SPRING QUINTETT – Spring Quintett (Polar, 1981)

Instrumental
International relevance: **

Mixing members from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, ”Spring Quintett” was released in Sweden on Polar in 1981. An unusual release for a label best known for ABBA, as this is a relatively imaginative fusion album, centered around EGBA member Bjarne Roupé's guitar and Mats Lundvall's piano. The songs were mainly written by saxophonist Stefan Grahn, and they don't take the easy way out; the songs have quitks and angles not too typical to early 80s standard fusion. Spring Quintett had a broad scope of jazz styles merging into something rather original and underappreciated. You can hear traces of performers as diverse as Pharoah Sanders, Terje Rypdal, Harald Svensson, and late 70s free jazz, with dashes of Albert Ayler's and Ornette Coleman's melodicity. While not an absolute top shelf release, it does have a quite a few interesting touches and moments. I would have liked to hear more from this outfit, but this was unfortunately their only album. The streaming version has one bonus track though.

Full album playlist (with bonus track)

KAIPA – Händer (Polar, 1980) / Nattdjurstid (Piglet, 1982)

Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: */*

Few albums have represented such a sharp turn in style as these. When guitarist Roine Stolt left the band in 1979, he took the original Kaipa style with him and left the band with something that's closer to a poppish, synth inflicted post punk with very, very little left of what characterized Kaipa's first three albums. Only instrumentals ”Regn” and ”Elgrandi” on ”Händer” show traces of their past, but those traces are so small they almost don't count.

I've never been a Kaipa fan but these albums are definitely inferior to anything they originally became known for. The early albums had a vision whereas these two sound like a band lost. Especially ”Händer” sounds exactly like it is, a band struggling to come up with something after one important member left. I almost feel sorry for them clutching for the weakest straws; stiff playing, ill-fitting production, and worst of all: bad songwriting.

”Händer” was released on ABBA:s label Polar and they were obviously not pleased, so for the next album ”Nattdjurstid” 1982, Kaipa geared down to Uppsala imprint Piglet. Maybe the decreased production values were to their advantage, since ”Nattdjurstid” is a slightly better album. Kaipa seems to have a better comprehension of their new style, the songs are tighter and more effective, and the smaller sound suits the new material better. The band simply sounds more self-assured. There are even moments of true inspiration, as on ”Zepapo” where Stolt replacement Max Åhman goes into full Robert Fripp mode. It's still not a good album though, and they probably realized that going further down this path that really wasn't theirs would only lead to further humiliation. By the end of the year, Kaipa disbanded.

Händer full album
Nattdjurstid full album

NATURE – Nature (Gump, 1972) / Earthmover (Sonet, 1974) / LASSE WELLANDER – Electrocuted (Sonet, 1976) / WELLANDER & RONANDER – Wellander & Ronander (Polar, 1978)

Nature was an Örebro blues rock outfit that evolved out of Blues Quality who made one album with blues and reggae master Peps Persson. Harmonica player and singer Mats Ronander's Hendrix styled vocals ais one of their foremost characteristics, with his sidekick Lasse Wellander taking care of the heavy guitar sound. Nature was often hired as a back-up band to artists such as Pugh Rogefeldt and nationally successful singer/songwriter acts Ulf Lundell and Ted Gärdestad. There are two 1972 Pugh 45's co-credited to Nature, and one Lundell album, ”Natten hade varit mild och öm” released around the time of Nature's demise in 1977. 

NATURE – Nature (Gump, 1972)

English vocals, Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

Mats Ronander's vocals are too derivative and in your face, but that's not the only thing that makes this a pointless album. Nature's blues rock is pedestrian, dull and redundant. It features both English and Swedish vocals, and partly because of the Swedish lyrics, ”Den killen är en stjärna” sounds a bit like power trio November. ”Nature” was produced by Pugh Rogefeldt who worked for Metronome subsidiary Gump who released the album, which alone makes it an expensive item. But that's all there is to pay for: the label, not the music.

 

NATURE – Earthmover (Sonet, 1974)

English vocals, Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

Their second album has a more luxurious production with additional musicians like Björn J:son Lindh, sax player Bernt Rosengren, pianist Alain Leroux and conga player Malando Gassama expanding the sound. Thankfully Ronander had also toned down some of his Hendrix complex which makes for more 'natural' sounding vocals. But multiple session musicians and Claes af Geijerstam's production Nature makes this an even weaker effort than their debut, and unnecessary cover versions of Lovin' Spoonful's ”Summer in the City” and Dylan/The Band's ”This Wheel's on Fire” certainly don't help. ”Earthmover” is overproduced and too glossy. Best track is the instrumental ”Meating” which sounds a bit like Kebnekajse with Gassama's congas a crucial element.

A couple of unreleased early 70's Nature radio sessions exist, and there's a 1972 recording with Dave Greenslade in ”Progglådan”.

LASSE WELLANDER – Electrocuted (Sonet, 1976)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

For his solo debut album, Wellander went for ”Earthmover” producer Claes af Geijerstam to get the desired sound. Geijerstam also plays guitar and adds some background vocals on ”Electrocuted”, and other high level session musiciani including Wlodek Gulgowski and Tommy ”Slim” Borgudd appears as well. Even UK keyboard player Dave Greenslade who Nature played with in 1972. Without a singer to balance the music, it's a guitar album through and through. Wellander solos and solos and solos and solos, and just in case, he overdubs himself so he can play solos twice or more at the same time. Sometimes funky, sometimes bluesy, sometimes semi-progressive, sometimes romantic, always boring. Best track is the Kebnekajse pastiche ”Lingonskogen”.

WELLANDER & RONANDER – Wellander & Ronander (Polar, 1978)

Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: *

After Nature's break-up, Lasse Wellander again teamed up with Mats Ronander for an album, this time released through ABBA's label Polar. Constipated blues rock, rheumatic funk, thickheaded hard rock... As great as a heart attack.

Nature full album playlist
Earthmover full album playlist

Electrocuted full album playlist

Wellander & Ronander full album playlist
Tonkraft 1972 full album

RUNESON – Runeson (Polar, 1974)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

On the surface, this is a pretty surprising entry, much like Claes af Geijerstam's ”Out of My Hair”. As it happens, Geijerstam produced this album by commercially minded Nils-Åke Runeson, released through Polar – yes, ABBA's label. But like Tobias Petterson points in his progg encyclopedia, it sports more progressive moves than expected, and features contributions from several progg and progg related performers, including Wlodek Gulgowski, Janne Schaffer and Blond guitarist Björn Linder. High energy track ”Fredag kväll” and ”Her Seventh Floor” (probably more daring in the time signature department than any other Polar album, for what it's worth) have the best progg credentials. Schaffer also goes guitar wild on ”I'm Not a Poet”.

Not essential by any stretch and not even half the semi-rarity some want you to believe it is, it's still a fairly entertaining reminder that progg(ish) music can appear in the least expected places.

Full album playlist