SCHLAGERNS MYSTIK

Now, what has happened with my personal reviewing culture here at progarchives, is that I only write reviews for the albums I really is specially interested in, or albums of artists I really like. This is one of those albums...

Circus music? Child songs? Crazy screaming? High-pitched helium voices? Glockenspiel and xylophone all over? WTF!? I love it! :D And what's even crazier, is that it's actually quite pretty music! What makes it stick to the 70's prog thing is occasional odd rhythms, some very cool synthesizers and sometimes a little advanced drumming. You know, if I should analyze the music of Zamla (or Samla, really), I would use weeks, least! I can't see how anything could be more prog than this, especially not if you're like me - connecting the "prog feeling" to the, in my opinion, wonderful "WTF!? feeling". :D

Anyway, I will try to make a short, objective analysis of this album: What you hear on this album, is influences of many styles. The classic prog is there, but it's also Swedish folk, a little jazz, latin american and some electronica, I believe. To really classify it in any of the mentioned genres is a lot harder, but I guess you could call it progressive or psychedelic, at least. :P A wide array of instruments is used, and no instrument is really overused here. There's drums, bass and guitar, yes, but then comes the strange piano, the xylophones, the glockenspiel (or is it called metalophone?), a small pipe organ (the resemblance to circus music is striking), many different kinds of percussion instruments like an old till of some kind (or is it a type writer?) ++

What I almost forgot mentioning, believing that I was finishing the last line of this review, is that the music is actually quite pretty! Just listen to the refrain on Liten Karin (or Little Karin in English), or the theme on Ödet (the Fate) or Joosan Lost ... it's all really cute and at the same time extremely dramatic and filled with passion.

Anyway, if you're tired of music all sounding the same, then this REALLY is the album for you. As for this album compared to the other Samla albums... Personally, I prefer this one. I don't know what it is, but I think it's something about the sound quality isn't really doing justice to the Samla sound before the year this album was released. And the earlier albums is also a little too "serious" for me... You know, it's not that they're not serious in that way, but they're really playing around, if you know what I mean - and I love it! :D

Maybe I feel better about this album since I understand Swedish and therefore also the lyrics (I'm Norwegian, and it's basically the same language :P), but still - the instrumental quality here is the thing that really catches me. I mean, I really love PFM, and I don't understand a word of Italian! So I believe this album is a +++ in anyone's "prog collection", or whatever you call your collection of music... :P Go buy!

Share this ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Dommedagsprofet
• Report this review (#78885)
• Buy ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA music online with PA partners
• Show all ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA MP3/Stream
• Go to ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Schlagerns Mystik page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA related discussions