BOB, BJÖRN & DAVE – Extraknäckt (Plump Productions, 1973)

 English vocals
International relevance: ***

The Spotnicks were a long running instro band in the style of The Shadows, renowned for their thin, heavy gauge strings guitar sound. Their gimmick was dressing up in space suits. In 1972 Spotnicks bassist Björn Thelin and guitarist/singer Bob Lander (real name: Bo Starander) teamed up with Englishman and great singer Dave Kirby for a very different kind of record.

Released in 1973 (then reissued three years later), ”Extraknäckt” shows clear traces of late 60s rural UK psychedelia. It sometimes makes me think of Traffic, while the track ”Help Me” wouldn't have been out of place on legends July's only album. In rare cases they touch on a laidback, loungy style which is rather stylish. Although a bit late to the game, ”Extraknäckt” sits nicely between Atlantic Ocean and Jason's Fleece. I think fans of those bands would appreciate ”Extraknäckt” a fair bit, as I do. It has a nice, relaxed vibe and the songwriting's good. Overlooked as it may be, it's a very appealing album overall.

Label Plump Productions was absurdly diverse with no clear release agenda. Apart from Bob, Björn & Dave's one-off album, their only claim to progg fame is Änglabarn's LP, also from 1973.

Help Me
Guess You Know
There Will Be A Day

ÄNGLABARN – Änglabarn (Plump Productions, 1973)

Swedish vocals, spoken word

International relevance: **

 

Surprisingly sought after (i.e. expensive) album by Malmö duo Änglabarn consisting of Sven Ingmar Ohlsson and Dan Tillberg. Tillberg later founded the Bellatrix label, recorded two cover albums of The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan translations, and appeared in the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest in 1985 and 1986.

At first I thought this album was rather good, but the more I've heard it, the more irritating it's become. The pompous vocals have an incredibly annoying Xian vibe even if the album isn't religious. But the lyrics are bad enough, hippy clichés dressed up as haughty 'poetry', some of them written by Tillberg's grandmother. The spoken ”Dikt och vers” certainly doesn't help either, and the large choir and the string section used on several tracks give the album a crypto-symphonic character, as if it wanted to be a symph album but doesn't have the guts to see it through. Last track ”Ur drömmen” explains everything: It's a cover of The Moody Blues' ”Nights in White Satin”, but most of the album sounds just like that, a Moody Blues warmed over in a microwave oven for the fourth time.

Änglabarn also released a single in 1973, with two less overblown non-album tracks and while one thinks the toned down arrangements would help the duo's cause, they're even worse than anything on the album, with the dreadful hippy dippy schmippy drivel even more to the fore.

Full album playlist with bonus tracks (Bandcamp)