RAMLOSA KVALLAR

"Ramlösa kvällar" features five talanted musicians: Coste Apetrea (Samla Mammas Manna and solo artist), Kalle Eriksson (Nya Ljudbolaget, Samla Mammas Manna, von Zamla, Lars Hollmer), Lars Hollmer (Samla Mammas Manna and solo artist), Ulf Ärtan Wallander (Samla Mammas Manna, Arbete & Fritid, Nya Ljudbolaget, Flower Kings) and Bill Öhrström (Mikael Ramel and more). As you see most of them have earlier played in/with Samla mammas manna but now there is totally different music. This is a collection of live recordings and it was released in 1978 on Silence records.

As all prog records this is an interesting record to review but perhaps this music is thought to be danced to. This is mostly some form of ethnic progressive folk with inspiration from Greece and eastern Europe. Glimps of Swedish folk can also be heard. Well, this is well performed material, the band is very coherent. Unfortunately the best song "Castañeda" has bad audio standard. That is a song related to Samla mammas mannas music. It has good blowers and an advanced melody. "Sista mars" is another highligth with a beautiful swedish folk feeling and a dreaming trumpet. Also the short jazzy "Idé och lärdomshistorien" is interesting. Otherwise there is nice world music, perfect for a nice party or someone who's up for dance. They wrote that this is dance music on their cover so why don't you find a partner and take a dance?

Sole album from this formation that was most likely a side project and never a full time group. This album seems to be a bit in the line of the Swedish Progg movement: strange mix of politics, folk music and more advanced forms of music, something that the presence of a few members of Samla Mamma Manna (including the ever-important Lars Hollmer) seems to corroborate. However in terms of interest for the proghead, the appeal of this album seems rather limited to his presence and little else.

We are faced with a bunch of ethnic music from all over the world, but there is no sense of making them progress in any way shape of form. Most of the tracks are either traditional ethnic folk numbers or covers of folk artistes. The group is just content to stick as close to the original style of the music without adding any personal touches or even attempting a jazz-ification, which of course brings the question of the purpose of such an album. Of all the tracks only the longer 7-min Svangillan is of real interest because precisely of its jazz connotations, but then again it is a track that was written for the occasion.

Of little interest for this writer, but most likely for most progheads, unless holding a particular interest for Samla offshoot projects.