December 1967 We finish off the last great year of Swedish pop music - at least for a while - with another really nice LP, and this time it's the Janglers doing the honours. Under Ground https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mD6njN3LLAqs9qgTQ4icYllsSLvYWkahU A1 I Can Wait (Ballard) A2 What I Heard Today (af Geijerstam) A3 The Hard Road Back (Shorter) A4 That's Why I Cry (af Geijerstam) A5 Turn Around And Start Again (Greenaway/Cooke) A6 You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies (Simon) B1 A Certain Misunderstanding (Hayes/Wadey/Grainger) B2 Call It Love (af Geijerstam) B3 Run Boy Run (Taylor) B4 Under The Ground (af Geijerstam/Olsson) B5 Mr. Moon (Barter/Barter) B6 Eeny Meeny Miny Moe (af Geijerstam) LP by Ola & the Janglers It's probably a sign of the times that for this album, the Janglers went back to relying on covers, even though they had a very strong songwriter in their midst. Out of the twelve songs here, only five are by af Geijerstam, and the rest are generally recent pop songs, with a worrying tendency to choose novelty tracks creeping in. The album opens with a strong Russ Ballard song. (I haven't seen anyone else doing this song, not even Ballard himself, and he hadn't really started his career as a songwriter for hire yet, so I'm not sure how it ended up in the Janglers' hands.) Nevertheless, this is a big opener with a strong arrangement relying on brass and Olsson's keyboard. Ola Håkansson sounds appropriately plaintive. This is followed by the first Clabbe original, and it continues the album's momentum. The accompaniment consists almost exclusively of an acoustic guitar and some percussion, though some strings appear for the final half of the song. The melody is very strong and this would almost certainly have been an A-side for almost any other band. Then we're back with an obscure cover - Ola sure knew how to find them - of a Rick Shorter B-side. "The Hard Road Back" is more of a soul song with a brass riff going throughout the song, and a jagged guitar line turning up every now and again. I'm not entirely sure of the backing vocals at times, but overall this is another strong song. Af Geijerstam returns with "That's Why I Cry", a wonderful pop number with Ola Håkansson's falsetto vocals very much to the fore in the chorus. They're the only bad thing about this song, though... The brass accompaniment does something similar to a James Bond riff at times, and the melody is very strong again. There's also strings to elevate the arrangement. This album side is so far one of the best we've heard in this thread. We then go into a Greenaway/Cook song which has a bit of a country tinge. This composer pair might have been a bit better known than those of the earlier covers, but this is hardly their best known work so it still seems a fairly obscure choice. However, it doesn't live up to the greatness of the earlier tracks here, though as album filler it works nicely. The album side then ends with a song by the perhaps most famous songwriter here, Paul Simon. Simon & Garfunkel's perhaps most obscure track - only ever released as a B-side during their recording career - is a pretty good song and the Janglers' arrangement make it sound quite menacing, fitting the lyrics to a T. They rock it up a bit too, compared with the original. An interesting variation of this song! Another obscurity opens side two, apparently taken from a David Garrick single from earlier the same year. It's a jaunty piece of pop music with vaudevillian leanings. The woodwind arrangement is wonderfully evocative. Good stuff! "Call It Love" is the third composition from Claes af Geijerstam on the album, and I have to admit that this is his least successful song on the album thus far. It's not a bad song per se, it's just not as memorable as the earlier two. The sultry female spoken bits might have a bit to do with my negative opinion. But the band do their usual commendable work and it's still a well-done track. Then we return to relatively obscure covers by fairly well-known composers. In this case it's Chip Taylor, and "Run Boy Run" was apparently released by a band called Just US. It's a bit of a novelty track, but the Janglers make it sound really good with their arrangement with vibraphone and strings. The melody is an earworm too. Clabbe returns with the almost title track, "Under The Ground", composed with Johannes Olsson. As you might guess with Olsson chipping in, this is a keyboard heavy track with lots of melancholy passages. It qualifies as a psych-pop track in my book at least. Ola's singing is excellent, and this is another winner by the band. "Mr. Moon" is another obscurity, another song which doesn't seem to have been released anywhere else. The composers (Harry and Rowland Barter) are also unknown to me. It's a somewhat baroque ballad type track, with a string arrangement supporting a simple backing accompaniment. An okay album track, but it turns out that the fifth track on each side of the album are the least interesting ones... The album closes with the final track by af Geijerstam, "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe". As the title intimates, this is also a bit bubblegummy, but it still manages to rock out a bit. There's also a nice organ solo. It's catchy as flu on top of everything, and it leaves this listener wanting more. Another strong album from the Janglers. It's a pity we only get five originals, but the rest of the material is so obscure that it hardly matters, since you (or at least I) might never have heard them in any other version. The band perform well and there are a lot of very good arrangements on this album, so this is another one you definitely should take a look at if you're interested in mid 60s pop music. With this being the last release of 1967, we're now moving into 1968 with just two bands still releasing LPs. But there's at least a whole slew of singles coming in that year, and there's still a lot of great music to look forward to. Stay tuned!
1968 The signs were there as the end of 1967 approached, and 1968 is the year the Swedish pop market collapsed. There are a couple more LPs to come - the Janglers soldiered on for quite a bit yet, and the Hep Stars are still here - but the bottom had fallen out of the market and there was hardly any money to be made from letting Swedish pop groups release records. I wasn't around at the time, so take my ramblings with a pinch of salt, but I guess there were a couple of reasons for this fact. One, Sweden is a much smaller market than the UK, let alone the US. The record buying public was simply not big enough to carry the whole music business. Second, while almost everyone in Sweden nowadays can speak and particularly understand English to a reasonable degree, this was not the case in the 60s. While English had become a compulsory subject in school in the forties, which meant that teenagers had some contact with the language, but remember that these were very different times - most people would only encounter English on TV and on pop records. This meant that bands that performed in English had an even smaller audience for their records. (It's certainly no coincidence that the Hep Stars had already released a couple of singles in Swedish, and that the Mascots and Janglers tried the same thing late 1967. (And of course it didn't help that at least for the Hep Stars, these singles sold much better than their English language ones...) This also meant that it was almost imperative for these bands to break through in England, and they certainly made many attempts. Tages, Ola & the Janglers and the Hep Stars all tried in different ways to enter the British market, but work permits were very hard to get back then and all their attempts were foiled, for one reason or another. Third, in Sweden there was always competition from the so called "dansband" scene. "Dansband" music is the type of extremely safe music, not seldom with a country-ish tinge, that is played for couples who want to dance leisurely, and this was - and perhaps is? I don't know, I don't follow the scene at all. I tend to imagine lots of middle-aged couples dancing somewhere out in the sticks, but I guess out there young folks won't have anything else to do either - a huge scene for Swedish musicians. As everyone wanted to dance to this type of music there was always a call from the filthy lucre and a career that could support you well into your own middle age. Several bands from the Swedish pop explosion did make this transition, but we'll get to that in good time. Now, let's get back to the music, because while this year was a tough one for our heroes, they still turned out quite a lot of worthwhile music! February 1968 It's Been A Long Long Time https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mSLt1obyFP1N8OcbbzdAHZJcmg4NEAW0U A1 Enter The Young (Kirkman) A2 Hope (Buie/Adkins) A3 5 A.M (Salisbury) A4 It's Time For A Change (Marmelzat/Proffer) A5 Changing Away From You (Bettis) A6 It's Been A Long Long Time (Andersson/Berghagen) B1 Musty Dusty (Boettcher) B2 Spinning, Spinning, Spinning (Boettcher/Friedman) B3 There Is Love (Valley) B4 Would You Like To Go (Boettcher/Alexander) B5 It's Now Winter's Day (Roe) B6 Another Time (Boettcher) LP by the Hep Stars The story behind this album is crooked and unorthodox. This final Hep Stars album is so in name only, as it consists of Svenne Hedlund, Benny Andersson and a bunch of British session musicians. The band was now recording for a new company (a one off thing, because they'd go back to their old company again after this LP), and they were packed off to London to record this. As you might see, this is the sunshine pop album you've never heard of, featuring a whole smattering of songs from Curt Boettcher's many different projects in the genre, with a couple of other covers and one Benny Andersson original to fill it out. As most of these tracks would have been completely unknown to most of the Swedish record buying public, I can sort of see where they were coming from. (And the Hep Stars did do that early Beach Boys cover, so it's not like there wasn't someone around the band who didn't like this stuff.) We start off with an Association song, a song that sounds very similar to the original version. If you haven't heard that one, then this is a very fine song to listen to, but there's no need if you've got the Association's version in your collection. "Hope" is a track by the Candymen. I haven't heard the original, but this is a pretty standard melodious song, perhaps a bit less sunshiny than most of what surrounds it, but a fine enough pop tune. "5 A.M." is picked up from the Millennium "Begin" album, and has a bit more swing to it than the original with a brass band doing some jazzy things in the background. To me, the laid-back sound of the original is a more enjoyable listen. With "It's Time For A Change", I haven't been able to find an earlier version of the song, so I'm not entirely sure where the band found this one. It starts off as yet another sunshine pop song but moves into a very different interlude with Benny's keyboards very prominent. I'm not sure I'd call this psychedelic, but it does move in and out of a couple of quite different sections. "Changing Away From You" was written by Richard Carpenter's usual lyricist, John Bettis. It's a gentle track that moves into a baroque setting fairly quickly. An okay enough album track, but the melody is a little lacking to me. The first side ends with the only original on the album, this one written with Lars Berghagen, a prominent figure in the Swedish music and entertainment business. They'd compose a further few tracks together over the next two years, before Benny went in the direction you all already know. This is more uptempo, sounding almost like a Temptations track with prominent brass and guitars. It's a fine song, and I think Benny should have tried to supply more songs to this album. And yeah, if you thought side one was a bit sunshiny, it still didn't feature any actual Curt Boettcher songs. That is rectified by side two. "Musty Dusty" is one of my favourite songs by him, recorded for the Sagittarius project, and while this is faithful and listenable, I'd never be able to give up the original for this version. Another Boettcher song follows, this time from the unreleased Ballroom album. "Spinning, Spinning, Spinning" is almost the archetypal sunshine pop song with its joyous harmonies and happy, poppy melody. Again, this doesn't do much to improve on the original, which is the recommended version - in fact, I think the arrangement of the backing vocals is quite annoying here! We then get to hear a song by Jim Valley, "There Is Love". I don't know the original, but I've seen that the single it was featured on was characterised as garage rock. If that's true, then the Hep Stars certainly moved it in a very different direction, because here it is an orchestrated pop song, very lush and sweet. We're back in Boettcher-land with "Would You Like To Go", another song from the Sagittarius LP "Present Tense". The percussion is a bit annoying here, but the song is melodious and I like the rest of the arrangement. You might've already guessed that the original is still my go-to version. Tommy Roe was one of Boettcher's associates, and he's the one behind the second to last song on the album - "It's Now Winter's Day". It's another gentle song with Svenne crooning away in a melancholy arrangement. The strings supporting the chorus are lovely. Curt Boettcher is then allowed to finish off the proceedings with another "Present Tense" track, another archetypal sunshine song. The original competes with "Musty Dusty" for best sunshine pop song in my mind, so you can imagine how this version pales in comparison. However, in this case the band have actually changed things up a bit so it actually brings something new to the table. The song is still immediately recognisable, but this is an interesting take. While I may not have been overly gushing with this album, it is still a very good LP. The main problem for me is that I'm fairly well versed in the sunshine pop subgenre, and thus I've heard many of these tracks in other versions that I prefer. However, that's not to say that the Hep Stars don't do justice to the material. It's all very well arranged and produced, and of course it's always nice to hear another Benny Andersson original. As a listening experience, this is probably better than their eponymous album, but for the reasons given above the earlier album is still my favourite.
Early 1968 While LPs are now few and far between, we'll see a lot of singles over the coming posts. February 1968 (cont'd) There's A Blind Man Playing Fiddle In The Street (Lagerberg) (Like A Woman) Single by Tages - Kvällstoppen DNC, Tio i topp 10 The A-side is another pop slice with a bit of vaudeville and Swedish folk instruments thrown into the mix. Lagerberg takes the vocal on his own song. Again, the lyrical variation is not high, but the melody carries the song. A very nice pop song and Tages' final top 10 single in Sweden. ***** Moreen (Lindsay/Melcher) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdY8CK_LU4 Baby, You're So Wrong (Idering/Adolfsson/Ringbom) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crQBHtyuHEo Single by the Mascots - Did not chart Rolf Adolfsson turns in a very soul inspired vocal on the verses of this Terry Melcher & Mark Lindsay song. The rest of the band do their usual vocal gymnastics on the chorus, and there's a strident brass band in the instrumental interlude. This is high octane soul pop, but there's just something about it that doesn't really draw me in. As opposed to the B-side, which begins with a mournful organ before turning into a psychedelic track with electronically treated vocals. The chorus, on the other hand, is very sing-a-long-y. I'm still not entirely convinced by Adolfsson in his role as lead singer, though. Luckily he's only there for short passages on this track. Overall a strong single. March 1968 Faces, Faces (Sundqvist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNWvTEmn7Js (It's No Use) Single by the Shanes - Did not chart A single by the Shanes featuring two originals? Not the most common thing in this late stage of their career. The B-side is previously released, so we'll stick with the A-side. By this time, they'd drafted in sax player Rolf Carvenius as a sort of last ditch effort to see if they could reclaim some of their fortunes. Not that he got much to do on this track, admittedly. The track begins with a big jangly guitar sound before going into an late 60s uptempo pop song. The sound is very clean, and the middle eight is the best bit with the keyboard coming to the fore. This is the sort of stuff they should have done instead of including a bunch of uninteresting covers on their LPs.
April 1968 What A Way To Die (Weiss/Schlaks) Oh What A Lovely Day (Sulke) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCka79uKqvE Single by Ola & the Janglers - Did not chart Claes af Geijerstam doesn't even get the B-side on this single, poor thing. The A-side is one of those big productions, similar in certain ways to the Shanes' "Cara Mia", with Ola Håkansson trying his best to convince you how much he cares. It's well-done, but this is not my style of music. The B-side is better, a slice of baroque pop which acts as an antidote to the A-side's "bigness". A catchy melody and an interesting arrangement makes this the better of the two sides. This month also saw another Swedish language single by the Hep Stars: "Sagan om lilla Sofi"/"Det finns en stad". It was their final single for the label Cupol before they moved back to their original recording company. May 1968 Fantasy Island (Lagerberg/Larsson/Henriksson) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpFRri7whcY To Be Free (B. Töpel/Lagerberg) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bf6t6IW_3M Single by Tages - Did not chart One final psychedelic attempt by Tages. Blom and Lagerberg share the vocals on the A-side with some help from most everyone else in the band. The Leslie'd guitar intro is immediately ear-catching, and the electronically treated vocals from Tommy signal what type of track this is going to be. This is a fantastic A-side, which of course sank without a trace. The B-side took a while to really grab me, but I now like it quite a bit. The co-writer is Björn Töpel, brother of lead guitarist Anders. This too belongs to the psychedelic subgenre, but is less of a popsike track, instead going through several different parts over the course of its almost three minutes. There's a very jagged guitar, booming drums, and over the outro we hear a bunch of folky fiddles apparently recorded live in the countryside. Another excellent single. June 1968 Whooee (You Ain't Goin' Nowhere) (Dylan) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WHgFUJ9abM Black And White (Adolfsson/Idering/Ringbom) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxtzWFIa6H4 Single by the Mascots - Did not chart The Dylan A-side sounds more like the Hollies than the Byrds, let's put it that way. I personally prefer the Byrds' version, this one features very mannered singing by Rolf Adolfsson, and even the backing vocals sound ragged in places. With quite a plodding beat, this really doesn't work at all. The self-referential middle is awful. The B-side is another original song, one of their least successful songs. Again Adolfsson annoys in the role as lead vocalist, and there's hardly a melody or hook to get attached to. This is the poorest release by far under the Mascots name, and that includes those early novelty singles.
August 1968 Friday Kind Of Monday (Barry/Greenwich) Bound For Nowhere (?) Single by the Shanes - Did not chart With this single we bid farewell to the Shanes as the pop band we've come to recognise (their career didn't end here, though, and I'll return to that later in this thread), so perhaps it's telling that the B-side is so obscure that not only have I not been able to listen to it but I don't even know who wrote it! The A-side starts off as a cross between sunshine pop and psychedelia, but the overwhelming impression is of a Turtles track. Grahn sounds uncannily like Howard Kaylan at times. It's a nice enough song and an okay listen, but I wouldn't see this as a hit in a million years. And it wasn't. ***** Tracks Of My Tears (Moore/Robinson/Tarplin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19wbgj0CySE Farewell My Love (af Geijerstam) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtZ8KGPrQ4A Single by Ola & the Janglers - Did not chart For this single, at least Clabbe got the B-side again. The A-side is a classic Motown song that you should listen to instead of this version, since it doesn't bring a whole lot of new things to the table, with the exception of a hot guitar that plays the odd line. The B-side is more interesting, but the chorus isn't strong enough nor is the melody memorable enough. An okay B-side, nothing more. ***** Let It Be Me (Bécaud/Curtis) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLpbD4nOPco Groovy Summertime (Ross/Colley/Bahler) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn3Iw1j14g4 Single by the Hep Stars - Kvällstoppen 4, Tio i topp DNC For some time, the Hep Stars had added two female singers to their live shows, and when this single was released one of them, Charlotte Walker, had been promoted to band member. So the A-side is a duet between her and Svenne Hedlund, with a very gentle arrangement that allows their voices to take front and centre of the track. The song itself is nice and melancholy, but I think it's taken at too slow a tempo here. Listenable but not top shelf material. The B-side is a bit of a mystery. I'm not entirely sure if it was actually released in a studio version or not. I've trawled the net for such a studio version, but I can only come up with a live version from the upcoming album. So I forced myself to listen to the live one (which is also linked to above). The things I do for this thread. Done in a joking manner, with false starts and spoken asides, the intro is almost excruciating. The main body of the song is a simple throwback type of song with some brass accompanying the band. Hardly essential stuff, all things told.
October 1968 Let's Dance https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kLDbTXuy5-HTQ7W_l_6oukNWv5LJVPKuM A1 Put Your Little Hands Together (af Geijerstam) A2 Little Green Apples (Russell) A3 Hold On To What You See (af Geijerstam) A4 (Farewell My Love) A5 Stag-O-Lee (Trad. arr. af Geijerstam) A6 (What A Way To Die) B1 Let's Dance (Lee) B2 I Want You (Dylan) B3 Hear Me (af Geijerstam) B4 (Tracks Of My Tears) B5 (Oh What A Lovely Day) B6 Bird Bird (af Geijerstam) LP by Ola & the Janglers An album with four previously released tracks means that it's a bit of a re-tread with a paltry five originals from af Geijerstam, one of which had already been released. The album kicks off with one of them, an okay pop song with fairly vacuous lyrics. At times, it sounds like one of those entertainment bands that you hear at holiday resorts. This is a sign of what's to come on the album. The second track is one of those perennial things that seem to pop up here, there and everywhere: "Little Green Apples" by Bobby Russell. I guess it's got a catchy, memorable melody, but it's so sugary sweet I can't really get into it. No substance, only surface. And those female vocals... The next track is another original, and with "Hold On To What You See" we get another melancholy thing with Ola Håkansson doing his vibrato best to make you feel emotions. Okay, that was a bit flippant. It's actually an all right song, and it does get quite affecting as the momentum grows. It's just that the album so far has been a let-down after the great LPs of yore. At least it proves that af Geijerstam was good at creating songs in fairly disparate styles. Speaking of, the next track is one of the previously released B-sides, which is followed by a good old traditional song from the 1800s, a song that's had more spelling variations than recorded versions. Almost. In this version, Ola comes in very over the top, but when the song proper begins it does rock a bit with stabbing keyboard and driving female vocals (much better than on "Little Green Apples"). On most of the earlier Janglers albums, this would have been bottom of the barrel but here it does get things going a bit. The album side then finishes off with a previous A-side. And then side two kicks off with a future single, and because the universe is perverse this song was actually a hit in the US. Yes, it's true - a very minor hit, but still. I don't believe it either - they release a bunch of excellent tracks in 1966 and 1967, and this tired old cover is the one the US market pays attention to? The track itself is of course very well-known, but there's really nothing about Ola & the Janglers' version that makes it stand out above all others. Admittedly, the song is catchy and has a driving beat and kicks off the album side in fine fashion. This is then followed by a Dylan cover, which is done in quite dramatic fashion. At least this version cannot be accused of following the original too closely. While Dylan did it as an almost baroque pop song, this one is very dramatic with prominent keyboards and a booming chorus. I prefer the original, but this definitely brings something new to the table. "Hear Me", another original, follows, and I have to say that side two of the album is a clear improvement on the first side. While not af Geijerstam's greatest work, this track has a memorable melody and chorus, and while the beat is admittedly quite plodding this is still a highlight on an album that's been disappointing so far. There are two more previously released songs following, before we get to the album closer which is the best track on the album, almost by default. This is probably the only track, possibly with the exception of the track immediately before it, that could have been included on a previous album and not dragged down the average. "Bird Bird" is admittedly very twee and bubblegum, but it's catchy as flu. The boys don't make the mistake of taking things too seriously as opposed to most of the rest of the album, adding sound effects and silly noises to the background, but as this is a vaudeville song at heart, that doesn't matter one bit. Absolute bonkers, but excellent fun. So, as you've guessed this isn't my favourite album. Side two is an improvement on side one, but there's too much chasing an elusive audience by dumbing things down and going the novelty route, which is a great pity when you've got Claes af Geijerstam in the band. There are some good things on this LP, but compared to everything else released by the band, this has to be seen as quite a big disappointment. This month also featured another single in Swedish from the Hep Stars: "Tända på varann"/"I sagans land", both tracks that would appear in original language versions later.
November 1968 We say bye-bye to 1968, but also to Tages, and see the Hep Stars release a strange album before heading into the doldrums of the late 60s Swedish pop scene. I Read You Like An Open Book (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Moar) Halcyon Days (Frampton/Bown) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf7Ws7VN7z8 Single by Tages - Did not chart When this single was released, Tages were down to a four-piece, as Tommy Blom had handed in his notice earlier in the year, disappointed in the lack of success and the way the music scene was changing. He did participate in the recording sessions for this single, though, and he's co-lead vocalist on the B-side. These two songs are less overtly psychedelic than the last few releases, though Lagerberg's vocals on the verses of the A-side do sound like they were recorded in 1967. There's nothing of that in the chorus, though, which is a joyous shouted thing with ample support from the backing vocalists. A strong song, though perhaps a bit too complex to be a hit. The B-side was recorded in Britain with Mike Hurst producing. It's a track written by the Herd members Peter Frampton and Andy Bown. This is the only version of this song under this moniker, though the Herd would later re-record it as "Our Fairy Tale". It's a pretty catchy song that might well have worked as an A-side, though I understand that Tages themselves weren't completely satisfied with it. (Having heard the Herd's version I must say that I think Tages made a much, much better recording.) Nonetheless, the final release with the Tages name on it does not shame them in any way, it's a fine pop single that deserved better. ***** Songs We Sang '68 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lrHuXyZJtPHSz_tf8iXMwzxD-98yybldk (A-side live) B1 Holiday For Clowns (Curtis/Hardin) B2 A Flower In My Garden (Andersson/Ulvaeus) B3 Save Your Heart For Me (Geld/Udell) B4 Bilden Av Dig (Clinton/Ferris/Ben Hur/Lind) B5 Suddenly Tomorrow Is Today (Andersson/Berghagen) B6 Warten Auf Den Tag (Blum) B7 Songs We Sang (Andersson/Berghagen) LP by the Hep Stars Side one of this album is live, side two is a bit of a hodgepodge of tracks recorded during the year. There's one Swedish language track, and there's also two songs previously recorded in Swedish. The rest of the album side consists of their next single and two further tracks. Not an auspicious end to the Hep Stars' career as LP makers. Track one and two were released as a single, and man, I really shouldn't like "Holiday For Clowns" as much as I do. It's one of those pop songs that are quite meaningless, and quite throwaway. And yet, it is so bloody catchy that I have to surrender. The driving brass, the poppy bass line and the joyous backing vocals. A whole mess of fun. The B-side and the second track on the LP is the second song ever written by the future ABBA stars, and it's another prominent spot for Charlotte Walker, who sings this as a duet with Svenne Hedlund. It's a very fragile and twee thing in a baroque setting, but the strength of the melody saves it from embarrassment. "Save Your Heart For Me" is a cover of a 5 year old Brian Hyland tune. And this is where that tweeness gets too overbearing. It sounds much like a children's song, with Svenne and Lotta (as she was known by now) duetting much the same way they did on the previous track. There's some unbearable whistling and what sounds like a toy piano in the backing. A bit cringe, to be honest (and it's also the track that was previously released in a Swedish version ("Tända på varann"). After the only Swedish language song, we're back with a Benny Andersson original. Again co-written with Lars Berghagen, this takes its cue from "Holiday For Clowns" with some prominent brass, though this is more of a psychedelic track with a bit of phasing here and there. A pretty good song, overall. Yes, "Warten Auf Den Tag" is in German - and was the B-side on that Swedish language single ("I sagans land") - and Svenne does his best when he's trying to form the words, but it all sounds a bit stilted. The song itself is very much of the filler variety. And then the album side is rounded out by one final Andersson/Berghagen tune. This is a more downtempo thing compared with the earlier originals, with Charlotte Walker doing the lead vocals. Her voice is a bit too thin to truly carry the song, and ultimately it just doesn't work. This album reeks a bit of "getting product out", with a bunch of oddities and stray tracks making up the studio side while side A features recordings from the 1968 summer tour. I like the songs from the single, and "Suddenly Tomorrow Is Today" is also good, but everything else just feels too safe. Not the best listen.
1969 The Shanes had their final release in 1968, likewise did Tages. To be honest, only Ola & the Janglers could still be seen as a viable working entity as we head into 1969. There's one interesting development that we'll get to, but it ultimately led nowhere. Because of the paucity of releases, we'll cover the entire first half of the year in this post. February 1969 You're Never Gonna Find Me (Adolfsson/Ringbom) A Life Like That (Adolfsson/Ringbom) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf6xpPTvVN0 Single by the Mascots - Did not chart This is the final Mascots single, and at least they choose to go out with two originals, showing confidence in their own work. The A-side is a bit slight, but has an easy sing-along chorus. (To be honest, it doesn't have much more than that chorus.) Underwritten, but still a lot of fun. Possibly it helps that Adolfsson does not take the lead vocal for this one. Unlike the B-side, which is rather a pity in my view. It's otherwise a pretty nice song, but there's just something about Adolfsson's vocals that rubs me the wrong way. It's a bit melancholy, which I guess is appropriate for your last song on a record. April 1969 California Sun (Glover/Levy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p0xIe8iuqA Baby Baby Baby (af Geijerstam/Håkansson) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJtC8gWFthE Single by Ola & the Janglers - Did not chart Going back to the well once more, the Janglers find another early 60s song to try to catch lightning in a bottle. Overall, I like this one a bit better than "Let's Dance", but there are about a zillion versions of this one, and I'm not sure that this one was needed. Still, it's a catchy tune and does get your toes tapping, so okay then. Claes af Geijerstam once again ends up on the B-side, this time with a song co-written with singer Håkansson. This sounds pretty much like any other pop/rock late 60s song, there's not much about it that stands out. A bit throwaway, to be honest. The Hep Stars released a final Swedish language single in this month, this time two originals, both written by Björn & Benny, though they had some help with the B-side from Swedish troubadour legend Cornelis Vreeswijk. "Speleman"/"Precis som alla andra". By this time, they'd lost their original guitarist Janne Frisk. June 1969 Um Um Um Um Um (Mayfield) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE2TLYjtwg4 (Hold On To What You See) Single by Ola & the Janglers - Did not chart The Janglers found another novelty-ish early 60s song to record and feature as an A-side. Maybe they'll cut their losses soon? This one is pretty fun and catchy, but there's not much substance to it. Olsson chimes in with a keyboard solo that's pretty generic. July 1969 Speedy Gonzales (Kaye/Hill/Lee) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPMkxYyZP-g Single by the Hep Stars - Kvällstoppen 2, Tio i topp 2 Not ones to be outdone by the Janglers, the Hep Stars follow suit with yet another early 60s novelty. It's all done in a fairly silly way with silly voices in the intro, and some decidedly un-PC cod Spanish spoken bits. At least Svenne Hedlund does his best in the vocal department. But there's a lot of diminishing returns here, listening to all these A-sides in a row doesn't do much to impress me. Which is a pity, as this was the final release of this incarnation of Hep Stars. (The B-side was a song sung in Swedish: "Är det inte kärlek säg".)
July 1969 (cont'd) The Lilac Years https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mAOWndnUwBY0_tWt_lyjp4KGH7viUoqUU A1 Six White Horses (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Moar) A2 Deep Inside My Heart (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Green) A3 Sailing Across The Ocean (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Moar) A4 Time Is Mine (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Moar) A5 The Girl I Once Had (Larsson/Green/Moar) A6 The Lilac Years (Trad. arr. Henriksson/Green) B1 I Wake Up And Call (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Moar) B2 Sun In Her Hand (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Green) B3 I Pick Up The Bus (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Moar) B4 There's A Man Standing In The Corner (Lagerberg/Henriksson/Green) B5 (I Will Bring You) Flowers In The Morning (Cameron) B6 Caroline (Lagerberg/Svensson/Henriksson/Moar) LP by Blond Say what, you wonder? Who are those Blond fellas? Weren't we supposed to only talk about five specific bands here? Well, yeah. Blond is Tages in all but name. It's the same four guys that remained after Tommy Blom left Tages, and once their old recording contract had run out, they signed a new one with a change of name in a final effort to try to make an international breakthrough. This album is more or less the Göran Lagerberg show - he co-wrote three quarters of the album and sings lead on all of it, while Danne Larsson and drummer Lasse Svensson get one paltry credit each. It is also a bit more streamlined, sounding more like any late 60s pop/rock LP. On the other hand, Lagerberg was always a very gifted singer, and this is still Tages we're talking about, and they've kept their producer as well, as you can see in most of the song credits. "Six White Horses" is a pretty rocking thing with Lagerberg wailing away over a layer of guitars. A pretty hot solo as well. This really doesn't sound like Tages at all - it really could be any rock band behind Göran. That doesn't mean it's a bad track, I do dig it a fair bit. After the balls to the wall rock and roll the next song is a sharp contrast, a baroque ballad. Lagerberg's vocals are strident and at times just a bit over the top. A big ballad with a good melody, but again it doesn't really sound much like Tages. There's still no backing vocals or anything to remind you that this is supposed to be a group, not a solo artist. "Sailing Across The Ocean" starts off with plinkety-plonk piano and a somewhat plodding beat, but as the track moves into the chorus bits it changes tempo and we finally get a short burst of backing vocals. This is the most ambitious track so far, and the first one where it's possible to discern that this is in fact Tages. We then move to "Time Is Mine", another example of late 60s soft rock. It's got some (anonymous) backing vocals but what's more important, a pretty memorable melody, so it's a perfectly enjoyable listen. Larsson's "The Girl I Once Had" is probably the least memorable track on the album, a generic piece of late 60s soul inspired soft rock. Not bad per se, just a bit anonymous. And then the album side ends with the title track, a cornerstone of the album. It is a Swedish traditional folk song supplied with English lyrics and turned into a bit of an epic. It starts off with gentle woodwind, then Lagerberg comes in with his vocal and the track slowly builds into an emotional extravaganza. While everything so far has been pleasant to listen to, this is the first really great track. In the outro we get some authentic folk instruments to end the song. Album side two kicks off with "I Wake Up And Call", and suddenly we're back in Tages-land. It's no wonder that this was picked as the first single, it's both a very catchy number and the first track that sounds like a natural extension of what Tages where doing on their final release. Excellent stuff. "Sun In Her Hand", the next track, was at times mistaken for a lost Beatles outtake and added to bootlegs. I suppose that says something about its quality, that it could be mistaken for the Beatles. I don't really see how that mistake could be made, as I don't hear much similarity between Lagerberg's vocals and those of Lennon/McCartney. However, I do agree with the assessment of its quality - it's a catchy soft pop song with strings and brass, but there are some arrangement touches that kick it up a notch, with a bunch of fun, unusual instruments. The third track on the side again sounds like a regular Tages song with lots of backing vocals and a happy pop melody. An excellent start to this album side. "There's A Man Standing In The Corner" reminds you of older Tages tracks like "There's A Blind Man Playing Fiddle In The Street" and "Have You Seen Your Brother Lately" in some ways, but it's a good song on its own. Traditional folk instruments make a return, and this could have fit on any late Tages release with no one lifting an eyebrow. The penultimate track is the only cover on the album, a song gifted to the band by one of the album's arrangers, John Cameron. "Flowers In The Morning" is a pretty track, very baroque with strings, woodwind and an organ that sounds a bit like Jon Lord on Deep Purple's earlier works. Lagerberg gets a bit shouty in the chorus, but it does suit the song. (The track has also been released by other artists under the title "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind".) The final track is "Caroline", which doesn't really sound like anything else on the album. It starts off with acoustic guitars and lightly tapped bongos before Göran really gets going with his vocals. In some ways, it reminds me of such early 70s tracks as "Neanderthal Man" by Hotlegs - more a groove than an outright song. It's a fun listen, though, if perhaps a bit too long. Overall, this is a good album, though a bit generic in places, which is understandable since they were going for exactly the kind of stuff that seemed popular around that time. If I had had any say in the matter, I would have swapped the album sides around. Side two is stronger, at least in my opinion, but more than that, it actually sounds much more like Tages than the first side does. I can understand that maybe the band wanted to make the break from the old more apparent, but I do think beginning with "I Wake Up And Call" would have eased the old fans into the new stuff in a better way. You can still keep the side closers the way they are now, just swap the other five songs around.
August 1969 And here's the final LP in this thread. Happily Together After https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kgUQ6IeCoPqp-xwtyVfZsifxp2-2mnGCs Save Me Save Me (English/Young) Arizona (Young) Got My Time (af Geijerstam) Reelin' And Rockin' (Berry) The Game (af Geijerstam) Tangerines Tangerines (Young) (California Sun) Yes I Can (Keith/Frechter/English) (Um Um Um Um Um) Feel So Fine (Lee) (Baby Baby Baby) Round The Gum Tree (Berry) LP by Ola & the Janglers The seventh LP for the band, and the last LP we'll go through in this thread, isn't much different from its predecessor. There's some late 60s rock, a bit of novelty bubblegum and a few originals by Claes af Geijerstam. There are three previously released tracks here from the last two singles. The first track gets the album off to a good start with a good rocking cover written by Scott English & Kenny Young (both of whom will appear with credits again later on the album). The vocals sound a bit processed, but this is a fine opener. "Arizona", the second track, is another Kenny Young song, and this isn't as successful to me. It mainly sounds a bit ballad-y but tries to big up the sound for the choruses. But ultimately it's the song itself that I don't find particularly interesting. The third track is the first original on the album and this is a highlight to me. It's not Clabbe's best work by any stretch, but it sets off in a fun groove, and Ola's vocals are once again processed electronically. The female backing vocals don't annoy me as much as they've often done before, and there's just something fun about this one that appeals to me. Then we're off into a Chuck Berry cover with "Reelin' And Rockin'", which feels a bit out of place on this album. It sounds a bit like the covers the Beach Boys would do in the 70s, where it was a coin toss whether it would be fun or simply cringe-y. This sounds a bit like both those things. The band does seem to have a good time with this one, but out of all Berry's tunes, this is hardly his strongest. I guess it's an all right album track in the end. Another af Geijerstam song follows it, and "The Game" is a much more interesting thing to me. The ambiance is very different to what's come before it, and though it's not downtempo or anything like that, the sparse production and focus on Ola's vocals sets it apart from the rest of the tracks. Again, I don't think it's one of the composer's very best tracks, but it's arguably the best track on this album. The last track on side one is "Tangerines Tangerines"; another Kenny Young track, and the Janglers suddenly go country rock. The song itself isn't particularly strong, but it's interesting to hear the band's take on the genre. Let's call it one of those "the operation was successful, but the patient died" situations. The second side zigzags between previously released tracks and new ones. First is the old A-side "California Sun", admittedly a fine side opener. This is followed by a return by Scott English as songwriter. However, this track seems fairly obscure - I haven't found any other versions of it. Maybe it's been recorded under some other title? Anyway, it sounds like there's a vibraphone in the background - always a bonus to me. Otherwise, the song feels a bit generic to me. I don't find many memorable things in it, though I guess Ola Håkansson does a pretty fine job with the vocals and the band actually sounds pretty darn tight. "Um Um Um Um Um", another previously released A-side follows it. Then we go straight into another 50s cover, this time Leonard Lee's "Feel So Fine" (aka "Feel So Good"). I like this one better than most of the other covers. It's admittedly got that bubblegummy sound, but I like the melody and it drives along quite nicely. The final original, a previously released B-side, follows, and then we've reached the album's end with "Round The Gum Tree". The credited Berry is not Chuck this time, but Mike. This is a catchy track, and again the Janglers do a fine job with it. Johannes Olsson turns in some fine keyboard lines. But be warned, this is definitely bubblegum pop. Like its predecessor, this is decidedly a mixed bag. However, the disappointment isn't as big this time, as it's been in the cards for quite some time that this was the direction the band was heading in to try to hold on to their dwindling audience. And it has to be said that the guys do a very good job with the material they have, and Claes af Geijerstam's contributions are highlights even when he tries to dumb things down a bit. So, while it's far from the best album we've heard in this thread, it still is an okay LP and worth at least a couple of listens. While that concludes my comments on this final LP, don't go away quite yet, there's still five more tracks to go through before we round things off with a kind of "What happened to these guys after all this?"
1970 and beyond July 1970 Lost Child (Linder/Moar) How Can I Pray When I Don't Believe (Lagerberg/Moar) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzJsWQnnoJI Single by Blond - Did not chart Danne Larsson and Anders Töpel left Blond after a German tour, leading Lagerberg to draft in Anders Nordh (guitar) and Björn Linder (guitar) to fulfil the booked tours and commitments. Nordh and Lagerberg fell out, the former left again with younger brother Björn Töpel (guitar) replacing him, and Mats Landahl added on keyboards as well. It is this final line-up that is responsible for this last standalone single from Blond. It's hardly earth-shattering material, with Blond finding a mellow early 70s groove to plough. Lagerberg's falsetto on side A is possibly his worst moment on record, but there's admittedly some fine harmonies sprinkled throughout. There's a touch of a gospel feeling as well. The B-side goes through a couple of different sections, making it an interesting track, even though it's not on par with a lot of the earlier material. Some phasing on the drums and the electronically treated vocals make it sound like a late psychedelic track. It's all very well-done, but I simply don't find the magic here. September 1970 96 Tears (Martinez) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7LjFjkbxN8 Fish In The Sea (Watson) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RiYwlVkXDU Single by Ola & the Janglers - Did not chart The Janglers release a cover of a mid-60s track, without doing much to make it stand out from the original. The B-side starts off like "You Keep Me Hanging On" (the term is "rips off" if you're feeling less charitable), but is actually written by Englishman Mike Watson who'd made his home in Sweden in the 60s, playing with the Lee Kings, another competing Swedish pop band. Apart from the intro, it's not a particularly distinguished track. Both tracks are well-performed and all, but again, a bit lacklustre. February 1971 Mendocino (Sahm) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIeagv1d1W0 (Save Me Save Me) Single by Ola & the Janglers - Did not chart Doug Sahm's "Mendocino" gets the honour of being the final track we check out in this thread. Like the original, it's country rock lite, and there's not much reason for you to listen to this if you've already heard the original. To prove that all things come in threes: It's all competently done, but hardly essential stuff.
What happened then? The Shanes were the first of these bands to jump off the pop wagon. They had a pretty big upheaval with members leaving and new ones coming in before singer Grahn moved into a solo career. The Shanes as a band reformed in the late 70s, finding it easier to pay the bills by moving into the previously mentioned "dansband" field, released some records in that style, before ending up on package tours like so many other 60s artists. After the Mascots gave up their pop career - to be honest, already before that point in time - the members turned radical and all joined a leftie performance group, Fria Proteatern. Ringbom kept on composing for them and they all fell in with one of the big movements of the Swedish performance scene, the political so called "proggrock" scene. (Not to be confused with regular prog rock, which was also fairly big in Sweden.) While Fria Proteatern gave it up in 1990, members continued working together, performing a lot of material written by Russian poet Vladimir Vysotsky. The Hep Stars splintered; guitarist Janne Frisk had already left by their final single, and Benny Andersson went off to join his pal Björn Ulvaeus on another pop adventure. Singers Svenne Hedlund and Lotta Walker married and continued touring as a duo, before trying to ride on the coattails of Benny's later fame and starting up a new version of the Hep Stars. Frisk eventually rejoined, but the band never became a vital recording unit again, instead mining the nostalgia scene. As you've seen, Ola & the Janglers stuck together the longest. After their final single songwriter Claes af Geijerstam tried his hand at a solo album, entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 (and winning the Swedish qualification for ESC which means that he's the only one who's beaten Abba there), while singer Ola Håkansson continued performing with his own band Ola, Frukt & Flingor (the name means "Ola, Fruit & Cereal" and yes, that might be the lamest name for a band I've ever heard) before deciding to get back with Clabbe and recording an album as Ola & the Janglers in 1976. It's not really a Janglers album as it consists of Clabbe, Ola and his Frukt & Flingor cohorts, but there are a couple of af Geijerstam tunes on it, so if you want to enjoy some Swedish disco, why not check the album "Jet Leg" out? Clabbe then became a radio DJ, a TV presenter and an all-round entertainer, while Ola got a new band together, decided to get into synth music and suddenly made it big all over Europe with the band Secret Service. Towards the late 80s - early 90s, he was a member of the Swedish equivalent of Stock/Aitken/Waterman, writing hits for several Swedish artists. After Tages, most of the members bowed out of the music business, only playing for fun and when nostalgia performances beckoned. Tommy Blom became a radio DJ, while Göran Lagerberg was the only one to continue in the music business, taking up a bass position in one of Sweden's better known prog bands (and now I mean real prog) Kebnekajse, before going into jazz fusion and recording with a whole bunch of bands. What is incredibly disappointing is the fact that Sweden's possibly best singer didn't sing a single note after that final Blond single until he joined the "supergroup" Grymlings in the late 80s, but even there he was relegated to sidekick status. Pity.
Ranking the albums No thread is complete without a bit of ranking, and I thought I'd let you know how I think the LPs stack up against each other. If you've followed along, you should have a pretty good idea already., but let's do it anyway. Excellent Mascots: Ellpee Ola & the Janglers: Pictures & Sounds Tages: Contrast Tages: Studio The four albums above are on a par with anything released internationally and surpasses quite a lot of it. If I have to pick, "Studio" is the best of these four albums, but they are all really great. You're doing yourself a disservice if you give them a miss. Very Good Mascots: Your Mascots Ola & the Janglers: Lime Light Ola & the Janglers: Under Ground Tages: Extra Extra Tages: 2 All these five albums are enjoyable listens that shouldn't disappoint anyone with an interest in 60s pop music. I might give "Your Mascots" the edge here, but "Under Ground" runs it close. Solid Blond: The Lilac Years Hep Stars: The Hep Stars Hep Stars: It's Been A Long Long Time Shanes: SSSS Shanes Shanes: Shanes VI Ola & the Janglers: Surprise, Surprise Ola & the Janglers: Patterns These are all fine albums overall, but there's a couple of things that drag them down a little. Still, much of the material is worthwhile, so why not check them out? Patchy Hep Stars: Songs We Sang 68 Shanes: Shanes Again Ola & the Janglers: Happily Together After On these albums, there might be a couple of tracks that are really good, but overall they don't hold together very well. Proceed with caution and you'll be okay. Lacking Hep Stars: We And Our Cadillac Shanes: Let Us Show You Shanes: The Shanegang Tages: Tages Ola & the Janglers: Let's Dance The first four above are all from the very first years, and are much too reliant on 50s material for my tastes - and in the case of the Shanes, the sound is often very amateurish. Meanwhile, the Ola & the Janglers album is too reliant on speculative crowd-pleasers and novelty throwaways. If you're less averse to these things than me, maybe you'll think differently.
In the beginning of this thread, I said that this thread would be dedicated to the big 5 groups of the Swedish 60s pop scene, but that we could go into some other Swedish 60s band after the chronology was over. As we've now reached that point in the thread, I thought I'd post some other bands and songs that I really enjoy listening to. Let's start off with a couple of things that are quite tightly connected to things we've already heard in this thread. Then we'll discuss a few other acts in the posts after that. You remember how the Hep Stars covered one of Björn Ulvaeus's songs on their eponymous album. I said I preferred the version Ulvaeus did with his own band, so why not link to that version as well here? No Time (1965) Before joining Ola & the Janglers, Claes af Geijerstam recorded a single with a friend, though the single wasn't released until 1966. Here's the B-side "Maybe By Love", badly recorded but pretty catchy: https://www.clabbe.nu/maybebylove.mp3 Göran Lagerberg from Tages and their producer Anders Henriksson found the time to send one of their songs to the group Ragges. Another catchy track which is lacking a bit in the production department. If I Had Something (1968) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sspx3MXhQSg Speaking of Henriksson, as you'll remember he offered a bunch of songs to the Shanes and Tages, and for the latter band he wrote the track "She Is A Man" together with Bengt Palmers. These two guys recorded a one-off single in 1968 under the name Darling. The two tracks on this single are true psych pop songs and well worth a listen. No One Beside Me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW8o5Nh1Rdw Smiling - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjmJyUu2vRY Bengt Palmers, like his friend Henriksson, was a sought after producer during the 60s, working with the band Science Poption (whose resident songwriter Claes Dieden contributed a song to Tages masterpiece album Studio). Together Dieden and Palmers wrote another popsike track for Annabee-Nox in the form of "Anna Be Nice" (1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG837cTKM1I And while we're on the subject of Claes Dieden and Science Poption, a few words on this band are perhaps in order. Considered "the thinking man's band" of the Swedish pop scene, the band had a handful of excellent songs though their recorded output is quite small. The first two songs below were written by Claes Dieden and the third was a William Barberis/Roger Joyce cover. I Set a Fire (1967) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlSvpsl5dYI Lady of Leisure (1967) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGQ9u4MqkpQ You've Got Me High (1966) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiQ9X9E99-4 And to round this first follow-up post off, one final track written by Claes Dieden and gifted to the band the Slam Creepers. Recorded in 1968, this is "It's Saturday": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhwXEWomvZA
OK, let's check out a couple of other bands on the Swedish music scene. The Jackpots I won't make the lazy comparison to the Beach Boys, but I will make the lazy comparison to Curt Boettcher's projects in the US, and the similar projects of John Carter and Tony Rivers in the UK. The Jackpots, also from Gothenburg, were a harmony pop group who were excellent at their craft and recorded two albums and a handful of singles from 1966 and until the pop market went bust. During the 70s they too would join the more lucrative "dansband" market and then packed it in after two further albums in that vein. None of their LPs have been re-released in the digital age, though there was a CD compilation in 2003: "Jack in the Box". A handful of tracks have also slipped out on various 60s pop samplers. Spotify has a bit more than 50% of their output available. Below are five tracks. The first two are self-penned, the third is a John Carter/Perry Ford song, "Back to the City" was written by Roger Wallis of the aforementioned Science Poption, while the fifth is probably the most well-known track here (written by Bobs Crewe and Gaudio). Jack in the Box (1968): Miss Judith Lee (1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkS8SRFTh6w Lincoln City (1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8uyKtCTiH0 Back in the City (1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2_l9iZzp1c Walk Like a Man (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A73apSEKdjs
"14" With just one album and nine singles, all released between 1965 and 1968, "14" were a little less prolific than the acts we've followed in this thread. But most of the stuff I've heard is really enjoyable. Most of their songs were written by band member Olle Nilsson, and their entire output is collected on a 1998 CD of their only album, "In a Bunch", released with bonus tracks. The two songs below are both Nilsson originals. Wondering (1965): Little Down-Hearted Arthur (1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSrrK96HFsY Beathovens Even less prolific were the Beathovens, a band from Motala who only released 3 singles. The band's core consisted of Pontus Olsson and Bengt Andersson, who wrote their songs, and then continued as the duo B&P for one more single. Their melodic pop sound was heavily influenced by the baroque pop subgenre. About the Sun (1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT2e17Skwyw Summer Sun (1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFW4VgBi7S0
One final post to add in a couple of tracks from a few different bands. I've not investigated much into any of them, but the quality of these tracks should make sure that I do soon. Here's a lost Hollies track, and by that I mean that this Lee Kings recording was written by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash from that band. Which you can definitely hear, especially since the two are easily heard on backing vocals in the chorus. Coming from the Ground (1967): The Hounds were briefly mentioned earlier in the thread, and this B-side is a nice slice of vaudevillian pop. Old Man in New York (1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uljstbjvTqk Just to show that I'm not just a pop kid, here's a piece of Swedish garage rock from the Cherry Stones. Muddy Hands (1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6xZ7jVMu_o And this track by the Scarlet Ribbons, is it garage rock too? Or fuzz rock? Maybe both? You decide. Three Roses (1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2AUwHD2AwM Michael B. Tretow is perhaps most known for being Abba's sound engineer, but in the 60s he wrote this melodic track and recorded it with similarly named Mikael Ramel under the creative name Michael & Mikael. Lovin' Enemy (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4JEy8NJyos This gimmicky psych song by the Road Workers is just up my alley, and seems like a fine way to end this thread. My Best Friend's Wife (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY6TjrGAVBk For the brave souls who followed this thread to the end, thanks for joining me and I hope you enjoyed the ride. It's been a lot of fun putting it all together. I hope you'll be inspired to seek out some more Swedish music from this era. For my next project, who knows, maybe some Hungarian 60s pop?
Indeed he did, and he also lent his hand as ABBA's live audio engineer, manning the mixer on all their tours!
Fabulous thread I look forward to catching up on after learning about the Hep-Stars from Bright Lights, Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm.
Now that it's been more than half a year it's perhaps time for a chronological walkthrough of the releases by Sweden's "lesser" bands? I'm talking the Lee Kings, the Hounds, Fabulous Four, Slam Creepers', Science Poption, Annaabee-Nox, the Shakers etc. All of them have at least one absolute gem in their discography.
It might be, but since I don't have the necessary knowledge of those bands' output and discography, I can't be the one to guide you or anyone else through it. Maybe further on in the future, who knows?
I know this post is for 1960’s era Swedish beat / garage punk / freakbeat groups but I have an expanded list which includes groups from all Scandinavian / Nordic territories. I have been working on this list from time to time in last few years for personal use / enjoyment because I find it easier on my memory skills to group bands by sovereign state / country / etc. I figured I would finally get around to post in the hopes I can help expose some of these great groups to fellow forum members but if anyone wishes for me to delete post if it is outside this forum topic realm please send me a message and I will do so…. If I am missing any further popular or obscure Scandinavian / Nordic groups please add a post reply and I will make sure to add the group to my ongoing list… Thank you!! 1960’s Era Scandinavia / Nordic Beat / Garage Punk / Freakbeat / Psychedelia Sweden 1. The Spotniks - 1958 2. The Shamrocks - 1962 3. The Shakers - 1962 4. Ola & The Janglers - 1962 5. The Namelosers - 1962 6. The Hep Stars - 1963 7. The Tages - 1963 8. The Shanes - 1963 9. The Mascots - 1963 10. Annaabee-Nox - 1963 11. Lea Riders Group - 1963 12. The Lee Kings - 1964 13. T-Boones - 1964 14. The Shakemakers - 1964 15. Fabulous Four - 1964 16. The Friends - 1964? 17. The Beathovens - 1964? 18. Bootjacks - 1964? 19. The Madmen - 1964? 20. Maniacs - 1965 21. Outsiders - 1965 Denmark 1. The Cliffters - 1957 2. The Hitmakers - 1960 3. The Lollipops - 1960 4. The Beatmakers - 1961 5. The Telstars - 1962 6. The Defenders - 1962 7. The Rocking Ghosts - 1962 8. The Vanguards - 1963 9. Sir Henry and His Butlers - 1964 10. The Beefeaters - 1964 11. The Red Squares (Boston, England to Copenhagen, Denmark) - 1964 12. The Immigrants - 1964 (California to Ebeltoft, Denmark) Norway 1. The Beatniks - 1961 2. The Vanguards - 1961 3. The Pussycats - 1964 4. Firebeats, Inc. - 1964 5. 126 - 1964 Finland 1. Eero ja Jussi & the Boys - 1964 2. Topmost - 1964 3. Jormas - 1965 4. Ernos - 1965 5. The Renegades (Birmingham, England to Helsinki, Finland) - 1960 Iceland 1. Hljómar (aka Thor’s Hammer) - 1963 2. Dátar - 1964 3. Ríó tríó - 1965 4. Hljómsveit Ingimars Eydal - 1965 5. Óomenn - 1966 6. Bendix - 1966 7. Flowers - 1967 8. Mánar - 1967 9. Hljómsveit Magnúsar Ingimarssonar - 1967 Greenland (Kingdom of Denmark ) 1. The Eskimos - 1964 Faroe Islands (Kingdom of Denmark ) 1. The Faroe Boys - 1961
Finland is my fave scene and undocumented for the most part except by the legendary Euphonic who put together two compilations nearly 20 years ago... bands such as Eddie & the Lightnings, Jim & the Beatmakers, Blues Section and more... a lot of info etc. here: pHinnWeb: Finnish Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from a Remote Northern Country Jim & the Beatmakers
I'm sorry if I'm being pedantic but it's not The Tages, it's just Tages. The reason why this look ridulous to a Swede is because Tage is a Swedish man's name and it's here put in possessive form with an added "s" (in Swedish you don't use an apostrophe when adding possesive "s"). I assume people think it's a plural "s", not knowing what the word is. In anglicized form their name would be Tage's. This became a very popular way to create band names in Sweden.
Maybe I shouldn't comment on grammar when I can't spell properly myself, I meant it looks ridiculous. To expand on the above, Tages is a shortening of their original name, Tages Skifflegrupp (which I'm sure you can figure out means "Tage's Skiffle Group"), maybe that makes it a bit more understandable. It is of course still confusing since none of the members given name is Tage, but I think it was the middle name of one of them.
