LANDET LEVERPASTEJ

Often mentioned, rarely reviewed, this Swedish bluesy jazz-prog group released three albums in the late 90's that were noticed by the prog scene. An instrumental quartet on this album lead by guitarist/Indian sitarist Jerry Johansson, this unusual line-up included flutist Simon Jensen as well.Released on the small Garageland Record label and sporting an intriguing railway bridge lost out in Sweden's mountainside, this instrumental prog album is a bit unusual from what the average proghead might expect from Sweden.

Grovjobb (hard work) is indeed a bit different than most of their countrymen in that that they don't have a keyboard player (let alone a mellotron) and that they are often in the happy jazz rock mode (with a persistent bluesy jam tinge) rather than the sombre symphonic realm, but somehow, you won't have to overstretch yourself to guess their country of origin once the disc is halfway through, because the usual Swedish melancholy is there, often inspired by Anekdoten. In that regard, the title track is the textbook example.

As their leader Johansson wrote all of the tracks (but sharing half of those credits with drummer Jensen and then-outsider Lundgren), the album might seem a bit monotonous at first and it will take a few listens to start getting in the different tracks, among which the hauntingly enthralling Sommarvals (summer valleys, I think), with its heart torn between early Anekdoten and Anglagard. While the album is loaded from flute, it escapes the usual Tull comparison, its style being between Van Leer, Mel Collins and Ian Mcdonald, rather than the Mad Flauter's saturated antics.

As JJ will continue his musical career well after Grovjobb's demise, specializing and getting a solid reputation in classic Indian sitar, I am not aware of what the Jensen brothers or bassists Jarold became, but LL is a good album that all progheads should appreciate for its typical Swedish ambiance.