ROCK FÖR KROPP OCH SJÄL

The Swedish "progg" movement contained both prog rock bands and political rock bands and it was a political left wing movement that was very big. Träd, gräs och stenar was a stripped and improvisation based band sprung from Harvester, International Harvester and Pärson Sound. They made two 70s studio records of whom I think this is the most interesting. I admit they were talanted and quite lonely with their sound and if you try them perhaps you'd like them. My listening to their music was interesting but I'm not very impressed.

If you'll find this record, listen to the first two songs ? they are good. "In kommer Gösta" was made famous of another swedish progg (and prog) band Philemon Arthur and the Dung but this version is heavier and better (3/5). "I ljuset av din dag" (3/5) is a hippy song with a nice mood and a melody but still their unpolished sound. I my opinion they should have been more pretentious. "Solen går upp, solen går ner" (0/5) is a totally meaningsless rubbish and "Våran vila" is perhaps political but it is hard to hear the lyrics(2/5).

If you liked the two first songs perhaps you can try "Rock för kropp och själ"(2/5) - the monster of this record. It is a minimalistic jam that runs for over twentytwo minutes. For me it is very monotonic but somewhere you can hear really good guitar being played. If you like minimalistic things or Krautrock this could be something for you. I'm more up to symphonic, folk and eclectic prog or political "progg". Träd, gräs och stenar intended to sound living and careless. Their message was: "everybody can play!". TGOS could play but ? they didn't. This was to carelessly build for me. Even if this record only could get two stars from me I think it is their perhaps best record ? better than their first and better than Harvester Hemåt.

Rock För Kropp Och Själ is TGS's follow up to their self titled and though it shares a bit its format, is much more consistent in style. The album highlights the fuzzy blues rock style the band transitioned to and the result is a energetic and direct sound sometimes leading to truly heavy moments like in "I Ljuset Av Din Dag". TGS studied the style very well and sounds very fitting. The trademark vocal harmonies, sectional structures and thumping rhythm section are in their place and keep the bands sound distinct.

The first half of the album starts on a good note with a staple cover of live TGS shows, "In Kommer Gösta", delivered in a very uplifiting and unrestrained performance. Afterwards we have the multi sectional and fuzzy "I Ljuset Av Din Dag". The song features numerous tempo and character changes reminiscent of Sov-Gott Rosemarie from the PS recordings. The pace of the album is interrumpted by the interlude Solen Går Upp, Solen Går Ner, a recording of interaction with the audience. Unfortunately unlike the Green Album's "All Makt Åt Folket", the recording is too short to give a sense of progression or evolution in the music, with no clear demostration where the music came from or could have gone to, the track ends up as a simple filler, not uncommon for the time period but a filler nonetheless. "Var Vila" rounds things up with a more slowly paced (but not less energetic and fuzzy) boogie that paves the way for the title track.

"Rock för Kropp och Själ" is another classic minimalist jam from TGS, a type not featured since the Harvester period. The track compensates the lack of improvisation and drones in the first half, which centers more on riffs and chord progressions. A short mantra like riff is taken to its fuzzy extreme by its patient repetition. The music starts of in an ambient sort of way, keeping steady, the changes and nuances in the music between the bass and the drums and the guitar work make it for a compelling journey through its ups and downs in tension until the final climax. Interestingly enough, the track transitions in to "In Kommer Gösta" and fades after a few seconds bringing the album to a close.

My biggest gripe with this album is its sound quality. Althouth some tracks are marked as live performances, they really show no real difference in quality with their studio counterparts. The sound quality overall is not clear as in the Green Album's best moments, although more consistent.

Along with the Green Album, these are the only studio albums from their most active period, they are both the most straightforward releases and most close to Blues-Rock commercial standards of the time. Precisely what the band tried to achieve: abstraction is shed in favor of more grounded rock. Where the Green Album shows the bands more exotic and psychedelic side, "Rock för Kropp och Själ" shows their steady and rocking one. These two albums could be considered as part of a single release that illustrates and encompasses what TGS stood for when they where in their prime.