TOMMY KÖRBERG – Sjunger Birger Sjöberg (Sonet, 1974) / TOMMY KÖRBERG & STEFAN NILSSON – Blixtlås (Sonet, 1979)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: */**

Tommy Körberg is a huge star even internationally thanks to his appearance in the ”Chess” musical. He's an incredibly versatile performer and a massively gifted singer, but he can also be massively boring and his vocal precision can make him sound cold. Most of his solo works are way outside of progg; his relevance to this blog mainly extends to his recordings with Solar Plexus and Made In Sweden. ”Tommy Körberg sjunger Birger Sjöberg” fits despite not really being progg as it's really a Solar Plexus album in disguise, featuring the entire band minus Jojje Wadenius. The songs are musical adaptions of Swedish turn of the century poet Birger Sjöberg, As expected with the people involved, it's a well performed affair. It's very polished, so polished it's lifeless. There's little or nothing of Solar Plexus's usual frivolous approach to musical genres, and the general feel is that of restrainment and control. The three tracks that rise slightly above the inherent dullness are ”Släpp fångarne loss”, ”Samtal om universum” and ”Bleka dödens minut”. They have vague strains of a suppressed unease if you listen closely – very closely – but still lack the spirit the album is in such great need of.

Tommy Körberg returned to Swedish poetry as a source for inspiration five years later, but his approach was vastly different on "Blixtlås" (subtitled "Svensk 70-talspoesi", 'Swedish 70's poetry'). Featured are  longtime Körberg cohort Stefan Nilsson (Kornet, De Gladas Kapell, Hörselmat) and other people from mainly the jazz and fusion legions (plus a harmonica cameo from Mats Ronander). It has a sound I don't like, but the music and arrangements are still more vivid than on the Birger Sjöberg album. But ”Blixtlås” wasn't made as a companion piece, and taken as a singular work, it simply sounds lika a cold, cerebreal and clinical fusion jazz workout.

Sjunger Birger Sjöberg full album playlist
Blixtlås full album playlist

TOMMY KÖRBERG, ANDERS LINDER, LILL LINDFORS & ANN SOFI NILSSON – Barn i stan (Folksång, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

The featured booklet explains the album: ”This album deals with the condition of children. Some of the songs are newly written, but most of them date back to the turn of the century. You can learn a lot from history. Knowledge of the historical context can help us to greater power of action today.” Needless to say, the lyrics have a strong political bent, and while it's hard to object to the sentiment, the wiseacre approach is as tiresome here as always.

The most interesting thing about the album is the all-star lineup with several of prog stellars including Tommy Körberg (Solar Plexus, Made In Sweden), Anders Linder (all-round performer well-loved for his many children's shows on national TV), Stefan Nilsson (De Gladas Kapell, Kornet, Hörselmat and later on stahlwart with Tommy Körberg), Stefan Ringbom (Mascots, Fria Proteatern) and of course, the everpresent multi-instrumentalist maestro Kjell Westling (Arbete & Fritid, Harvester, Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget, Vargavinter, Spjärnsvallet...). Still, the music itself isn't very interesting, and ”Barn i stan” stands most of all as merely a historical document from the tail end of the progg movement.

Folksång was Fria Proteatern's label.

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LASSE TENNANDER – The 1970's albums

Lasse Tennander's first record appearance was as a member of 60's Kingston Trio styled folk trio The Wayfarers, and for his 1974 solo debut ”Lars Vegas” he had evolved into one of many progg singer/songwriters steeped in the Dylan tradition. His lyrics are often political but rarely shouty. A curious fact is that he translated the lyrics to Pugh Rogefeldt's ”Ja dä ä dä” album. His English translations were used for the back cover of the U.S. release on Vault.

Lars Vegas (Midnight Sun, 1974)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

”Lars Vegas” mixes softer tracks with upbeat numbers. The most interesting thing about the album is the credits list. Many studio regulars appear – Janne Schaffer. Jan Bandel and Mike Watson but also Anders Nordh of Life on guitar. The songs lack originality, but "Shall We Join the Ladies" is mildly interesting with a string arrangement and reveals a surprising David Bowie influence both in style and Tennander's voice.

Alla är vi barn i början (Oktober, 1976)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

The title track is one of Tennander's best songs, and ”Yngve Frejs barn” is him at his proggiest, but the rest of the album is as yawny as ”Lars Vegas”. Several session musicians used on his debut appear here as well, including Nordh but they can't save this album either.

På jakt... (Sonet, 1978)
Swedish vocals 

International relevance: *

 

”På jakt I” is a four minute autobiography, ”För gammal för rock men för ung för att dö” is an obvious (and rather funny) gibe at rock singer/songwriter Ulf Lundell (now a national icon), and ”Långt bortom allt förnuft” has a bittersweet melancholy to it, and several lyrics deal with having a child. But it's still as unengaging as his previous two LP's.

”På jakt...” was also released with the sleeve variation seen above.

Längst därinne är himlen ändå röd (Sonet, 1979)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Better than the previous ones, by a small margin. ”Med revade segel” is his best song, and possibly a comment to the subsiding progg movement in a similar vein to Mikael Wiehe's ”Titanic (Andraklasspassagerarens sista sång)”. Or a political analysis of the year when the Social Democratic Party lost the election to the right wing parties for the first time in 40 years. The song was also released a single. Lasse Englund, Stefan Nilsson and blues artist Rolf Wikström among the session players.

Lasse Tennander continued making albums for decades but appears to have retired now. A 1976 recording with back-up from Kaipa (?!) is included in ”Progglådan”.

Lars Vegas full album playlist
Alla är vi barn i början full album playlist 

På jakt... full album playlist

Längst därinne är himlen ändå röd full album playlist

Tonkraft 1976 full album playlist (tracks 1-4)

COSTE APETREA – Nyspolat (MNW, 1977) / COSTE APETREA & STEFAN NILSSON WITH JUKKA TOLONEN – Vänspel (Svenska Love, 1979)

Instrumental

International relevance: *** / ***

Of course there's a whole lot to be said about former Samla Mammas Manna member Coste Apetrea, He's been involved in so many things over the years. But I can't muster up enough enthusiasm for his solo work to bother. I can't think of many musicians as boring as him on his own.

”Nyspolat” was his first solo album and it's so dull it could bore the wallpapers off Carlos Santana's wall. This is guitar acrobatics ad nauseam, both acoustic and electric, set to a fusion backdrop that could bore the wallpapers off John McLaughlin's wall. I don't even understand why this music exists apart from satisfying Apetrea's inflated ego.

”Vänspel” was made with keyboard player Stefan Nilsson featuring ultrabore Jukka Tolonen. A tiny bit more exciting than ”Nyspolat”, thanks to Nilsson's piano, but it's still a pain to sit through. It's so cerebral and dull that it could bore the wallpapers off Al DiMeola's wall.

It's albums such as these that almost make me regret I started this blog.

By the way, Apetrea was responsible for the booklets accompanying the massive 40 CD ”Progglådan” release, with previously unreleased radio recordings by a large number of progg bands. Had he been as pedantic with his liner notes as he is with his music, then they wouldn't have been littered with so many spelling mistakes to make them more or less impossible to read without breaking something in frustration. Frankly the worst example of an insulting lack of proof reading I've ever seen in a published piece of writing I've ever seen. Sometimes he obviously just don't care when he should have, other times he cares way, way, way too much when he shouldn't.

Nyspolat full album playlist

Vänspel full album