BLÅ TÅGET – På Fågel Blå (MNW, 1982)

 

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

I suppose a lot of people assumed that when Blå Tåget disbanded in 1974, that was the end of it. The revamped version called Stockholm Norra was more like an afterthought, and besides, it wasn't the original band anyway. A one-off Blå Tåget reunion in 1980 was just that, but they returned again for several concerts in 1981. The first one was at Fågel Blå, resident stage of theatre group Tidningsteatern, and ended up on a double album the year after.

They performed several new songs (or at least songs never previously recorded), but the whole thing feels more like a nostalgia show. The playing is more accomplished than during their original years, but that means they lost much of their original amateurish appeal. Here they sound like a bunch of cabaret entertainers delivering dance band-like renditions of the Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget repertoire – imagine The Fugs playing a backstreet Las Vegas joint with ”Nothing”, ”Kill For Peace” and ”I Couldn't Get High”. What a hoot. (Actually, thinking of it, that would be more interesting to hear.)

The original line-up is intact with one glaring exception: Roland Keijser isn't here and with him gone, it becomes ever so obvious that he indeed was one of the most important members of the group. At the same time, I'm happy he didn't lend himself to this. 

Full album playlist

BRÖDERNA LÖNN – Säg det i toner... (Musiklaget, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Here's an album with a rather unusual back story. Swedish radio legend Kjell Alinge wanted an album of old Swedish evergreens from the 30's and 40's performed as rock music. A one album only studio project for which several progg luminaries were recruited: from the Blå Tåget camp we have Mats G. Bengtsson; from International Harvester there's Thomas Tidholm; Ove Karlsson came from in Arbete & Fritid; Thomas Svensson (later Stålberg), Anders Åborg and Thomas Wiegert joined in from Kung Tung, and to round things off, there's the omnipresent Sigge Krantz. They chose the collective name of Bröderna Lönn (literally: The Maple Brothers, Lönn being a fairly common Swedish family name) to make it sound like an old-fashioned combo. The result is curious to say the least. Thomas Tidholm takes the lead vocals, and never one found on any lists of the best ever singers, it's odd to hear him struggle his way through interwar hits. His trying vocals work in some formats like Hot Boys, but here it just sounds bizarre, even touching on what's known as 'incredibly strange music'. Thing is, the backing musicians don't sound as they enjoy much of it either, providing a stiff and uninspired backdrop to Tidholm's roller coaster croon. The only track that has some life in it is the seven minute take on ”Regntunga skyar” which manages to sounds eager and oddly desperate.

The idea behind this album was eccentric to begin with, and the results are abnormal. It wouldn't surprise me if ”Säg det i toner” adds a blush to the faces of the involved. I certainly hope they at least got a decent paycheck for the embarassment, but I doubt that since no well endowed people appear to have been involved in this dud.

Full album playlist

TORKEL RASMUSSON – Kalla tårar (MNW, 1977) / En svart hatt (Mistlur, 1981)

Kalla tårar (MNW, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

”Kalla tårar” was Torkel Rasmusson's first solo album following the first demise of Blå Tåget, following three years after their original last album ”Slowfox”. Rasmusson's voice was one of my initial snags approaching Blå Tåget, but once I got used to it – and it took a good while to do so – the poetic shimmer of Rasmusson's songs revealed itself to me. ”Kalla tårar” has a lot of that, and it also displays a more stable execution than what characterizes the Blå Tåget albums. The only former Tåget member here is Mats G. Bengtsson; most of the back-up musicians are skilled players from the Archimedes Badkar circuit. Using Per Tjernberg as a drummer and percussionist certainly provides a solid ground to the song often lacking in Blå Tåget. The title track and ”Detektiven” rock out as much as Rasmusson ever rocked out, while ”Fläskfia” features a wild fuzz solo that would have sounded quite out of place on a Blå Tåget album. ”Det tycks vara en dag” reveals a prominent mid-70's Dylan influence while ”Inget socker” has a tasteful epic, reverb-soaked touch. Eight minute album closer ”Dagbok från en stad” has a more 'closed' and claustrophobic sound that somehow predicts the mood of Stockholm Norra's sole album. Only a couple of tracks bogs down the album a bit (most notably the genuinely nerve-grating ”Snask och snusk”), but all in all, ”Kalla tårar” is a fine and underrated effort.

En svart hatt (Mistlur, 1981)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

It took Rasmusson four years to come up with his follow-up solo album, and when ”En svart hatt” finally appeared, the 80s had arrived, and with them new production values. ”En svart hatt” has several good but not ”Kalla kårar”-great songs in the typical Rasmusson vein, but the sound is a bit on the sterile side, weakening the overall impact. Even the addition of Roland Keijser's usually warm and inviting saxophone sound on ”Natten” suffers from the ingratiating production. The songs might be weaker than on ”Kalla kårar”, but they would have been empowered by a more sympathetic sound. I don't think ”En svart hatt” would ever have been a masterpiece, but it could have been more than it is now: half lost in an unredeemed state.

Kalla tårar full album playlist

En svart hatt full album playlist

ROLAND KEIJSER IN MEMORIAM 1944-2019

It is with a hurting grief in my heart and a pain in my soul that I share the news of Roland Keijser's passing. The loss is unmeasurable on so many levels I hardly know where to begin. Maybe by saying what everybody who ever heard him play already know: He was a true master musician. One of those who could make me pick up an album if his name was in the credits. Because he always played the truth. The instrument – no matter if it was the saxophone or if it was a flute from faraway lands – was always an extension of himself. He played like a spiritually enlighted philosopher, phrasing his knowledge of man and music with the immediacy of genuine honesty. He was always on a different level than everyone else. He played like Roland Keijser, and Roland Keijser only. He was a meaningful Musician, always demonstrating the innermost comprehension of Music.

He was also my friend. No, we never met in real life, but we exchanged a vast number of messages and letters over the years. Our Facebook conversations were often long and sometimes intimate, almost in a hushed way. We didn't so much write as we spoke to each other, even if the voices we used were those of the written word. Sometimes we quarrelled – I'm an outspoken person and so was Roland. I wasn't afraid of telling him straight when I thought he was completely off on some topic, and he wasn't afraid to tell me if I have crossed the line of civility. Friends can do that and still be friends when there's a sincere, mutual respect.

But most of the time, we had similar ideas and during our extensive conversations, we touched on a wide array of topics. Even when agreeing with each other, we could make the other person consider other possibilities, calibrating our opinions, shifting our perspectives. Talking to him about Blå Tåget and Arbete & Fritid often generated a tsunami of memories, opinions, historical facts that was impossible to find anywhere else. He narrated his own past, and I eagerly sucked up every drop of information he humbly provided me with.

And he never gave up. During his last months, he battled the big C, but he kept on working. He told me he was busy making new music, and just before his passing, he uploaded a set of brand new recordings to Youtube. A farewell gift to his fans and friends? Probably. He stoically faced his fate, he knew he wasn't able to fool the grim reaper. But he died so fully living that the circumstances allowed him to. He never stopped being a Musician. The full Keijser discography is voluminous; the Arbete & Fritid and Blå Tåget albums are just a little part of something much, much bigger. It's always an interesting listen, often illuminating, never irrelevant.

But it was Arbete & Fritid that introduced me to his music. That particular band was instrumental (no pun intended) in igniting my interest in progg. If you will, Roland Keijser was crucial to the birth of this blog. Without him, this would likely never have happened. His music so often revealed the invisible to me. And I can't stop listening. Arbete & Fritid's first album still moves me in a way few other albums do. It phrases things that the spoken or written language can't fathom. His music, old and new, is indestructible. Resistant to time. It's music that channels the eternity while being an indisposable part of it. Thus, it will never be forgotten, Neither will its creator.

May you rest in peaceful spheres, Roland, and from deep within my heart, thanks for everything you've done for me!

ELEKTRISKA LINDEN – Torbjörns dansskola (Avanti, 1978)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

A later era progg album that features a massive cast of progg eminences such as Blå Tåget's Leif Nylén and Carl-Johan de Geer, Torbjörn Abelli of Träd Gräs Och Stenar, Anders Linder (Kapten Zoom, Ville & Valle & Viktor) and Mikael Katzeff (later of the revived Gudibrallan). The Torbjörn of the title and album cover is Sweden's right wing prime minister Torbjörn Fälldin, just elected when the album came out. The rich instrumentation of violin, sax, trombone, clarinet, harmonica and string synthesizer makes for a rich timbre palette but the playing is somewhat over-enthusiastic and messy at times, as on opening track ”Uppmuntran” and ”(Äntligen) Tillbaks i stan”. ”Tystnadens kultur” is a bit similar to Anders F. Rönnblom, while ”Bränna Highway 20 med stereo på” and the title track almost sound like a slightly jazzier version of Gudibrallan if you can picture that. Unfortunately, it's a pretty dull album overall.

Elektriska Linden spin-off band Torvmossegossarna released an EP in 1979, the anti nuclear 7” ”Atomkraft? Nej tack” on their own label Skivbolaget EKO. The 45 includes a cover of Knäckebröderna's ”R.R.R.”. Stylistically similar to Elektriska Linden but with a less dry production. Elektriska Linden also had a track on Avanti's 1978 ”Samlade krafter” compilation, and one on ”Vi kan leva utan kärnkraft” on Silence in 1975.

No links found

STOCKHOLM NORRA – Stockholm Norra (MNW, 1978)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

A somewhat underrated Blå Tåget spin-off with Tore Berger, Torkel Rasmusson and Leif Nylén at the core. Stockholm Norra continues where Blå Tåget left off with ”Slowfox” but this is a better album. The lyrics are still political and the poetic shimmer is as strong as before, only with a greater sens of self-reflection, almost like an afterthought to the original Blå Tåget years.

Stockholm Norra made live appearances but wasn't around long enough to make another album. A shame because it's a good album, in many ways an easier listen than the Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget albums. One further song (”Den nyaste regeringen” was released on the 'B' side to their only 45, the Rasmusson penned ”Vad önskar du dig för nånting i julklapp?” and later added to the CD reissue of the album as a bonus track.

The sleeve features a painting by Kalle Berggren and along with the cover art to Nationalteatern's ”Barn av vår tid”, it's probably the best picture to capture the late 70's social zeitgeist in Sweden.

Full album playlist with bonus track

GUNDER HÄGG / BLÅ TÅGET – Albums 1969-1974

One of the most emblematic bands of the progg movement, and crucial to understanding the spirit of progg. Not only did they fully embody the 'everybody can play' ethos, they initiated it. They had a couple of professionals in the band, such as the always excellent Roland Keijser, but most of the members were musical novices. Mikael Wiehe once said that he thought Gunder Hägg sounded so horrendous that he felt compelled to start Hoola Bandoola Band. (In defense of Wiehe, it has to be said that he later admitted that Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget in retrospect was way more musically progressive than ever Hoola Bandoola Band.)

The band emanated from the Stockholm arts, theatre and literature circuits, with band members Leif Nylén, Torkel Rasmusson and Mats G. Bengtsson already being published authors. Heavily inspired by American underground band The Fugs (although it could be argued they were closer in spirit to The Fugs' ESP-Disk' label mates The Godz), they decided to start a band combining performance art and music. They went by a couple of different names (Tjalles Horisont, Sound of Music) before deciding on Gunder Hägg, after the legendary Swedish athlete by the same name who objected to being related to the band, why they choose Blå Tåget instead in time for their fourth album.

GUNDER HÄGG – Tigerkaka (MNW, 1969)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

It's easy to understand Mikael Wiehe's frustration with Gunder Hägg's ineptitude when hearing ”Tigerkaka”. The vocals are off, the English lyrics are demolished by bad pronounciation, the playing is clumsy, the songs are amateurish. Wiehe was right: ”Tigerkaka” really sounds terrible. But that's not the point. The mix of styles – trad jazz, singer/songwriter, semi-psych, cabaret etc – is daring to a band that seemingly didn't know the difference between a guitar and a hubcap, and ”Tigerkaka” is a statement of much greater importance than sheer capability: A proof that you can get something across even if you lack craftmanship. Instrumental insuffiency can make an album disastrous and unlistenable, but if the band chemistry's right, it can also make an album work in a way that professionalism not necessarily can (there are several examples of both). And ”Tigerkaka” works. Torkel Rasmusson's title track is wonderful, as is Mats G. Bengtsson's ”I hajars djupa vatten” – one of Blå Tåget's best songs ever. Not only is it a good album on its own terms, its symbolic value simply can't be overrated.

GUNDER HÄGG – Vargatider (MNW, 1970)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Visual artist and film maker Carl Johan de Geer began showing up at Gunder Hägg's rehearsals. He brought his trombone with him, without really knowing how to use it, insisting on playing with the band. They weren't sure if it was a good idea (with their lack of musical comprehension, how could they tell anyway?) but de Geer kept coming back and was soon a self-appointed member. He didn't really elevate Gunder Hägg to a higher level of aptitude... That ”Vargatider” sounds a bit less disjointed than ”Tigerkaka” has probably more to do with the band having played together for a little longer. ”Vargavinter” is an overall more powerful album, highlighted by the two very Fugs inspired tracks ”Alienation” and ”Tio svarta pantrar”, the latter with some great sax from Roland Keijser.

GUNDER HÄGG – Glassfabriken (MNW, 1971)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Their last album before the name change is their most professional sounding up until then, which of course is a relative thing when discussing Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget. The Fugs' impact on their music was less notable, and instead the album makes extensive use of musical pastiches giving it a stronger cabaret feel that I'm personally not very fond of. The best song by far is the Rasmusson penned title track. A classic track, head and shoulders above the rest of the material here.

BLÅ TÅGET – Brustna hjärtans hotel (MNW, 1972)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

With four increasingly self-assured songwriters in the band, a double LP was destined to happen, and it coincided with Gunder Hägg's forced name change to Blå Tåget. Nylén, Bengtsson, Rasmusson and Tore Berger had all developed their own songwriter personalities, and that makes for a rich and varied album. There's still a couple of pastiches here, but they're fewer and blended in with other songs, and work better in this context than on ”Glassfabriken”. There are so many good songs here that it's no wonder ”Brustna hjärtans hotell” is considered a true progg classic. And ”Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör” is perhaps the ultimate progg anthem, and later perhaps the ultimate punk anthem as well when Ebba Grön retitled it ”Staten och kapitalet” and released as an equally classic 7” in 1980. That ought to settle the argument that progg and punk were two entirely different and separated phenomena – they weren't! Punk was simply progg's unruly offspring. I stand by that.

During the ”Brustna hjärtans hotell” recordings, Blå Tåget lost original member Roland Keijser. Keijser remembers:

- I play on a mere three tracks on the LP, all of them taken from the radio play ”Fallet Ramona” that we made in the autumn of '71. ”Winges vals” is the only one of the four ”Ramona” tracks actually recorded at the Swedish Radio, the others are new studio recordings made in early 1972. The original idea was to release them as a mini LP, but that never materialized. New songs were added, and when studio work resumed in May and the beginning of June – by then, yours truly was gone.

 

- You know that picture [by Carl Johan De Geer] where Blå Tåget sits at a table at Winbergs Café in Vaxholm? There's an empty chair up front to the right which I just had left... I'm pretty sure the picture was taken during the ”Ramona” recordings in early 1972.

BLÅ TÅGET – Slowfox (MNW, 1974)

Swedish vocals 

International relevance: **
 

After their double disc tour de force, it took Blå Tåget two years before making what would become their final original album. Sometimes considered a disappointment following ”Brustna hjärtans hotell”, and I guess it's fair to agree – but how could you follow up an album such as ”Brustna hjärtans hotell” maintaining the same quality level? ”Slowfox” is a decent enough album, but the spark isn't quite there anymore. Although it feels a bit dutiful, it does have a couple of fine songs, especially ”Under antaget namn” and ”Mannen på verandan”, the latter written by Torkel Rasmusson together with original and long standing Blå Tåget member Kjell Westling who took over all horn duties when Roland Keijser left the band. 

Blå Tåget disbanded in 1975 but they have reunited several times over the years, also releasing a couple of albums with newly recorded material (the first of those being the half-decent 1981 live album ”Blå Tåget på Fågel Blå”). A partial reunion came already in 1977 when Torkel Rasmusson, Tore Berger and Leif Nylén formed Stockholm Norra who released one underrated album in 1978.

Special thanks to Roland Keijser for shedding some light on his departure, and Carl Johan De Geer for letting me use his classic picture. 

Tigerkaka full album playlist

Vargatider full album playlist

Glassfabriken full album playlist
Brustna hjärtans hotell full album playlist

Slowfox full album playlist

DENNIS PETTERSON – Motalapromenaden (Barrikaden, 1976)

Swedish lyrics

International relevance: **

Insignificant local private pressing by television factory worker Dennis Pettersson (later known as Dennis Renfors). It's singer/songwriter with a rock backing including some names well-known from Solen Skiner and Blå Tåget albums Pettersson is somewhat similar to Kjell Höglund but his political lyrics lack Höglund's observational flair. Höglund may not be a great singer in the traditional sense, but he sings with an urgency that makes him interesting to listen to. The same can't be said about Pettersson. The blues rocking ”Ställer upp som aldrig förr” is passable but ”Motalapromenaden” remains a parenthetical release at best. 

 

"Luxor"

A CHILDREN'S PROGG SPECIAL

This post is different to other posts here as it contains no album reviews. Many – most – progg albums made for children have no international relevance because they often feature too many spoken word bits, and the music usually isn't very fun to listen to as an adult. Therefore there's really no point in posting links to the albums. (A brilliant exception would of course Jojje Wadenius' ”Goda' goda'” be, basically a Made In Sweden album with fine lyrics by children's author Barbro Lindgren, but that album deserves a post of its own.)

Still this is a very important Swedish Progg Blog feature, as children's culture was taken very seriously in those days and it's necessary to consider it in order to understand the progg movement from a wider perspective. Many artists were involved in kid's television, theatre, music, literature etc, always with an intent just as serious as when they were creating for grown-ups. Children were taken as seriously as anyone else.

One reason was of course political – it was considered important to teach kids what the society is like and present to them a socialist solution to economic problems and eradicate the inequality of social classes. It's a popular opinion today that children's television in the 70's was politically indoctrinating, and upon looking back at, for instance, Nationalteatern's highly successful double album ”Kåldolmar och kalsipper” (”cabbage rolls and underpants” – no, I don't know what that's supposed to mean, and neither did Nationalteatern), and TV series such as ”Huset Silfvercronas gåta”, (”the mystery of the house of Silfvercrona), ”Ville & Valle & Viktor” and ”Kapten Zoom” (”Captain Zoom”) (both with Anders Linder as lead actor), you have to agree it has a definite left-wing bent. 

However, I've never met one single person who took damage from watching those or any other 70's children TV series... with the possible exception of Staffan Westerberg's very disturbing ”Vilse i pannkakan” (”lost in the pancake”), already mentioned in my Thomas Wiehe runthrough. I dare say that everyone I know that grew up during the progg era has become caring people with a keen sense of justice and solidarity. So maybe the socialist aspect wasn't that hurtful after all...

Sometimes an album corresponding to a certain TV series was released, some of these albums are now moderately sought-after in good condition. (Children aren't known for taking care of records too well, so most copies that turn up are pretty mangled.)

Regardless of what one thinks of the political views expressed and transfered to the young generation of the day, the socialist stance was that education is an all important thing. Insufficient education is disastrous to society in the long run (which is indeed true – the world as we know it today should explain why). The Social Democratic Party of Sweden invested a lot of money in ABF, the Workers' Educational Association, but basic knowledge had to start with the children. 

There were several 70's TV shows without an obvious political agenda making great use of the pedagogical possibilites of television. The most notable example is mid-70's ”Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter” (”five ants are more than four elephants”), with music by jazz illuminary Bengt Ernryd and featuring actors Magnus Härenstam, Brasse Brännström and Eva Rameaus, the latter also active in Musikteatergruppen Oktober (an independent theatre group performing several plays for children) and Tältprojektet. ”Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter” is acknowledged as one of the best shows ever made for children, and rightly so. In a fashion similar to the famed U.S. show ”Sesame Street”, it taught young kids to read and write in a very entertaining way and showing young and old alike that learning things doesn't have to come from just dull books with boring black and white photographs.

Eva Ramaeus was far from the only progg personality to get involved with children's television. Carl Johan de Geer of Blå Tåget co-wrote ”Tårtan” (”the cake”) with Håkan Alexandersson, and featuring Blå Tåget's Mats G. Bengtsson as actor. ”Tårtan” was an incredibly funny and anarchic fourteen part 1972 series about three unemployed sailors opening a bakery shop where absolutely everything goes wrong. Still a splendid watch today! The following year, the Swedish broadcasting company aired ”Mumlan” (hard to translate, but something like ”the mumbler” will do), a very entertaining show hosted by much loved actor Gösta Ekman and actress Lena Söderblom in which musicians such as Kjell Westling and Bengt Berger appeared.

There was a large number of children's books published during this period too. Some of them aren't very different to 'ordinary' kids literature, while others took the pedagogical approach maybe a little too far, with sterile documentary photos of mum's giving birth and the gynecologist having a look, and titles like ”Chairman Mao Is Your Uncle”, ”A Fun Day at the Kolkhoz”, ”Say Hello to the Soviet Farmer Building a Factory All by Himself”. OK, so maybe I made up those titles myself, but they could have been for real. (Swedish readers who want to investigate children's progg books further are advised to check out Kalle Lind's ”Proggiga barnböcker”. He's got a somewhat condescending narrative style but the book is informative and sometimes very amusing amd clearsighted. Swedes who'd like to delve deeper into children's television may also want to check out Göran Everdahl's ”Kom nu'rå! Barnprogrammen vi minns – eller helst vill glömma”.)

I realize that most of what's been mentioned here is of little interest to non-Swedish readers, but like I said initially, all of this (and a lot more) was a very important progg element and influential to kids growing up in during the era. Bringing it up in a post of its own will hopefully shed some further light on how multifaceted progg in fact was.

TORE BERGER – Mitt hjärtas melodi (MNW, 1976)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

First solo album from Blå Tåget key member Tore Berger (although it could probably be argued that everybody in Blå Tåget were key members). Former band fellows Urban Yman and Kjell Westling appears, and front cover picture was taken by Carl Johan de Geer. Tony Thorén and Carla Jonsson from Piska Mig Hårt/Eldkvarn also join in on bass and guitar.

Berger has always had a melancholy feel to his songs, but it's more evident on ”Mitt hjärtas melodi” when Blå Tåget's aura of amateurishness has been stripped away on an album of solely Berger compositions. It's an introspective collection of thoughtful songs, ranging from calm to understated chaos. Some tracks have tense arrangements that provide them with a jittery unease, such as the panic-stricken ”När vi simmar ut...”, and ”Här är ett rum...” with Berger's screeching clarinet cutting through the increasing unrest like a sudden strike of overwhelming anxiety during the darkest hour.

”Mitt hjärtas melodi” is a sometimes achingly beautiful and always touching album, with many of the songs coming to real life between dusk and dawn. Even Blå Tåget backbiters should give this one a try because it doesn't really sound like them – on the contrary, it's a focused, rather singular album that could only have been made by the very one who made it.

Full album playlist