KEBNEKAISE II

Kebnekaise II is a record I am proud of to own. It is the group's secord effort and the first with their famous folk rock approach. It has a blue cover with mountains and a fjäll(montain) sea/älv(Swedish river). In inte left corner a japanese person rests. On the back side there is a beautiful painted tree where all the Kebnes have climbed up with guitarist Kenny Håkansson with his long black hair in the middle, drummer Pelle Ekman and bassist Göran Lagerberg in the top, guitarist Ingemar Böcker and conga-man Hassan Bah in the second highest bransch, fiddler Mats Glenngård and bassist Tomas Netzler down on the left bransch and finaly the choir guys Pelle Lindström and Gunnar Andersson on the low right bransch. It was recorded i september 1973 and released on the label Silence(on of the two big progressive labels in 70s Sweden).

For me this is the perfect prog folk record. Kebnekaise(which also is Sweden's highest mountain) combines old folk songs with psychedelic rock and more experimental rock. This full record is amazing. It starts with "Rättvikarnas gånglåt"(The Marching Tune of the People of Rättvik) which is a joyfull folk tune which is sung by singer/songwriter Turid Lundqvist(a front woman of 70s progg). Thereafter comes "Horgalåten"(The Hårga Song) with a psychedelic cautious introduction to explode in a fast folk song with great playing of Kenny Håkansson. This is one of Kebnekajse's most popular tunes and they still use to play it on tour. I heard it last autumn, they are still the same guys and play it wonderfully. Next song "Skänklåt från Rättvik"(Gift song from Rättvik) is even more cautious in the introduction. They are improvising in the beginning in a very psychedelic way and then it totally changes unto a wonderful traditional folk song with great guitars. This is really folk prog heaven, in my opinion much better than Jethro Tull. The B-side has two fantastic tracks. First comes "Barkbrödslåten" (The Bark bread song) which was a progg hit in the 70s. The guitars are very sharpe and powerful, of course a real very old folk song. Finally we have "Comanche Spring" which is the only tune here that is not a traditional folk song. It is long and episodic, starts slow with bass line and explodes with powerful guitars in an exuberant wild melody with interesting tendencies. Sometimes the sound is very experimental here and in my opinion this track is the disc's best.

I would absolutely say this is an essential record, and one of the best in the prog folk genre. Highly recommended!