 |
| Frodo and the Nine Finger Discount... |
I first became aware of Middle Earth when I was in Middle School, I think. I had to read The Hobbit for English class. As a young dork, I was quite taken with Tolkien's book, opening up a whole new realm of imagination to me. Shortly thereafter, I tore through the three books comprising the Lord of the Rings, being careful to ignore the many pages of Elvish poetry. I've been a fan of these books ever since, though it has been a few years since I've re-read them. There are so many other great books to keep me busy. I was very gratified that movie/computer technology has advanced to where making Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit became feasible. But not so gratified as to appear at a movie theaters dressed up in a funny outfit.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, New Zealand has become the epicenter of all things Hobbit. A trend similar to Finland becoming Santa Claus land. Tourists descend on the remote islands to get a gander at the hobbit holes from Peter Jackson's movie sets. No doubt there are panhandlers roaming the tourist shopping areas dressed up like Ents. Of course, maybe better reasons to go would be for the excellent Sauvignon Blanc/Pinot Noir, stunning scenery, and the cool music. And, yes we must never forget the glow worms.
But perhaps it didn't have to turn out this way. I mean, where the hell is Middle Earth, anyway? In the same way that the QWERTY keyboard defeated other more efficient keyboard prototypes, it seems there were also other worthy nations that eagerly grasped for the golden ring of Middle Earth. One such country was Sweden...............
I found a Swedish album being sold on the Parasol records website, when they were a gargantuan mail-order company. They were always selling cool Scandinavian albums there, so it wasn't too surprising they had this. I felt somehow drawn to this disc, though usually this was not the sort of music I purchased. For some reason, I simply had to have it.
Forged in the fires of a volcano on an island off of the coast of Sweden back in the old days before Ronald Reagan rose to power, this CD never fails to elicit admiration, nay extreme adulation from listeners. In truth, I have no conclusive evidence that there are in fact any copies exist of Sagan om Ringen, other than the one I am currently listening to.
Just recently I noticed that there were some fine calligraphy etched in a circular fashion across the top to the CD. With a flashlight and a magnifying glass I was able to make out some curious verse......
yes, I've been broken hearted
blue since the day we started
why, why did I ever let you go?
God only knows what that gibberish means. It's obviously some sort of dark Swedish incantation. Or maybe garden variety Death Metal. None the less, I find myself listening to this album more and more each day, and if somebody tells me to put some other music on, well, they had better watch out!
I suppose it would be fair to say that the album has become precious to me......
Okay, enough fun.
Lord of the Rings/Saga om Ringen was an album made in 1969 by Bo Hannson (organ, guitar, moog, bass) and Rune Carlsson (drums), along with Gunnar Bergsten (saxophone) and Sten Bergman (flute). Basically its an instrumental album featuring the organ, which was influenced by Tolkien's fantasy novels. If you had to guess by looking at the artwork you would say that this must be prog music, but to me it seems to be more jazzy in a moody introspective ECM records style.
The musicianship is good on this. According to the liner notes, these guys used to jam with Hendrix. So this isn't a schmaltzy endeavor by any means. Composing this music must have required a good deal of effort by Hansson. This is artistic stuff, not a mercantile attempt to cash in on the legacy of Tolkien. I mean that's what Bilbo Baggins hates, after all....
But again, this is an organ-based instrumental album set in Middle Earth! It makes for decent background music. It begins with the hobbit's flight from the Shire and ends with the Grey Havens basically. A lot of material to cover in one compact disc, as opposed to three lengthy movies. And yet.......
On this disc Tom Bombadil Lives!
Though in the official movies he has been erased in the same way Communist leaders disappeared from the public record in the 1930's, Hansson found room for him on his 75 minute recording. The second song is entitled The Old Forest and Tom Bombadil. Word is that New Zealand authorities managed to force a confession out of old Tom B., and he remains languishing in some Dunedin gulag....
Since the 2nd film in the Hobbit trilogy was released I thought it would be fun to talk about this album. I know I'm joking a little bit about this, but honestly the record is pretty good for what it is attempting to do, and if you love Tolkien, chances are you would be happy to have this on your playlist. It's definitely a one of a kind recording.
Here's my little attempt at some international diplomacy.......
No comments:
Post a Comment