FREEDOM – Freedom (Bellatrix, 1978)

 

 Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

Dan Tillberg's Bellatrix label was a confusing one. Anything could come out on the label – punk, progg, jazz, garage rock, polka (!), choirs and religious music. This one fits the last two categories.

Released as Freedom but actually performed by Kyrkans Ungdom I Finja Pastorat (=”the church youth of the Finja pastorate”, Finja being a small town in Skåne in the south) to the benefit of the Church of Sweden International Aid. Seemingly appealing to collectors of Jesus pop, it does have some progg characteristics. A few tracks would actually have been quite good hadn't it been a youth choir singing. The best track by far is album opener ”Vem var han?” which wouldn't have been out of place on Obadja's great album ”Testa”. However, it was resurrected on the "Frälst!" compilation – a good choice making "Freedom" redundant. As it stands, it is a youth choir album sounding like one.

Vem var han? (Bandcamp)

DAN TILLBERG – Complete albums 1979-1981

Another name from the ”you may also like” list at the end of Tobias Petterson's book ”The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music”, but unlike some of them, Dan Tillberg at least has some progg bearings, if not so much stylistically so historically. He was, for instance, in Änglabarn. 

Gatstenar (Bellatrix, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

An album consisting exclusively of Rolling Stones covers translated to Swedish by Mats Zetterberg (Fiendens Musik) and Dan Hylander (Raj Montana Band). This is one bizarre beast of an album and probably one of the most uninhibited albums you'll hear in a while. I wouldn't exactly call it good, but the over the top energy, perhaps more akin to punk than progg, is perversely fascinating. Eyewitness reports from the studio sessions promise no intoxicants were involved but they manage to give the whole thing a sloshed street fight vibe, even on the slower tracks. Try ”Hur var det med din morsa, tjejen (kom hon i skymundan)?” (=”Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadows?”) or ”Din första kollision” (=”19th Nervous Breakdown”) and I think you'll see what I mean.

Two sleeve variations exist, one brownish yellow and one turqouise with the brownish one being the original.

Mors och fars kärlek (Axiom, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Mostly originals second time around with only a couple of stray covers of Bob Dylan, Swedish garage rockers Problem, and a Chip Taylor penned number. A couple of tracks are co-written with Ronny Carlsson of Rockamöllan and Onna Taas Band. Nowhere near as hysterical as ”Gatstenar” which unfortunately means the skewed appeal of the predecessor is all gone. ”Mors och fars kärlek” most of all sounds like a bad Raj Montana Band album. Best track by far is ”Det är okej” still has a very long way to go to even lick the shoes of Problem's original version, even though Problem main man Stefan Ahlqvist appears on guitar. Partly recorded in Silence's studio, but you couldn't tell from the cold, bony, artificial production.

Kärlek minus noll (Axiom, 1982)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Back in covers land again, this time Bob Dylan. But it's better to read the album than to listen to it (if you know Swedish, and even so if you don't). The production is as 80s as it gets already in 1982 – unbearable. But some of the translations are among the best Swedish Dylan interpretentions you'll ever see. Two of them are by Ronny Carlsson, one by Dan Hylander, but most of them – the best ones – are by man of words Mats Zetterberg.

Dan Tillberg made a few more albums in the 80s.

Gatstenar full album playlist
Mors och fars kärlek full album playlist
Kärlek minus noll full album playlist

ONNA TAAS BAND – Allo' (Bellatrix, 1980)

Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: **

Ronny Carlsson was a well-kept secret to most but hailed as a hero and a legend by many having heard his music. He first made his mark with the band Rockamöllan in the late 70s, and after their demise, he started Onna Taas Band before launching a long solo career. He was in possession of one of the gruffest voices ever heard on a Swedish album, strangely warbly and grainy like a gravel road. Singing in his native Southern dialect (similar to Peps Persson's) only added to the air of world-weariness. He sounded as if he had seen it all, been burnt by it all and finally rejected it all. In his own words from the track ”I ett rum någonstans på stan”, translated here for international understanding: ”It's not hard to break a lonely man”. His voice was of the kind that comes back to haunt you when you switch off the light at night.

Needless to say, a voice like that will dominate any album it appears on. If you take the music on Onna Taas Band's debut album, it's not that dark. There are hints at reggae, cajun music, pretty straigh-ahead rock, John Holm influenced balladry, blues, even faint dashes of post punk (it was, after all, 1980)... But once Carlsson's voice enters the mix, the mood changes in an instant and everything becomes something else, something more, and something decidedly darker. There's so much pain at work here it's impossible to turn away from it. At its best, this is every bit as gripping as John Holm's depictions of a reality cracking slowly but irreversibly. And the thing is, even if you don't understand Carlsson's poetic words, you still sense their exact meaning. Ronny Carlsson didn't just sing, he WAS his lyrics, they're inseperable and it's impossible to not understand.

Despite the stylistic diversity, nothing here seems out of place. Even the highly Ronny Åström inspired ”Säporerad cirkus” slips in nicely between the mild Dylan funk of ”Ord som blev över” and the brooding folk of ”Den välkände soldaten”. On any other album, ”Säporerad cirkus” would be the track to skip, but not here. It has its place.

This is just a deeply human album. Like humans it might scare you with what it has to say or it might comfort you with its honesty and intimacy. (Like Swedish music journalist Bengt Eriksson said about Carlsson: he sang between pain and comfort.) But most of all, it's just a brilliant album.

Carlsson made several more albums under his own name up until 2013, the last one consisting of recordings made in the years before its release. One more was in the making, but he died in 2014 before it was finished, at the age of 62 and marked by a hard life. A life that came through unfiltered in his voice.

I ett rum någonstans på stan

FERNE – Ferne (Bellatrix, 1978) / Clown på allvar (Bellatrix, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Ferne, or if you prefer his real name: Lars Fernebring, was one half of Risken Finns along with Gunnar Danielsson, releasing two satirical albums in the early 70s. When the duo split, Danielsson moved to Gothenburg to start Ensamma Hjärtan while Ferne remained in the southern city of Lund where he launched his solo career some years later.

One could expect his first albums of his own after the demise of Risken Finns to be, well, if not masterpieces so at least better than they actually are. Well, they're not particularly bad but not particularly good either. His self-titled first one from 1978 is the better of the two reviewed here. Falling somewhere between Thomas Wiehe (who also appears on the album) and – shudder! – Björn Afzelius musically, it has a more serious vibe than Risken Finns. But at the same time, it's as if Ferne can't fully let go of the past, and it ends up being something of a half-measure. And as with all half-measures, it ends up being unsatisfying.

The title of his second album ”Clown på allvar” means, roughly, ”clown for real” or ”serious clown”, and that's explanatory enough. In some ways it's closer to Risken Finns than his solo debut (even referencing back to Risken Finns song titles), but whereas they were fresh and funny, ”Clown på allvar” feels stale. As always, The greatest thing here is Jan Gerfast who shines on guitar (as he did on the first album), but the songs are simply not good enough on neither of the albums.

Ferne made one more album, the concept album ”Snapphanar”, in 1982 before dropping out of record making. He worked for the southern department of Swedish Radio for many years, and held lectures on local history. He suddenly return to music in 2003 with an album of Dylan covers in Swedish, followed by two further solo albums in 2006 and 2013 respectively, the latter one being another Swedish Dylan tribute.

No links found

FIENDENS MUSIK – Fiendens Musik (Bellatrix, 1979) / Häftiga hästen och andra äventyr (Bellatrix, 1980) / ZETTERBERG & CO – Z (Tredje Tåget, 1982)

Fiendens Musik (Bellatrix, 1979)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Formed in Lund by singer Mats Zetterberg and saxophonist Mats Bäcker in 1977, Fiendens Musik was a transitional band with their roots in progg and the energy of punk and UK pub rock. After a couple of singles, this debut album appeared in 1979. An very good effort that deserves a lot more attention than it seems to get. ”En spark rätt i skallen” is a classic though, and among the other great tracks are ”Snutbil” (a translation of Larry Wallis' brilliant ”Police Car”), the frantic ”Mer eller mindre (mot din vilja)”, and the chilling album closer ”Sista skriket”. One of the greatest albums with one foot in progg and the other in the new, loud sonds of the late 70s.

Häftiga hästen och andra äventyr (Bellatrix, 1980)
Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

The second album isn't quite on par their debut album, with less energy. Or rather with more pop energy and less punk ditto. Best tracks: ”Unga så länge vi vill”, ”Jag kommer” and ”En våning upp”.

Z (Tredje Tåget, 1982)

as Zetterberg & Co

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

Released as Zetterberg & Co on Mats Zetterberg's label Tredje Tåget, but this is effectively the third Fiendens Musik album. The songwriting is a bit stronger than on ”Häftiga hästen och andra äventyr”, with ”Ingen trygghet”, ”Alltid en öl i min hand” and ”Underläge/överläge” highlighting the set. ”När tuppen kacklar” is a Swedish version of traditional song ”Black Jack Davy” with vocal assistance from Monica Törnell.

Fiendens Musik released a couple of great singles to expand their all too small discography. Mats Zetterberg was also in Bluesblocket. A reunited Fiendens Musik has recorded a yet unreleased comeback album.

Fiendens Musik full album playlist
Häftiga hästen & andra äventyr full album playlist
Z full album playlist

MIXED MEDIA – Mixed Media (Bellatrix, 1978) / Levande (Bellatrix, 1979)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **/*

In retrospect, Mixed Media's biggest claim to fame is probably having Lena Olin in the line-up before she became a world famous actress with movies like ”The Unbearable Lightness of Being”, ”Chocolat” and ”The Ninth Gate” under her belt. But Mixed Media deserve better than being reduced to a Hollywood anecdote at best, at least as far as their debut album goes.

Unlike a couple of other all-female outfits of the era – most notably Röda Bönor – Mixed Media never took a confrontational feminist stance although they touched on themes like prostitution on their 1978 eponymous debut LP. Their lyrics are usually mildly poetic everyday observations accentuated by their multi-part West Coast infused harmonies and melodies that at times are reminiscent of Turid and at times are decidedly folk inspired, such as the beautiful and melancholy ”Önskan” (a poem by Swedish poet Karin Boye set to music by band member Ingagill Persson) off their debut album (further enhanced by sensitive flute playing).

Notable contributors to ”Mixed Media's” delicate sound include multi-instrumentalists Gisen Malmqvist and omnipresent folk musician Ale Möller. Also featured is blues and reggae icon Peps Persson, adding harmonica to ”Uppbrott”.

Mixed Media's second and final album was recorded in concert in Gothenburg 1979 and appropriately entitled ”Levande” (”Alive”). Sorry to say, the delicacy that made Mixed Media's first effort as pleasing as it is is pretty much lost on stage. The version of the Billie Holiday chestnut ”Good Morning Heartache” is pointless, but the biggest problem with ”Levande” is that the band relies too much on almost showlike numbers with a 'humourous' twist that probably worked better in the original live setting than the earlier softspoken songs would have done. The jauntiness is the main reason why ”Levande” is such a disappointing album.

from Mixed Media
Önskan

Uppbrott

Levande no links found

ATLAS – Blå vardag (Bellatrix, 1979) / MOSAIK – Mosaik (Mosaik, 1982)

ATLAS – Blå vardag (Bellatrix, 1979)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

It's easy to see why Malmö band Atlas's ”Blå vardag” is popular among fans of symphonic prog. The eight tracks are crafty, joyful, dedicated and well composed. The production is well balanced, providing Erik Björn Nielsen's and Björn Ekbom's keyboards appropriate space without allowing them to violate the overall sophistication. It does have some Canterbury shadings, but overall, ”Blå vardag” is too far into Kaipa/Genesis territory for my tastes but a mandatory spin to fans of the genre. The album had an expanded CD reissue in the mid 90's.

MOSAIK – Mosaik (Mosaik, 1982)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

Only a few months after the release of ”Blå vardag”, Atlas guitarist and flute player Janne Persson began working on ”Mosaik”, although it wasn't released until 1982. On one hand it's a Persson solo project of sorts as he's the only one playing on all tracks, on the other hand, it's an Atlas off-shoot with Erik Björn Nielsen, bassist Ulf Hedlund, drummer Micke Pinotti all joining him where needed. It's a more understated effort than ”Blå vardag”, less symphonic with a slightly stronger art rock feel. I can even sense a bit of Ragnarök and, anachronistically, Triangulus in there. The weakest tracks are the two with vocals from Dan Bornemark (”Tiden bara går”) and Karl Witting (”Pappa har gått vilse”), but the majority of the album is instrumental. Sparser and less heavy on synthesizers and keyboards, with a greater presence of piano and guitars (electric and acoustic), I choose ”Mosaik” over ”Blå vardag”. 

 

Atlas full album playlist 

Mosaik full album