In Sweden Where the Shadows Lie....Bo Hansson's The Lord of the Rings/Sagan om Ringen

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.......

Heaven Yes!---Happydeadmen----Classics-a Decade in Pop

The Happydeadmen cd I am listening to right was a very pleasant surprise. I feel now as though I am crawling out from under a rock when I first heard this band about three weeks ago, as they were an influential and popular band in Sweden, being in existence from 1988-1998. But a brand new band to me. I don't know very much about them, but they apparently were trailblazers in the Swedish indie pop movement. Before the rest of the world was cued in, pre-Cardigans.

That being said, it would not be unjust to say that Happydeadmen are stylistically in resemblance to The Smiths. There really is no way to get around this. Though I might add that there is a bounce to some of the songs reminiscent of The Housemartins.

Having said that, Classics-a Decade in Pop is an impeccable collection of sopisticated romantic guitar pop. Every song included on this compilation is a little gem. Jangly jangly melodies, with maudlin lyrics. There are songs from throughout the bands 10 year existence, and includes b-sides, and rare tracks. Though I would have liked lyrics included in the liner notes, the pithy descriptions of each song that are listed are informative.

Jan Hedin - Vocals and acoustic guitar
Magnus Karlsson - Electric guitar
Roger Kjellgren - Bass
Thomas Kristoffersson - Drums
Patrik Jonsfjord - Electric guitar




The album is loaded with highlights, like the smart pop of Science Fiction, the upbeat catchy music of The Age of Chivalry. An obvious classic Heaven No!, a song sounding very much like a call from  the Morrissey/Marr playbook. Another number I am partial to is the early song that the album leads with, Silent Sigh City.




All in all a collection that most pop bands would envy. Though sounding like the Smiths, the overall quality of the material overrides any negatives, making Classics-A Decade in Pop album a very worthwhile acquisition.

The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer!----Part 67--The Soundtrack of Our Lives!

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer is Singing Loud for All to Hear!!!

The Sound Track of Our Lives--Jingle Hell (Stuck in the Chimney)

Hard Rocktober Part 2!! Union Carbide Productions---In The Air Tonight---Time To Get Some Kicks!!

So this post is a continuation of the Motor City mojo diaspora I spoke about, but this time the musical migration was to Sweden. In The Air Tonight is the first slab recorded by Union Carbide Productions a hard rocking 5 piece from Goteborg, Sweden. I remember that there was some indy buzz in the states in 1987 when this album was initially released. These days they are probably better known as the precursor to the 60's steeped group The Soundtrack of Our Lives, who have achieved some success in the independent rock circuit. There is something really nice about this particular recording; the feeling is loose and wild--it feels like they are banging out the songs in the studio.

Three Mile Eye

Lots of energy here: angry leather lunged crazed vocals by Ebbot Lundberg; big heavy riffs and psychedelic wah wah guitar courtesy of Bjorn Olsson and Patrik Caganis. Additionally Olsson and Lundberg  play sax on the album, adding some of that Steve Mackay Stooge-style free jazz runs. Per Helm on Bass and Henryk Rylander on drums round out the lineup. Like the Monarchs album I recently wrote about, it sounds like these guys are having a blast--listening to this music long enough and your clothes will probably turn to leather. Maybe not much originality here, but they do what they do so very, very, well. Fantastic album!!

Right from the start they do the music justice with Ring My Bell, simple, over the top. If you like Mudhoney, then you will love these guys. The sarcastic Financial Declaration is another stunner... a song about the corrosiveness of Greed, about never getting enough of the pie. Not about the things, but the urge to get them.
Another noteworthy tune is Cartoon Animal, which I guess is about the humanity of homeless people.



This album came out 25 years ago, but some themes manage to hold up, such as their song Teenage Bankman.

I'm sitting on Wall Street and I can smell the smog...
I look inside my wallet, there's a lot of money in it
And then I think that I'm the richest man in this town.
I was born that way, and I'm there when all things come around....


....Don't Accuse Me, it's not my fault......
I'm Sooo happy!!

Love this album a lot. They have a great philosophy about the after life, if the lyrics of  their epic final song Down On The Beach are any indication.

If you are going to heaven, you have nothing to worry about,
and
If you are going to the other place
You will be so busy shaking hands with old friends
That you will have no time to worry....


So Why Worry???



You've got to love it. These guys should work for a greeting card company. So in my final analysis, if you want to pick up a nice album to shake your head to, I think this would be a very good choice. The potential loss of brain cells is more than compensated by the sonic enjoyment.  I really think that these guys did put their own unique insanely Nordic stamp to the proceedings. Check this one out and be amazed.

Mary Onettes--Sixteen Candles Time Machine from Sweden

If I had to live outside the US, I think my first choice would be Stockholm. I've been there a few times and found it to be a lively and sophisticated city. For some reason they seem to have the best coffee, which at first surprised me a great deal. You could live a pretty good life there. And Sweden has been producing terrific bands, to the extent that even here in America we are belatedly getting on board. In the wake of Stieg Larsson mania, publishing houses are scouring Sweden for new authors, in the same way major labels were looking under every rock in Seattle for grunge bands after Nirvana became the biggest band in America. Americans are constantly searching Google with baited breath for news about the new Abba Museum and if there will ever be Mama Mia! Pt. 2-The Empire Strikes Back. For years Scandinavians has been the undisputed world champions of air guitar pyrotechnics, and now it looks like they are really plugging in and competing with the big boys with unimaginary music. It's just they may be vying with bands from the wrong decade.

Mary Onettes, from Jonkoping Sweden, are a perfect example of this nostalgia trend. Philip Ekstrom is on guitar and lead vocals and his brother Henrik plays bass. Philip also has written the songs. Peter Agurren and Simon Franssen are on guitar and drums respectively. I know that there are very few new things under the sun, but these guys are right out of a John Hughes time machine. And there's nothing really wrong with that. They are talented, the songs sound great-there is no shortage of enjoyable moments on their debut album. If you are a fan of The Cure, New Order, Teardrop Explodes, you will like this a lot. I am reminded of a less well known band, The Sound, fronted by the late Adrian Borland.

The album is a dreamy moody hook filled record. The first song Pleasure Songs is a decent ballad, but the album kicks into gear with following number Lost, part New Order and part A-Ha. Void is another upbeat melodious retro gem. The bass driven synth pop of The Companion is another highlight on the album. The song Explosions sounds like a Jesus and Mary Chain cover. Still is an emotional ballad, acoustic guitars and strings building to a climax and then fading out. Under The Guillotine is one of the best songs here, a lot like The Sound or Echo And The Bunnymen.

All in all, not a lot of originality here, but plenty of excellent 80's style music. If that is where your musical tastes run, you will enjoy The Mary Onettes. By all means give them a listen.