RESA MOT OKÄNT MÅL

I’ve actually heard some of these guys’ more instrumental and folkish works, so when I finally got around to listening to this very old debut the difference in sound was shocking. It’s as pronounced as discovering Fleetwood Mac with ‘Rumors’ and then going back and playing ‘Kiln House’ or one of those other Jeremy Spencer-era albums. Not necessarily bad, but certainly not what you expected.

This thing isn’t anything like some of the band’s later albums. Imagine my surprise when I first played this and heard the opening riffs to “Tänk På Livet”, which sound an awful lot like the American redneck band .38 Special’s “Rockin’ into the Night”. A Swedish Lynyrd Skynyrd!

And while the album manages to range out a bit as it goes along, this is largely a heavy rock, blues-driven piece of work. There are also more vocals than most of the rest of their albums have, and the tracks are by and large a bit shorter than many of their better works.

That said, the guitars are very solid, albeit also very bluesy. I personally would not consider this a progressive rock album, with the possible exception of the ambituous but too-brief instrumental “Frestelser I Stan”, or the moderately jazz-leaning “Jag Älskar Sommaren” (also mostly an instrumental except for the occasional ‘doo-wop’).

On the other side of the coin “Kommunisera!” gets lost in sappy vocals and poorly-mixed guitar, and “Förberedelser Till Fest” sounds like a Camper van Beethoven punk polka with a little better guitar work than CvB usually managed.

If you’re looking for another Änglagård you’re not going to find it in this band. I don’t think you’ll find anything resembling prog folk either, at least not on this album. Maybe the two albums that followed, but not this one.

I can’t say this is all that recommended, and really I suppose it’s only of interest to fans and collectors of the obscure. Fortunately Silence Recordings reissued this last year on CD, so if you fall into either of those categories this is an easy and inexpensive find. For me it becomes mostly another curiosity in the collection that I may find an appreciation for some day in the future. Two stars.

peace