SLIM'S BLUES GANG – The Blues Ain't Strange (Sonet, 1971)

English vocals

International relevance: **

Pianist Per 'Slim' Notini was an early flag-bearer of Swedish blues. He was greatly influenced by piano legends Memphis Slim and Fats Domino, and in 1967 he travelled to Chicago to play with Magic Sam on his classic ”West Side Soul” album. He was one of Peps Persson's earliest musical cohorts, and years later, in 1975, they made the album ”Blues på svenska” together. He also appeared with blues guitarist Rolf Wikström. He also co-founded Swedish world renowned reissue label Route 66 with Jonas Bernholm and Bengt Weine in 1976, championing rhythm & blues from the 40's and 50's, thereby bringing new and extremely well deserved attention to a largely forgotten kind of music.

Although founded already in 1962, Slim's Blues Gang didn't make their debut album ”The Blues Ain't Strange” until 1971 which, as it happens, is the gang's only album. Notini may not be a first rate blues vocalist, but he gets the job done. The album is a very credible effort with a tight and solid backing from Rolf Wikström on guitar, Ola Brunkert on drums, Åke Dahlberg on bass, and Christer Eklund and Olle Frankzén on saxes. The reworking of Elmore James's ”Stranger Blues” (”I'm a Stranger Here) has some really fine guitar work from Wikström, ”Break It on Down” moves its hips in a suggestive way, ”Gone Father Blues” rolls and tumbles along nicely, and the devil-may-care ”Tow Away Zone” is a hint at Notini's stint with Magic Sam. Very good!

Slim Notini later left the devil's music behind, became a Born Again Christian and turned to gospel music full time in the 90's.

Full album playlist

CONVALJEN, PELLE, CHRISTINA, JOJJE – Kåklåtar (MNW, 1972) / KONVALJEN – Konvaljen (MNW, 1975)

There was an ongoing debate over prisoners' conditions in Sweden in the early 70's. The correctional facilities were criticized for being too old-fashioned, even inhumane. MNW decided to make a record of inmates performing their own songs telling their own story, and the album ”Kåklåtar” became an important contribution to the public debate, bringing further attention to their cause.

CONVALJEN, PELLE, CHRISTINA, JOJJE – Kåklåtar (MNW, 1972)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

A number of progg luminaries help the "Kåklåtar" singers out including Tore Berger, Greg FitzPatrick, Hans Wiktorsson, Tomas Forssell, and Tord Bengtsson. But the important performers are interns Lennart 'Convaljen' Johansson, Pelle Lindberg, Christina Calldén and George 'Jojje' Olsson performing mostly their own songs (some traditional) with lyrics written by other inmates. The importance of the album lies with what's being said and not how it's said. Obviously none of the singers are professionals and it has to be taken into consideration when approaching ”Kåklåtar”. It's unconditionally context-depending; from a strictly musical point, there's nothing thrilling here.

KONVALJEN – Konvaljen (MNW, 1975)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Of the ”Kåklåtar” singers, Lennart "Konvaljen" Johansson became the most popular, and having spent around three decades in prison, he also became the informal spokesman of Swedish prisoners. In 1974, he began working on his solo album together with the likes of Slim Notini, Nikke Ström and Samla Mammas Manna (backing him up on dull blues track ”Resocialiseringsblues”). It was released the following year, with Convaljen's name now spelt Konvaljen. The songs are similar to his contributions to ”Kåklåtar” in an uncomplicated troubadour style with the lyrics being the most important element. You could almost say that the message is the medium. ”Konvaljen” is a wee bit better than ”Kåklåtar” but the songs are still in an uninteresting troubadour style, and there's not much here for foreign listeners to pick up on (unless you're a hardened Samla Mammas Manna completist).

A much better prison themed album is Hawkey Franzén's ”Visa från Djupvik”.

For those wanting to learn more about the tradition of Swedish prison songs, a book was published in 2017, ”Kåklåtar – Fängelsevisor som identitetsmarkör och kulturarv”, written by Dan Lundberg, published by Gidlunds Förlag. An English translation is currently in the making.

Kåklåtar full album playlist
from Konvaljen

Resocialiseringsblues 

Lazzaron 

En billig rymning + Porrblaskan

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