Listening to 30 ”old” albums - Part 6

Time for the final batch of records in my challenge: listening to 30 vinyl albums from the collection, and reviewing them, before buying another vinyl album. All are reviewed in English, but Swedish-speaking records are reviewed in both English and Swedish. And I have either heard the chosen 30 physical albums only once - or not for a fairly long time since buying them. You know the drill by now, so here we go:

Dags för den avslutande skivhögen i min utmaning; att lyssna på och recensera 30 vinylalbum från den egna samlingen innan jag köper ett enda nytt vinylalbum. Recensionerna är på engelska, förutom svenskspråkiga album, som recenseras på både svenska och engelska. Och det handlar om fysiska album som jag antingen bara hört en gång eller inte på en längre tid sedan de anskaffats. Ni vet vid det här laget hur det funkar, så nu kör vi:

The Saints: Eternally Yours.

Basic, classic punk rock by Australia’s finest punk combo, The Saints. Debut album (and classic single) I’m Stranded immediately put The Saints straight into the early, influential, legendary punk rock band movement globally. Second album Eternally Yours, from 1978, is more of the same, but as a whole not as impressive and convincing as the debut. It is a fine album, though, from starter Know Your Product to ending International Robots. Album best is the sublime and pop-catchy Memories Are Made Of This, a wonderful highlight. I love this track, it just has this magic ”something”, and is therefore a track that simply is a ”must have” in the record collection. Some songs are like that, and sometimes you can’t explain why, that’s the magic of music, and art in all forms. 

Know Your Product and Private Affair are other highlights on side one, the latter a more pop-punky affair, the former a more typical and fine 70’s punk rock song. I have a fine 4 CD box set of The Saints, including their three first albums and a live set, plus additional songs. It’s a very fine package, and probably the lion part of what you could need by these great Australian punk pioneers.

Side B on this album keeps the vibe going, without ever surpassing or challenging the heights of Memories Are Made Of This, even though Untitled is a fine cut in the same style. That said, there certainly are many other high marks here, like This Perfect Day and great spunky rocker Orstralia, perhaps the strongest cut besides Untitled on side B. Bailey’s somewhat sloppy singing style fits the instrumental delivery well. However, a well-done remastering would be welcome, even though the murky soundscape is part of the Saints experience. And, there are no aggressive adrenaline-filled outbursts here, The Saints play their punk and pop rock with controlled energy. 

Eternally Yours is a grower and a very good 1978 punk rock album. The production is not that great, which is a disservice to this well-performing band. This album is not as mindblowing as Never Mind The Bollocks, or in The Clash-class, but The Saints are right up there with the rest of the best 70’s punk rock bands. Not many non-brit or non-us bands could claim that in 1978. Impressive.

Wild Style - The Soundtrack (2 LP).

It has been called the greatest hiphop movie, and one of the first, from 1983, celebrating the scene and the movement in it’s more innocent, early days. It might not be the greatest movie, but it is the most celebrated and seminal soundtrack in hiphop-history. This special edition, with a bonus instrumental album, a cool bonus 7” flexidisk (Fantastic Freaks Live At The Dixie) and a poster, was released in association with the new film release in 2025.

Wild Style certainly takes you back to the early days of hiphop and rap, right from the wild scratches on Military Cut (Scratch Mix) to Fab 5 Freddy’s closing Jungle Beat (Kenny Dope Edit), on the instrumental bonus record.

It is the seminal soundtrack in hiphop, alright, but at times the Wild Style soundtrack still feels slightly dated. It’s early and unpolished and as movie soundtracks go, rather experimental and fresh for it’s time. There’s still some underground-amateurish DIY-ambitions left, like some rather raw cut & paste-mixing. It sits well with the time and vibe, though, and it’s part of the rough charm. Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie grooves and stomps nicely, and if all is not super-good on side A, it certainly is super-interesting, documenting a still rather underground style and youth culture. Being unpolished is therefore part of the charm here. Subway Theme takes us right to the frontline, to the gritty soundscapes of a subway underground ride, before and after some seriously sweaty and funky rhythms by an inspired Grand Wizard Theodore. Before Cold Crush Bros At The Dixie finish side A. 

The Subway system theme is also present, here and there,  on side B, and so are tunes ”live at the Amphitheater”, by Double Trouble, Busy Bee, Fantastic Freaks and Rammellzee & Shockdell. Side B is also overall the stronger side of the album.

”People clap your hands”, to quote Double Trouble in the great cut Double Trouble At The Amphitheater. Yes, there’s some fat and infectious old school grooves going on here. It’s a wild and highly entertaining ride down old school lanes, with some crude cut & paste mixing on the way, underlining the underground and DIY feel. Unfortunately, the proper album ends without a bang, as Down By Law, isn’t really going anywhere.

If you feel a tad disappointed here, with the ending of Down By Law, just play the bonus disc next. It’s fabulously funky. I would go as far as saying that side C is better than the album proper. There’s some groovy, fat, and deeply funky background tracks here. To quote George Clinton; ”Free your mind and your ass will follow”! Yes, this is serious bum-swingin’ stuff.  Sadly, it is also like a compilation of tasters and samples, meaning the cuts are short and ends abruptly, before you really get going. The steamy vibes are short-lived. But what vibes! Mind-blowing. Yes, there’s superb groundwork material for some killer remixes here on side C. Just waiting for some seriously sweaty and loong party remixes of these short samples, in fact of all or most of them.

Side D brings in a rough, and rather charming, cut & paste mixing, Wildstyle Scratch Tool, and it works as a fragmented down-to-earth documentary in sound of the scene and the times of early old school hiphop. The two Kenny Dope edits of Beats by Fat 5 Freddy are longer workouts of two samples from side C, Baby Beat and Jungle Beat. That’s highly welcomed, but unfortunately these two are perhaps the weakest cuts on the excellent C-side, so these two are not the killer remixes I requested earlier. Fab 5 Freddy is one of the album producers and unfortunately this may explain why these two cuts were chosen. There would have been better choices to make and choose, though.h

Wild Style is a fun and funky hiphop soundtrack to return to. It’s not necessary an album you will listen to from back to forth all that often, but, hey, so what, it’s hiphop history, it certainly has it’s great moments. It’s cool and influential, and this version (exclusive release, special edition, it says) is really a great package, loaded with fine bonuses and extras. 

Like the superb bonus record, like the great 7” live flexidisk, and the large cool poster, like the five fine film set photo postcards, and the nice sticker sheet too, and, of course, the beautifully coloured vinyls, transparent seablue for the album proper and orange for the bonus disc. Marvelous.

Wild Style also documents a music scene right before it went global and became the largest musical movement in the world. The seminal hiphop soundtrack album, with bonuses, from the most classic old school hiphop film, deserves its place in history, and in my vinyl collection.

Pioneers: Freedom Feeling.

Legendary label Trojan Records did a fabulous job in introducing and marketing Jamaican artists in styles like Reggae, Ska and Dancehall to British audiences, and from there Jamaican sounds spread all around Europe.

Wonderful Reggae trio Pioneers probably took the title for album Freedom Feeling from Freedom Train, the song that starts this album. Otherwise, the album is more about love than politics, but we are off to a good start with Freedom Train. Beautifully sung harmonies is a Pioneers trademark and it’s no difference here. Covers of a few soul staples (Papa Was A Rolling Stone and Take A Look Around) and a song by the Everly Brothers (Bye Bye Love) are included, and even though they are rather fine versions, they still feel a little more like fillers than killers here. Of the three I especially like the sweet and quite tender reggae version of Bye Bye Love.

However, the highlights of the album are found elsewhere, Freedom Train is one, and hidden away last on side A, the catchy and poppy Pony Express. The title-promised freedom political edge is most prominent in the excellent Some Livin’, Some Dyin’. The beautiful and sweet singing in harmonies somehow makes the message sound even stronger, and more touching. Pioneers keep up  the political vibe in Vanity (”Why can’t we make this world a better place”), and blaming vanity and pride rings unfortunately almost too contemporary true today.

The album still ends rather intriguing, but in a positive tone, or as an escape from reality, with showstopper At The Discotheque (”Everything’s gonna be alright”). It’s no album highlight in itself, but it might have some specific meaning, either ironic or inviting.

Freedom Feeling was released in 1973, when Pioneers were residing in England, and that’s perhaps why it sometimes sounds like a mix of the pop and reggae worlds, and lyrics vary from love themes to world politics and back. And that also leaves us with a somewhat fragmented album.

Isn’t that a little like life itself? The title Freedom Feeling may suggest a political stand, but freedom may come in different shapes and forms.

Pioneers succeeded in making an album that can be interpreted as either or both thought-provoking or naive, irrespective of it was their actual intention or not, and that to the sound of some sincerely beautiful, almost angelic, singing voices. That’s not bad, no, quite the contrary.

The Velvet Underground: Andy Warhol’s Velvet Underground featuring Nico.

The ultimate coolness, dressed in black. The Velvet Underground is a master class in music, one of the truly legendary, influential bands that has inspired countless other musicians and music fans. The Velvets story started in 1964 and their music has now mesmerized fans and critics for six decades. And will continue to do so. They were of course also the band that made it insanely cool to dress in black. Which it has been ever since, without anyone having managed to look cooler in black than the Velvets. And that’s part of their legacy too.

This 2 LP compilation include many of their finest released moments, but not all. For that the absolutely fantastic and essential 5 CD box set Peel Slowly And See is the ultimate choice. It’s the Velvet Underground compilation. Including the four main studio albums and a lot of extras and other songs that have surfaced on different other compilation albums or been unreleased, as rare studio and live recordings. And the box also includes a fifth disc with some unbelievably rare, moody, tender and raw unmixed early recordings as well as a fabulous, thick and informative, booklet, with well-written texts and interesting pics. 

This, then, is a more common compilation, but great nevertheless, with four vinyl sides filled with fine Velvets songs by the original quartet, that is, Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. And featuring Nico on vocals. They were the coolest of the cool. This compilation documents the original Velvet Underground, and that means no later-day classics like Rock And Roll or the superb blockbuster Sweet Jane. But there are enough other highlights and classics here, by the real Velvet Underground & Nico.

First out on side A is I’m Waiting For The Man, followed by beautifully fragile Candy Says. There’s some serious guitar-trashing and -banging on White Light/White Heat and sweet melancholic vibes on All Tomorrow’s Parties. Side B begins with the ultimate Sunday morning chill anthem, titled, well, Sunday Morning, and also include two other all time-classics, Heroin and Femme Fatale. Side C, in turn, includes Venus In Furs, but also the very long workout Sister Ray. The latter is probably not any favorite of casual Velvet listeners, but its inclusion can be justified for the sake of understanding the Velvet sound and their musical output, especially live. For that you also need to include a longer, progressive workout, and then Sister Ray is an obvious choice. Important as it is, I guess side C will still be the side that more often than others is skipped when listening to this compilation.

For casual listeners, side D is a more accessible listening experience. Especially the very tender and wonderful ballad Pale Blue Eyes and the album ends on a positive note, Beginning To See The Light. There’s also some deeper cuts from the catalogue on this compilation, not only hits and classics. Even a smart wordplay, or situation comedy, when Here She Comes Now is immediately followed by There She Goes Again (on side B). 

Personally, I would probably have found room for Sweet Jane and Rock And Roll too, but I fully respect the idea to keep this a pure ”original” Velvet Underground (& Nico) compilation. It certainly is just that, and as such it certainly also is good enough, magnificent even. 

This is a splendid compilation, documenting a truly globally important and fabulously talented group in their prime.

KSMB: Rika Barn Leka Bäst.

Det känns helt rätt att avsluta den här genomgången av 30 album med att lyssna på KSMBs klassiska album Rika Barn Leka Bäst. Albumets utmärkta titel är dess värre lika aktuell idag som när den skrevs. KSMB blev ju  aldrig stora som Ebba Grön, men de har heller aldrig förlorat sin legendstatus bland dem som såg, hörde, och kände till. Och medan Ebba var mera uttalat politiska och uttryckte stark Weltschmerz var KSMB också både ironiska och lite, ja, punk-buskis humoristiska. Så är ju bandnamnet också en förkortning av ursprungliga dansbands-parodiska Kurt-Sunes Med Berit. En humoristisk, punkig känga i röven på dansbandsscenen. 

KSMB sjöng om allvarliga saker, men tog inte sig själva på så stort allvar. Förrän kanske just på Rika Barn Leka Bäst, ett av de bästa punkalbum som någonsin gjorts på svenska. Ja, kanske ett av de bästa överhuvudtaget. Börjandes med ett fett klassiskt och stilrent avskalat konvolut. Helsvart, med bara bandnamnet i rött. Lockande och varnande på samma gång, och skitsnyggt, på ren ful-svenska. På den lika svarta baksidan står sidnamnen och titlarna på de nio låtarna, i rött. Också det är såå snyggt och hela albumet skriker: Lyssna på mig.

Och den som gör det lär inte bli besviken. KSMB har alltid gjort träffsäkra, klockrena, rappa protestsånger, men också en del ironiska punkparodier, med vad man kunde kalla buskis-inslag. Allt det senare har de nästan lämnat bakom sig här, och på Rika Barn Leka Bäst är det väl genomtänkt, välskriven och stämningsfull punkig rock, ställvis med både new wave- och reggae-influenser, vilket får mig att tänka mera på The Vapors än The Jam. Och framförallt är det här soundet av ett moget KSMB.

Snopprock ligger närmast tidigare provocerande ironiska och pubertala anslag, men har samtidigt en aura av skamfullhet och otillräcklighet, som gör den mera nyansrik än så. Hursomhelst, det är undantaget här.

Inledande Sex Noll Två är en malande ångvält av tankar och reflektioner kring livet, sett ur en ung människas synvinkel, ”en vanlig dag”, och med en obönhörlig, naket självutlämnande, text. Titelmystiken är dock inte större än att låten ursprungligen klockade in på sex minuter och två sekunder. Men titeln Sex Noll Två låter ju bra, och ännu bättre om man inte vet varför.

Den superba, intensiva Blått Och Guld varnar, åtminstone indirekt, för extrem nationalism, fascism och rasism, och kommenterar tydligt utanförskap, utsatthet och segregation, personifierat av ”djuren på plattan”, dvs de utslagna, utsatta människor som samlats på T-centralen i Stockholm. Klockan 8 är en annan höjdare och Polsk Zchlager är ett favoritspår, med sin vassa skildring av helg-eufori och vardagstristess, och med mycket medryckande melodi och refräng. Det är bra drag under galoscherna på A-sidan, det är fart och finess och attityd, och en helhet som faktiskt blir ännu bättre än de enskilda, utmärkta delarna.

B-sidan är mörkare, eftersom desperat eskapism respektive angstfylld dödslängtan är teman i de två huvudspåren. Jag Vill Bara Dansa känns aldrig fullt så sorglöst uppfylld av festens lyckorus och dansrytmernas uppumpade extas som titeln antyder utan mera som ett desperat sökande efter eskapism där den ändå inte riktigt infaller, trots frenetiska försök att frammana den. Likaså en önskan att slippa tänka på ett hotande samhälle runt omkring. I den efterföljande, krasst titulerade, Jag Vill Bara Dö är mörkret becksvart och den uppgivet sorgsna texten kombineras med ett melankoliskt och obevekligt medryckande reggae-gungande muller. Imponerande, i all sin dysterhet. Finns det liv finns det hopp, kan man tänka, fast sången inte riktigt utmynnar i det. Vad som sedan händer när sången och ljudbilden tystnat vill man inte tänka på. Men albumet slutar inte här, i totalt kolmörker, tack och lov, utan med Drömmar. En bra och desperat låt som kanske också är albumets svagaste spår, och där vi förblir i ett mörkerläge, där drömmar mest blir liktydigt med mardrömmar.

Klart är att Rika Barn Leka Bäst är ett strålande och starkt album och det är KSMB:s mörka mästerverk. Bandet har höjdarspår och klassiker på alla sina album och singlar, men Rika Barn Leka Bäst är deras mest helgjutna och imponerande helhet. Allt från konvolut till melodier och texter och låtordningen på skivan känns genomtänkt.

Det här är inte bara en svensk punk-klassiker, utan en svensk klassiker, kanske rent av en klassiker utan andra förtecken, punkt, no less.

It feels just right to end this session and reviews of 30 catalogue vinyl finds with this classic pearl, KSMB’s Rika Barn Leka Bäst. KSMB were never as big as Ebba Grön on the Swedish punk scene, but they were and are highly respected by those that heard, saw and knew their music. The band name KSMB is short for Kurt-Sunes Med Berit, a ironic and humorous kick in the butt on the traditional Swedish dance scene. Rika Barn Leka Bäst is one of the best punk rock albums released in Sweden and a classic. Starting with its tasty and cool cover, black with the band name in red. It simply screams: Listen to me.

KSMB never took themselves too seriously, or expected stardom to come, but Rika Barn Leka Bäst certainly has some star qualities and is both well-written, well-performed and well-planned as a whole. Especially side A is strong and inspirational throughout. It has quite a few highlights, like the first track Sex Noll Två, which documents a young person’s views on life and love, on ”a typical day”. The title is not that intriguing, as it only marks the time of the original recording (6 mins 02 secs). Among the other highlights I could list the great, intense  Blått Och Guld (Blue and Golden), which symbolizes the Swedish colours. It is a strong stand against segregation against the weak and indirectly against overblown nationalism, fascism and social injustice. Klockan 8 and the superb Polsk Zchlager are other highlights on a side that is marked by finesse, attitude and pace. The latter is a sharp depiction of weekend frenzy and everyday boredom, set to a captivating melody.

Side B is a darker affair, and also a more uneven side. Jag Vill Bara Dansa (I just wanna dance) feels far from the care-free escapist party groove that the title suggests and more as escapism from everyday life and the pressures and dangers of the surrounding society. Jag  Vill Bara Dö (I just wanna die) speaks of dark and sinister desperation, to a terrific, groovin’ reggae-beat. Luckily the album doesn’t  end with that pitch-black picture, but with the rather good and desperate Drömmar, which still perhaps is the weakest track on the album, and is another gloomy cut, this time more about nightmares than dreams.

Rika Barn Leka Bäst is KSMB’s dark masterpiece. They include great songs on all albums and singles, but this is their most thought-through and impressive album, from the cover to the order of songs, lyrics and melodies. It’s not only a Swedish punk classic, it’s a Swedish classic overall, perhaps a classic without any prerogatives, just an iconic album, period.

And with that I thank you all that have followed this series of 30 vinyl album run-through and read these reviews. A real pleasure, for me, both enjoying the music and the writing. If you missed the earlier parts, it’s easy to scroll down and find them immediately before this piece.

This challenge is done, but new reviews and texts will follow.

Och med det tackar jag alla er som har följt den här genomgången och recensionen av 30 album. Ett verkligt nöje, för mig, både att njuta av musiken och skrivandet. Om du missat de tidigare inläggen är det bara att backa på bloggen, så hittar du dem direkt före det här inlägget. 

Den här utmaningen är avklarad, men nya recensioner och texter följer.

Tjabo!

Listening to 30 ”old” albums - Part 5

Time for the fifth installment of the 30 records I decided to listen to and review for you before buying another vinyl album. Albums in my collection that I have listened to only once or not for a long time. All reviewed in English, except Swedish-language ones that are reviewed in both Swedish and English. This has been such a fun challenge, and I know some have already followed my example. That’s fun too. Here we go again!

Dags för femte batchen av de 30 vinylalbum jag beslöt lyssna igenom och recensera innan jag köper ett enda nytt vinylabum till. Album från min samling som jag bara hört en gång igenom eller för länge sedan. Alla recenseras på engelska, men svenskspråkiga album både på svenska och engelska. Det här har varit en riktigt kul utmaning, och jag vet att några redan har följt mitt exempel. Också det kul. Nu kör vi igen!

Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly (2 LP)

One of the Big names in hiphop, Kendrick Lamar, was early on a contender. By this album, To Pimp A Butterfly, he was already an A List superstar. King Kunta, with its cool early 80’s funk vibe, is a first highlight. And there’s some obvious Prince-vibes on These Walls. It’s an album that is theatrical at times, whimsical, and then sharply focusing. U - with its ”loving you is complicated”-mantra, broken voice theatrical rap and a jazzy support band  soundscape - starts the B-side, followed by some real concious rappin’ on Alright.

Lamar takes steps in all directions, all at once, on this interesting album. He balanced from spoken-word, jazz, funk, concious rap, soul, whimsical elements and sudden stop-start silent moments. It’s not the easiest commercially digested album, but, of course, it has those moments too. Like Blacker The Berry, I, and a funky King Kunta. Still, more experimental album than simplistic top-ten-fodder. It speaks to his brilliance. Suddenly you point your ears to whimsical, loose moments, and then turn to sharply focused concious rap lyrics, and often it’s all this at once. Layers upon layers, meaning it takes a few listenings to decode the whole soundscape, if ever. 

Hood Politics starts side C with a funky dunkin’ groove, perhaps exactly as expected, but it soon changes groove and Lamar raps away. Great lyrics, but a little too high-pitched voice to be great. How Much A Dollar Cost feat. James Fauntleroy and Ronald Isley, is a stronger track. The Blacker The Berry, then, is a focused, stand alone funky, hiphop track with strong conscious lyrics. It’s a  given hit. It has both a great beat, and a great lyric. This is Lamar at his most commercial here, even though also this track takes a mellower side-turn just before ending. I guess Lamar doesn’t like being predictable. The guest list on the album is fairly heavy too, and include Isley, George Clinton, Snoop Dogg and others. 

While I respect Lamar, and readily acknowledge his brilliance in combining sounds and genres in a way that sounds almost coincidental at times, but is of course deeply taught out, I am generally more into old school.

But it’s of course impossible not be drawn in and shaken up by the disco-grooving I, with its catchy but somewhat narcissistic I love myself-chorus. Or perhaps rather, in ecstatic moments of joy, it’s at least temporarily easy to lose yourself in the moment and to love yourself. It’s love  yourself in order to love others here, I guess, not an outbreak of trumpian narcissistic self-importance. It’s a brilliant and insanely catchy track. 

Mortal Man follows, which, again, moves in different directions. It’s some strong hiphop lyrics and rappin’ again, over a jazzy backtrack, then more jazz-funky and at times a capella. There’s strong spoken-word moments of consciousness here too. It all ends in a reflective political and philosophical dialogue, like a radio program, over a  jazzy background soundscape lower in the mix, which  then suddenly is mixed up to the fore and abruptly stops. It’s an effectful ending, leaving the listener waiting for more (that will not come).

Pimp A Butterfly has been called an instant classic, also chaotic, but classic nevertheless, which is understandable. And while I perhaps wouldn’t go that far, to name it a classic, there is no denying that it certainly is a great album. It grows on you with each listen, and it grows during listening to the album. Some potential question marks on the first sides of this double album are then straightened out to exclamation marks, while listening to the second record. 

Agit-Prop: Laulu Kaikille.

Legendary Finnish progressive singing quartet, that also were internationally acclaimed in the political 1970’s. Agit-Prop (or Agit-Prop Kvartetti) leave no uncertainty about their political position. They had their international breakthrough among progressive groups at a festival of political songs in Berlin 1971 and were also famous supporters of Allende’s Chile, having also performed there before the coup and on a joint single with Allende’s last speech on the single A-side. Quite a few of the songs on this album are Chilean songs translated to Finnish, like the catchy, swinging Neljä Rikollista, with its more sinister lyrics under the catchy melody. One song here is actually called Allendelle (To Allende). It’s of course an album of its time and radical political movement, and in that way also historically interesting, a document of that time, meaning that some lyrics are outdated. For example Haluatko Venäläiset Sotaa? (Do the Russians want war?), where the answer would be very different in our times than what Agit-Prop sang and believed in 1974. However, what no change in world politics or ideology can change is the beauty and clarity of this gifted quartet’s performance, with beautiful voices that brilliantly complement each other.

The absolute highlight here is Oppimisen Ylistys, with its exceptionally clever bass rhythm, an astonishing rhythm to die for, perhaps one of the catchiest ever put on record. And of course the wonderful vocals by all four, with gifted Sinikka Sokka on lead vocal. The lyrics were originally by Bertold Brecht and translated to Finnish. It’s a track celebrating the importance of learning, especially civic learning, and learning to participate, taking place and making your voice heard. Here then meets now, in a theme that is as contemporary today as it was in the 1970’s. The undisputed highlight of the album, and possibly the best Finnish song of 1974. 

Otherwise, the lyrics are partly fairly dated today, not least because Agit-Prop were very progressive and far-left even in their own time. Oppimisen Ylistys reaches over the times and all party politics though, and is a timeless classic preaching the importance of learning, as the pen is mightier than the sword. It’s such a catchy, grooving, growing and positive tune, that makes you wanna dance, while simultaneously taking notice of the powerful and important message of universal civic learning processes. Sadly, in a way, it is at least as contemporary today as it was back then, perhaps even more so, in these times of dumbing-down social media channels, fake news and mad kings Orwellian new-speak. A brilliant song, followed by a sweet and beautiful love song, Kahden Laulu, and a straight political statement, Olen kommunisti, set to another sweet melody. The album closes with Sydämestä Hulmahtavat Liput, a song by the Chilean martyr musician Victor Jara, arranged by Quilapayun together with Eero Ojanen, and translated to Finnish. 

I find the genre progressive political music remarkable in the way it so clearly documents a movement, a zeit-geist, and musical expressions of a particular era. The same can be said, perhaps to an even larger extent, of Swedish ”progg” (progressive music). Progg included a vast amount of musical styles and even theatrical ones, all united by a progressive political positioning, some more and some to a lesser extent. The Swedish progg movement controlled the music scene to a much larger extent than in Finland, and Sweden was then also so much more internationally oriented and, well, further developed concerning new youth trends in music. 

Laulu Kaikille (A Song For Everyone) is an interesting, always beautifully sung and played, album and musical documentation of and from a time and genre that is no more. It is history now. The album is by a then very acclaimed quartet, that reunited and performed up until 2018. They were greated as rock stars when they performed live on the large domestic rock festival Provinssi-Rock in 2003 and have influenced among others Ultra Bra, who themselves reunited and last summer (2025) filled the Helsinki Olympia stadium for a mammoth stadium concert. Now that’s rather cool.

Kraftwerk: Live At Tribal Gathering, Luton, UK 24 May 1997.

The undisputed kings of electronic music. Yes, there can only be one Kraftwerk. And let me immediately confess, I’m a huge fan. I’m a fan since 1984, when I bought The Man-Machine in Brighton, UK. But first I was slightly disappointed to hear The Model. What, no extreme synthetic sounds? But then I heard The Robots. And the world, my musical cosmos, was not the same again. The Model, of course, has since then grown to be a favorite track, also absolutely brilliant. A minimalistic masterpiece, in my opinion. And in terms of musical visions and futuristic soundscapes, the album trio Trans-Europe Express/The Man-Machine/Computer World simply can’t be beaten. And for the record, I prefer the German versions, Trans-Europa Express/Die Mensch Machine/Computer Welt. They are even better.

All Kraftwerk albums from Autobahn to, well, Electric Cafe are simply brilliant, far-reaching and innovative. There has, sadly, been much less innovation thereafter, mostly remixing and re-arrangements of the golden oldies. I have seen Kraftwerk live twice, and they were superb shows. Didn’t bother to see them live in 2025 though, because only Ralf Hutter remains of the great line-up. Don’t really know why I didn’t go, however, as I still am a huge fan. Live at Tribal Gathering in Luton 1997 was how they sounded live some almost 30 years ago. It was released on vinyl, but was actually a radio broadcast. For me Kraftwerk is not Kraftwerk without the powerduo Ralf Hutter-Florian Schneider, and they were on stage in Luton. The quintessential version of Kraftwerk added also electronic rhythm section Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flur. The latter two were not present at Luton, and I unfortunately have not seen the original 4 perform live, but at least the later Hutter-Schneider version, twice. This album from 1997 is only an edit of the live set, unfortunately, but good enough to make me miss the rest of the set. What we get is some fine live tracks by a clearly in-form Kraftwerk.But unfortunately also some bad and clumsy editing.

It begins as it should and always does, with the welcoming electronic spoken-word greeting before here jumping right into Numbers. That was not the concert opening track but Numbers is in fact a great album opener, followed by Computer World and a Radioactivity/Trans Europe Express ”medley” that continues on side B with Trans Europe part 2. The medley is no medley as the sound is faded after Radioactivity and then Trans Europe Express starts. On the B-side Pocket Calculator follows TEE, before the album closer The Robots. The included tracks are well-chosen, central, and of course a live staple like Autobahn would be too long for a single live album, but would be a given on a double. The Man-Machine would too, and a few other classics, like The Model and Music Non Stop.

Radioactivity is the most heavily reshaped song in the Kraftwerk catalog. Originally a song about radio waves, it has later transformed into an astonishing anti-nuclear power anthem. It’s quite a transformation, and only for the better. Listening to this album is a revelation, even though it’s not with the almost absurd clarity and perfection in sound that Hutter demands on KlingKlang-produced albums, but a more muffled affair. It’s stll a rather nice sound, but bizarrely Trans Europa Express is just cut off mid-tone when the side A ends. No editing, mixing or even attemp to fade, so it is simply an awful and clumsy solution. And it throws away seven rather fine prior minutes of the song. Side B begins with a section that luckily doesn’t feel cut in at the start. It works, but it’s just an ending without connection to the major part of the track, so it doesn’t feel that motivated. Then the audience sound is again clumsily cut, before a quite weak version of Pocket Calculator. Never a favorite of mine, it still has value for its visionary idea of pocket calculators already in 1981, years before any saw the light of day, and really what our smart phones of today are all about. This version grows nicely during the instrumental section to defend its position here. Finale The Robots is always a highlight on Kraftwerk concerts, and it’s a highlight here as well. 

So, this album has its highlights, but also its weak points, the worst being how side A ends. It’s not a record I have listened much to, I would always prefer a double album from the 1997 tour, one without the worst mistakes on this recording. However, We Are The Robots is, as always, fantastic. Here in a much clubbier and dancefloor-friendlier version than the magnificent original. It’s such an energetic, sweaty and clever end-note to the album. And it excuses the earlier misses, because I wouldn’t want to miss this. Stunning.

Joakim Berg: Jag Fortsätter Glömma (2 LP).

Det var en underbar stund 2022, när Joakim Bergs soloalbum Jag Fortsätter Glömma kom ut, det första riktiga, egna livstecknet sedan Kent så uppmärksammat packade in karriären på topp, 2016. Utan tvivel det mest förbluffande och imponerande sätt som något band någonsin, någonstans, har tagit avsked och lagt av. Annonseringen på hemsidan att nu är det slut, efter sista albumet och sista turnen, har gått till historien. Sen kanske det blev lite överdrivet med Den Sista Sången som avslutade det sista albumet och den sista konserten. Men det får man, och kan man, ta. Det var ju annars så otroligt bra och vemodigt och upp-pumpat och vackert. En video och dokumentär och album och konserter att minnas och återvända till. Och sedan blev det tyst. Sex år senare kom Jag Fortsätter Glömma, sååå efterlängtat. Det är en strålande mellantidsrapport, bygger på där Kent slutade, och det låter ganska Kent, utan att vara Kent. Men Joakim Berg stod för texterna och musiken då och han gör det nu, och med Kent-basisten Martin Sköld igen vid sin sida. Det ligger ett behagligt lugn över och i den välproducerade ljudbilden. Det här en platta att luta sig tillbaka till och låta den sjunka in, djupt.

Inledande Barn Av Vår Tid är en vemodig tillbakablick, fylld av den vuxnes nostalgiska saknad och återkopplande reflektioner. Tonen är naket utlämnande, men också med en förhållandevis bekväm nutidsorientering. Barn Av Vår Tid är redan värd att kalla en klassiker, ett hjärtskärande återseende, och lika bra som det bästa Kent gav ut. Som lyssnare förblir man andlös, uppmärksam och lättad över att höra att Joakim Berg fortfarande levererar över förväntan. Han sjunger om  avsked, och förhoppningsvis är det inte soloartistens avsked som samtidigt aviseras utan en återblick på Kents avsked. 

Vi har inte hört mycket Jocke Berg efter Jag Fortsätter Glömma, som ju redan låter lite som en programförklaring, men Kent gjorde några reunion-konserter ifjol och stämsången av Berg och Sköld på Lasse Winnerbäcks Någonting Som Verkligen Är Bra fick nackhåren att resa sig, så bra var det. 

Hursomhelst, Barn Av Vår Tid sätter tonen för det här albumet, där vemod, saknad, nostalgi och självreflektion finns med i varje ton, och snart sagt varje ord, men också en tillbakablickande tillförsikt, det har ju gått helt bra ändå. Så Berg har ju snarare fortsatt minnas än glömma, och det tackar vi för. I Begravningsbål ser han tillbaka på en brusten relation och ångerfullhet över hur den sköttes och med förmåga att också nostalgiskt urskilja det som varit gott. Berg - och sångens subjekt- har gått vidare, och i Aniara uttrycks en stark tillförsikt om att de som kommer efter och tar över är en bättre generation. Kanske det också är en rak passning från fadern Joakim Berg?

Låtsasvärlden lyfter i sin tur blicken mot samhället och är kanske albumets mest politiska spår om sin samtid; det är en tragisk aktualitet i rader som ”Världen balanserar/på en masstillverkad rakbladsegg/Ett enda felsteg gör slut på pinan”.

Berg kan skriva också om politik på ett odramatiskt men avväpnande lyriskt sätt som gör texten tidlös. Kommer osökt att tänka på Kents Elite och textraden ” Ett tusen överklasspoeter/kan inte ge mig någonting, nej, nej, nej”, eller de associationer det ger när han sjunger om ett ”iskallt Ikea-land” i Pärlor på samma album, Vapen och Ammunition. Helt briljant. I Låtsasvärlden är han textmässigt närmare stämningen i låten Sverige, och sjunger tänkvärt: Var på din vakt när ord och gester blir för stora/Snälla akta dig för män som mig/på höga hästar med en gloria/Undvik de som pekar ut de onda och de goda/de som viskar sagolandet e förlorat”.

Den personligt nostalgiska och melankoliska Legender tar sedan vid innan Berg knyter samman i Ingenmansland, en vemodig tillbakablick med politiska undertoner.

Andra skivan är mera av samma eftertänksamma, finstämda, vemodiga, nostalgiska återblickar, utan att nå lika tydliga höjdpunkter. C-sidans 4 är dock en stämningsfull och sympatisk höjdpunkt, och Berg fortsätter balansera mellan saknad, nostalgi och förnöjsamhet med att livet gått vidare i låtar som Mer Än Ingenting (”D e lätt att slösa bort sin tid/När man tror att man har evigt liv”), Rubicon (”Jag vill ta en tripp tillbaks i tiden/leva livet en gång till”) och Då Var Allt (”Så många vänner som försvunnit/Deras fester slutade tidigt/För tidigt/Och jag ser att våra fotspår där i sanden/e på väg att sköljas bort”). Det är mycket medelåldersreflektioner om livet, döden, kärleken och världen här. En stark mellantidsrapport om livet och tankarna efter Kent. Och även om den skyhöga uppstartskvaliteten kanske inte riktigt håller samma superba nivå hela vägen är Jag Fortsätter Glömma ett ordentligt formbesked. Lyriken är högklassig rakt igenom, och med tanke på texterna hade kanske en titel som Jag fortsätter minnas varit mera korrekt. Men Jag fortsätter glömma låter kanske bättre som titel. Hursomhelst, Berg levererar. Och nu väntar vi på mera!

It was a wonderful moment in 2022 when Joakim Berg’s longed for first solo album Jag Fortsätter Glömma saw the light of day. It was the first real sign of life musically by Kent frontman Joakim Berg since that group called it a day in 2016, when still considered the greatest band in Sweden. 

It took six years of silence before Jag Fortsätter Gömma, a celebrated return by Berg, the singer who also wrote lyrics and music in Kent. And this album sounds kentish, familiar in a positive way as well as original. He is joined by Kent-bass player Martin Sköld here and the result is a well-produced album with a chilled vibe of melancholia and nostalgia, it’s sometimes remorseful and always self-reflecting. It is a grown-up and rather middle-aged album, in the most positive way, where Berg reminiscences about days gone by and how life turned out. 

Opening Barn Av Vår Tid sets the tone straight away and is also the highlight of the whole album. It is simply brilliant. Both lyric and music is equal to some of the best Kent songs, it’s really that good. The first plate is stronger than the second, when reviewing the full album, but put together as a whole it’s a great album. Nostalgia, melancholy, remorse, mixed with self-reflecting acceptance of how things turned out is a repeated concept throughout, from different perspectives, with love, lost love, friendships, politics, and the younger self, all figuring in the well-written and thoughtful lyrics. Joakim Berg always excels with great catch-phrases and lines, and does so also here. 

Jag Fortsätter Glömma (I continue forgetting) should perhaps rather be called Jag Fortsätter Minnas (I continue remembering), as the whole album is a themed compilation of sweet and sad reflections in middle age, about lost youth, love, society, and on what was then and what is now. So, Berg has clearly not forgot, he reflects, and remembers, always set to a soundscape based on minor chords. Among the highlights, besides the instant classic Barn Av Vår Tid, I list songs like Låtsasvärlden, Begraviningsbål and 4. This is a very strong, and long awaited, solo debut release by Joakim Berg. Now we wait for more!

2Pac: All Eyez On Me (4 LP).

There’s room for a lot of 2Pac on a four record vinyl album, so this is also a great place to start listening to 2Pac, and some will not need to dig any deeper. For most, however, this is not the end, but the end of the beginning of finding 2Pac’s, Tupac Shakur’s, musical legacy. And, yes, it is a strong legacy in words, lyrics, sound. Mind-blowing stuff, and much of it is also here on All Eyez On Me. This album is generally considered a classic, and many argue that it is 2Pac’s best album.

For me, and for many more, California Love, for one, is the West Coast Hiphop party hit, just magic in every sense of the word. Here it is in the great remixed version. But 2Pac was of course so much more, a social commentator, a thug by his own account, a hiphop intellectual, and a radical, whose mother was a Black Panther during the civil rights movement and black consciousness era of the late 1960’s and 1970’s. 2Pac carried the torch of African-American consciousness to the next generation and into the 1990’s, right until his untimely death, in a horrific drive-by murder. Just imagine how he could have commented BLM or the second Trump presidency today.

On these four records that makes up this long album, then, all eyes are truly set on him, and All Eyez On Me is nothing but a magnificent collection of hiphop tracks. It is a clear proof of his significance and legendary status on the global hiphop scene. It is also much to take in, and sometimes a 4 LP set can feel a little overwhelming, but this is great stuff that will not tire you out. I like to listen to great albums from start to finish, but that might involve more than one sitting, as four LP’s takes some time. 2Pac excells on songs like the before-mentioned stunningly wonderful California Love (Rmx), Skandalouz (not for the lyrics this time, but for the infectious groove and rhythm), 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted (with Snoop Dogg) and of course the title track, All Eyez On Me. It is an album to return to,  filled with highlights to celebrate.

As a stand-alone album, All Eyez On Me, is superb, intense and powerful, and probably the best one to chose, if only one. But 2Pac made many more great cuts than those that are represented here. Besides the four fine vinyls of this album, I therefore recommend for example the collections Thug (Part 1) and Life (Part 2) as complements. Otherwise, other essential parts of 2Pac’s musical legacy, like for example Brenda’s Got A Baby and Ghetto Gospel, will be lacking, and may be sorely missed.

The second record starts strongly with the party groovin’ Can’t C Me. It’s a fat groove, but perhaps slightly overstays its prime. Overall a 4 LP album is a little too much. Sure, you get much great music for the money, but you would get an even tighter, and greater, album on 3 LP, and a world beater on 2 LP. That said, not much here is filler material, so 2Pac succeeded in making a very good 4 LP album, great even. I have heard that the Mammoth album is due to a three-record deal that Suge Knight held 2Pac to, and with this mega-double he fulfilled two thirds of that debt. Suge Knight’s name as Executive Producer certainly is unnecessary large on the back cover. Perhaps the record deal rumour is correct, then, or perhaps 2Pac just couldn’t kill his darlings to make this a truly colossal classic. Little like Swedish rock veteran Ulf Lundell, who repeatedly produced too long albums or wrote too long books. Good products that could have been great classics, with just some tighter editing. Understandably, it’s hard to skip material you have worked on and like. However, Bruce Springsteen could, and then later released much ”hidden away” material to great acclaim.

All Eyez On Me is just a little much of the goodies, even though hardly anything is bad. But, ok, let it be the soundtrack for a whole night then, it’s certainly very good and filled with groovy beats throughout, and more often than not great, even brilliant, at least at times. When We Ride, for example, another stunner that combines intelligent rhymes with killer rhythms. Picture Me Rollin’ smoothly rolls along with a nicely groovin’ beat. The last record of course includes the superb title cut and a sweetly delivered Rather Be Ya N… It’s hard to keep your ass in a chair when listening to all these smooth, infectious grooves and well- delivered, often thought-provoking, rhymes. 

Unfortunately, the final, last, side is not the concluding ultra-intense or sensual album ending you would hope for. Side 8 starts with otherwise fine opener Run Tha Streetz, that is just a tad too long and drawn-out. After seven great sides, the album loses some class and pace on the final side, like it all became a little too much even for 2Pac. The album closes with Heaven Ain’t Hard 2 Find, a good song with a disappointing, faded, ending. After all these wonderful highs it sort of just vanish into silence.

Taken as a whole, though, All Eyez On Me, is a very strong album, an accomplishment, really. It’s quite a verdict that you can easily play eight sides, 4 LP:s, in a row, without having to change album or artist, and still, almost to the end, keep both the quality level and mood up, and to keep a good party going. Hardly any fillers here, just dance floor killers. 2Pac was a cool cat, and a full-blown musical legend. His life was cut way too short. Just imagine what he could and should have released on record today. Wow.

So that’s that. One batch remaining of the 30 vinyl albums. Stay tuned for the remaining 5!

Det var det. En sändning återstår av de 30 vinylalbumen. Håll koll här för de återstående 5! 

Listening to 30 ”old” albums - Part 4

Cheers! Time again for the countdown challenge of listening to 30 vinyl albums from the collection before buying any ”new” album. The 30 albums are ones that I have listened to only once since buying, or not listened to for a (long) while. I will listen to them from start to finish - and review them for you. Swedish albums in both Swedish and English, all other in English. It has been a fun project, and it’s a nice way to enjoy (mostly) great music from different genres. There is just two types of music anyway, good music and bad music, in all genres. We are halfway into the challenge now. Here we go, albums 15-11:

Dags igen för nedräkning. Jag antog min egen utmaning att lyssna på 30 redan inköpta vinylalbum i samlingen innan jag köper ett enda nytt album. De 30 utvalda är album jag bara lyssnat på en gång sedan inköpet, eller album som jag inte har lyssnat på på en tid. Jag lyssnar nu igenom hela albumen, och recenserat dem för er. Svenska album på svenska och engelska, alla andra på engelska. Och hittills har det varit kul, ett bra sätt att ta sig tid att lyssna på bra musik från olika genrer. Det finns ändå bara två sorters musik, bra och dålig, inom alla genrer. Vi är halvvägs i utmaningen, så nu kör vi, med album 15-11:

Samy Deluxe: Samy Deluxe (2 LP). 

Have you missed me? 

First track on Hamburg hiphop legend Samy Deluxe’s album is titled just that, in German (Habt Ihr Mich Vermisst). Samy is one of the main characters on the hiphop scene in the German hiphop capital, so, yes, he’s been missed. The album still starts somewhat cautiously, but by third track Blablabla (featuring Y’akota) we hit a first highlight, cleverly commenting the blablabla nonsense we are surrounded by, when there should be so many important things to discuss. 

One great thing with German hiphop albums is that they usually, and wisely, include the lyrics. Actually, why don’t all hiphop albums do that? It’s the lyrics that made hiphop into ”the black CNN”, so why don’t spread them and make sure they’re understood correctly by all listeners? Germans usually do. Thank you.

Samy Deluxe name-checks (listening to) Berlin hiphop-legend Bushido in a booming Probleme that starts a stronger and heavier side B. Probleme and Fantasie Pt. 1 paints a rather bleak picture and Klasse Klassiker sounds like a self-boosting explosion, but it is perhaps also self-ironic and comments increasing pressures and stress. The whole B-side, with its dreams and fantasies and all, is like being invited to a Samy meeting with a shrink; it’s bare, personal, emotional, and, simply, breath-taking.

Is searching for love in a Discotheque the solution to this lonelieness? Liebe In Der Discotheque starts side C on a dance-friendly up-beat, it’s one of the definitive highlights of the album and as close Samy Deluxe comes to a captivating party groover on this album. Brilliant. Masculinity is discussed on side D, before the album ends with a spectacular collaboration with Die Fantastischen Vier, Halt Dich Gut Fest.

All in all, a very good album, with two superb highlights, Blablabla and Liebe In Der Discotheque. However, all cuts deserve their place here. The album is perhaps a tad darker than expected, but the convolute clearly signals there will be much darkness and no light lunches served here. It’s occasionally a bleak and dark album, but not always and not everywhere. And what it does not include is pointless fillers. Great.

The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights (2 LP).

A tour document of power duo The White Stripes live in Canada. This fascinating tour was also documented on film, resulting in a splendid, highly entertaining and unusual, tour documentary. Here we have the documentation of the duo on record, and it is mesmerizing, showing this super-class power duo performing in different, bigger and smaller, venues and locations in Canada. Yes, fascinating, and some mind-blowing live tour highlights. Impressive throughout, White Stripes proves why they became a global phenomenon. It’s to the surprising sound of bagpipes that the album starts, but from there on it is a fierce duo affair. Black Math is an early highlight and Little Ghost showcase their versatility, before the first heavy riff chords of Blue Orchid. A splendid, moody The Union Forever closes a very varied first side, where the combination of only drums and guitar explores wildly various moods. 

The second side is slightly more experimental, with a significantly more pronounced jam-feeling, and therefore longer tracks. Side three begins with an intense Jolene and ends with a very inspired I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself, that is among the best moments on this album. A soundscape of old-school, sing-along, rural Americana greets us to side four, before an inspired Fell In Love With A Girl and When I Hear My Name. The album closes, as expected, with the superb Seven Nations Army, and one of the most well-known and greatest guitar riffs in modern rock. It is fabulous, but then ends somewhat surprising, mellowing down instead of an expected electrifying and blistering over-the-top burst of force. And then we hear the melancholic bagpipes again, wishing us farewell. 

The bagpipes also signal it’s time to sum things up, and it feels like the bare, austere, atmospheric and earthy soundscapes of The White Stripes were almost formed for the wide, open landscapes of Canada. It’s a good match. And a very good record.

Hurula: På En Grusbelagd Parkeringsplats.

Hurulas låtar berör, och fungerar utmärkt live, det bevisar livealbumet På en grusbelagd parkeringsplats. Redan titeln anger tonen, det här är musik från och om utsatta liv i utsatta miljöer. Det är skitigt, kyligt rått, och hopplöst grått och dystert där utanför, och inuti, det är starkt och berörande. Hurula är naket reflekterande redan i det grovt avskalade inledningsspåret Livstid, med textrader som ”på en grusbelagd parkeringsplats/ett instängt lägenhetsliv/mellan fjorton dar/och livstid”. Utmärkta blek-gråa Åtta trappor tar vid med sina frustande distade power-gitarrackord. Det är ljudet av krossade miljonprograms-drömmar i ett sönderfallande och kollapsat svenskt folkhem. Det är kanske inte musik för vår tid, men det är definitivt musik om vår mörka tid. 

Hurula sjunger om krackelerade livsdrömmar, dystopiska verklighetslandskap, angst och utanförskap. Det är starkt och utlämnande, och för att parafrasera ett berömt uttryck om amerikansk ganstarap, det här är ”fattigdomslandets aktuellt”, nyhetsförmedling om verkligheten därute som kritvita medelklassmedia aldrig belyser, bara demoniserar. Med låtar som Husen Här Ute, Varje Ensam Natt, Ont Som Jag, Självmedicinering och Om Jag Tänker Alls riktar Hurula strålkastarscenet mot det osynliga folket, det svenska samhällets dolda massa med sin gråa vardagsresignation och hopplösa tristess, fångade i de utsatta storstadsförorternas nedgångs-spiral. Det är starka och berörande texter till energisk och medvetet gråblek rock med distade gitarrer. 

Världen som beskrivs i ord och toner är inte vacker, men musiken är stark och uppskakande. Att  själva plattan är snygg och läcker i rosa färgvinyl känns därför inte långt från ett utstuderat uttryck för ironi. Smart hursomhelst, för det får lyssnaren att tänka, förhoppningsvis. Bland höjdarna återfinns bland andra Åtta Trappor, Allt Ska Försvinna, Järnvägsbron (med krassa, svarta textraden hälsningar från självmordsbron). Ljudbilden är bra, tillräckligt klar och tydlig för hemmastereon, utan att förlora livebruset och -närvaron i soundet. Starka Inte Min Son utmynnar i ett otroligt frenetiskt tryck, innan hela skivan dämpat avslutas med den sorgsna, lugna och djupt berörande Innan Ljuset.

Ett utmärkt och angeläget livealbum om livet som levs därute, i anonyma, sönderfallande förorter. En välbehövlig väckarklocka. Imponerande.

It’s dirty, nitty, gritty, cold, raw, and hopelessly grey and bleak. Hurula’s songs are moving, affecting, and works great live. The live album På En Grusbelagd Parkeringsplats describes the bleak and resigned boredom of live in doomed Swedish urban  ghetto-suburban districts. The songs are basically naked reflections of live and despair in forgotten places of urban decay. The album start with a stripped, almost spoken-word and almost unbearable, Livstid, that ends with screaming guitar sounds before the disted power chords of Åtta Trappor comes in. It is the sound of crushed million-program dreams in a crumbling and collapsing Swedish wellfare-society. Perhaps not music for our times, but it’s music about our dark times.

Hurula sings about shattered dreams, dystopic reallife-landscapes, angst and alienation. It’s a strong album, self-reflecting, and to paraphrase a great line about american gangstarap, this is the ”poor man’s Aktuellt”, reporting news from a real world reality that white middle-class media never covers, only demonize. Hurula puts the spotlight on the invisible people, the vulnerable lives and situations and the grey-bleak dullness and resigned despair of the hidden masses in downward-spiraling crumbling districts, in songs like Husen Här Ute, Varje Ensam Natt, Ont Som Jag, Självmedicinering och Om Jag Tänker Alls. 

It is an ugly world that is described in lyrics and sound, and it’s strong and up-shaking. That the actual vinyl plate is a beautiful colored vinyl in pink feels not far from thought-out irony. Either way, it’s clever, and it makes the listener think, hopefully. Among the highlights here are Åtta Trappor, Allt Ska Försvinna and Järnvägsbron (with the sinister lyric-phrase hälsningar från självmordsbron, greetings from the suicide bridge). Inte Min Son climaxes with frenetic, uncompromizing power before touching,  sad and slow-tempo showstopper Innan Ljuset ends the show.

The soundscape is fine, clear enough for home stereos, without losing its valuable live-presence. This is a great - and important - live album about lives that are lived out there, in crumbling, vulnerable districts. A well-needed wake up-call. Impressive.

Various: Seenotrettung Ist Kein Verbrecher - Benefizcompilation zu Gunsten von Sea Punks (2 LP).

Bought this in a fine Plattenladen in St Pauli, Hamburg.

Excellent benefit compilation, full of great tracks by great artists. Comes with astonishingly beautiful vinyls in sea-blue colour, fitting for a double album in benefit of Sea Punks. 

Superb start with Tocotronic (Jugend Ohne Gott Gegen Fascismus), Die Ärzte (Our Bass Player Hates This Song aka Demokratie) and Danger Dan (Das Ist Alles Von Der Kunstfreiheit Gedeckt). Danger Dan is solo artist and member of great Antilopen Gang. Here are also many other big names in German music present (like Jan Delay, Turbostaat, Die Toten Hosen, Thees Uhlmann, Bosse and Deichkind) as well as more unknown artists. Mainly, but far from exclusively, it is a compilation leaning on hiphop and punk, and it is in short purely brilliant. Steiner & Madlaina (sweet and reflective Das Schöne Leben) and Antje Schomaker (electro-bursting Ich Muss Gar Nichts) before the electric outburst Sommer ’89 by Hamburgers Kettcar. Yes, brilliant, and the six songs mentioned form only the first of four album sides. 

Wonderful start, and it is of course even more rewarding listening to great music when you simultaneously benefit a worthy cause. Saving lives out at sea, on the Mediterraenean, is just that. As humans we can’t turn a blind eye when other humans are dying. Be they poor refugees fleeing inhuman conditions or wealthy western billioneers, a human life is always a human life. Saving lives at sea is not a crime, says the title plainly. And a great line-up of Germany’s finest artists agree, with superb tracks on this benefit compilation. 

Thees Ullmann starts Side B with a beautiful, political Junkies And Scientologen, followed by fine songs from The Notwist, Ilgen-Nur, Schrottgrenze feat. Sookee, Neufundland and Kummer feat. Fred Rabe. They are all well represented here by strong tracks.

Well-known artists Jan Delay, Deichkind, Bosse and Casper in turn are all present on side C. Yes, it’s a hiphop-heavy side, and it’s yet another great album side. Spass by Jan Delay feat. Denyo is a personal favorite but, again, they are all well-served by fine tracks. Indie-poppy Gurr and Giant Rooks was totally new, and nice, acquaintances.

Another fine side, D, and the whole album, concludes and ends with Europa by punk legends Die Toten Hosen. Before Hosen, five other good tracks rolls along fine on D, including electro-sounding Es Nervt by Die Goldenen Zitronen and a theme-wise relevant Das Boot Ist Voll by Faber, mixing talk and spare singing. The doomier and slower tempo on side D countinues and highlights on an excellent Hinuber by Mine feat. Sophie Unger, as well as on a very fine Blaue Augen by Ami Warning.

When Toten Hoses closes the album with Europa, which fits the side 4 vibe far better than a fierce and fast punk rock explosion, the common verdict of the album can only be excellent. Compilation albums are seldom this great throughout, track by track. It holds together very well as an album too, and the water-blue coloured vinyl discs are simply beautiful. Top marks. It’s a stunner.

John Fogerty: 50 Year Trip - Live At Red Rocks (2 LP).

One of the first three albums I ever heard was Creedence Clearwater Revival’s timeless classic Cosmo’s Factory. I first heard it on my cousin’s small (probably Philips) portable record player. And it’s an album I’ve carried with me ever since, and still love. Six tracks from that album is on John Fogerty’s anniversary live album that commemorates his 50 years as an artist. That’s quite cool. It’a also a good reminder of how excellent CCR were and Fogerty was and still is. I seldom listen to either CCR or Fogerty solo these days, but CCR:s music is forever embedded in my spine. This excellent jubilee live album is a waterproof reminder of how great that music legacy is. It’s the simplicity combined with uniqueness that is so spell-binding. Everybody that can play guitar can easily play Creedence-songs, and well too, but nobody else sound like Fogerty and Creedence playing them. Simple but unique. For a short time CCR was the biggest band in the world, making five classic albums in just over two years. That’s magic. 

We will most likely never see the remaining three Creedence members perform together again, unfortunately their internal relations turned sour at the end of CCR:s lifespan. Cook-Clifford have since then performed together for many years, I met them once and they signed my Cosmo’s Factory vinyl album. And yes, that’s cool, especially to have Cosmo Clifford’s signature on it. I’ve also met Fogerty once, actually just a few weeks after meeting the others, and he signed a poster and a CD. That’s also cool. Sadly I didn’t bring my Cosmo’s Factory album with me, if only, then perhaps I would have all three signatures on it. But Fogerty was then so irritated on Cook-Clifford that he might not have signed it. That we will never know. Nevertheless, Fogerty has written dozens of rock’n’roll classics and is a given A level american rock star. He also recorded quite a few solo albums, and a handful of them are truly great. 

This live album compiles many Fogerty-written songs in their latter-day live versions, recorded 2019. A few even in slightly rearranged fresh versions, that works very well. Fogerty has a good band supporting him, sounds inspired, and is in good voice. Unfortunately, my old Creedence favorite Lodi is not on the album, neither my favorite from Centerfield, I Saw It On TV. But Fogerty has written so many great songs, and many of the others are included here. It is truly a great song list, including six tracks, no less, from Cosmo’s Factory. 

The album starts without any fuss or counting off, just diving straight into Born On The Bayou, like Creedence concerts of old. But unfortunately it takes Fogerty time to find his voice, which is slightly too high-pitched, and, well, too anxious, here. By Green River his voice is already stronger, perhaps relieved that the concert finally is on. Lookin’ Out My Back Door is the first track that sounds ever so slighty different from the original, with harmonica added and new guitar solo. It’s a small update, and it works fine. Fogerty shortly note ”Hard to believe it’s been more than 50 years since Suzie Q”, and then bash into the first CCR hit. It’s the best song thus far, and the groove on Suzie Q is excellent, and so is the band and Fogerty’s own guitar work. Who’ll Stop The Rain follows, with beautiful keyboards behind the guitars. Intensity and some higher speed is picked up on Hey Tonight that ends side A. 

The tempo continue increasing on Side B with an excellent Up Around The Bend, a song Fogerty has performed live in this high tempo and intense form since at least the 90’s. Rock And Roll Girls follows, a welcome surprise and the Centerfield song is performed in a fabulously swingin’ version. It is a mesmerizing  highlight, which the recorded audience also acknowledges. This is directly followed by superb instrumental workouts in a highly inspired I Heard It Through The Grapevine, before Long As I Can See The Light, yet another Cosmo’s Factory stunner, slows the tempo down and ends the splendid, magical, side B. By now the concert is unstoppable and in full steam forward. It’s simply amazing.

Side C starts with another fine Cosmos Factory-track, Run Through The Jungle, before a much more up-tempo and shorter version of Keep On Chooglin’, including a fierce drum solo. I’m generally no friend of drum solos on records, but all in all this version is an improvement of a live staple that I have never taken to my heart. This time it’s ok, and on stage at the venue probably stunning, but for the listener it would have been preferable with versions of for example Lodi and The Night Time Is The Right Time or Travellin’ Band. However, Chooglin’ has for some reason always been a live staple for CCR and Fogerty. It is followed by classic Have You Ever Seen The Rain, where the audience is also invited to join in. You can hear the excitement, and then Fogerty offers Down On The Corner, slightly speeded up. It’s fine, but not outstanding. 

Side 4 starts in Centerfield solo territory with the title track and the hit The Old Man Down The Road. Being a great baseball fan, Centerfield is probably an important track for Fogerty and the live delivery here is strong. A better version than on Centerfield. Somewhat surprisingly Fogerty deliver three tracks from Centerfield but not a single one from fabulous solo album Blue Moon Swamp. On the other hand, Centerfield is a cornerstone in his solo production and all three, including The Old Man, are among the most inspired songs on this live record. This is also a far better version than the original on Centerfield with some absolutely stunning and energetic guitar work.

And then we are back in Creedence classics territory with Fortunate Son. The band and Fogerty’s own guitarwork sound tight and simply amazing throughout this album. There’s no breathing space at all between songs on side D, it’s just a continuosly intense and sweaty rock’n’roll feast.

A swingin’, stompin’ Bad Moon Rising, with some very nice keyboards in the soundscape, rolls along before the finale Proud Mary brings us full circle back to earlier Creedence days, but with a new arrangement, including a marvelous horn section, and some steaming keyboards lower in the mix. A pumping, grooving band and artist and a sing-along chorus by a mesmerized crowd brings it all home.

50 Year Trip is proof of Fogerty’s great form, right before the whole global live circus closed down for covid. An exceptional live document of John Fogerty and a 50 year career in rock, now up to and over 55, and running. Respect.

Listening to 30 ”old” albums - Part 3

Yo! Time for the third installment of the 30 archive finds in my record collection that I will listen to - and review for you - before buying any new vinyl albums. Yes, I’m talking exclusively about vinyls here (some other formats might follow). Here are vinyl albums 20-16, just numbers counting down, not positions on a top-30-list. Swedish records are reviewed in Swedish and English, all other in English. Let’s Go!

Och samma på svenska: Dags för tredje satsen vinylskivor från samlingen, 30 arkivfynd totalt som jag ska lyssna igenom - och recensera för er - innan något nytt vinylalbum köps. Ja, vi talar exklusivt om vinyler här. Här är album 20-16, och det här är bara en nedräkning, inte placeringar på en top 30-lista. Bara svenskspråkiga album recenseras på svenska och engelska, alla övriga på engelska.Vi kör!

Lars Wnnerbäck: Neutronstjärnan

När albumet just kommit ut hörde jag de första omdömena på besök i Linköping. Winnerbäck hade just spelat några spår live i Bengans skivbutik och jag hörde tyvärr om det först en halv timme efteråt. Men jag har sett fyra riktiga spelningar tidigare, alla superba, till och med den i extremt hällregn och den i en skolgympasal. Neutronstjärnan då? De två första omdömena jag hörde gav ingen vink, det ena tyckte albumet lät gubbigt, det andra att det var ett av hans allra bästa. Och jag?

Neutronstjärnan är ett strålande album, med underbara höjder, när det är som bäst. Ett absolut måsteköp. Lasse W är en favoritartist och det här albumet är dessutom producerat av Joakim Berg och Martin Sköld. Ni vet, dom från legendariska Kent. Snacka om allstar-kedja. Och Neutronstjärnan gör en inte besviken. Endel spår är väl inte så märkvärdiga, ganska Lasse Winnerbäck-typiska, och redan det är ju bra. Albumet startar starkt, men på tredje spåret, Nåt som verkligen är bra, händer någonting exceptionellt. Nåt som verkligen är bra är faktiskt verkligen just så jävla bra. Och där, just då, kommer kören med Jocke Berg och Martin Sköld in, och det är plötsligt oförglömliga, djupt saknade Kent i en Winnerbäck-sång och det är sagolikt, underbart bra. Och det är en träffande låttitel, som verkligen håller vad den lovar. 

Vi rullar på den winnerbäckska rälsen genom resten av albumet, med musik att omfamnas av och underfundiga, välskrivna, berörande vardagsorienterande texter. Det är en stämning av reflekterande medelåldersstillhet över albumet. Vi är rätt många år från tempofyllda testosteronstänkare som Jag vill gå hem med dig. Och när han avslutar med en annan av albumets höjdpunkter är det en bitterljuv och reflekterande Vår tid, som eftertänksamt sammanfattar intryck av nutiden och lämnar lyssnaren med sina egna tankar om vår tid och våra liv. Missnöjd med tiden, men nöjd och mättad av musiken på ett utmärkt album.

Neutronstjärnan is a great album, with superb highlights, at its best. A must-buy. Lasse W is a favorite artist and this album is produced by Joakim Berg and Martin Sköld, yes, the ones from legendary Swedish band Kent. What an allstar-line. Neutronstjärnan doesn’t disappoint. Some tracks are not exceptional, rather quite typical Winnerbäck-tracks, and that’s already good in itself. The album also starts well and on third track, Nåt som verkligen är bra, something exceptional happens. It’s already a wonderful track, and then the chorus sets in, with Berg & Sköld, and suddenly it is the sorely missed beautiful Kent sound, on a strong winnerbäck-track and it’s pure magic, almost unbelievably good. A stunning song with a title to match. 

From there on we are comfortably riding on the Winnerbäck rail, with music that embraces us and lyrics that are well-written, witty and touching. Winnerbäck delivers a reflective vibe of middle age-calmness, quite far from younger day testosteron-outbursts like Jag vill gå hem med dig. The album closes with another highlight, the bittersweet reflection about our time, Vår tid, which leaves the listener thinking of our times and our lives. Disappointed with the times but satisfied and well-fed by the music on this great album.

Dr. Dre: Compton - A soundtrack by Dr. Dre (2LP).

Dr. Dre, first famous as the sound and rhythm mastermind of N.W.A. and in every respect a major hiphop superstar, revisits his home district Compton, L.A., composing and producing his own soundtrack to the district. It’s a love story as such, or love-hate story perhaps being more correct. An interesting album with a long line of great guest MC:s, including Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg (on two tracks), Ice Cube and Eminem, to name just a few. It’s not on level with N.W.A. or The Chronic, but, that said, the soundtrack to Compton rolls on fine, right from the splendid Intro, a great short history lesson that sets the stage for the album and positions Compton socio-geographically. A superb one minute introduction. Dr. Dre goes on to serve some impressive and cool recollections of Compton in sounds and lyrics. There is much to enjoy here, It’s All On Me for example. Dr Dre lays it out, how it is and  how it was, with the help of some ace MC:s. Snoop on One Shot One Kill, Kendrick Lamar on Genocide and IceCube on Issues. There’s even a touch of the late great Tupac here - some notes reminds us of California Love in Just Another Day, that features The Game and Asia Bryant. Other guests include, for example, Marsha Ambrosius, Justus and Anderson .Paak.

This is an album that draws you in. Not just as an album about a legendary place, made by a legendary vinylspinning DJ/producer, but also because it’s a spell-binding and well-produced album. Compton, a legendary district also in hiphop history, deserves of course its own hiphop soundtrack album, fittingly by living legend Dr. Dre. Even an average album by Dr. Dre would be worth to notice, and an album soundtracking Compton even more so. An impressive list of guests certainly doesn’t make it less interesting either. To quote a disco classic, this is hot stuff.

Misfits: If you don’t know this song…What the fuck are you doing here?

Quite a self-explanatory title on legendary punk band Misfits live album, recorded 1984. This version adds 7 superb additional tracks, that were first published as Beware (mini-LP). Love the confrontational, uncompromizing title, it gives a hint of where Misfits, and this album, takes the listener. 20 Eyes is an early highlight and with 11 songs on side A you know you are in for some fast, and short, outbursts of adrenaline. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, If you don’t know this song sounds fine, which unfortunately can’t be said of all punk live albums, as production often is D.I.Y. This can very well add to the charm, but usually not to the sound quality. This album is alright soundwise, and it sure is intense. However, there is silence between each track and I really don’t like that on live albums. And especially on albums that otherwise provide a soundscape of uncompromizing power and fierce energy. Silence just kills the tension build-up. The Beware material here (track 14-21) is a superb bonus, It’s recorded in studio, not live, and soundwise it is therefore far superior to  the live cuts. Attitude comes to its full right here, just amazing, and way better than the live version on side A. And Misfits certainly have attitude. Horror Business and Teenagers From Mars are also both in live and studio versions on this record, and both are far superior in the Beware studio versions. In all, a very interesting album documenting Misfits live and in studio at a certain moment in time. The live cuts are fine, but it’s the Beware material that lifts the listening experience far above average. Great. 

Sven Wollter: Nån sorts man.

En legendarisk och saknad skådespelare, som tyvärr gick bort under Covid-19 krisen. På Nån sorts man visar han en strålande känsla för det starka låtmaterialet på ett oförtjänt ”glömt” album. Höjdpunkten är I kvarteren här, som ligger gömd som nästsista spår på B-sidan, en helt underbar låt med fullständig närvaro i framförandet. Sagolik. En annan höjdare är den vackra, släpande Sången om blindheten, som slutar med en viktig reflektion: ”för värre än att inte se, är detta att inte bli sedd”. Så sant. 

Men det stannar inte där. Albumet Nån sorts man skildrar insiktsfullt kärleken och politiken och den medelålders mannens fördjupade självinsikt. 

Sångtexterna är i huvudsak utmärkta översattningar av original som skrivits av bland andra Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. Dårarna (har tagit över kliniken) är i sin tur i original av Specials-trion som senare bildade Fun Boy Three. För de utmärkta svenska texterna står Kent Andersson, Peter Ericson, Rikard Wolff och Klas Östergren. Och att Cohen och Waits återfinns bland originalartisterna är förstås ingen slump det heller. Wollters släpiga, djupa, mörka, nästan talande stämma för just tankarna ditåt. Något av samma totala närvaro och känsla hör vi också här. De här låtarna passar Wollters röstresurser väl. Han har inte Cohens musikaliskt vackra stämma, men resultatet är ändå ett sympatiskt och begåvat album, som är bättre än bra. Överraskande bra, faktiskt. Och för det lyfter jag på hatten för den geniale Sven Wollter. En värld utan både Cohen och Wollter är en mycket tristare värld.

A legendary and sorely missed actor that unfortunately died during the covid-19 crises. On unfortunately ”forgotten” album Nån sorts man Sven Wollter also shows a magnificent musical presence. The album highlight I kvarteren här is hidden almost at the end of side B. It’s simply wonderful, with a strong presence in Wollter’s performance. Another highlight is the lovely Sången till blindheten. And there is more. Nån sorts man is an insightful album about love and politics and the self-awareness of a middle-aged man. Most songs are wonderfully translated to Swedish, from great English originals by artists like Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. Dårarna (har tagit över kliniken) in turn is by the Specials-trio that later founded Fun Boy Three. Songs by Cohen and Waits are of course not by chance, because Wollter’s slow, dark, deep and almost speaking voice is reminiscent of Cohen’s and Waits’s. These songs are well-suited for Wollter’s voice. His voice is not on par musically with Cohen’s, but Wollter can (at least almost) match the same voice presence and feeling. The result is an album that is better than good. In fact, it is surprisingly good. And for that, hats off to the genius Sven Wollter. The world is a poorer place without Cohen and Wollter.

Black Sabbath: Live Evil (2 LP).

The Black Sabbath live album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals, not Ozzy Osbourne. Yes, that album. And it is also a good one. I think all can agree that both are fantastic heavy metal vocalists, even though it is more debated whether Dio also was a great Black Sabbath vocalist, or if it is only Ozzy that deserves that honor and position. Some, however, think this is the best Sabbath live album, while most argue that ”the real Black Sabbath” has Ozzy on vocals. And only Ozzy.

Undoubtedly, the first four Sabbath albums, with Ozzy, are the major classics, and Ozzy certainly was central in the classic Black Sabbath line-up. But, that said, Dio really does a fine job on Live Evil, as he also did on the great studio album Heaven and Hell. They are excellent albums, great Sabbath albums too. But even though Dio also performs the Ozzy era classics well enough here, they are Ozzy-era songs, and therefore better with Ozzy on the mike.

Live Evil is by a three-piece Sabbath (Iommi-Butler-Dio) with Vinnie Appice (drums) and Geoff Nicholls (keyboards) as guests. They are in fine form here, live on stage. This is an interesting album from the go, the instrumental build-up €5150, followed instantly by a thunderous Neon Knights. Of course all the biggest classics from Ozzy-era Sabbath are present too: War Pigs, Paranoid, Children of the Grave, Black Sabbath, Iron Man… Dio does them well, especially Paranoid, and on Mob Rules, a riff-heavy 11-minute version of Heaven and Hell, followed by a The Sign of the Southern Cross/Heaven and Hell (continued) medley for 7 mins, he is right at home. The instrumental session in H&H is well-performed, sure, but just a tad too long on record. I would have preferred for example a live Die Young in the setlist, and a shorter jam. But that’s a matter of taste. The finale with Paranoid (wonderful version), Children Of The Grave (riff-heavy, oh yeah) and Fluff (the ”let’s bring you down”-outro) leaves the listener wishing for more.

The uncompromising riffs of Tony Iommi, and the clever bass structures of Geezer Butler, are impressive throughout on Live Evil. Appice and Nicholls perform very well too, and Dio is, well, Dio. An A class heavy singer, who of course also was ace on classic records by Rainbow and, yes, Dio.

Even though Live Evil is not a live album by the legendary original Black Sabbath quartet, it is still an important part of the Sabbath history. And a very fine live album. Except, like on so many other heavy metal and hard rock live records, an incredibly dull drum solo. Perhaps enjoyable live, but intolerably dull on record. Vinny is by no means worse here than any other great drummer performing drum solos on other live records. It can be fine live, and is of course a breather for the other band members. But, sorry, they are all a bit of a nuisance to listen to on record. This one, at least, is not that long.

Black Sabbath were and are the true masters of heavy metal. Sorely missed. One of the bands I regretfully never experienced live in person. Sure wish I had. Luckily there are at least a few great Sabbath live albums to enjoy. This is one.

Listening to 30 ”old” albums - Part 2

 2nd batch of album finds in my collection that I have either listened through only once or not for a longer time period. No new albums will be bought before I’ve heard all 30 through. Call it a music white month.

Andra laddningen albumfynd i samlingen som jag antingen bara lyssnat igenom en gång eller som det är länge sedan jag lyssnade på.

Here’s the next 5 (albums 25-21, not grading, just counting down), här är de följande 5 (album 25-21):

David & The Citizens: Until The Sadness Is Gone

Swedish indiepop-band David & The Citizens is a great band, but unfairly still remained a rather underground group. I have for years loved their fantastic adrenalin-filled non-album track Stop! A stunning pop song. Unfortunately it’s not on this, or any other album. I have it on a wonderful festival compilation. And that song made me remember the band. This album, my first with David & The Citizens, was bought in Helsinki this winter. The record shop owner had never heard of them, he said, and I had properly heard just one song. But what a song! Sadly, there is no song here as impressive as Stop!, but there a many good songs on an album that also as a whole is great. Opening song, funnily titled The End, is a superb up-tempo start, followed by an equally fine Graycoated Morning, with some marvellous, joyful moments that remind me of Stop! The album cuts are mixed for a smooth, continuos musical ride without silent breaks. Also that works well. Sometimes it’s just great to follow your instincts and take a leap forward into (almost) unknown musical territory. I only knew they had one great song, and it was not on the album. Still felt that it was quite a safe bet. And yes, Until The Sadness Is Gone is both melancholic and up-tempo happy, an inspiring find.  I was perhaps unsure when buying this album for 25€, but I’m definitely sure now, this albun deserves its place in my collection. Great stuff.

2Pac: Loyal To The Game (2LP)

Tupac Shakur, one the giants of hiphop, on a posthumous record from 2004, often labelled a ”remix experience”, that received mixed reviews, but still, there is also a lot of qualities shining through, namely the voice and words of Tupac. Good album? Sure. Great? Perhaps not. Production has been criticized for being too soft, and, yes, when considering Tupacs voice and fierce lyrics, the soundscape could have been heavier and, well, less-polished, rawer. That said, great to hear earlier unheard lyrics expressed with Tupac’s voice, even if it is posthumously. Out On Bail and Ghetto Gospel on side A sets a great tone for the following three sides. Among the highlights is also a fine Don’t You Trust Me. On the other hand, the production of for example the title track, shows what really doesn’t work as well. It would need to be remixed, and reproduced, which could result in a great album. The Tupac material is already great here, but isn’t fully coming to its right. So, a mixed bag, a good album, but not excellent. It has its fine moments and Tupac’s voice and lyrics are all over the record, but an album made by the man himself would of course be a better choice. If you have all of them, then this is a nice complement. Now hoping for a rawer remixed/reproduced version for us all.

Einszwo: Gefährliches Halbwissen (Instrumental) (2LP)

One of the famous early German hiphop crews, Einszwo’s legendary debutalbum is very hard to find on vinyl today. I saw one ex in Stuttgart, but unfortunately did not buy it then because of the high price. And will probably not see it on vinyl again. Or then at a considerably higher price. I have it on CD, though, and the instrumental version on vinyl. Cheaper, but certainly not cheap, and found in Einszwo’s hometown Hamburg. Not untypical that German hiphop album are also out in instrumental versions. I have for example albums from Waving The Guns and Funf Sterne Deluxe too. Very good albums, I may add. Gefährliches Halbwissen (instrumental) is even better. 

From opening words ”Achtung, Achtung”, and asking the listener to put their hands in the air, the great rhythm of superb opening track Arbeitstitel: Aller Achtung rolls on. And before second track Liebes Logbuch, Einszwo MC Dendemann announces (in German) that hiphop is his work, from which he earns his living. Not taking things lightly then, we understand, before another excellent rhythm-based instrumental rolls on. Einszwo are legendary in Germany for a reason, they were early pioneers, and they were and are great. The instrumental album has an informative undertitel Fur Den DJ Fuchs Von Heute, and, sure, instrumental albums can be used to rap over att home and as a collection of rhythm tracks for DJ:s, but this album is good enough in its own right to enjoy listening to as a ”proper” album. And it makes you wanna rap and move to the rhythms. I will soon play this album again. And again. Simply brilliant.

Elephant9: Psychedelic Backfire 1 (2 LP) and Psychedelic Backfire 2 (2 LP).

Two live albums by highly talented Norwegian jazz group Elephant9, and so closely connected that I review them in the same text. Obviously, the albums are great together, but can equally well be enjoyed separately. And enjoy them I do. From the offset, inspiring I cover the mountain top builds a soundscape of tranquility, before a outburst of sound hits the listener and audience. It’s a wonderful start, a mesmerizing piece throughout. And you know you are in for a treat. Elephant9 have been highly praised, and rightly so. I had only heard a few tracks when I bought three of their records, these two included, at a record fair. All vinyls that also included CD-versions. And for the record, none of the tracks I had heard were on these records. Both Psychedelic Backfire albums were recorded live, at Kampen Bistro, during the same week in January  2019. And both are well-produced and fine-sounding live recordings. Only one track (Skink/Fugl Fönix) is included on both albums. That’s fine, as six of the tracks are side-long, and there's two each on the other two sides. The psychedelic in the titles points to long, instrumental live jams, equally highly appreciated in psychedelia and jazz. 

It is two very different setlists and totally individual live experiences recorded the same week, or you could argue that these recordings really belong together and form a great common overview of wonderful jazz group elephant9 live in 2019. And yes, I think the whole is greater than the individual parts. But if I have to choose only one, it would be No 1. I cover the mountaintop is a superb start on No 1, while You are the sunshine of my life is a fine start on No 2. The elephant-trio on bass, drums and keyboards produce a live soundscape that feels much larger and wider, it brings to mind the brilliant Weather Report on Birdland live, and I am equally impressed here. 

Psychedelic Backfire 1 is very intense, from its mellow and tranquil start it develops within minutes into an increasingly intense urgency, that also intensify the listening experience. Wonderful Skink/Fugl fönix (side C) never let’s the guard down,  and never let’s you of the hook. Its pulsating and vibrant rhythms and well-matched keyboard melodies drives us, the listeners, on mercilessly. It’s spellbinding. So spell-binding in fact that my dinner got burned as I forgot it while intensively listening to this track. This could easily have been a great concert stopper, but then there was side D left. A great album.

Psychedelic Backfire 2 also starts well, with You are the sunshine of my life, and this double album consists of four side-long tracks, so it feels even more jam-oriented than No 1. The album starts less intense than No 1, but it is felt in every muscle when Skink/Fugl fönix brings the tempo and intense-level way up (on side B). Still, the No 1 version may still be slightly better. The tempo slows down again on side C, the weakest side with a very slowly building intro that for minutes is not going anywhere. However, if Habanera Rocket doesn’t feel that rocket-like, the album finale, Freedom’s Children/John Tinnick, is all the more impressive, and intense. Tempo-wise it starts-stop, but then slowly, over several minutes, starts to build up intensity again. You can feel the tension of held back energy - and then they are off with a final burst of power. It’s a very impressive way to end the album, and the better album closer.

So, in general a tie between two impressive live albums, but if forced to choose, Psychedelic Backfire 1 is the one. 

So there you have it. Five more archive finds in the collection listened to and reviewed.

Stay tuned for the next 5!

Det var fem till arkivfynd från min samling, genomlyssnade och recenserade. 

Håll dig uppkopplad för nästa 5!