TÄLTPROJEKTET – Vi äro tusenden... (Nacksving, 1977)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Tältprojektet is often seen as the peak of progg, but in a way, it also became its downfall. Or at least, it marked the beginning of the end. The whole project was a grand tour de force, with several independent theatre groups (Nationalteatern, Musikteatergruppen Oktober, Tidningsteatern, Narren) and numerous musicians coming together for something that some people said would be impossible to see through.

”Vi äro tusenden” was a four hour stage play telling the story of the Swedish labour movement from 1879 and on, with approximately 100 people touring for four and half months in the summer of 1977, visiting 31 cities all over the country (and some in Denmark), performing 82 shows to 100,000 people. Nothing of that scope had been done before, and nothing of that scope has been done since. ”Vi äro tusenden” was the ultimate proof of what power there was in the music movement and the related independent theatre groups, and an example of what you can do if you unite and strive for the same thing. The progg movement proved its own point by demonstrating it.

A documentary was made, ”Tältet – vem tillhör världen?”, and a record was rushed out by Nacksving so that it could be sold at the shows. People should be able to take home some of the music they had just heard played live. The original idea was also to record the album live in performance, but that proved impossible for practical reasons, why songs from show instead were recorded with Nacksving's mobile studio. Some tracks were composed by jazz legend and member of Musikteatergruppe Oktober Christer Boustedt, but most of the music was written by Nationalteatern's Ulf Dageby and Nynningen's Bernt Andersson and Bertil Goldberg. Both Gothenburg bands had collaborated before, so much in fact that it was getting more and more impossible to tell the two bands apart. Tracks like the powerful ”Aldrig mera krig” (sung by Nynningen's Totta Näslund) and Tältprojektet's anthem ”Vi äro tusenden” are heralded as classics. They're also the two best songs on the album.

Actually, the only two good songs on the album, and the only two distinct enough to work outside their original stage context. The remainder of the tracks have too many theatrical characteristics, with narrative lyrics, sometimes with large choirs, sometimes sounding like run-of-the-mill political songs, sometimes cabaret-like. It's just not very fun to listen to, and the album's true value is mainly historical and academic.

Nationalteatern's Med Reventberg has later admitted that it was hard to get on with their work after Taltprojektet. Nationalteatern tried to set up another massive theatre tour soon after but it didn't work out as well as they had hoped for. And that probably goes for everyone involved. The fatigue set in, and while many (most) of them continued their artistic work (after all, it was their profession), many of them in the spirit of progg, progg was never to be the same again. And new sounds and attitudes were coming around the corner. Punk was ready to take over.

Full album playlist

NARREN – ...Inte slutet, bara början – Sånger om Norrland och Latinamerika (MNW, 1972)

Swedish vocals 

International relevance: *

 

Narren was one of the first independent theatre groups in Stockholm, and began already in 1965. Their early repertoire consisted of American avantgarde plays, but towards the end of the decade their focus changed to political plays of a revolutionary nature. They released a couple of LP's on their own label Narren, but this particular album – their first – was an early MNW release.

The album's subtitle means ”songs about Norrland and Latin America” and is as self-explanatory as the album cover. Side 1 is dedicated to Latin America, side 2 to Norrland. Norrland is the most Northern area of Sweden where forest and mining industries are an important part of the economy. Several of Fria Proteatern's albums deal with the Norrland region, and thos could very well have been a Fria Proteatern recording, except that this is a tad more primitive sounding. It's a pretty bet that if you like them, you'll like Narren too. And it works both ways – if you don't like Fria Proteatern, you probably won't like Narren either. 

Sången om hur BD80 kom på skam

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Om IB på Gamla Riksdagshuset (MNW, 1974)

Featured artists: Sture Källberg / Björn Granath / Narren / Klararevyn / Finn Zetterholm & Hasse Alfredsson & Tage Danielsson / Gösta Ekman / Lena Nyman / Monica Zetterlund / Lilla Klara / Gösta Bredefeldt / Dramatiska Teatern / Olof Buckard / Robert Karl Oskar Broberg / Fria Proteatern / Jan Myrdal

  Swedish vocals, spoken word 

International relevance: -

 

Journalists Jan Guillou and Peter Bratt caused great upheaval in May 1973 when they exposed a Swedish secret intelligence service, IB (most often refered to as Informationsbyrån, ”the information bureau”), unknown even to the Swedish Parliament and Social Democratic prime minister Olof Palme – or so he said... IB kept files on citizens with left-wing affinities, used spies in foreign countries, was responsible for a break-in at the Egyptian embassy in Stockholm, and had ties to CIA and the Israeli intelligence service Shin Beth. The disclosure soon took on the size of a scandal, comparable to Watergate only with Swedish proportions. Guillou, Bratt, journalist Håkan Isacsson and photographer Ove Holmqvist were arrested for espionage, and the three writers were sentenced to jail – itself a remarkable turn of events. There were so many irregularities and odd twists that it's impossible to give a sensible brief summary of the so called IB affair that remains one of the biggest political scandals ever in Sweden.Needless to say, a lot has been written about it ever since and it still surfaces as a hot topic every once in a while.

In December 1973, 4,000 people showed up at a manifestation against IB and the jail sentences, and for free speech and freedom of the press. An impressive amount of actors such as Gösta Ekman, Lena Nyman and Björn Granath, comedians and showmen like Olof Buckard and Hasse Alfredsson & Tage Danielsson, leftist debaters like Jan Myrdal, theatrical groups like Klararevyn and Narren, and artists such as Finn Zetterholm, Robert Karl Oskar Broberg, Fria Proteatern and world renowned jazz vocalist Monica Zetterlund appeared on stage during the five hour meeting that was recorded and trimmed down for LP release on MNW in 1974. While its value as a historical document is undeniable, the relevance to a foreign listener is minimal, due to lengthy spoken word sections and mostly uninteresting music.

Finn Zetterholm - Hemliga polisen

A VARIOUS ARTISTS SPECIAL: 4 POLITICAL COMPILATIONS

Just like one might expect, there's a slew of various artists albums released during the progg years. Some of them are regional releases covering a local scene such as ”Bygg ett eget musikforum”, a double album including several lesser known Uppsala bands plus an exclusive track by Samla Mammas Manna. Others in turn document specific events, such as ”Alternativ festival”, released by MNW in 1975 consisting of live recordings from Alternativfestivalen held as a protest manifestation against the commercially oriented Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm 1975 following Abba's ”Waterloo” victory in Brighton the previous year. And there's of course the famous 2LP set commemorating the Gärdet festival that many consider the starting point of the entire progg movement.

There's also a fair share of charity styled albums produced to bring attention to certain causes and raise funds to help for instance striking labourers. These albums are of an undeniable historical value, artefacts to remind us of a particular events and moments in time. However, few of them are fun to listen to for other than strictly academical reasons. More often than not, they're bogged down by political fundamentalism and tiresome sloganeering. Even if you sympathize with the core sentiment of the leftwing world view expressed in the lyrics, they soon get overbearing, rendering many of the albums straight up unlistenable. I consider them being of limited interest even to foreign listeners unfamiliar with the Swedish language, due to the often low quality music. That said, they're still part of the progg movement and thus clearly within the scope of this blog, why I've decided to present some of them here as the first in a series of brief overviews.

 ARBETARKAMPEN OCH AVTALSRÖRELSEN (Arbetarkultur, 1974)

Featured artists: Finn Zetterholm / Narren / Jan Hammarlund / Klasskamraterna / 

Oktober / Marie Selander / Knutna Nävar

Swedish vocals, other languages

International relevance: *

Publishing house Arbetarkultur was run by Swedish communist party SKP, but had several record releases out during the 70's from artists such as Maria Hörnelius, Röda Kapellet and Unga Gardet. ”Arbetarkampen och avtalsrörelsen” (”the labourers' struggle and the round of wage negotiations”) has catalogue no. AKLP01 and was recorded live at the Labourer's convention in early 1974. Far left stalwarts Knutna Nävar make a contribution with ”Det är något konstigt med friheten”, while singer/songwriter Jan Hammarlund, one of the first to openly declare being gay and a fierce mouthpiece of the Swedish gay rights movement, appears with three tracks. The album closer speaks for the album's sentiment, a full cast performance of ”The Internationale”.

HÖR MASKINERNAS SÅNG (Proletärkultur, 1973)

Featured artists: Knutna Nävar / Maria Hörnelius / Boråspionjärerna / Wiveka Warenfalk / Fred Åkerström / Röda Ropet / Röd Morgon / KPML(r):s Blåsorkester
Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

 

”Hör maskinernas sång” (”hear the singing of the machines”) is similar to ”Arbetarkampen och avtalsrörelsen” only more hardboiled left-wing, being released by Proletärkultur, the label affiliated with communist party KPLM(r). Of course, KPML(r) figureheads Knutna Nävar appear on the album providing two tracks, plus backing Maria Hörnelius up on ”Den trojanska hästen”. Also featured is renowned singer Fred Åkerström. The album is recorded during KPML(r)'s federation day meeting in 1973 and each song is followed by the unproportionally loud Soviet Union styled audience roar. ”Hör maskinernas sång”– appropriately rounded off with yet another version of "The Internationale" – is the perfect album for anyone who wishes to poke fun at the sometimes over-zealous Swedish leftist engagement in the 70's.

LÅT ALMARNA LEVA (Metronome, 1971)

Featured artists: Cornelis Vreeswijk / Bernt Staf / Fred Åkerström / Tage Lidén

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

The album was recorded in May 1971 in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm in conjunction with the massive protests against the felling of elm trees that were 100 years old to make way for a new subway station. It was a battle of political inclinations, but the real struggle took place between the ordinary protesters and the police. Thousands of people participated in the protests and many of them took turns occupying the area day and night to prevent the trees from being cut down. The trees themselves were occupied to stop the chainsaws and several people were hurt during the week-long clashes, but the protesters won and the elm trees are still there as a much loved symbol of the power of the right to protest. 

Various bands and artists supported the protesters, such as Envoys who, with vocal backing from Charlie & Esdor (of Gärdet festival fame), released a benefit 45 "Almarna åt folket”, a cover of ”Power to the People” with John Lennon's original lyrics translated into a war cry in defense of the preservation of the elm trees. Other noted singer/songwriter artists appeared in Kungsträdgården during the protests, including Cornelis Vreeswijk, Bernt Staf and Fred Åkerström, all appearing on ”Låt almarna leva” (”let the elm trees live”), released on the major record label, Metronome. Short speeches and interviews with the protesters and supporters are interspersed between the tracks, providing the recording with a pronounced documentary feel and the album is highly valuable time capsule of those events. Musically speaking, it's one of the most consistent albums in this post, but it's doubtful it would make much sense to non-Swedish listeners without necessary insight into the historical events which took place all those years ago.

STÖD DE STREJKANDE HAMNARBETARNA (Proletärkultur, 1974)

Featured artists: Thomas Ellerås / Harald ”Bagarn” Andersson / Knutna Nävar / Anja Svederborg / Fred Åkerström / Mats Lundälv / Sven Wollter / Röda Ropet / Dan Berglund

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: * 

Another typical Proletärkultur release, similar to ”Hör maskinernas sång” above with some of its artists re-appearing here; Knutna Nävar, Fred Åkerström and Röda Ropet, along with several other KPML(r) sympathizers including Knutna Nävar member and later to be famous actor Sven Wollter, and singer/songwriter Dan Berglund, performing one of his best known song "De mördades fria republik" in his typical world-weary voice. (Berglund later left the KPML(r) party and came to dismiss the political engagement of his youth.) The title reads ”support the striking dockers” and there's nothing that can be said about the album that the title doesn't give away immediately. All acoustic pamphlet songs, performed in a typical overwrought ”engaged” fashion. Recorded live at Marx-Engels-huset, "house of Marx-Engels". Go figure.

from Arbetarrörelsen och avtalsrörelsen

Marie Selander - Maskinernas sång

from Hör maskinernas sång

Knutna Nävar - Hör maskinernas sång

Maria Hörnelius & Knutna Nävar - Den trojanska hästen 

Boråspionjärerna - Arbetarmarseljäsen 

Boråspionjärerna - Albaniensång

Wiveka Warenfalk - En proletärmoders vaggvisa

Fred Åkerström - Den trettionde i första -72
Fred Åkerström - Mordet i katedralen 

Röda Ropet & Knutna Nävar - Sång om fjortonde maj

from Stöd de strejkande hamnarbetarna

Knutna Nävar - Balladen om Olsson 

Sven Wollter - Riksdagsvisa 

Dan Berglund - Visa till SAP 

Dan Berglund - De mördades fria republik