BJÖRN ARAHB & MONICA NIELSEN – Sjunger Ture Nerman (A-Disc, 1979)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Ture Nerman was a journalist, radical social democrat (sometimes communist), anti-militarist, dedicated teetotaller, and for his time something as unusual as a vegetarian (he was born in 1886 and died in 1969). He was also a poet, and harbouring such sentiments as the ones mentioned above, his poems were well equipped for being set to music in the progg era. Some of the songs use older melodies by for instance Joe Hill, while several were written specifically for this project by Björn Arahb.

Being released on the Social Democrats' in-house label A-Disc, this is every bit as boring as you can imagine. There's no doubting that the sentiments of Arahb and fellow singer (and actor) Monica Nielsen are honest and genuine, but once again, whatever emotional impact this could have had with less self-righteous performances, soulfulness is substituted with oversinging. The musical framework is also typical of the ilk; it's either semi-cabaret-like or it sounds like The Labour Day Marches Greatest Hits.

Full album playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS - ...Hör en susande vind (Viking, 1973)

 
Featured artists: Monica Nielsen / Bertil Norström / Stig Ring med Do-Re-Mi-kören / Lasse Bagge med trio / Medlemmar ur Sveriges Radios symfoniorkester
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

Included mainly as a warning, as the album might seem like a progg album. But it's only thematically related to progg – the music displays no progg credentials whatsoever unless you count the presence of Monica Nielsen who appears on several similarily styled albums from the 70s including one with Tommy Körberg (Solar Plexus, second incarnation of Made In Sweden). Members of the Swedish Radio's symphony orchestra provide extensive backing. The songs are drawn from the songbook of the labour movement which means you get two (!) more versions of ”The International” plus Swedish takes on ”There's Power In A Union” and ”Which Side Are You On”. ”We Shall Overcome” also slips in seamlessly into the predictable mix. The Viking label was a commercial imprint, best remembered for having put out two Lee Hazlewood albums in the 70s plus one by Hawkey Franzén.

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