A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 5: Political and religious

THE VERGERS – Se dig för / Fader vår (Celesta, 1969)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

”Se dig för” is included on ”Frälst!” but B side ”Fader vår” remains uncomped. Not a very good one, weaker than the A side, so there's no need to look for this 45 if you have ”Frälst!”. This was the last of The Vergers' four singles.

 

FRIA PROTEATERN – Chile (Folksång, 1974)
Swedish vocals:
International relevance: *

Two tracks unique to this Chile solidarity single, although side one's ”Ett enat folk” is available in a live version on ”Koncert I København Okt. 1973”. Side B has ”IB, ÖB och SÄPO” about the political scandal described in some detail here. For Fria Proteatern fans only.

OPPONER – Alfa blues / Till min make (Opponer, 1975)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Two tracks not on Opponer's full length album. ”Alfa blues” is exacrly that, a blues number of no particular merir, while ”Till min make” is a traditional tune with new lyrics by Opponer singer Anna Olofsson and bassist Mats Sönnfors. A much better song with that sweet melancholy typical to the best Swedish folk tunes. Released with the aid from the workers at pump facorty Alfa Laval.

ELEVER PÅ MUSIKLÄRARSKOLAN SÄMUS I GÖTEBORG / FRIA PROTEATERN – Vietnam Kambodja befriade (Befria Södern, 1975)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

As the Vietnam war ended in 1975, so did the stream of releases from De Förenade FNL-grupperna and their cohorts. This was the last of those, a three track EP split between Fria Proteatern and Elever på musiklärarskolan SÄMUS i Göteborg (students at the Gothenburg school for music teachers). Released to celebrate the war's end, it's typical political stuff very much in line with the other Vietnam albums and singles, and so best ignored. Fria Proteatern's ”Balladen om Rune Henry Johansson” is also on ”Sånger från ljugarbänken”.

BJÖRN AFZELIUS BAND / NATIONALTEATERN – Kamrater, Bodenarbetare / Rädda varven! (Nacksving, 1978)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Two exclusive tracks, one by Björn Afzelius Band and one by Nationalteatern. Afzelius's ”Kamrater, Bodenarbetare” is in support of the strikers at Boden's car factory in 1978. It's a pretty good track with slight folk rock shadings, good especially for Björn Afzelius. Nationalteatern's ”Rädda varven!” is a call to save the Gothenburg boatyard threatened by shutdown which eventually happened. A weak track in an undistinguished Gothenburg/Nacksving rock style.

EN RÖD KÖR OCH SÅNGGRUPPEN DEN MÄNSKLIGA FAKTORN – Säj nej! (no label, EP 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A privately pressed single released in 1980, the year of the Swedish nuclear power referendum and has anti-nuclear message. It has two acts, the choir En Röd Kör and vocal folk group Den Mänskliga Faktorn, although it's hard to say if it all involves the same people. Acoustic as it is it could easily fall into the Fria Proteatern trap but there's something very charming and disarming about the unpretentious atmosphere. The rock & roll pastiche ”The Sysselsättning Rock” is pretty terrible but the other songs are in fact rather catchy. Well, perhaps I wouldn't call the title track exactly catchy, but it's a quite atmospheric adaptation of a Czech herding song. It's nothing I would particularly recommend, but I've heard far worse and way more self-important examples of political songs than these.

The Vergers:
Se dig för (Bandcamp)
Fader vår
Fria Proteatern:
Ett enat folk (El Pueblo Unido)
IB, ÖB och SÄPO
Opponer:
Alfa blues
Till min make
Vietnam Kambodja befriade:
SÄMUS - Vietnam är befriat
Fria Proteatern - Balladen om Rune Henry Johansson
SÄMUS - Kambodja är befriat 
Björn Afzelius/Nationalteatern:
Björn Afzelius Band - Kamrater, Bodenarbetare
Nationalteatern - Rädda varven!
En Röd Kör och sånggruppen Den Mänskliga Faktorn:
no links found

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Samlade krafter (Avanti, 1978)

 
Featured artists: Mikael Wiehe & Kabaréorkestern / Herr T Och Hans Spelmän / Elektriska Linden / Pierre Ström & Kenneth Kvist / Björn Afzelius / Göteborgs Visgrupp 
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A album recorded live in Stockholm Easter 1978 and released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the formation of the youth organisation KU of the Swedish communist party VPK. Some high profile names here, most notably Hoola Bandoola Band ex-members Mikael Wiehe and Björn Afzelius, both represented with two tracks each. One of Afzelius's contributions is interesting as it's an acoustic cover of Nationalteatern's magnum opus ”Barn av vår tid”. But interesting doesn't necessarily mean good. The bare bones approach with only voice and guitar bereaves the song most of its original prowess. Afzelius's other track ”Nattlig visit” fares better as it's a folk styled number reminiscent of Bob Dylan's earliest narrative songs. I'm not an Afzelius fan but ”Nattlig visit” is actually good, clearly one of his best ever.

Mikael Wiehe's two tracks with his then backing band Kabaréorkestern are also at both ends of the quality spectrum. ”Kärlek, ömhet och disciplin” is bloody awful in a marching band style (and absurdly enough later released as the 'A' side of a 1980 Avanti single backed with Afzelius's ”Nattlig visit”). ”Högt till tak” is much better, unusually heavy for Wiehe and also instrumental with a persistent, groovy drive and a rich horn section almost moving into jazz territory at times. The guitar solo has a nice bite to it as well.

Elektriska Linden's sole album ”Torbjörns dansskola” isn't too impressive, but their sole track here – ”Ugglan far i natten” – is pretty vivid and raucous taking cues from both Nationalteatern and The Rolling Stones. ”Smeden” by long running folkish band Herr T Och Hans Spelmän is more typical to the style you could expect from an album like this, half decent for the style but still forgettable. The two tracks each by Göteborgs Visgrupp and singer/songwriter Pierre Ström on the other hand are exactly as bad as one might suspect.

”Samlade krafter” is too inconsistent but the good or at least decent tracks make this a little better than several other LPs in this vein.

Full album (poor sound)

A VARIOUS ARTISTS SPECIAL – 3 Nacksving compilations 1975-1978

Established in 1975, the Nacksving label ran until 1981 when it went bankrupt. Label boss Tommy Rander bought it and became the sole owner after which he tranformed it to Transmission which kept going up until 1987. The Nacksving studio is still in use however; it was originally built because Rander didn't understand why the progg bands had to have inferior sound and lesser production values than the commercial music business. The label, always under ultimate direction from Rander, became the political epicentre of the progg movement at its tail end which led to its demise as creativity was choked by political dogma. When asked why the progg movement ended, Mikael Wiehe has said it ended because its time was over, and while true, the death of it was certainly hastened on by the narrowminded and unforgiving political bureaucrats at the Gothenburg headquarters.

NACKSVING – ETT SAMLAT GREPP FRÅN GÖTET (Nacksving, 1975)

Featured artists: Nationalteatern / Nynningen / Ariman / Soffgruppen / Motvind / Tintomara / Trio General Goof

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: **

First ever release on the Nacksving label, including both well-known acts and artists exclusive to this release. Tommy Rander worked at the Gothenburg department of Swedish Radio at the time, and the recordings on the album were made in session for the broadcasting company. With the budget of a fledgling record label, i.e. no money, Rander 'borrowed' the recordings from his employer. The Swedish Radio wasn't exactly happy with it when they discovered the caper, rebuked him, but let him stay on the job.

The album is a good cross section of what Gothenburg had to offer stylewise in the mid-70's, with jazz, rock and political folk pop. Most of it is rather unexceptional though, but the Nynningen and Nationalteatern collaboration ”Ta tillbaka Hagahuset” is powerful (in the same vein as Nynningen track ”För full hals”), and ”Parkeringshets” is the great Soffgruppen in a wonderfully violent mode.

FRISTIL (Nacksving, 1977)

Featured artists: Motvind / Ensamma Hjärtan / Dennis Huntington Band / Väsen / Björn Afzelius / Afzelius, Aldman, Hartelius, Löfdahl and Text & Musik

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: **

A showcase of various Nacksving artists, including the only record appearance of avant folk outfit Väsen (not to be confused with the 90's folk rock band of the same name) including later-to-be musicology professor Lars Lilliestam. Their two songs are OK, but the album is most noteworthy for the superior vocal version of Motvind's best track ”Lära för livet”. The Ensamma Hjärtan contribution is a disappointing 8 minute slow blues.

FRÅN FLYKT TILL KAMP (Nacksving, 1978)

as Lilla Nacksvingsligan

Featured artists: Björn Afzelius / Lars Aldman / Blues Annika / Sam Westerberg / Torsten "Totta" Näslund

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Released as Lilla Nacksvingsligan, this album was a charity album for prescription drug abusers and consists of songs recorded specifically for the purpose, with backing musicians from Nationalteatern and Nynningen. Blues Annika's ”I förvaring” is OK but not on par with her solo album (and country music deniers should know that it's much more of a country song than blues). Still the best track of the album, followed by Sam Westerberg's ”Opiets väg”. The rest of it is forgettable, and three Lars Aldman tracks are four too many.

from Nacksving - Ett samlat grepp från Götet

Nationalteatern & Nynningen - Maltesaren 

Nynningen - Batongerna ska dansa 

Motvind - Feta snutar 

Nationalteatern - Ettan 

Motvind - Fikapaus 

Nationalteatern & Nynningen - Ta tillbaka Hagahuset
Soffgruppen - Parkeringshets
from Fristil

Motvind - Bakfull 

Motvind - Lära för livet 

Ensamma Hjärtan - Hal som en ål 

Väsen - Avenyen + Blåskiten

from Från flykt till kamp

Blues Annika - I förvaring

Björn Afzelius - Missbruk

Sam Westerberg - Opiets väg 

Torsten "Totta" Näslund - En kugge i systemet

HOOLA BANDOOLA BAND – Complete albums 1971-1975

There's an endless discussion going whether Hoola Bandoola Band is progg or not. Of course they're progg – any objections to that are pure nonsense. They were progressive in the political sense. But are they prog, with one 'g', as in musically progressive? No, they're not.

Part of the discussion is perhaps down to whether you can put up with Mikael Wiehe's pundit attitude. But I personally find Wiehe so much less maddening than any of his contemporary loudmouthed vociferous sectarian fire-fist-and-fury revolutionary fundamentalists. Wiehe too was overbearing and blinded by his convictions and to some extent still is. He's sure guilty of political idiocies too but at least he wrote good songs, you have to give him that. He deserves some respect for his craftmanship even if that wasn't always an appreciated quality in the days of progg. But well made things aren't automatically bad and crappy things aren't automatically good in some twist of reversed elitism.

Mikael Wiehe came from a middle class background (often a point of ridicule when people try to impugn his socialist beliefs, but hey – some Blå Tåget members too were middle class, even upper middle class academics). He started out playing trad jazz saxophone but turned to pop music with 60's band The Moccers that also featured his brother Thomas. When he heard Gunder Hägg – later to become Blå Tåget – he was so enraged by their inferior musical abilities he decided to start HBB.

HBB got in touch with ABBA manager Stikkan Andersson who saw great commercial potential in Wiehe's songs and wanted them to sign with Polar label. However, Wiehe turned him down, instead choosing the recently founded MNW. Andersson was infuriated and said that he would see to that HBB would never record, perform or even be heard. But no-one, not even Stikkan Andersson, could bereave HBB of their future success, and in 1971, their debut album appeared as MNW's 20th release. Not long after, they became the most successful progg band.

Garanterat individuell (MNW, 1971)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Wiehe's original plan was to release a HBB album in English. At first MNW agreed to letting him have his way once ”Garanterat individuell” was out, but then Wiehe changed his mind, thinking it would be strange to follow up their debut with a non-Swedish album, why the English album was shelved (which is something of a half-truth – see next entry).

”Garanterat individuell” bears the unmistakeable stamp of Bob Dylan, The Band, and Neil Young (especially on ”Fred (till Melanie”), but also Latin American music (”Filosofen från Cuenca”), a re-occuring influence HBB's catalogue. It's not the perfect HBB album; Wiehe had yet to refine his songwriting skills, but tracks like ”Burrhuvet” and ”Vävar-Lasse” are great, the latter would have fit nicely on a Contact album by the way. It's a good effort, but the best was yet to come.

Svit för P (7”, MNW, 1972)

English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: *

The projected English album was cropped to an EP, intended as part of MNW's series of so called mini LP's which weren't LP's at all but 33/3 rpm seven inches. Six tracks were chosen, and the EP was actually manufactured. However, the entire edition was destroyed before even leaving the pressing plant. A few – very few – copies survived, making it one of the rarest progg artefacts ever. The songs were subsequently released on 1996 CD compilation ”Country Pleasures” with bonus tracks, and on Record Store Day vinyl in 2016.

It was a wise move cancelling the original release. The English lyrics and the songs' rural feel make HBB sound just like any early 70's run-of-the-mill U.S. country rock band. There's nothing here good enough for any of their regular albums, even if the lyrics had been in Swedish. More than anything, it's a curio.

Vem kan man lita på? (MNW, 1972)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

For HBB's second proper album, Wiehe the songwriter had matured massively. The style is similar to their debut, but the songs have a better focus, the melodies are sharper, the performances crisper. The album is shimmering of classic cuts – ”Herkules”, ”Vem kan man lita på?”, ”Man måste veta vad man önskar sig”, the jubilant ”Rocksamba” and to top it off in an untouchable way: ”Keops pyramid”, not only Wiehe's hands down best song but one of the best songs ever written in Sweden. The album as a whole isn't perfect, but ”Keops pyramid” is, and that song alone makes ”Vem kan man lita på?” an essential album.

På väg (MNW, 1973)

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: *

”På väg” suggests a couple of inspiration sources not obvious on previous HBB albums; Irish dance tunes on the instrumental ”Bogside”, and Russian music on for instance ”Jakten på Dalai Lama” (appropriately enough featuring members of Södra Bergens Balalaikor). Unfortunately, it's a rather weak album. ”Danslåt för yttrandefriheten” is charming but only opening track ”Hugget som stucket” reaches the heights of ”Vem kan man lita på?”.

A certain rivalry were beginning to appear within the band, with fellow singer Björn Afzelius attempting to introduce songs to the band. Mikael Wiehe was less than thrilled letting up any album space (or for that matter, the royalties it provided him with) to Afzelius. When Afzelius presented his song ”Bläckfisken”, Wiehe loved it. Still, it never appeared on an HBB album. Instead, Afzelius recorded it for his solo debut ”Vem är det som är rädd?” in 1974.

Fri information (MNW, 1975)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

In all fairness, Wiehe let Afzelius have four of nine songs on what was to be HBB's final album, ”Fri information”. Ironically enough, none was as good as ”Bläckfisken”, although ”LTO-tango” is one of the album's best, and I have a soft spot for ”Älska mej, Bill”. ”Victor Jara” became one of HBB's best loved tracks, but I'm a bit put off by the Latin American framework. Very uneven and it was obvious that HBB was running out of steam. 

They officially broke up on 30 April, 1976.

After the demise of HBB, Mikael Wiehe founded Kabaréorkestern which made two fine albums. Wiehe continues making music to this day and have had a number of hits as a solo act. Even more successful was Björn Afzelius, who is one of the best selling Swedish performers ever, being very popular also in Norway and Denmark, but most of his solo albums are best avoided. HBB reunited several times before Afzelius' death in 1999.

A couple of HBB Tonkraft shows exist, including one from 1972, officially released as part of ”Progglådan”. There's also a digital release of a show in Nässjö 1974. Non-album track ”Stoppa matchen!” was released as a single 'A' side in 1975.

Garanterat individuell full album playlist

Vem kan man lita på? full album playlist
På väg full album playlist
Fri information full album playlist
from Svit för P
Sun and Summerlight
You and I

BJÖRN AFZELIUS – The 1970's albums

Hoola Bandoola Band was the commercially most successful progg band during the 70's, and their popularity reached far beyond the progg circuits. They're still the emblematic progg band to many (with fans even among those with right wing views), while others consider them too straight in a Bob Dylan and The Band ilk to deserve to even be called progg. What's progg and what's not is an endless and mostly uninteresting debate. No matter what: HBB's songwriter Mikael Wiehe was (and sometimes still is) a talented songwriter with a knack for memorable melodies and well-written lyrics.

The band's other front person was Björn Afzelius. Like Wiehe, he sang, played the guitar and wrote songs. Except that few knew of his songwriting skills at the time – Wiehe wouldn't let up any songwriting space to Afzelius. In 1974, one year before HBB's last album ”Fri information” hit the shops and three years before they officially disbanded, Afzelius released his first solo album, ”Vem är det som är rädd?” (”who's afraid?”).

Vem är det som är rädd? (MNW, 1974)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

It's not far-fetched to assume that Afzelius recorded ”Vem är det som är rädd?” out of a vast amount of frustration with his compadre Wiehe's reluctance to let the band record any of his songs. Especially since Wiehe promised Afzelius that his song ”Bläckfisken” would be incorporated in HBB's recorded repertoire, telling Afzelius that ”you have written a complete song”, failing to fulfill his promise by keeping it off any album. ”Bläckfisken” ended up on ”Vem är det som är rädd?” instead, making it the most important track on the album.

While ”Bläckfisken” is the best track on the album, there are other nice songs here. ”Historien har visat” is a soft flowing waltz with a faint psychedelic touch thanks to Roland Gottlow's Doors inspired organ and Ola Sandén's hushed fuzz guitar near the end. ”Dialog i Mariagränd” reveals Afzelius' appreciation of Dylan, and even more so does ”De tre musketörerna from Fagersjö” which is suspiciously similar to ”It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding”, before evolving into something not entirely unlike The Rolling Stones' ”Sympathy for the Devil”.

”Vem är det som är rädd?” is less polished than Afzelius' other albums. While uneven and at times obviously derivative, it still stands as Björn Afzelius' best solo effort.

The cover art was made by Blå Tåget's Tore Berger.

För kung & fosterland (Nacksving, 1976)

Swedish vocals 

International relevance: *

 

”För kung & fosterland” marked the beginning of Afzelius' long stint with the Nacksving label, run by Gothenburg's self-appointed progg pope Tommy Rander. Thanks to a higher budget it's a more accomplished work than its predecessor. The sound and performances are tighter, sporting quite a few howling guitars, very much in the down-and-dirty rock style typical to the Gothenburg progg. Opening track ”Du är aldrig ensam” is an effective rock workout, and the title track is effective enough, but the mawkishness that came to be predominant in a lot of Afzelius' later work comes creeping in on ”Fröken Julie”. All in all his second best solo album (which doesn't say much), with one of the most dreadful album covers of the entire progg era (which says quite a lot), ironic or not.

Johnny Boy (Nacksving, 1978)

Swedish vocals

International relevance *

The first album released as Björn Afzelius Band, and with it Afzelius' songs grew longer. Several of the songs land around the 6-7 minutes mark, and ”Atlantis” even stretches out to a bit over 12 minutes. The production is lavish but can't hide the fact that Afzelius' lyrics were getting sloppier, expressing a bland, generic socialism phrased with increasingly cheap and awkward rhymes. Musically the album finds Afzelius sliding further down in the cheesy abyss, with simplistic melodies framed by heavy handed rock arrangements.

Another Tale to Tell (Nacksving, 1979)

English vocals 

International relevance **

 

A promo album with eight songs from his previous albums re-recorded in English. With a smaller sounding band (still named Björn Afzelius Band) providing the songs with a rougher edge, it's marginally better than ”Johnny Boy” and the following album ”Bakom kulisserna”, but still negligible. English pronounciation wasn't Afzelius' strong point either. Interesting only as the curio it is.

Bakom kulisserna (Nacksving, 1980)

Swedish vocals

International relevance *

 

Technically released in 1980 but recorded in 1979. What made ”Johnny Boy” so bad makes ”Bakom kulisserna” even worse. Silly rock backing, sometimes expanded with an increasing amount parodical country. The lyrics sounds even more rushed than before. Also, Afzelius' later trademark 'locked jaw' way of singing through his teeth is beginning to really show here – very irritating.

In the 80's, Afzelius' career went off the deep end artistically, but reached the top commercially. He released many albums and scored several hits making him a national icon. A chronic smoker, Afzelius died from lung cancer in February 1999. In 2014 the documentary ”Tusen bitar” (named after one of his most successful songs) was released to critical acclaim despite being a rather superficial and insufficient look on his life.

Vem är det som är rädd? full album playlist

För kung och fosterland full album playlist 

Johnny Boy full album playlist

Bakom kulisserna full album playlist 

from Another Tale to Tell

You're Never Alone 

For King and Country