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!