NOVEMBER – Live (Mellotronen, 1993; rec. 1970-1971)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

Habitually hailed as the best Swedish heavy rock band of the 70s, I'm not that big a fan of November. They had a few great tracks, but they also had a lot of formulaic power trio stuff that Cream had already done much better. So in all fairness, I'm not the target audience for an archival live disc of theirs, even if it's from their golden era of their first two albums.

Released in 1993, ”Live” was one of the first albums on the Mellotronen label (and a few years later reissued as a picture disc LP by Record Heaven). It features tracks from three different dates, one from 1970 and two from 1971. The first seven were recorded in 1971 for the Swedish Radio show Midnight Hour, the forerunner to the long running Tonkraft series that spawned so many excellent recordings. This live session was later included in truncated form in ”Progglådan” but in better sound.

Musically it's OK I guess but I don't know what Mellotronen did to the original tapes to sound this strange and murky. It's as if they've gone through some fake stereo processing even though the source recordings are true stereo as proven by ”Progglådan”. And it's not only the Midnight Hour tape that has this mucky fidelity; everything here sounds the same. Add to that the cheesy cover art, and ”Live” feels more like a bootleg than an authorized release. Real November fans are probably delighted by its existence regardless, but I think this is just a sloppy release in desperate need for a restored and more credible reissue.

Full album playlist

NOVEMBER – En ny tid är här... (Sonet, 1970) / 2:a November (Sonet, 1971) / 6:e November (Sonet, 1972)

En ny tid är här... (Sonet, 1970)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

First album from Sweden's premiere power trio, released as early as in 1970. The sound isn't very different to just any power trio of the time (do I have to mention Cream?); their unique sales point is the Swedish lyrics. ”En ny tid är här...” (what's the deal with progg's overuse of the ellipsis in album titles?) has a couple of jazz tinged tracks, but it's the heavy riffing that's the band's hallmark and what have made them legendary to genre fans. Some very good songs such as ”Mount Everest” and ”Ta ett steg in i sagans land” but I don't think it quite lives up to its reputation as a whole.

 2:a November (Sonet, 1971)
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

More of the same, but with a tighter production and somewhat better songs, especially like ”Men min hjärta ska vara gjort av sten” and ”Ganska långt från Sergel”, but other than there's not much to set this apart from ”En ny tid är här...”.

6:e November (Sonet, 1972)
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

November grew heavier and heavier by each album, so this – their last – is the heaviest they did. But it's still as uneven as the albums preceeding. A couple of good tracks – ”Runt i cirklar”, ”Cinderella” – but all that riffing is really too derivative to be fully exciting.

The album title alludes to 6th November, 1632 when Swedish king Gustaf II Adolf was killed in the battle of Lützen.

A couple of non-album singles have been added to the CD reissue of ”6:e November”, and there's also an archival Mellotronen release of 1970/1971 live recordings simply entitled ”Live”. ”Progglådan” features a recording made for radio show Midnight Hour in 1971. A live recording from a 1972 gig, not long before the band disbanded, also circulates but the sound is a bit echoey.

 

I think November are overrated, and a carefully constructed compilation with their best tracks would be a lot more to the point. November off-shoot Saga is much better and Energy more free-spirited.

En ny tid är här full album playlist
2:a November full album playlist
6:e November full album playlist

ENERGY – Energy (Harvest, 1974)

Instrumental, English vocals

International relevance: ***

A November off-shoot with Björn Inge on drums who changed their original name Allrite to the better and appropriate Energy before releasing one album on EMI's prog subsidiary Harvest. Because energetic it is, complex and forceful prog with obvious jazz aspirations (not fusion) and a fair amount of heaviness. This music that demands 100% musicianship  and Energy had it in spades. It's also music that could easily become boring to listen to, and it's not a style I'm usually too fond of, but Energy was both able, passionate, original and dynamic, why their sole album is a rewarding listen.

”Metamorphosis/Impressions” is the only track with lyrics, with keyboard player Alvaro Is taking the vocal lead, almost sounding like a blend of John Wetton, Robert Wyatt and Demis Roussos of ”666” era Aphrodite's Child.

Originals are scarce, but ”Energy” also had a Spanish release in 1975, and has been graced with both CD and vinyl reissues.

Full album playlist

SAGA – Saga (Sonet, 1974)

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: ***

November is generally known as Sweden's finest heavy band (although I personally don't agree) due to three albums, a handful of singles, and live shows remaining cherished memories by those who attended them. When the power trio disbanded, bassist and singer Christer Stålbrandt formed a new band on New Year's Eve 1973, Saga. They released only one album, but what an album it is!

Of course they share some traits with November including the melancholy moving close to the surface, but Saga's overall sound is more developed and complex (but seldom over-complicated) than Stålbrandt's former band's. ”Saga” is slightly symphonic in style, certainly progressive but more important: always interesting. Stålbrandt also sings better here than in November, possibly because the songs demand more focused performances. Kenny Bülow is an asset to the group, with a heavy yet lyrical, powerful yet economical guitar style that taps perfectly into the nature of the songs. The weakest link in the musician's chain is drummer Sten Danielsson, but that's marginal criticism because the playing is really on a generally high level.

It's hard to mention any particular track because all of them are good, making for an album that puts many other album's in the progressive vein to shame. An excellent effort!

Originals are very expensive but the album's been reissued a couple of time. There's a 1000 numbered copies Record Store Day edition on the original Sonet label from 2013 that's both good and still affordable. Reissue label Mellotronen has also put out several albums with previously unreleased material from the Saga archives.

 

Full album playlist