BJORN J:SON LINDH

Atlantis has a Swedish-language subtitle meaning Pictures from an Island. The instrumentation is emphasized on Lindh's piano, synth and flute, but co- musicians include four guitarists -- e.g. Jan Akkerman of Focus and Janne Schaffer --, an alto saxophonist, two bassists and percussionists plus a harmonica player who, I think, plays only on one track. The sonic landscapes are rather romantic and mellow, sometimes even dreamy, and the rock substance is more or less absent.

'Bilder från en ö' is a beautifully moody and melodic piece, and it has more symphonic-like, majestic dynamics than the album as a whole. This one surely would deserve the progressive tag. Leif Strand came to my mind of the serene beginning while the more orchestral latter half surpasses my countryman Anssi Tikanmäki's album classic Maisemakuvia Suomesta. 'Vid horisonten' (Towards the Horizon) is laid-back light jazz with a hint of Pat Metheny. Brief 'Dyningar' focussing on keys and sax is bright and sensual like Vangelis at his softest. The soloing harmonica on the next track is backed by a light lounge groove.

The next two pieces are also very mellow; 'Transea' slightly reminds me of Kitaro, or the NewAgey Austrian artist Gandalf, who in general is a good comparison for the peaceful spirit of this album. And finally 'Atlantis', an 11-minute piece of very delicate, introspective and organic sonic painting full of mysticism. This one gives the biggest attention to flute, which truly sounds beautiful.

If you get easily bored with soft, romantic and New Age flavoured music, Atlantis may be seen as one of Lindh's less recommendable albums, but if you have liked the artists I have mentioned above (or George Winston, Terry Oldfield, etc.) and are perfectly fine with mellowness without much of an edge, you'll enjoy this album.

Bull Dog" has this bluesy guitar sound as the flute plays over top and the bass and drums support. Not really into this. "Surto's Pyle'as" features two guest drummers in Turkey's own Okay Temiz and Jon Christensen from the ECM label. Seems like a waste to be honest as both play percussion and drums. Some sax 1 1/2 minutes in replacing the flute which is back quickly in this whimsical sounding track.

"Storpolska" has some orchestration and sax helping out. Some old school sounding flute to start like from the middle ages. Drums, bass and more join in then the flute changes it's tone. It's pretty funky before 1 1/2 minutes as it changes again. The guitar starts to light it up but then the flute returns. So much going on. The sax leads before 5 minutes. Great sound here then the guitar is back around 7 minutes. Nice bass here as well.

"Your Own House" opens with a catchy beat that builds in sound as bass and more join in. Flute comes to the fore quickly. "Sissel" is my favourite. Piano, percussion, bass and flute stand out early. Sax too as it settles into a groove before a minute with flute over top. I like it! Some intensity to this track. The sax leads after 3 1/2 minutes and it will get dissonant at times. The guitar leads after 6 1/2 minutes and he will light it up until the flute returns before 8 1/2 minutes. "Games People Play" is a Joe South cover and a disappointing way to end the album.

Some nice highs to this one but for my tastes this is simply an alright album but not one I'll probably return to.

But first I have to say that the line-up on the album's page here is incomplete. I would have edited it myself, but as I'm neither an admin nor a collaborator, I can't. Drums are not played solely by Roger Palm, but shared between him and Per Lindvall, who also share about 75% of the ABBA recordings between them. Secondly, we can hear the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra on several tracks, but the biggest let-down is that the man on the electric guitar isn't mentioned. Janne Schaffer may not be a metal guitarist, but his skill is certainly equal to Yngwie Malmsteen or Roine Stolt which makes him one of the greatest Swedish gutarists ever.

The album itself is not always rock, but shows a great variety and can certainly be classified as progressive. It is all instrumental and can be listened to in various volume levels. Quietly for meditation, mid-level for background entertainment and even loud for gym-like activities. The highlights for me are psychedelic Into The Fog, mysterious Certain Nights (Fandango) and especially Sing Louder Little River which may be better known under its Swedish title Brusa Högre Lilla Å, where Janne Schaffer performs one of the greatest lead parts I've ever heard. I guess it is even my absolute favourite instrumental piece, despite other classics like Rainbow's Snowman, Metallica's The Call Of Ktulu or Alan Parsons' Fall Of The House Of Usher. By the way, the flute on Deserter's Jubilee is not Ian Anderson, but Björn J:son Lindh himself!

Sadly, we won't get any new albums by this great artist as he passed away at only 69 years just before Christmas 2013, another thing that should be edited in the biography.

I'm a bit torn around the 4.5 stars mark, and I'll go for the high, handing out a 5 star rating for this wonderful album.

Anyway. The album did surprise me, as I did not expect such experimentalism (and less flute) listening to the great debut Ramadan. Anyway, this album did impress me with the great mixture that could only be done by some hybrid of Henry Cow with Gentle Giant, I guess, in the manner that the avant garde met the jazz and they both met a whole orchestra and made one side epic and... but the year was 1971! What make things even more interesting.

Anyway, I do believe that we must consideer a lot more this artist and this album in particular. And I'll left here to everyone the invitation to hear and let the music speak for itself.

Dominantly influenced by Ian Anderson, Thjis Van Leer and Elio D'anna, in the moment I started to listen to J:son Lindh, the whole world of jazz flute open before me. I did memorize every track of this album - that highlights a great competence in making a variety of styles and melodies works, from begning to end.

It is, perhaps, that kind of album thats speaks particularly with particular individuals. Well, it certainly did to me. And I do came back at Ramadan too often to consideer this a simple and "just good" album. We're going with four on this one.

This is a good recording with many interesting compositions. The best track is "Elastic springtime" which is a perfect seventies mood composition with speed and and sheer happiness. Also "My machine", "Good time Charlie's got the blues", "The Booster Bump" and the long orientalic psychedelic "Abdo" are nice pieces for music lovers.

The negative I have to say about this album is that it is too smooth and nice. He should have been more experimental. This is nice but not very exciting.

The music could be described as late 60's, early 70's movie soundtracks with it's kind of minimalistic grooves and funky jazz rock. At least that is true in the two tracks previously mentioned. For me that is musical heaven. It is something truly mesmerizing about that sound.

While "Lastbrygga" and "Kullens fyr" are excellent pieces of music the tracks inbetween are pleasent but not really to my taste. They are a bit too similar in sound, I find. The album is framed in the two groovy jazz rock tracks while the main body consists of more mellow pieces. I have always thought that the album would have done better if Lindh put one more groovy track in the middle, making it a more varied album.

Conclusion: "Ramadan" is a good but non-essential album. While the first and last track are brilliant the middle pieces are kind of lost to me. Not bad, just not that interesting. Pleasant but not outstanding in any way. I do urge you, though, to listen to the two tracks I have mentioned. They are excellent and shows the scandinavian jazz rock at it's finest.

J:son Lindh and Jan Schaffer are two of my favorite musicians from Sweden, though their musical output not always fits my taste but when it does it suits me in a splendid way. "Sissel" is the fourth album by Lindh and in my opinion his best. The combination of jazz, rock, prog and jams is excellent, really. Though the musicianship is flawless the result is a good but non-essential piece of vinyl.

The two tracks which I listen to the most are "Bull dog" and "Storpolska". They are simply irresistable pieces of music and jazz rock at it's finest moments. "Storpolska" is a mix of rock, swedish folk and jazz all rolled up in one amazing stew of thundering musicianship, energy and inspiration. I love that track and rate it with five (5) stars while "Bull dog" is a certified four (4). The remaining tracks are good, just not that explosive and splendid.

Conclusion: "Sissel" is a really good example of (swedish) jazz rock and holds moments of genius. The musicianship leaves nothing to be desired, though the album as a whole is not up to par with the two magnificent "Bull dog" and "Storpolska". If you are able to get a hold of this album, buy it and give it a try. It's worth every penny and I am waiting for it to be released as a CD along with the others of Lindh's 70's output.

The music is a mix of rock, swedish and orientalic folk music, jazz, american rock and progressive rock. My favourite track is "Anniversary march" which is very influenced by swedish folk musik. That is a fast as strong piece. " Bike voyage" has a magic and beautiful feeling of nature. "Raggie" is a crazy mix och 1940s piano and rock music, "Deer's Pasture" is sad and melancolic, very swedish and "Persian supermarket" proves a great drum solo, exciting percussion and orientalic dances. All these tracks are great and worth listen to. "Dry Country" is quite boring beside of "The Pond" but the unity is still amazing. This artist is something very different with so flute-dominated music. I can warmly recommend it.

"Musik Fran En Storstad" is the side long opening suite clocking in at almost 22 minutes. It's orchestral to start and it starts to build before 2 minutes, and this sounds really good after 2 1/2 minutes. A change 4 minutes in as we get back to more of an orchestral flavour once again. Drums after 5 1/2 minutes and the guitar joins in too as the orchestral sounds disappear. A change after 7 1/2 minutes as we get a calm with piano, flute and a beat. Another change 9 minutes in as we can hear samples of road noise and percussion of some sort. It turns haunting 11 minutes in followed by a beat as intricate sounds start to come and go. It's building as the orchestra joins in. It settles back 15 minutes in and it's still orchestral. It's haunting with a beat and bass before 16 minutes as orchestral sounds help out too. Great sound ! It kicks in at 19 minutes to an uptempo rock mode and the guitar starts to light it up.

"Tom Bohla 1971" is a short piece that consists of a crowd cheering throughout with orchestral sounds. "Grytnas Svaller" is uptempo and quite impressive with piano, drums and more. The guitar joins in too. So good. "Biezlov" is piano and guitar followed by drums and bass along with vocal melodies. "Den Dansande Wollmar" opens with strings and a beat. Cool sound. Horns join in followed by guitar then it settles to an orchestral mode but not for long. Great track ! "I Grodspadet" is the only vocals track and the singing is in Swedish. Piano and drums help out early then it turns orchestral when the vocals stop late. Amazing sound. "Stang Locket-Hon Fryser" opens with piano as intricate sounds help out. Drums before 3 minutes as it intensifies. "Tom Bohla" like the earlier named track is short but this time with laughter from the audience throughout instead of cheering.

4 stars for now but as i get to know this album better I can see that rating going up. A must ! And please read Guldbamsen's review as he describes the subject matter of this record so well.