FOLQUE

Let me first say that I was in doubt whether to give it five or four stars, but I settled on four. A four plus! The song material on this one is great and the arrangements are good and sound fresh, not dated. It's not that experimental, but it's good solid folk-rock. The songs are sung in Norwegian, although "Ravnene", "Alison Gross" and "Harpa" are originally English folk-tunes translated into Norwegian. "Ravnene"(the ravens) is one of the best tracks on the album! It's english equivalent is the song "Twa Corbies" and I have a version of it done by Steeleye Span. Folque's version is without doubt the better! The main reason, in addition to the wonderful arrangement, is Lisa Helljesen - Folque's excellent singer. I absolutely love her voice! Lisa sings on the next two albums too, but then she left the band and on the rest of Folque's albums Jenn Mortensen replaced her. Alas I say.. Not that Jenn is a bad singer, it's just that Lisa totally outshines her. There are some male vocals here too, nicely done by Jörn Jensen who left soon after this album was finished, and Jörn and Lisa sings together on a few songs, most notably "Alison Gross". I wouldn't say there is a bad track on the album, although "Nissedans" tends to be a bit repetitive. Favourites include the forementioned "Ravnene", the stunning "Harpa" (this song tells the same story as Loreena McKennitt's "The Bonny Swans", Clannad's "Two Sisters" and Pentangle's "Cruel Sister" if you know those), the wonderfully arranged "Reven og Björnen" (possibly the best arrangement on the album), the solid folk-rocker "Skjön Jomfru" and offcourse the groovin' "Reinlender", an instrumental which was a Norwegian radio favourite in the mid-seventies! I surely recommend this album together with the following two - "Kjempene pá Dovrefjell" and "Vardöger".