VEMOD

I have little mixed-up feelings about the debut album of this band which is very dear to me. The songs are good as compositions, but many of them work much better on their forthcoming live recordings. For example "Karelia" is far more better on their "Live-EP", and versions of "The Old Man & The Sea" and "Wheel" are also dramatically much better on their 90's live double discs from Japan. "Thoughts in Absence" is a very neat recording on this though, having Vangelis resembling long ending sequence.

Somehow the overall sound of this album feels a little sterile to me. Few sound patterns are also perhaps too similar to their original innovators from the 70's. But the band and it's players were young when "Vemod" was produced, and one cannot underestimate Anekdoten's influence upon the Swedish and global scene of progressive art rock. "Vemod" after all, was their first album which diffused their musical vision to the listeners and other musicians. Beautiful album covers resembling the sleeve of first Black Sabbath's record also make the vinyl version of "Vemod" as a nice collectors artifact.