FREEDOM – Freedom (Bellatrix, 1978)

 

 Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

Dan Tillberg's Bellatrix label was a confusing one. Anything could come out on the label – punk, progg, jazz, garage rock, polka (!), choirs and religious music. This one fits the last two categories.

Released as Freedom but actually performed by Kyrkans Ungdom I Finja Pastorat (=”the church youth of the Finja pastorate”, Finja being a small town in Skåne in the south) to the benefit of the Church of Sweden International Aid. Seemingly appealing to collectors of Jesus pop, it does have some progg characteristics. A few tracks would actually have been quite good hadn't it been a youth choir singing. The best track by far is album opener ”Vem var han?” which wouldn't have been out of place on Obadja's great album ”Testa”. However, it was resurrected on the "Frälst!" compilation – a good choice making "Freedom" redundant. As it stands, it is a youth choir album sounding like one.

Vem var han? (Bandcamp)

OBADJA – Testa (Obadja, 1977)

  Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

I suppose a lot of people had never heard about Obadja until Subliminal Sounds included them on the ”Frälst!” compilation with the hard rocking title track from their sole album, a private pressing from 1977. But it's the least representative one. ”Testa” consists of sometimes lightly funky but mostly moody, reflective songs with a slight, very pleasing basement feel. The lyrics are all about Jesus, and some of them are naive and in the case of ”Räddningsfirman” outright cringy, but there's a sincerity to them that in fact is rather endearing. Songwriter and piano player Torbjörn Westberg has a keen melodic sense, an his voice is a bit similar to Pugh Rogefeldt's at times with a disarming directness to it. The only bad track here is guitarist Lars Ohlsson's ”Våldets spiral”. And you can't say he's a perfect guitarist, sometimes stumbling on his otherwise edgy solos, but that actually adds to the earnestness and deepens the impact of the predominantly piano driven songs (both acoustic and electric piano are used).

With the exception of ”Våldets spiral”, the songs are so great it's hard to pick a facourite. But I'm particularly fond of album opener ”Jobbig tid” with a hypnotic, descending scale (and included as a digital bonus track on ”Frälst!”).

I haven't heard every Christian album ever released in Sweden (the very thought of doing it is horrifying), but if there's any one better than this, I'd be more than happy to hear it. ”Testa” is quite simply a wonderful effort and should be a no-brainer for a proper reissue. 

Jobbig tid
Letar du efter räddning
Testa
Använd kolat 
Räddningsfirman

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 5: Political and religious

THE VERGERS – Se dig för / Fader vår (Celesta, 1969)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

”Se dig för” is included on ”Frälst!” but B side ”Fader vår” remains uncomped. Not a very good one, weaker than the A side, so there's no need to look for this 45 if you have ”Frälst!”. This was the last of The Vergers' four singles.

 

FRIA PROTEATERN – Chile (Folksång, 1974)
Swedish vocals:
International relevance: *

Two tracks unique to this Chile solidarity single, although side one's ”Ett enat folk” is available in a live version on ”Koncert I København Okt. 1973”. Side B has ”IB, ÖB och SÄPO” about the political scandal described in some detail here. For Fria Proteatern fans only.

OPPONER – Alfa blues / Till min make (Opponer, 1975)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Two tracks not on Opponer's full length album. ”Alfa blues” is exacrly that, a blues number of no particular merir, while ”Till min make” is a traditional tune with new lyrics by Opponer singer Anna Olofsson and bassist Mats Sönnfors. A much better song with that sweet melancholy typical to the best Swedish folk tunes. Released with the aid from the workers at pump facorty Alfa Laval.

ELEVER PÅ MUSIKLÄRARSKOLAN SÄMUS I GÖTEBORG / FRIA PROTEATERN – Vietnam Kambodja befriade (Befria Södern, 1975)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

As the Vietnam war ended in 1975, so did the stream of releases from De Förenade FNL-grupperna and their cohorts. This was the last of those, a three track EP split between Fria Proteatern and Elever på musiklärarskolan SÄMUS i Göteborg (students at the Gothenburg school for music teachers). Released to celebrate the war's end, it's typical political stuff very much in line with the other Vietnam albums and singles, and so best ignored. Fria Proteatern's ”Balladen om Rune Henry Johansson” is also on ”Sånger från ljugarbänken”.

BJÖRN AFZELIUS BAND / NATIONALTEATERN – Kamrater, Bodenarbetare / Rädda varven! (Nacksving, 1978)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Two exclusive tracks, one by Björn Afzelius Band and one by Nationalteatern. Afzelius's ”Kamrater, Bodenarbetare” is in support of the strikers at Boden's car factory in 1978. It's a pretty good track with slight folk rock shadings, good especially for Björn Afzelius. Nationalteatern's ”Rädda varven!” is a call to save the Gothenburg boatyard threatened by shutdown which eventually happened. A weak track in an undistinguished Gothenburg/Nacksving rock style.

EN RÖD KÖR OCH SÅNGGRUPPEN DEN MÄNSKLIGA FAKTORN – Säj nej! (no label, EP 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A privately pressed single released in 1980, the year of the Swedish nuclear power referendum and has anti-nuclear message. It has two acts, the choir En Röd Kör and vocal folk group Den Mänskliga Faktorn, although it's hard to say if it all involves the same people. Acoustic as it is it could easily fall into the Fria Proteatern trap but there's something very charming and disarming about the unpretentious atmosphere. The rock & roll pastiche ”The Sysselsättning Rock” is pretty terrible but the other songs are in fact rather catchy. Well, perhaps I wouldn't call the title track exactly catchy, but it's a quite atmospheric adaptation of a Czech herding song. It's nothing I would particularly recommend, but I've heard far worse and way more self-important examples of political songs than these.

The Vergers:
Se dig för (Bandcamp)
Fader vår
Fria Proteatern:
Ett enat folk (El Pueblo Unido)
IB, ÖB och SÄPO
Opponer:
Alfa blues
Till min make
Vietnam Kambodja befriade:
SÄMUS - Vietnam är befriat
Fria Proteatern - Balladen om Rune Henry Johansson
SÄMUS - Kambodja är befriat 
Björn Afzelius/Nationalteatern:
Björn Afzelius Band - Kamrater, Bodenarbetare
Nationalteatern - Rädda varven!
En Röd Kör och sånggruppen Den Mänskliga Faktorn:
no links found

ANDERS CARINGER – Valfrid (Wisa, 1975) / Cellstoff (Wisa, 1977) / Du nya du fria (Wisa, 1981)

Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: **

A rather extensive curriculum vitae he has, that Anders Caringer: author, music and drama teacher, educationalist, crossword maker, pastor and prison chaplain, not to mention having been a musician since the early 60's when playing with various bands unknown to most. And then, releasing a mere three albums between 1975 and 1981 before returning as a recording artist in the mid 00's with another two albums (one being a three-CD box set). He's still active.

He made his album debut in 1975 with ”Valfrid”, credited to Anders Caringer and Bland Andra (meaning 'and others'). It's one of those albums that sounds unexceptional at first but appear a bit skewed when you listen closer, like some Christian 70's albums can be - the songs aren't simplemindedly linear and have quite a few unexpected harmonic turns. The style is basically singer/songwriter folk with religious and political concerns, but none of it too much in your face. The sound is predominantly acoustic with congas and harmony vocals, but you can spot an electric wah-wah guitar here and there. ”Verklighet” even has a full band and an off-kilter rhythm that falls somewhere between undeveloped reggae, semi-gospel and misunderstood funk ending up like nothing of it. Perhaps the track that best captures the underground feel that permeates the entire album. The real standout track however is ”Glädje”, an oddly lilting number with a softly soaring melody that expands and contracts, following its own path to a hypnotic jazz waltz rhythm. Definitely one hidden gem of a track!

”Cellstoff” followed in 1977 and has a very different sound provided a number of musicians including studio bassist Backa Hans Eriksson and the guitar work of Tomas Ernvik on a little less than half of the LP. Ernvik is particularly evident on ”Degdag” where his bizarre chords and chopped-up guitar fills perfectly emphasize the ominous mood of the track. Another successful track is opening cut ”Identitet” that features a quirky, jazzy piano solo that seems chase the restless beat down the road and out of town. ”Cellstoff” isn't as consistent as ”Valfrid”, but these two tracks are unusual enough to demand a listen.

1981's ”Du nya du fria” has a long list of credits but it's the sparsest sounding disc in this lot. The sound is skeletal but despite a small ensemble of wind instruments here and there. The bare bones production pushes Caringer's voice and religious/social/philosophical reflections to the fore. The songs have fewer peculiar twists this time, and while most songs are well written enough they're generally more ordinary than on Caringer's previous outings. The best track is also the most subdued one; ”Simons sång” is a heartfelt but somehow brooding song to a newborn child.

I think Anders Caringer is one of the more interesting Swedish Christian singer/songwriters I've come across. Not all here is great, but there are indeed more than worthwhile moments, even flashes of brilliance. You could easily put together a very good, LP length compilation of the best moments from these three albums. With the current upsurge of interest in the Swedish Christian music scene of especially the 70's, I think the time is ripe for a general Caringer (re)discovery.

Valfrid full album playlist
Cellstoff full album playlist
Du nya du fria full album playlist

ABSOLUT – Absolut (Marilla, 1976)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Only album from this religious band released on Hans Edler's curious Marilla label, and produced by Vatten main man Tomas Ernvik. That's probably the most interesting thing about ”Absolut”, because despite some decent westcoasty harmony vocals and background wah wah and soft fuzz, the songs are too undistinguished for the album to take off. Best track is ”Kurragömma”, but the album is generally typical mid 70's Christian rock, i.e. borrowing features from hipper genres but coming up flat and soulless. I'd rather recommend another, better Tomas Ernvik related album from the same year, Tillsammans.

Tomas Paulson, the brain behind Absolut, has plenty of solo albums since Absolut broke up, and he's also a fivefold Swedish champion of noughts and crosses (!). He's now known as Tomas Hagenfors, Hagenfors being his birth name.

Full album playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Grammofon-missionen: A Collection Of Swedish Jesus Music 1967-1982 (Subliminal Sounds, 2023)

Featured artists: John Three Sixteen / The Vergers / Heaven Liners / Beryllen / Höjeteamet / Glorymen / Carina / The Destination Of Life / Fågel Fenix / The Aaltos / Young Deacons / Mums / Ekot / Dolos / The Smusics / Music Males / Sven-Olof Nilsson / Size Boys
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

A digital-only release by Subliminal Sounds, this might at a first glance look like a follow up to Subliminal Sounds's excellent ”Frälst!” compilation of Swedish Christian music in the 70s. But those who expect a second volume of psych inclined religious grooves will likely be disappointed. ”Grammofon-missionen” is a musical addendum to the book ”Grammofon-missionen: Swedish Jesus Music Aesthetics 1960-1990” written by Carl-Henrik Olsson and Stefan Kéry, documenting the domestic Jesus music movement from three decades. Much of the music here is way more primitive (not in a good sense) than what's on ”Frälst!” and has a less accomplished feel. Bordering on outsider music, this takes a different listening approach, but even then, I don't find much, if anything, to match Subliminal Sounds's previous and successful attempt to document the Swedish Jesus music. Some of it is very influenced by bad Swedish commercial 60s pop but with substandard even terrible execution. I'm not against outsider music but it has to have at least something more going for it than bad playing to be interesting,

The striking exception here is Finnish band active in Sweden Aaltos, and also the only band here featured with two songs. The Aaltos has gained some reputation among record collectors and charity shop scavengers over the years, and both their tracks, ”Känner du en vän” and ”Pray”, explain why. They have a peculiar dissolved feel, especially on ”Pray” which steer right into the psychedelic domain with its unearthly harmony vocals and brooding, ominously breathing organ.

Still, I appreciate this compilation on an historic/academic level. Swedish Jesus music has long been neglected and categorically dismissed – so much of it is indeed painfully terrible, and it takes someone dedicated to find the exceptions. ”Grammofon-missionen” is an attempt at just that, so it gets an A for ambition but a facepalm for content.

Full album playlist

JERUSALEM – Complete albums 1978-1981

Swedish vocals
International relevance: */**

Jerusalem was the most popular Christian rock band Sweden had to offer at the time, reaching listeners far outside the religious circuits, even playing to foreign audiences. Founded near Gothenburg, they had a lot of the straight-ahead, dry sound typical to the late 70s bands of the area. Jerusalem was mainly a mainstream band but earned their popularity from their touches of hard rock and boogie rock. Their first album (sometimes referred to as ”Volym 1”) was released in 1978 and is an undigstinguished effort that fails to make much of an impression, with lacklustre sound and mediocre writing.

”Volym 2” is slightly heavier, slightly better produced, and slightly better. The most interesting tracks (without being that interesting) are ”Getsemane” and the extended ”Introduktion” which both features some progg characteristics.

Third album ”Krigsman” is probably the best one here overall, and also the most progressive one thanks to the title track with passionate vocals from Jerusalem main man Ulf Christiansson, ”Moderne man” which is the top track in this collection, and the 12 minute epic ”Sodom”.

This might give you the idea that Jerusalem are at least occasionally worthwhile, but I can't say they are. Most of the time they're mediocre and dull. Even duller is Ulf Christiansson's solo album ”I mina drömmar” released as Uffe in 1982, a painfully boring collection of radio friendly dross that shows hardly any of Jerusalem's heavier side which after all is their strongest point.

Jerusalem full album playlist
Volym 2 full album playlist
Krigsman full album playlist
I mina drömmar full album playlist

INGEMAR OLSSON MED FLERA – I alla fall (Polydor, 1973)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Ingemar Olsson has already appeared on this blog once, with his 1970 debut album ”Livs levande”. This is Olsson's third album, and inbetween the two albums he had acquired a higher degree of self-confidence. ”I alla fall” is basically a Christian singer/songwriter album with upfront rock and pop aspirations, but it has nevertheless a few progg ties which I think make it worth mentioning. Tomas Ernvik collaborator Agneta Gilstig appears on backing vocals on most of the tracks, and guitarist Björn Linder is known from albums by Sam Ellison, Blues Annika, Runeson and Ola Magnell to name but a few. Also, two of the album's three cover choices are fairly stirring, namely ”Kom om du vill” which is an energetic Swedish take on Bob Dylan's ”Quinn the Eskimo” and a rowdy and similarly Swedish version of Joni Mitchell's ”Woodstock”.

Beware of later re-recordings of the songs!

Tänker man efter

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Rockplock (Talking Music, 1980)

Featured artists: Dynamis / Vackert Väder / The Information / Kyrkstöt / Rubbet
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Compilation of five Christian bands contributing two tracks each, on the Talking Music label. The five bands featured are Dynamis, Vackert Väder, The Information, Kyrkstöt and Rubbet. While no band is fullblown progg but more in a pedestrian AOR and hard rock vein and of little interest, there are proggish undercurrents in Vackert Väder's and Rubbet's contributions. Kyrkstöt's ”Hårda krav” is a boneheaded boogie number, but the lyrics take a welcome dig at the fashionable politics of the day even if it's from a severely Xian perspective.

Kyrkstöt released a 45 also in 1980, while the other bands all had at least one album under their own name.

Full album playlist

INGEMAR OLSSON – Livs levande (Teamton, 1970)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

  International relevance: *

Ingemar Olsson is a very prolific and still active artist, and one of the better mainstream singer/songwriters to come out of the Swedish Xian movement in the 70s. ”Livs levande” was his debut and sports a slew of studio pros including Janne Schaffer, jazz flautist Tommy Koverhult and drummer Ola Brunkert. Claes af Geijerstam provides percussion and backing vocals, and also produced the album which explains why ”Livs levande” shares some characteristics with Geijerstam's own 1970 solo debut "Out Of My Hair".

The songs are split between English and Swedish tracks with some fairly witty lyrics. Not all of them are good with the country parody ”Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley” being the worst, and the Simon & Garfunkel cover ”Mrs. Robinson” feeling very redundant 40+ years later. But there are some nice moments here, such as ”Somebody's Knocking On My Door”, a is mellow and catchy post-60's pop song, and the pleasantly breezy ”En typisk medmänniska” with a swirling Leslie guitar emphasizing the light feel. The entire album's a lighthearted and good-natured effort, retaining much of the hopeful air of the 60's.

Musically and generally speaking, it may not be the classic some claim it to be, but you have to acknowledge it for being a pioneering work being one of the first albums, if not the first, to blend Xian concerns with a real mainstream appeal. Also, coming only one year behind Pugh Rogefeldt's ”Ja dä ä dä”, it's one of the earliest proper pop albums to feature Swedish lyrics.

In 2019, Olsson overdubbed new Swedish vocals to the originally English speaking tracks, and while it might have looked like a good idea at first given that Olsson's English pronounciation wouldn't quite get the Queen's approval, the update sounds like any attempt of that kind, with the young Olsson and the mature Olsson anachronistically trading vocals. If you want the album, make sure to get the original vinyl version or the original CD release from 2005 ('wrong' version has brighter sleeve colours so it's easy to distinguish from the old CD).

Full album playlist

SAMBANDET – Gud är! (no label, 1976)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

This is one of the most striking obscurities from the Swedish Jesus underground. Still largely undiscovered, two tracks were included on Subliminal Sound's excellent ”Frälst!” comp, so I suspect it's only a matter of time until prices skyrockets. (One guy on Discogs already tries to cram a laughable €300 out of it – yeah, right, good luck with that.) Until then, it's still possible for a lucky guy to pick it up for peanuts in local charity shops around Sweden.

Apart from being recognized by Subliminal Sounds, the appearance of Björn Famne immediately piqued my curiousity. Famne 's finest moment is ”Vampire”, an outrageous full frontal fuzz attack originally featured on his eponymous 1975 Rasp Records EP and later revived on ”Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils Vol. 3”. Those who because of that and Sambandet's two ”Frälst!” tracks expect a hard psych freak-out from their sole LP ”Gud är” (”God is”) from 1976 are sure to be disappointed though. As a whole, this is a different beast – but an intriguing one.

Those in the know consider ”Gud är” as one of the finest Xian albums ever to come out of Sweden, and it doesn't take much to get its appeal. It's much harder to pinpoint its style though, as it constantly changes. ”I Am Free” is a strangely prog-induced track with quacking wah-wah guitar, while ”Go(o)d News” is a bizarre kind of tripped-out studio exotica, with no similarity whatsoever to anything else on the album. (No wonder these two tracks ended up on ”Frälst!”) Unusual to a religious album, a large part of ”Gud är” is all instrumental. Some tracks remind me of a less trippy and more flute-folky Älgarnas Trädgård (but I might be just about the only person in the whole wide world to sense that), while ”Don't Be A Loser” could have been a Gabor Szabo outtake with its clean-sounding easy listening styled guitar work and feather-light beat. ”Happy” makes me think of a Gentle Giant getting drunker by the minute on Swedish schnapps while trying to play a sunlit jazz waltz. ”Vi tycker om att sjunga” translates to ”we like to sing” but is in fact another short instrumental which sounds as if it could have been the theme music from a 70s children show no-one ever saw. ”I Wanna Be More” in turn is Sambandet's stab at gospel but of course warped through a prism of female vocals private pressing UK folk. And so on.

”Gud är” is one of those albums so kaleidoscopic in style it's hard to understand what exactly the band was aiming for. Definitely inconsistent, but the inconsistency is also what gives it its weird charm and works to its advantage. Recorded in the semi-mysterious/semi-legendary Falks Studio in small city Eksjö, it has a ”professional low-budget” sound that goes well along with the decidedly mixed skills of the performers. (Falks Studio might even be the label, but who knows.) Björn Famne is a driven guitarslinger (and shows off his acoustic guitar chops on the renaissance sounding instrumental ”Bortom”), while drummer Kjell Ljunggren doesn't bother a sometimes sloppy beat.

The wild mood and style changes makes for a truly original listening experience, and once you've put it on, it's hard to turn it off as you never quite grow accustomed to its bizarre versatility. Hear it ten times, and you're still not prepared for what comes around the corner. Like I just said, I've no idea what Sambandet were trying to achieve anything but whatever lept to their minds at any given moment, but in the end, the possible lack of a proper plan almost appears visionary. It's a one-of-a-kind album no matter how you look at it, and if you decide to strictly view it as a Xian album designed to woe the Lord, it only gets even stranger and even more confusing.

Is it a masterpiece? Not necessarily, but it's sure an album you don't hear everyday but one you definitely want to hear more than once in your lifetime. If only to find it out.

Full album playlist

LARS KIHLBOM – Spegelryttaren (Talking Music, 1981)

 
Swedish lyrics, instrumental
International relevance: **

Little-known or at least rarely mentioned album by not very productive singer/songwriter Lars Kihlbom. My guess is that Ola Magnell and Marie Bergman were among his prime inspirations. Kihlbom, however, was never even within grasp of Magnell's talent. The songs often deal with interpersonal relations but fail to engage. I simply don't care about Kihlbom's pedestrian observations of mundane situations. The best tracks are the short instrumentals – the opener ”Introduction” is by far the most interesting 35 seconds on the entire album along with the Debussy drenched flute closer ”Israel” clocking in at less than a minute and a half. The album title is quite poetic though, meaning "The Mirror Horseman".

Talking Music was a seemingly Christian Gothenburg label which released several singles and albums by a variety of little-known acts such as Kyrkstöt, Ben Antell Band and Dynamis. They were also the distributor of Tomas Ernvik's/Vatten's Gutta label.

Lars Kihlbom released a non-album 7” in 1981, plus a couple of albums later in the 80s. In a strange turn of events, he also record a 45 in 1988 with tennis pro Mats Wilander as part of his less than successful musical career. There are also a couple of much later albums up on Youtube by one Lars Kihlbom which I assume is the "Spegelryttaren" guy.

No links found.

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Frälst! A Selection Of Swedish Christian Grooves 1969-1979 (Subliminal Sounds, 2022)

 
Featured artists: Dunkersgruppen / Shepherds / Tomas Ernvik / Sånggruppen LIV / Sambandet / Birgitta Yavari / Siw Sjöberg / Alea Jacta Est / "Boppe" Bengt-Olof Perhamn / Humlans Funkykapell / Tillsammans / The Vergers / Obajda / Kyrkans Ungdom I Osby / Janne - Roberth - Willy / Mission Impossible / Vatten / Ingamay Hörnberg / New Creation
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: ***

The American Xian (Christian) underground has been pretty well documented with several reissues of key albums and compilations extracting the best examples of what the Jesus Folk movement had to offer musically. A lot of work in that direction is still needed, but this once so neglected musical area has gained more attention in recent years than ever before. True that a lot of Xian music is absolutely dreadful to listen to, every bit as bad as it's said to be, but there are indeed albums from especially the 70s that are quite stunning, and tracks scattered on other, more uneven LP's that are worthy of resurrection. Some truly strange and bizarre music lurks in the world of Xian vinyl; fuzzed out garage rock, brain-dizzying psychedelia, singer/songwriters that are just as talented as better-known non-religious ones... and there are albums that are so weird that almost no readymade tag applies.

I don't think anyone really knows how many Xian albums were released in Sweden during the Jesus era of mainly the 70s, but with Jesus having a strong hold of Sweden during the decade, and with the Swedish Jesus movement being selfsufficient as far as recording studios, pressing plants and distribution go, a guess at several hundreds – perhaps even thousands – isn't at all laughable. Many of those turn up in the most ignored charity shop crates, and most of them remain ignored too by most flea market vinylnauts. I say most, because in some places, those maligned albums have caught more interest as the years have gone by. Somewhere on some album with a particularly appalling cover, an absolutely mindblowing track might hide. Don't forget New Creation's devastating psych anthem ”He Is There”, first brought back to life by the third volume of ”Who Will By These Wonderful Evils”! Finding just one other such track is what keeps the most hard-headed flea market hunters going despite an obvious health hazard doing so. Because bringing home ten, twenty, fifty albums of rosy-cheeked, psychotically smiling Bible thumpers, you make yourself prey to a blah-blah-ga-ga-da-da condition that may take years or more to recover from. Sanity is a fragile thing. Be careful out there.

Therefore, a compilation like ”Frälst! A Selection Of Swedish Christian Grooves 1969-1979” has been much needed for quite some time by anyone with a gnawing suspicion that they might miss out on some real goodies if you don't willingly put your health at risk. I'm somewhere in-between those who don't want to go deeper into the deep end, and those who never once betray their mission to find the next ”He Is There”, and so ”Frälst!” (meaning ”Saved!”) comes in very handy as a rough guide to the netherworld of Xian vinyl.

Compiled by Subliminal Sounds, known for their endless quest for buried treasures, the label has done some death-defying work looking in places few sane people dare to tread. It has to be said that ”Frälst!” isn't the be all and end all release -- after all, its subtitle clearly says "a selection". Thomas Ernvik is featured on all versions, but Vatten only on the vinyl version of the album; Vatten being one of the most heralded Xian Swedish bands, thanks to their hard rock sound championed by many a collector around the globe. And there are other bands that have come up with quite decent tracks too, such as Christallen, that are missing from the selection. And as always, some might questions the track picks. But the interesting thing isn't what's not here but what is. Although not every track in this collection is a winner, ”Frälst!” successfully paints a picture of a 'genre' that thoroughly contradicts the common view of it. While the sometimes over-zealous vocals and in-your-face sermonising can remain a bone of contention, there are some real fiery guitars and relentless grooving going on here, and that's what you have to focus on if you allow yourself step outside any stale preconceptions to be surprised at the width and depth of the 'genre'. I say 'genre', with quotation marks, because it's of course not correct to speak of Xian music as a heterogeneous genre: “Frälst!” contains heavy rock, tracks that head in a slight funk direction, folk, and things that can't be named anything but psychedelia.

Artists include Siw Sjöberg, Sambandet, Kyrkans Ungdom i Osby, The Vergers, Mission Impossible, Obadja and Shepherds. Some of them are slightly better known, such as Tillsammans (on Kompass) and the aforementioned Tomas Ernvik, but most of them are virtually completely unknown outside the religious world – and some probably also within the Xian community. At least nowadays. Thanks to a carefully crafted running order, “Frälst!” comes off as surprisingly consistent. Highpoints include the quirky “I Am Free” (Sambandet), the brooding “Kom till mej” (Tillsammans), the strangely ethereal “Halva världen svälter” (Shepherds) and the marvellous “Mission Impossible” (Mission Impossible) that rounds off the digital version in a doomy organ-driven fashion that easily makes it the best track in this entire lot. The vinyl version has a slightly different tracklist and ends with an even bigger bang, the aforementioned "He Is There" by New Creation. 

I can only imagine what a massive task it must have been to find these gems. Subliminal Sounds deserve all credit possible for not only excavating them, but to construct an album that is, for the most part, rewarding to a point basically no original Xian album is. It's perfectly fine to settle for “Frälst!”, but if you dare going trawling through the flea market crates that God forgot to find more of this stuff, it's a brilliant starting point to set you off.

Full album playlist on Bandcamp

TILLSAMMANS - Tillsammans (Kompass, 1976)

 Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Not to be confused with GregFitzPatrick's Handgjort offshoot of the same name, this seven-piece was a Christian outfit that featured Tomas Ernvik on bass and guitar. Suffering from several wimpy ballads, it still has a fair share of progressive and not-quite-symphonic folk rock moves. The playing is consistently good throughout (including some semi-heavy guitar) and the songwriting is above average, especially if you close your ears during the more overt, sugarcoated "Jesus is a nice bloke" songs. Oddly enough, I sense a wee bit of Paul McCartney and his mid 70's Wings here and there.

"Hela mitt liv" opens side B and has a slight renaissance air which nicely compliments the tasteful almost-folk harmonies. Tillsammans retain the faint folkishness on "Undran i vår tid" and on the mournful "Människor", the latter being the best track here. These three tracks help making the second side stronger than side 1.

Despite the reputation Tomas Ernvik earned through Vatten, the album can still be found fairly cheap. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, often too much on the well-meaning side of things, but some nice guitar passages and a couple of listenable enough tracks, it's certainly better than the standard Swedish Xian albums that appeared in droves in the 70's.

"Hela mitt liv"
"Kom till mig"

"Jag vill leva nära dig"

NEW CREATION - Sing Out My Soul (Hemmets Härold, 1970)

English vocals
International relevance: **

Little did I know that one day, a Pelle Karlsson album would get high up on my 'must hear' list.

Some background info:

Pelle Karlsson was an unbelievably popular Christian singer in Sweden in the mid 70's. His popularity reached far beyond the religious circuit when he had a smash hit of unexpected magnitude with his version of Elvis Presley's "There Goes My Everything", transformed into a song of religious praise and devotion as "Han är min sång och min glädje". In 1973 and the years to come, he was everywhere, doing television performances and getting frequent radio plays like any secular artist. The album sold in impressive amounts, but Karlsson was a reluctant star. As a matter of fact, he hesitated to even record it, thinking he should go all in as a pastor, preaching to his likeminded on the Pentecoastal Church scene. But fate -- or God if that's your inclination -- obviously had other plans for him.

Which means that now, as the era of Jesus music as we know it is long gone, you see his breakthrough album in every flea market and charity shop all over Sweden. There are in fact so many of them that you'd be honestly surprised if you walk into a junk shop with only five crappy albums on offer and Karlsson's album isn't one of them. This in turn has led to a peculiar cult among crate diggers with a particular sense of humour: When you find the album (lovingly nicknamed "Pelle's green one" due to the cover art's background colour) in a charity shop, front the album, i.e. put each copy you find in the very front of each record crate. Thus you can easily tell if a 'fronter' has been there before you.

There's even a short radio documentary (in Swedish) made about the album itself and the odd phenomenon it later initiated.

I doubt that very few people too young to have experienced Pellemania partaking in this tongue-in-cheek cult has even heard the album. And most of us who indeed are old enough usually try to ignore that we did. Not that Pelle Karlsson was a bad singer. True he wasn't the most pitch-perfect singer ever, and true his vibrato might be just a little bit over-developed, but he was in possession of a sonorous voice with a wee bit of Elvis in it. It's just that the whole thing has become a standing joke and, well, you just don't listen to his albums. That's 'albums', in plural, because he released several before retreating to congregational activities which is still his primary occupation.

So, Pelle Karlsson is not someone you put on your want list.

But -

As the third volume of compilation series "Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils" was released in the mid 00's, "He Is There" by New Creation featured on the album rose to admiration. All for a good reason -- "He Is There" is simply one of the most impressive psych tracks to emerge out of Sweden, ever. I know for a fact that my jaw wasn't the only to drop with a loud 'thud' when I heard it for the first time. My jaw was seriously disjointed once I learnt that the singer in this obscure band was one Per-Olof "Pelle" Karlsson.

I've been on the hunt for the album from which it - "Sing Out My Soul" was taken from ever since. People have found it in charity shops for next to nothing, but I'm not one of them. It's kept eluding me, slowly turning into a fixation: I'VE GOT TO HEAR IT! I was expecting heaven (after all, chances were somehow good for that...) but was prepared to be disappointed (because most Christian albums are crap, especially if they're Swedish). No way the album as a whole could possibly match the stunning grandeur of the doomy organ-laced "He Is There" with a fuzz guitar solo to knock buildings into dust.

And so, thanks to a friend of this blog, the album finally came my way. The waiting was over. The kingdom of the Lord was at hand.

But let's be frank: "He Is There" is in a league of its own. No other track here comes even close in mood, intensity and characteristics. The second best track is "I Surrender All", with surges of wah wah and soulful vocals. It's also notable for its blatant theft from Pugh Rogefeldt's "Här kommer natten" released on Pugh's groundbreaking debut album "Ja dä ä dä" a year earlier -- check that guitar line at the end!

The remainder of "Sing Out My Soul" ranges from the passable to the s. Among the better of the lesser songs is the title track, a relaxed blues gospel with some more Elvis inspired singing from Karlsson to a nice laidback beat. "Amen" is the old familiar song popularized by Curtis Mayfield-led Impressions in the early 60's, here in a version with psychedelic aspirations but not as developed as it should have been to really make a memorable impression. "I Know A Place" is a heartfelt ballad that too could have pushed it further but is held back by the somewhat restrained group effort. "Calvary" in turn is a surprising Christianization of "Yesterday" (yes, The Beatles song) and counts among the LP's weaker tracks.

The whole album has an appealing garage-like sound and several good intentions but it's generally kept down by the unnecessarily cautious band supporting him. My overall impression is that "Sing Out My Soul" is a missed opportunity. It could have been so much better had it been a little bit more in your face. It's better than any of Karlsson's solo albums but it lacks the final push to make it great. If you find it cheap, it's worth a go for "He Is There" and the rather nice album cover, but don't expect too much of the rest.

New Creation had another album out on Prim Records in 1971, "Jerusalem", this time with Swedish lyrics, plus another one (also in Swedish) credited to Pelle Karlsson in 1972, "Till alla" on the Signatur imprint. The latter one is mostly remembered for the title track that features some comically unskilled sitar playing.

Full album playlist

FUNCTION – Play It Maestro (Prim, 1979)

English vocals

International relevance: **

Function gets an A for ambition and execution, but they also score high on the 'so boring it hurts' scale. They were a Christian band on the Prim label, run by the Swedish Pentecostal Movement , and ”Play It Maestro” also had a U.S. release in 1982 on Lamb & Lion Productions. The music is of the most dreaded kind, inbetween AOR, prog rock and fusion. Competent for sure, but that's certainly not an end in itself. Whatever redeeming qualities the use of violin brings to the table, the cheesy jazz rock synths quickly pollutes them to a toxic degree. Vocalist Lars Ludwingson doesn't make it any better either, sounding just like you can expect from somebody having every bit of real soul crippled by a cocksure and annoyingly stubborn faith. A mind uniform that's too tight to let your head breathe properly with different ideas.

The only track even remotely agreeable here is "Unborn Child", but that would have been much better if performed by Pink Floyd. Mind you, I think Pink Floyd is the longest valium party that ever happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and... So thinking they would do anything better is hardly a compliment.

Quite honestly, I can't see how even the most hardcore Christian could bear listening to these suffocatingly boring 43 minutes all through. Play it, maestro? No, please, don't.

Full album playlist (Spotify)

SALT – Salt (Signatur, 1977) / Opus II (Signatur, 1980)

International relevance: **

Swedish vocals, English vocals

Consider this a parenthetical entry, included only because it might have some appeal to funk fusion fans. Christian outfit Salt released several albums in the 80's following 1977 album ”Salt” and 1980 follow-up ”Opus II”. Competent playing in a horn rock style with jazz and Latin tinges (some disco moves on ”Opus II”), a couple of decent tracks considering the genre, but mostly preaching to the converted – literally and figuratively speaking.

Salt full album playlist

Opus II full album playlist

A VARIOUS ARTISTS SPECIAL: 4 POLITICAL COMPILATIONS

While several of the communist-run labels are held in higher regard by collectors of political progg, the Swedish Social Democratic Party also established a couple of imprints to get their message out to the record buying audience. A Disc in particular released a few memorable albums in the 70's and 80's, but as in the case of for example communist flagship label Proletärkultur, the message a bit too often got in the way of the music itself. Here are three releases related to the Social Democratic Party.

ARBETARRÖRELSENS SÅNGER (Pogo Plattan, 1976)

Featured artists: Per Myrberg / Ulla Sjöblom / Giovanni Jaconelli / Alf Petersén / Sone Banger and others

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Pogo Plattan was the short-lived record division of Pogo Produktion, formerly Pogo Pedagog, publishers of educational material widely used in Swedish schools in the 70's and 80's. (Anyone who grew up in those days remembers Pogo Produktion with a blend of nostalgia och terminal boredom.) The double album ”Arbetarrörelsens sånger” were made with the same ambition, to educate people, in this case on songs of the labour movement (like the Swedish title says). ”L'Internationale” is featured twice.

While technically a concept album rather than a various artists comp, it utilizes a plethora of musicians, such as domestically well-known singers Per Myrberg and Ulla Sjöblom against a backdrop of multiple string and wind instruments. It's an ambitious high budget project, but also annoyingly self-righteous and rosy-cheeked with a slight touch of cabaret. Unless you're into that kind of stuff, the album is virtually unlistenable. The musical progg factor is lacking, but keep in mind that albums like this too were a part of the progg era and mentality.

 GLIMTAR (UR KULTURPROGRAMMEN VID ABF FORUM) (A Disc, 1977)

Featured artists: Aldekören / Carlstad Jazzquintet / Ransäterspöjkera / Kiko del Paraguay / Johnny Soling / Agö Fyr / Björn Ehrling / Doremikören / Göteborgs Visgrupp / Bo Harald & Prins Oskar / Ö-barna / Nannie Porres / Slumpens Skördar / Ingegerd Nordell / Tigris / Buddies (Södra Roslagens Big Band) / Carlstad Big Band / Barabbas / Pegasus / Dammet Yr / Mantra

 Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental

International relevance: *

Another double album, this time with a selection of performances recorded in conjunction with a forum meeting in Karlstad 16-19 April, 1977, and arranged by ABF, Arbetarrörelsens bildningsförbund (the Workers' Educational Association), founded in 1912 and the biggest educational association in Sweden today.

The album is a mixed bag of non-professionals and better known artists such as Göteborgs Visgrupp, Agö Fyr and noted vocalist Nannie Porres. It covers jazz (big bands and modern jazz and some points in-between), traditional music from several countries, rock, and funk. In short, it's all over the place both stylistically and qualitywise. Some of it is plain terrible, some is decent, jazz band Barabbas' ”Improvisation” is the best. Without any cohesiveness, ”Glimtar” as a whole doesn't rise above its snapshot intentions.

A second, single disc volume of ”Glimtar” was released in 1978, featuring some of the artists appearing on the first volume.

LÅT RÄTTEN FLÖDA FRAM (Vänster-vind, 1976)

Featured artists: Lena Hellström / Gunnar Kampe / Lars-Åke Lundberg / Ramon Anthin / Åke Andreasson

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

 

Socialism and Christianity might seem as uncomfortable bedfellows, but this album was initiated by Christian members of the Social Democratic Party. I'm not going to keep you in the dark: it's every bit as dull as the cover art suggests. Anyone familiar with standard Xian 70's albums from the US and the UK pretty much knows what to expect – haughtily performed semi-folksy singer/songwriter stuff by artists either unknown outside religious circles or entirely unknown altogether. 

Exceptions to this rule can however be found on this album. All of the participants was highly active within their field; the most prolific might be priest Lars-Åke Lundberg who has written plenty of psalms, released multiple albums, published many books, and was awarded with a prestigeous royal medal in 2009.

The best track here is Åke Andreasson's ”Amos”, but it's nowhere close to being an excuse for an album that mostly sounds like a third rate Peter, Paul & Mary or a conspicously untalented Dan Berglund. 

Comes with a lyric folder.

 NOTERAT (Frihets Förlag, 1976)

Featured artists: Vencemeros / Med Mera / Röda Flammorna / Progressiv / Unga Örnar Stureby / Facklan / unnamed artist

 Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Frihets Förlag only released two full length albums, both of the various artists compilation, the first one was ”Så här är det” in 1975, the second was ”Noterat” from the following year, comprising six outfits (one unnamed) from the more radical spectrum of the Social Democratic Party's youth alliance SSU. Two of Vencemeros' four tracks, ”Fransisco Franco” and ”Ta nu min hand”, are the best in this heap of unimpressive folk pop.