MÅLTID

One of the best known, most creative and technically proficient bands to emerge from Sweden's prog scene in the 1970s, SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA was bizarre and avant-garde enough to earn an invitation from Henry Cow to join the Rock In Opposition movement. Formed in 1969 in Uppsala by keyboardist Lars Hollmer, bassist Lars Krantz, drummer Hasse Bruniusson and percussionist Henrik Öberg, the band released its self-titled debut album in 1971 and offered the world of a prog a vastly deviant approach that featured a playful mix of instrumental improvisations based on Hollmer's unusual keyboard playing along with Bruniusson's unorthodox drumming style. The band's unique mix of progressive rock, jazz fusion, Swedish folk and circus music was an instant hit in its native Sweden.

While the band made a splash with its debut, it still lacked the explorative depth and technically advanced creativity of its future releases. After the debut percussionist Henrik Öberg stepped down and was replaced with the jazz fusion guitarist Coste Apetrea who added an entirely missing dimension to the band's sound. After touring and finding the proper chemistry between the new lineup, SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA followed up with its most famous album MÅLTID (Swedish for "Meal") which took the band into the top tier ranks of crafting cleverly designed progressive rock with a high level of technical proficiency. While considered a member of Sweden's politically charged PROGG movement, the SAMLAS were clever enough to dress up their political digs in clever Zappa inspired silliness woven into lengthy instrumental jamming sessions that effortlessly shifted from one genre to another.

Sounding as unconventionally avant-garde as it does imbued with catchy melodies, MÅLTID was unlike anything else from Sweden or otherwise even within the oft serious nature of the avant-prog world. With a seamless parade of stylistic shifts that one minute offered extremely adventurous progressive rock workouts followed by silly circus music and Swedish folk song segments that featured exaggerated falsetto vocals, the SAMLAS had a way of hitting you over the head with an extreme technical brutality while making you laugh your ass off as they delivered a sense of whimsy that was right out of the Canterbury jazz camp. The addition of Coste Apetrea's guitar steered MÅLTID more into the world of jazz rock fusion with blustery chops that offered as much nerdy knotty angularism as it did simple repetitive catchy grooves that the band skillfully alternated enough as to make the album flow perfectly from beginning to end.

The album starts off in fine form with the crazy avant-garde noise that opens "Dundrets Fröjder" and then quickly jumps into a hurried jazzy rock style somewhat similar to that of Area or Supersister with exquisitely complex twists and turns that showcase all of the musicians' virtuosity right from the beginning however the band quickly establishes itself as a shapeshifter offering varying motifs that break into blues rock, jazz fusion and more blustering avant-prog workouts before offering relief with the ridiculous helium falsetto vocal styles that accompany a circus music type of rock hybrid. The oddball effect may bring The Mothers of Invention to mind but SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA delivered a sound all its own and with a technical fortitude reserved only for the most demanding avant-proggers and fusionists of the day. As the album proceeds it continues the frantic mishmash of styles zigzagging around like a drunken sailor in the night as moments of technical workouts suddenly cede into folk, dreamy jazz fusion or more circus music inspired moments.

The album also benefited from being recorded at the Decidbel Studio which had a brand new 8-track recorder and the SAMLAS happened to be recording next to Bo Hansson who graciously lent the band his array of keyboards and mellotrons which gives the album an even richer tapestry of dynamics than the debut was capable of producing. Likewise Apetrea's use of a Marshall 100-watt amplifier offered the rock creds that the debut seemed to lack. The band's unique sound was topped off by Bruniusson's home-made percussive kit. The band wrote most of the songs while on their 1972 tour and nurtured them into prog perfection which were recorded in a week's time. The chemistry for the band at this point was perfectly aligned.

The most giddily gleeful of SAMLA MAMMA MANNA's canon, MÅLTID has become the band's most popular as well as the most recognized contribution to the entire Swedish prog scene. Cleverly crafted and insanely avant-garde, the SAMLAS never lost sight of keeping the music accessible both on a melodic level and by keeping connected to the human spirit with lavish prog workouts pacified by the zany use of falsetto vocals and moments that sound like the band is going to break into playing polka music! MÅLTID in effect showcased the liberating playful of extreme experimentation at a time when such things were embraced wholeheartedly with no expectations of outcome. While the Swedish prog scene might've have emerged well after the British scene got the prog party started, it didn't take long for it to catch up and MÅLTID delivered the highest caliber of progressive rock that the era had to offer. Brilliantly technical and wildly hilarious, even the three bonus tracks on the later reissues are as provocatively dynamic as the material presented on the original release. One of the best albums ever to emerge from Sweden as well as one of the best prog albums ever from anywhere!