4-VEJS

"4-Vejs" is the fifth full-length studio album by Danish psychedelic rock act Alrune Rod. The album was released through the band´s own Mandragora label in November 1974. It´s the successor to "Spredt For Vinden" from May 1973.

If "Spredt For Vinden" was a more polished and vers/chorus structured version of Alrune Rod, who on their early releases were known for their long psychadelic jamming tracks, "4-Vejs" is the even more polished and normal predecessor. This is Alrune Rod as their least experimental and acid/magic mushroom drenched moment. When that is said "4-Vejs" actually features some pretty decent quality rock songs with the occasional nod towards psychedelic rock, although the psychedelic moments are few and far between.

Alrune Rod were at this point a seasoned and well playing band, and lead vocalist/bassist Leif Roden sounds relatively normal here compared to his earlier out-of-tune hippie wailing. The lyrics are in the Danish language. The music features some great instrumental parts here and there with both guitar, organ, and sax solos albeit a bit more straight than in the early years of the band´s existence. A great example of the soloing are the closing minutes of "Ringene i Sandet" ("Rings in the Sand"). Other highlights include tracks like "De Vises Sten" ("Stones of the Wise") and "Forårsmorgen" ("Spring Morning").

"4-Vejs" features a professional, powerful, organic, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. It would be the last studio album from Alrune Rod during their original run as they would disband in March 1975. compared to their early releases Alrune Rod had maybe travelled a bit too far from the roots and they sound like a completely different band on "4-Vejs". Definitely not a bad band, but a different one with a slightly more mainstream oriented rock sound. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.