HANSSON & KARLSSON WITH BENGAN DAHLÉN – Crescendo 1968 Volume 1 & Volume 2 (Mellotronen, 2023; rec. 1968)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

It's surprising that Hansson & Karlsson archival releases amount to only two, ”For People In Love” released in 2010, and this live recording spread across two limited edition vinyl volumes. There must be piles of unreleased Hansson & Karlsson tapes collecting dust somewhere, and since they were known to be a dazzling live act, it would be great having more documents like this officially released. (One thing's for sure: as long as Jimi Hendrix's estate refuses a release of his mythical Club Filips live jam with the Swedes being, most of us will only ever hear the chopped up lo-fi snippets that circulate.) So having access to a release such as this is much appreciated.

To put it short: This is the best representation of Hansson & Karlsson available, and that includes their original albums. Especially since this sees the duo expanded with soon-to-be Fläsket Brinner guitarist Bengan Dahlén on violin! Some have compared this unusual line-up to Zappa's ”Hot Rats” with Sugarcane Harris and Jean-Luc Ponty, but that's lackadaisical. There's no Zappa here to keep a tight rein on the musicians. What we have here is three musicians working as a collective mind, with all them being leaders improvising either entirely freely or wihin the framework of a song such as ”Tax Free”, ”Triplets” or ”Richard Lionheart”. Some tracks stretch out to 10, 13, 17 minutes but almost never feel overlong. All three players are on fire and Dahlén really brings a lot to the table with his violin. In him they get another person to bounce ideas off allowing the music to find new paths. He doesn't feel at all like an extra but a completely natural musical ingredient in a tight unit always ready to work up an improvisational frenzy. 

The stereo recording is surprisingly good with a rich and warm reel-to-reel sound that retains enough nuances to warrant a pleasurable listening session. Unearthing these tapes and presenting them to the public is an act of love and care, and it's shame only they're a limited edition release. This is the kind of stuff that should be kept available forever in a proper, physical format and I say that even though I'm not a die-hard Hansson & Karlsson fan. I am, however, a massive fan of Hansson, Karlsson & Dahlén.

Crescendo 1968 Volume 1 full album playlist
Crescendo 1968 Volume 2 full album playlist

HANSSON & KARLSSON – Complete albums 1967-1969

Hansson & Karlsson emerged from the late 60's psychedelic Stockholm underground scene with the shortlived but highly influential Club Filips as home base. Club Filips was the place where international acts used to hang out, including the likes of Spencer Davis Group and Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix's jam sessions with Hansson & Karlsson are legendary, but the circulating tapes are of very poor sound and features Hendrix on bass only.

Using only Janne Carlsson's drums (he changed the spelling of his last name reputedly because it looked better with a 'K' on the album covers) and Bo Hansson's organ, they were the source inspiration to contemparies such as Sound Express and much later bands like Sagor & Swing and Trummor & Orgel. Their vinyl debut was the wonderful 1967 45 ”Lidingö Airport” backed with ”Canada Lumberyard”.

Monument (Polydor, 1967)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Their classic album debut features milestones like ”Richard Lionheart”, the brooding ”Triplets” and ”Tax Free” (later covered by Jimi Hendrix), perfectly capturing Hansson & Karlsson's sound with Janne Carlsson's intimidating drums underlining Bo Hansson's spooky organ."Monument" is their best album with all their elements in the right places. The only Hanssson & Karlsson album that I consider essential.

There's also a German edition of "Monument", retitled "Swedish Underground".

Rex (Polydor, 1968)
Instrumental

International relevance: ***

 

Hansson & Karlsson's style quickly wears thin, especially when they're stuck in a bluesy Hammond jazz rut. The live recorded ”Rex” demonstrates the duo's shortcomings, emphasizing sound before content. The jamming is energetic for sure, but honestly, how much of this do you really need? Definitely their weakest album.

Man on the Moon (Polydor, 1969)

International relevance: ***

Instrumental

Inspired by man's first landing on the moon this is indeed more spacey than the duo's previous albums. It's not as good as ”Monument” but it's more interesting than ”Rex” since they try to expand their two man format as much as possible instead of succumbing to it. Carlsson in particular impresses, using every jazz trick he know, adding power and pulse like never before on a Hansson & Karlsson album. (Carlsson was an excellent drummer, and way too underrated.)

For People in Love 67-68 (Treffpunkt, 2010; recorded 1967-68)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

A two disc set of previously unreleased live and studio recordings. (The vinyl version was limited to 444 copies – are these prefabricated hipster drivel rarities ridiculous or what?) Great sound quality all through but the music isn't particularly interesting unless ”Rex” is your favourite Hansson & Karlsson album. Some powerful moments, but ”For People in Love 67-68” is mostly the duo in standard charter travel jazz mode.

Apart from the ”Lidingö Airport” 45, there exists a couple of other less common Hansson & Karlsson tracks. In 1968, daily morning paper Dagens Nyheter released a cardboard disc to their subscribers, called ”P som i pop”. Given the volatile nature of the release, it's hard to say just how many copies have survived, but then again, it's not particularly good. One untitled track is featured in Caprice's box set ”Svensk jazzhistoria vol. 10: Watch Out! Swedish Jazz 1965-1969” released in 2017. In 2023 Mellotronen unearthed a previously unknown 1968 performance with Bengan Dalén at club Crescendo in Norrköping and released as a two volume vinyl set. For those who wants a condensation of their small original discography, there's an eponymous compilation that will do the trick just nicely, including "Monument" in its entirety expanded with tracks from their other releases.

There's also a great 1967 performance on Swedish TV show Popside that just has to be seen.

Monument full album playlist
Rex full album playlist
Man On The Moon full album playlist
For People In Love full album playlist