JOHN-ERIK AXELSSON – Barn (G-Produktion, 1971)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

”Spår”, the second album from this singer/songwriter, is a numbing act of inprofiency where Axelsson stumbles around in his catastrophes disguised as 'songs' like a drunken elk trying to avoid an electric fence. Surprisingly enough, this – his debut – is better (although I'm uncomfortable using the word 'good' in any form when talking about Axelsson). At least it sounds as if the backing musicians have some notion of what's happening. They even manage to get some groove going on ”Jag vill” (that curiously enough sounds a bit like the old soul nugget ”The Snake”, brought to perfection by Al Wilson in 1969).

But, then there's Axelsson himself. His lyrics are unbelievably lousy and sung with too much self-esteem. The effect is tragicomic as often the case when incompetent performers overrate themselves to the point of megalomania. Because no matter if the backing musicians are within the spectrum of adequacy, they can't conceal that John-Erik Axelsson is so lost in overestimating his own abilities.

While ”Barn” isn't quite as cringeworthy as ”Spår”, it's still a genuinely terrible album where you constantly sit anticipating in horror the next lyric like ”I went to a party last Wednesday and I met a woman with fat fingers” (from ”Kvinnor”, ”Women”) will jump out of the speakers to smack you straight in the face like a Mach 3 rotten plum bizzarely appearing out of nowhere.
 

"Barn"
"I badet"

JOHN-ERIK AXELSSON – Spår (G-Produktion, 1972)

International relevance: **

Swedish vocals

John-Erik Axelsson was a remarkably untalented singer/songwriter from Malung who somehow managed to convince G-Produktion (home of Acke & Gurra) that it was a splendid idea to release not one but two numbingly inept albums in the early 70's. Both albums were released as Axelsson.

In the liner notes to his first album ”Spår”, Axelsson gladly explained that the arrangements were a group effort but that he, as a self-proclaimed dictator, was in charge of the final results. I guess he was ultimately responsible for ”Spår” too but maybe he shouldn't take too much pride in it. 'Real people' and outsider albums can be amazingly intriguing, but they can also be amazingly bad – not good bad, just bad bad. ”Spår” fits the latter category, falling somewhere inbetween Erik Aschan and U.S. dunce Cosmic Michael. Just to say something kind about it: it's short, less than 28 minutes.

If I had to pick the best or rather, the least worst track, it would be "Barkbrödsdag".

 
Not only was Axelsson a sub-par songwriter, a sub-sub-par singer, a sub-sub-sub-par guitar player, he was also a sub-sub-sub-sub-par lyricist. While there's no doubt his concerns with, for instance, environmental issues were sincere, his ability to express them weren't quite Nobel Prize winning material. Try this line from "Ode till Göran Nilsson": ”Det är så långt till ditt öra/men nu måste du höra” (”It's so far to your ear/but now you've got to hear” – and no, it does not sound any better in Swedish).

It's possible, even likely, that some will find the unintentional silliness cute and the naivety endearing, but an album this unimaginative and scoring this high on the bungler scale just makes me feel antsy and uncomfortable. I've seen ”Spår” compared to Kjell Höglund but that's as close you can get to defaming Höglund without being prosecuted.

Year of release might be incorrect. I've seen it listed as 1970 but according to "The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music" it was released in 1972 so I stuck with that.

Ode till Göran Nilsson

Barkbrödsdag