Swedish vocals
International relevance **
Gothenburg based
Blå Schäfer's only album is one of those that seems more
interesting than it is. It's a decent effort, privately released in
1,000 copies, self distributed with an attractive cover, but it never
quite takes off. Llyrics are often non rhymed and socially conscious
in a leftwing fashion, dealing with environmental issues,
imperialism, nazism and the life of ordinary people. Musically it's
pretty standard fare rock with some folkish and progressive touches,
and truth is that the band weren't distinct songwriters enough to
make the songs particularly interesting.
The album was
recorded in singer and guitarist Olev Ott's summer house on two Revox
machines, providing a basement feel. The mixing leaves something to
be desired; vocals are too loud in the mix, and had they turned up
the guitars a fair bit, the album would have sounded much more
balanced. Ott isn't the greatest singer in the world, and the
primitive production makes him sound rather intrusive at times. The
best track is the instrumental ”Valsång” that rounds off the
album in a slightly druggy, relaxed mood.
The band started
out in 1971 and kept going for a long time. After one 1979 single and
two tracks on the ”Göteborgsrock/Ytterrock” compilation in 1982,
a revamped version of the band released the ”Ge freden en chans”
EP in 1986 as Ott & Friends. The band played Amnesty festivals
and several charity gigs in and around Gothenburg. In the mid 00s
there were plans for a new CD but nothing seems to have come of it.
The album is quite
rare but rarely very expensive. I seem to recall that Ott himself had
copies for sale at record fairs where he was a familiar figure among
record collectors.