ROTPULS – Rotpuls (Amalthea, MP 1981) / Rotpuls (Amalthea, 1982)

Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

A reggae band from Lund in Skåne with a very hands-on Peps Persson involvement. They had released two singles before making their 12” debut with six-track mini LP ”Rotupuls” in 1981, produced by Peps and also featuring musical contributions from him. They had a few less likeable traits in common with  Peps as displayed on his albums with Ronny Åström and ”Fyra tunnland bedor om dan”, i.e. silly songs of a traditional Skånish type. Then again, there are a few good tracks on both the mini album and their first and only full-length, confusingly enough also entitled ”Rotpuls” and again with Peps producing and playing. ”Stig Andersson” from the 12” and ”Vik ut dig” from the LP are fine enough, but the best track is the spacious organ-laced reggae cover of John Coltrane's ”A Love Supreme” which works really well, not only as a cool idea but as a cool piece of music. Too uneven to be considered essential, but the good tracks would make a pretty OK short LP length compilation. Plus there were so few Swedish reggae bands from this period, and the Peps relation makes Rotpuls worth mentioning.

Rotpuls (1981) full album playlist
Rotpuls (1982) full album playlist

PEPS PERSSON – Walking By Myself: Live At Fattighuset 1972 (Mellotronen, 2025; rec. 1972)

English vocals
International relevance: **

This is very strange. It was released through streaming sites only in early 2025 with the info that Mellotronen's behind it, but it's an unusually shoddy release coming from them. To begin with, it's short on info. What we know, or at least are told, is that was recorded at Club Fattighuset in Stockholm. But there are no musicians credits (although it sounds like Slim Notini on piano) and the recording year is uncertain. The ”cover” says 1972 (a date also given by long running Swedish blues magazine Jefferson on Facebook shortly before the release) but every streaming platform says it's from 1973. The ”cover” is as unimaginative as it gets and looks more like the work of some kitchen table bootlegger. The sound is in stereo; it's either an execeptionally good audience tape or a B+ soundboard recording. 

Being from the early 70s it's an all blues set but edited down to a six songs of a mere 25 minutes. What's interesting is that it only has songs not on any other Peps album, and being a good performance it's highly interesting to Peps fans. But if someone bothers to release it even in such a disappointing fashion, why cut it down to EP length, and why such careless presentation? Being of musical as well as great historical value, I wish whoever's responsible for this hack job would have paid more respect to the source material and Peps devotees.

Full EP playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Festplatsen 1974 (Happy Cop & Hiphop Bee, 2024; rec. 1974)

 Featured artists: Monica Törnell / Risken Finns / Nynningen / Mikael Ramel / Peps Blodsband / Cornelis Vreeswijk
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

”Festplatsen 1974” follows obscure label Happy Cop & Hiphop Bee's overwhelmingly brilliant ”Hälsa på som förr” by Mikael Ramel & Unga Hjärtan, and what it is is best explained by the liner notes: ”Festplatsen (='the festival grounds') was an entertainment show made for both radio and TV and recorded live at small festival grounds in July and August 1973, The music and the talk should, as much as possible, reflect the locality by mixing local talents and invited national and sometimes international personalities.” The show was aired in five episodes and was hosted by Mikael Ramel and Bengan Dalén of Fläsket Brinner and at the time also member of Ramel's band. Satirical duo Risken Finns were musical regulars on the show.

This album has selections from three of the five episodes, and apart from the obvious inclusions of Risken Finns and Ramel himself, there are appearences from Monica Törnell, Peps Blodsband, and Sweden's prime troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk. There's also an unusual example of Nynningen backing Risken Finns in a wonderfully raucous version of Risken's chestnut ”Du känner väl mig”. If Nynningen's own albums would have been that unhinged they'd have been way better! Risken's two other contributions are good too although more in their usual acoustic vein.

Mikael Ramel's songs with Dalén are more low-key than those on ”Hälsa på som förr” but still absolutely great. These four tracks are an essential addition to his regular albums and the splendid live album mentioned earlier.

I'm a bit disappointed with Peps Persson and his Blodsband though. This was around the time when Peps switched from blues to reggae, and here they occasionally sound as if they're not sure which to choose. Both ”Falsk matematik” and ”Djupt i mitt hjärta” sound confused, especially with the addition of accordeon which seems to have a hard time finding its place in the mix. The Swedish cover of ”Little Red Rooster” – ”Liden rö tocke” – fares better by being a straight-ahead blues, but all four Peps tracks seem a bit off.

The sound quality is excellent mono all through and the album was released in a minimal edition of only 100 copies on vinyl, no CD.

The full fifth episode of ”Festplatsen” is available for streaming on Mikael Ramel's website and has a couple of Kebnekaise tracks not on this album. 

 No links found

MIKE CASTLE – Kaliyuga Express (Sonet, 1970)

English vocals
International relevance: *

Chicago born guitarist Mike Castle spent time in Sweden and teamed up with Peps Persson and his then backing band Blues Quality for one album 1970, seemingly the only one Castle ever did. An all-blues effort with the exception of Gordon Lightfoot's ”Early Morning Rain”. Only ”Stockholm Blues” and ”Eagle Blues” are Castle originals, the rest is rather pedestrian cover choices such as ”Sweet Home Chicago”, ”Death Letter Blues” and ”Walkin' Blues” (although the latter is only a digital bonus track). Castle is an adequate but unexceptional acoustic guitarist and an uninspiring singer with a voice better suited for American folk styles than blues. Therefore he sounds best on the Lightfoot track and Mississippi John Hurt's ”Casey Jones” than the gruffer songs of Son House or Robert Johnson. He's learned the moves but fails to infuse much personality into them. Blues Quality appears on two tracks, Peps on six.

Kaliyuga Express full album playlist

ASTON REYMERS RIVALER – Complete albums 1979-1981

While a first glance may not reveal any overt progg credentials, Aston Reymers Rivaler were in fact cut from the same cloth as Peps (especially in his later years), Ronny Åström and Dag Vag. Mixing African influences, reggae and other Caribbean styles with elements of both cajun music and old-timey Swedish dance tunes, it's no wonder that several Dag Vag members occasionally sat in with the band, and that the ever so open-minded Per Tjernberg, fresh from Archimedes Badkar and then known as Per Cussion, was a permanent member for a while. Also, their first two albums were released by Musiklaget, the very same label responsible for Bättre Lyss, Solen Skiner, Underground Failure and other certified proggsters.

Aston Reymers Rivaler were originally a street band, and a continuation of obscure rock outfit Rockslusk who subsequently had two tracks on a Sista Bussen tape compilation entitled ”Mediokra hjärnor” in 1982. Aston Reymers Rivaler released several albums in the 80's, but only the first three fit in with this blog's timeframe.

Från myggjagare till foträta (Musiklaget, 1979)
Swedish lyrics, instrumental
International relevance: *

The debut LP immediately defined Aston Reymers Rivaler's eclectic musical mix and demonstrated their penchant for exuberant tongue-in-cheek performances. But if the humourous element seemed fresh and catchy back in the day, it unfortunately sounds dated today, a bit like those 'funny' hats you see in 40 years old pictures of your parents at parties that seemed cheerful then but cringe-worthy today. Still it has a couple of OK tracks, namely ”Sambo” (although the possibly ironic jungle themed lyrics are relentlessly dated) and the bittersweet instrumental Russian traditional ”Metsäkukkia”. The track ”Bruno och Vera” was chosen for a single and gave the band a minor hit.

Kräål (Musiklaget, 1980)
Swedish lyrics, instrumental
International relevance: *

Second album ”Kräål” (= the word ”creole” with a made-up Swedish spelling) was a bit more polished than its predecessor, but similar in style. The track ”Stockholms ström” was never released as a single, but it quickly became a massive radio success nonetheless. A Swedish cover of Millie's early ska hit ”My Boy Lollipop” entitled ”(Min tjej) Sockertopp” is this album's cringe peak, while their first full-on foray into reggae ”(Vi bygger om) Hela Stockholm” is surprisingly credible with its mild use of dub effects. Fittingly enough, it features Peps on backing vocals, clavinet and tambourine. Thinking of it, it wouldn't have been out of place on Peps' own album ”Spår”.

A non-album single from around this time brought the band another hit, as the anti-nuclear power calypso ”Godis är gott” was released with the March 1980 nuclear power referendum in mind. ”Godis är gott” and ”Stockholms ström” are probably Aston Reymers Rivaler's still best known tracks.

Tvål (Metronome, 1981)
International relevance: *
Swedish vocals, instrumental

For their third album ”Tvål”, the band switched labels from the independent Musiklaget to major label Metronome which may partly explain why it suffers from a duller sound. Also, their patented gumbo of styles began wearing thin at this point. You may not like the first two albums, but they were nevertheless bubbling with joy whereas ”Tvål” sounds predictable and lacklustre. Album opener ”Jakten på amazonkvinnornas guld” is a decent stab at New Orleans rhythm & blues (with some nice harmonica work to boot), but again, the best track is another brooding extended reggae number called ”Det går”.

Från myggjagare till foträta full album playlist
Kräål full album playlist
Tvål full album playlist

PEPS PERSSON IN MEMORIAM

The sadness is unfathomable. Not long ago, Bosse Skoglund, noted drummer with a plethora of bands, artists and constellations left us for the otherworld. And now, his long standing friend and collaborator in excellent music has followed suit – Peps Persson. Peps, who pretty much helped raise awareness of American blues and, perhaps even more important, basically singlehandedly brought Jamaican reggae to Sweden just passed away at the age of 74 after a long period of illness. His impact on Swedish music cannot be overrated. He was an everpresent spirit touching the hearts of not only progg lovers but casual listeners for decades. And more amazingly, always a bit from the side of the progg movement and the mainstream. He carved out his own niche where he was free to do whatever he wanted, to immerse himself in music that really mattered; i.e. music that grew in the hearts of those who endured hardships and had the gift to express them and touch others again. He will be sorely missed like few others. His passing away has left a hole in my heart that no other Swedish musician will be able to mend. So much more could be said, but words fail me at this time. Blessings Peps, wherever you went!

VARIOUS ARTISTS - 3 x Tonkraft

Before there was ”Progglådan” and before there was a Mellotronen label raiding the Swedish Radio archives for other previously unreleased live tapes by notable bands, there was ”Tonkraft – Levande musik från Sverige”, three double LP volumes of Swedish bands recorded for the Tonkraft radio show that ran from 1971 to 1980. (It was preceded by another show, Midnight Hour.) All in excellent sound quality, the first volume covered 1972-74, the second 1975-76, and the third one 1977-78, all of them with a number of bands featured with one track each. Today the 'one band, one song' format is antiquated with the demand for preferably complete sessions, but the Tonkraft albums were long the only place to go if you wanted more progg than what was available on the artists' original albums and singles.

Despite that the 40CD ”Progglådan” box set contains many of the recordings from the original ”Tonkraft” albums, they aren't entirely redundant since they still feature recordings not available elsewhere. Also, there are a couple of bands here that never released any discs of their own, or bands that at least were underrepresented on vinyl back in the day, such as Plus Gäster, Kolossos Sandaler, Doggers Bankar, Kapten Krok, and Harem to mention a few. Also, some of the better known artists have tracks here not on any of their regular releases, among them Anna Själv Tredje, Mikael Ramel, Mount Everest, Berits Halsband, Elda Med Höns and Ensamma Hjärtan.

Taken together, the three 2LP's work as a quick (i.e. not sufficiently representative) 'here and now' (or now, rather a 'there and then') guide to what the music movement and progg had to offer.

Tonkraft – Levande musik från Sverige 1972-74 (Tonkraft, released 1980)

Featured artists: Peps Bluesband / Pugh & Nature / Hoola Bandoola Band / Trotsålderns Barn / Södra Bergens Balalaikor / Mikael Ramel & Unga Hjärtan / Kebnekajse / Solar Plexus / Plus Gäster / Blå Tåget / Samla Mammas Manna / Hörselmat / Mount Everest / Berits Halsband

International relevance: ***

Swedish vocals, instrumental

Several good ones here, most notably from Peps Bluesband, Pugh Rogefeldt with Nature, and Kebnekajse going berserk in a version of ”Comanche Spring”. Of the otherwise undocumented bands, the completely unknown Plus Gäster's ”I badkaret” is the best, like a blend of Kebnekajse and Fläsket Brinner.

Tonkraft – Levande musik från Sverige 1975-76 (Tonkraft, released 1981)

Featured artists: John Holm / Kolossos Sandaler / Norrbottens Järn / Doggers Bankar / Omlopp / Första Förband / Fläsket Brinner / Elda Med Höns / Östan Sol, Västan Måne / Eldkvarn / Kornet / Vargavinter / Kjell Höglund / Iskra / Guran / Trettioåriga Kriget / Kapten Krok / Resa

Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

With the ”Tonkraft” series following the chronological trends, the 1975-76 volume provides a fair bit of fusion and symphonic rock inspired music such as Kolossos Sandaler, Första Förband (with Thomas Wiehe), Östan Sol Västan Måne, Kornet, Trettioåriga Kriget and Resa. Some good stuff here though, especially John Holm (although now redundant as it has been released elsewhere since) and Fläsket Brinner's ”Barbarella” (later issued on their Swedish Radio sessions box set).

Tonkraft – Levande musik från Sverige 1977-78 (Tonkraft, released 1982)

Featured artists: Rolf Wikströms Hjärtslag / Moder Svea / Horizont / Dimmornas Bro / Norrlåtar / Ensamma Hjärtan / Folk Och Rackare / Harem / Solen Skiner / Rekyl / Little Big Horns / Mora Träsk / Alter Ego / Anna Själv Tredje / Hot Salsa / Contra / Ramlösa Kvällar / Tintomara

Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The weakest of the three ”Tonkraft” sets, with only a couple of interesting selections; Anna Själv Tredje's otherwise unavailable ”Snöfall och daggyra”, and Ramlösa Kvällar's ”Den maskulina mystiken”. Of the unknown bands, Harem is the best, coming off almost like a power version of UK renaissance folk rockers Gryphon. Apart from that, too much fusion, B grade symph and crappy blues rock. (Alter Ego is the same band that had an archival release on Musea as Alter Echo.)

As a sample of progg's stylistic development from 1972 to 1978, the ”Tonkraft” volumes are fine, but from a musical point of view, a 'best of' would be much more listenable.

RONNY ÅSTRÖM – Den ensamma människan (Sonet, 1976) / Hampadängor (Sonet, 1977)

Peps Persson cohort Ronny Åström was involved in board game development for kids in the 60's, and also in children's comics including the Swedish version of Donald Duck. He released only two proper albums, both produced by Peps Persson with Peps Blodsband backing him up. The lyrics are sometimes political but with a humorous twist and sung in Åström's thick Skåne dialect.

Den ensamma människan (Sonet, 1976)

as Ronny Åström med Peps Blodsband

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

”Den ensamma människan” is disarmingly charming but with lyrics of a much greater depth and with far darker serious strains than what the music itself might imply. The album title, ”the lonely human” and track titles such as ”Big Brother is watching you” and ”Why does Noa drink?” give a hint. There's a lot more going on here than what only a slapdash listen reveals. But what would a foreign listener hear? Probably only well played but pedestrian blues and reggae with some old-timey feelgood music in-between. It's the lyrics that really carry it and they're lost on non-Swedes.

Hampadängor (Sonet, 1977)

as Ronny Åström och hela Skånes ljudpark

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Åström's second album has a not entirely comfortable calypso influence on several tracks. Much too close to Peps Persson's albums with Pelleperssons Kapell, which means this is mostly a terrible album. But one can meditate on whether ”Mäster Felix göingavisa” is a deliberate tribute to Philemon Arthur & The Dung or not. 

After ”Hampadängor”, Ronny Åström retired from music, and kept working in the comics business. He died from cancer in 2002.

Den ensamma människan full album playlist
Hampadängor full album playlist

PEPS PERSSON – The reggae years 1975-1982

Hög standard (Sonet, 1975)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

1975 saw the release of Peps' collaboration with Slim Notini, ”Blues på svenska”, but also his first fullblown reggae album. ”Hög standard” caused some puzzlement among the blues fans. What was this?
Well, it was Peps Persson having discovered The Wailers' ”Catch a Fire” before most other people had. ”Hög standard” was probably the first time ever a lot of Swedes were exposed to the Jamaican beat, and it was a most amazing introduction. With drummer Bosse Skoglund, Peps pulled off a trick that few have pulled off with such credibility and artistic grandeur.

In an interview for Jefferson blues magazine, Peps said that meeting Skoglund is one of the best things that have ever happened to him, and it was indeed a musical marriage made in heaven. Skoglund is an incredibly versatile player; he doesn't just play, he understands the concepts of beat, rhythm and flow. He's a musician deep within his heart, deep within his soul, and in every molecule of his body. Bosse Skoglund is a perfect drummer, not shying away from any style thrown at him. He made anything he played on cooking and swinging, and that's something sadly missing from too many progg albums – it's as progg sometimes had to be stiff and rigid and boring to be 'authentic' or whatever nonsense. (Then again, it takes some skill to make music physically appealing, and that too is sadly missing from way too many stupid progg albums made by musical analphabets.) So without trying to diminish any other of Peps' musicians, Skoglund was indeed the perfect contributor to whatever Peps set out to do.

In the same Jefferson interview, Peps says that the blues was a dream, while reggae brought him closer to reality. Well, with ”Peps Blodsband” from 1974, it was far more than a dream; the album's certainly true and real to me with its spot-on observations of society. But, ”Hög standard” is too. The title track has become a part of the Swedish musical canon; it's one of those tracks that people immediately recognize and could sing along to for at least a couple of lyric lines criticizing our society fixated with mindnumbing superficial pre-fab 'happiness'. Already the album cover art is a spoof on the glamour depicted on the cover of ABBA's eponymous album, like ”Hög standard” released in 1975.

But the whole album ”Hög standard” is fantastic, with the possible exception of ”Persson ifrån stan”, written by Peps' dad in the 20's. Two other covers appear here, originally on Bob Marley albums and merituously translated by Peps, ”Styr den opp” (”Stir It Up”) and ”Snackelåt” (”Talking Blues”). But exceot for ”Persson ifrån stan”, the entire album consists of first-rate material.>

Droppen urholkar stenen (Sonet, 1976)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

Peps most varied album up to that point, mixing reggae, calypso and blues. Great Swedish versions of Bob Marley's ”Small Axe” (”Liden såg”), Peter Tosh's ”Mark of the Beast” (”Vilddjurets tecken” subtitled ”Snea figurer”) and blues classic ”Going Down Slow” (”Det roliga é slut”). Plus high calibre original material like ”Babylon” and ”Identitet”. Despite lesser tracks like ”Varför blev jag terrorist?” (written by bassist Göran Weihs) and ”Rus”, this is another essential Peps Blodsband album.

In 1976, Peps Blodsband backed up Ronny Åström on his first Peps produced album ”Den ensamma människan”.

Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan... (Oktober, 1977)

as Pelleperssons Kapell
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

At the time a surprising release, made on behalf of SKP (The Communist Party of Sweden) and released on their Oktober imprint. Explains Peps in the Jefferson interview: ”[SKP] were Marxist national romantics campaigning for people to play Swedish music. Their angle was that all American popular music was imperialist propaganda, including black music. They published a pamphlet around that time, called 'You can't conquer to the music of the enemy'. They wanted an album from us with old labour movement songs and songs about strikes, but we soon realized that songs like that would have a longevity of a maximum of six months – so we substituted most of them for songs that were more fun. They didn't like that very much, especially as the musical backing sounded pretty un-Swedish to them. But if you dance with the devil, you have to pay the piper so they put the album out and it sold well.”

It wasn't the only time political organizations and the music movement in general tried to lure Peps over to their side. For some reason, Peps was always acceptable to the movement crowd despite being signed to a so called commercial label, Sonet. But Peps never really responded to their invitations, having too much integrity to join any clubs or cults.

”Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan...” is more than anything a curio. I have a soft spot for opening track ”Auktionsvisa” but the rest of the album really isn't very good. The songs are too silly, but the musicians apparently enjoy playing them. Perhaps it offered a relief from the often dead serious atmosphere of the music movement? And it's a fine line-up including Roland Keijser (who also appears on ”Hög standard” and ”Droppen urholkar stenen”), Per Odeltorp (later of Dag Vag), Bertil Pettersson (later of Blue Fire and Chicago Express), plus the usual Peps Blodsband suspects.

Spår (Sonet, 1978)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals, English vocals 

Internationl relevance: ***

 

An excellent album blending reggae, rock, calypso touches and African influences. The few bad tracks (”Drängavisa”, ”Moliendo Café” and ”Mors lilla Olle”) can't drag the strong ones down, such as the classic ”Hyreskasern” (Jacob Miller's ”Tenement Yard”), ”Maskin nr. 2”, the two tracks from newly recruited guitar slinger Babatunde Tony Ellis, and percussionist Lester Jackman's excellent ”Games”. The use of multiple singers works in the album's advantage, and ”Spår” stands out as one of the best albums by Peps Blodsband.

Rotrock (Sonet, 1980)

as Peps Persson med Blodsband och Kapell
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

A very uneven album bringing together tracks from the proper Peps Blodsband and a couple of songs by Pelleperssons Kapell that are similar to the inferior ”Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan...”. Great tracks like ”Illa” and ”Rotrock” mix with not so great tracks like ”Då måste detta va' blues” and ”Främmande”, and some terrible ones like ”Motorcykeln”, ”Karna & Ola” and ”Ain sorgeli visa om vauillen pau tinged i Auby”. To put it straight: the album is a frustrating mish-mash with too few real highlights.

Persson sjonger Persson (Sonet, 1982)

Pelleperssons Kapell

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Another full album from Pelleperssons Kapell is not what you need. This time Peps sings songs originally recorded by the infuriatingly jovial Edvard Persson, an actor famous in the 1920's through the 50's, and whose movies appeared on TV well into the 70's like a swarm of wasps in a glass of juice. His music was just as lousy as his movies and it didn't get any better just because you put a reggae or calypso beat to it. Easily Peps Persson's worst album.

Peps Persson kept enjoying an artistically successful career but largely withdrew from music in the 00's due to health issues. He died in 2021.

Hög standard full album playlist

Droppen urholkar stenen full album playlist

Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan full album playlist

Spår full album playlist

Rotrock full album playlist 

Persson sjonger Persson full album playlist

PEPS PERSSON – The blues years 1968-1975

Although his albums aren't uniformly excellent, it's absolutely impossible to overrate Peps Persson. Not only is he a top-notch performer, an excellent lyricist (and translator) and in possession of one of the greatest backing bands ever to come out of Sweden, he's also a highly influential character who more or less single-handedly introduced blues and reggae to Swedish audiences. His first band was rock & roll and instro band Pop Penders Kvartett. In 1966-67 he made a name for himself locally with blues and rhythm & blues band Down Beat Crowd. Around that time, Peps left Hässleholm in Skåne in the south of Sweden and moved to Stockholm where he hung out in the legendary psychedelic underground Club Filips. He released a couple of unimpressive singles for the Olga label before his career took on. His discography is vast and varied, also including production work and collaborations with other artists.

Blues Connection (Gazell, 1968)
as Linkin' Louisiana Peps

English vocals
International relevance: **

After the Olga Records 45's released as Linkin' Louisiana Peps (named so after a misunderstanding; it should have been Limpin', not Linkin'), he made his album debut with this pedestrian set of Chicago blues. Peps was simply too derivative in his early days, the song choices – all covers – are unimaginative in retrospect.

Sweet Mary Jane (Sonet, 1969)

as Peps & Blues Quality
English vocals

International relevance: ***

 

Peps teamed up with Örebro band Blues Quality for one album. (They later evolved into Nature.) ”Sweet Mary Jane” is much more interesting than his debut but it's pretty fuzzy around the edges. Even magnificent drummer and long-time Peps cohort Bosse Skoglund plays surprisingly sloppy, and I suspect that the band had gotten a bit too friendly with the Mary Jane of the album title and Sture Johannesson's cover art... (The 70's reissue was housed in a less controversial cover, see below.)

After "Sweet Mary Jane", Peps returned down south to Skåne.

The Week Peps Came to Chicago (Sonet, 1972)

English vocals
International relevance: **

Any non-American Chicago blues singer would have been extremely delighted by a trip to Windy City to play with some of the city's top blues names including guitarist Mighty Joe Young and pianist Sunnyland Slim. So was Peps, but ”The Week Peps Came to Chicago” proved to have an entirely different long term effect on him. He realized it was a bit silly coming from Sweden to the U.S. to play the blues to the people who were basically born into the genre. Peps realized he wasn't adding anything original singing the blues in English. He had to do it in his native tongue. While Peps had developed into a very good singer at this point, the album is indeed redundant compared the the sound of the original artists. ”The Week Peps Came to Chicago” was the end of an era, and the beginning of another.

Peps Blodsband (Sonet, 1974)

as Peps Blodsband

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

Ranked #10 on the blog's Top 25

Suddenly, everything fell into place. With Peps switching to Swedish lyrics, his music became so much more powerful. It's still blues in the classic urban style, but now Peps step inside the words and music in a much more credible way. The two translated covers (Don Nix penned ”It's the Same Old Blues” and Elmore James' ”The Sky Is Crying”) fit in seamlessly with Peps' original material, and everything's delivered with so much conviction and prowess that the results are absolutely irrefutable. The lyrics are often political but descriptive, never proselytizing. Peps shares his brilliant observations of the capitalist society but trusts the listener with his/her own conclusions. With not one single inferior track, ”Peps Blodsband” is a 24 carat masterpiece, still as relevant as when originally released. And so it will remain as long as greed and egotism run the world.

Blues på svenska (Sonet, 1975)
as Peps och Slim
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

An album split with pianist Per 'Slim' Notini; five tracks by each, all translated covers of blues standards by the likes of Muddy Waters, Eddie Boyd, Elmore James, Willie Dixon, and Lowell Fulson. Although Peps' contributions are fine enough, the LP's a bit disappointing following the perfect ”Peps Blodsband”. Slim Notini's also better with his Blues Gang on the 1971 album ”The Blues Ain't Strange”. In short, a little too mediocre to be fully recommendable.

"Progglådan" features a 1973 Tonkraft recording with Peps and Blues Set.

from Blues Connection

"Shake Your Moneymaker"

"Rooster Blues"

"Dimples"
"Dust My Blues"
"Five Long Years"

Sweet Mary Jane full album playlist
The Week Peps Came To Chicago full album playlist with bonus tracks
Peps Blodsband full album playlist
Tonkraft 1973 full album playlist

Blues på svenska full album playlist