great grandeur. But he also collaborated with other musicians as these three albums prove.

The twin volumes of ”Music For Xaba” were recorded one evening in November 1972 at Theatre 9 in Stockholm, with South African pianist/bassist Johnny Dyani as leader. Mongezi Feza was also of South African descendance, and a trumpet player who made his mark on Swedish music with Bernt Rosengren among others.

I'm not too fond of the ”Xaba” releases. The trio uses a lot of force to drive the music forward but it's as if there's something keeping the musicians apart despite the best of intentions. The best moments occur on the second volume, in Feza composition ”Mad High” and Dyani's ”Witchdoctor's Son”. I've heard these albums a fair bit over the years, but they still don't make real sense to me.

”Rejoice” is recorded less than two weeks before ”Music For Xaba” at The Modern Museum of Art in Stockholm (and not released until 1988). The sound is a tad lesser here but it's a superior date, with the three musicians connecting much better, creating a flow and an intensity lacking from the other releases. ”Mad High” makes another appearance here, as do ”Makaya Makaya Makaya”, and even though the former was a high point on ”Xaba”, this one tops it.

”Rejoice” demonstrates what this trio was capable of, ”Music For Xaba” that these guys also had lesser nights.

Music For Xaba Vol. 1 full album playlist
Music For Xaba Vol. 2 full album playlist
Rejoice full album

ERIC BIBB – Ain't It Grand (MNW, 1972)

English vocals
International relevance **

Eric Bibb is a well-known name these days, hailed for his live performances and numerous albums somewhere between blues and singer/songwriter material. Born in New York City in 1951, he was given his first steel string guitar at the age of seven. Quitting his studies in Russian and psychology, he left for Paris in 1970, assumably as a draft dodger, before settling in Stockholm shortly after. Once there he got in touch with the still relatively new MNW label and MNW co-founder Roger Wallis who took him under his wings and released Bibb's first-ever album ”Ain't It Grand” in 1972. Wallis also provided horn arrangements and piano for the album, joining forces with people like saxophonist Christer Eklund (Grapes Of Wrath, Slim's Blues Gang, Rolf Wikström), bassist Torbjörn Hultcrantz (Bernt Rosengren, Albert Ayler and numerous other jazz luminaries) and Dave Spann (Red White & Blues, Vildkaktus).

”Ain't It Grand” has those sweet characteristics of a good debut album. Bibb was already a skilled player with a keen sense of delivery (and a very pleasant voice), but the music isn't yet fully formed. It has an intimate, stripped-down feel and there's a seeking, trying quality to it, a certain hunger to prove its greatness to the world. Sometimes it reminds me of Terry Callier and Bill Withers, sometimes it's a bit like John Martyn. One track, the lovely ”Tuesday Mornin' Rendezvous” even hints at UK guitar maestros Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. The more laidback tracks are nicely balanced against a couple of songs relying more on groove, such as the album closer ”The Last Time?”. The semi-shuffle ”Lovefire” in turn has some biting electric guitar and gurgling wah-wah faintly like a lighter variant of Pete Cosey's work on Muddy Waters's and Howlin' Wolf's psych blues albums on Cadet Records. The understated aggression of the playing goes well together with the lyrics reflecting Bibb's anti-racist and anti-draft stance.

”Ain't It Grand” is something of a forgotten nugget, especially in the MNW discography. It captures the spirit of the times but doesn't feel the slightest antiquated. For reasons beyond my knowledge, it took him five years to release his second album ”Rainbow People” on the audiophile imprint Opus 3. A more exact and polished effort for sure, but also lacking the imperative and directness of his beautiful debut.

His stint with Opus 3 also hooked him up with folksy singer/songwriter and U.S. expatriate Bert Deivert for a couple of collaborative albums, and as a side note, I'd like to mention Deivert's own 1979 album ”Handcrafted Songs” which might appeal to fans of Bibb's folksier sound, especially that which veers towards the U.K. style perfected by Bert Jansch.

Bibb's vast discography includes further collaborations with artists such as Taj Mahal, Maria Muldaur, Swedish gospel singer Cyndee Peters, and Eric's dad Leon Bibb.

Full album playlist