Nationalteatern - "Livet är en fest" (1974)

The Swedish political 70s band Nationalteatern's (The National Theater) second album and their big breakthrough. Already in my youth / early adulthood, when the band's music was played in various party contexts, it was music from the past. Today even more so. The political and / or socially realistic music tends to age a faster than the standard rock n'roll about love and lust. At the same time, the songs become quite fun and interesting time documents, and today's young listeners can get a little insight into the political engagement of the 1970s in Sweden (which leaned heavily to the left).

On the album several of the band's classics are found, of course the title song Livet är en fest (Life's a party), but also others such as Hanna from Arlöv (Hanna from Arlöv), Bängen trålar (slang for the police are searching/watching), Speedy Gonzales and several other more or less known songs for the public. When I listened to this in my younger years, the political message was secondary. Instead, me and my friends heard songs about alcohol and drugs that in our ears were more like tributes to these substances. Somewhere in my mind, I knew there was probably some kind of societal criticism in the texts, but I chose to ignore that. Just like most others who listened to Nationalteatern a few decades after the creation of songs, in a new and different society with other issues and political ideologies.

A good example of selective listening was Bängen trålar. In the first verses it is sung about where to find weed in Gothenburg, and how you chill in the September sun smoking this. Cool. When later on they begin to sing about the societal system and how those who have money are protected and never convicted of crimes, well, then it became less interesting. Skip to the next song. Every time I visited Gothenburg in my younger years, I was very curious about Näckrosdammen, Vasaparken and Femman's square, where you would find weed, according to the song. Speedy Gonzales was another song, where every form of criticism of someone or something was completely missed, and the song's message instead was about turning on and smoking weed.

In the Swedish 70s political music scene I have always thought Nationalteatern were one of the better bands. They wrote good songs, and could play on their instruments. So I think this album is fairly good. A lot of groovy songs, where Plast's sång is one of the favorites today, although the lyrics in general are quite outdated. It's somewhat difficult to identify with much of what the songs explore. In the 1970s, the class struggle, the communist ideology and the anger against the bourgeoisie were a larger part of the debate than today, it seems. At the same time, it makes the music quite fun to listen to, a time capsule. It is with different ears I hear this today than when I was 20 years old. Both perspectives have their charm. The album is part of Swedish music history, and has its place in the collection.


Tracklist

Side A
1. "Jack the Ripper" 4:48
2. "Plast's sång" 3:44
3. "Stena Olssons Compagnie" 3:07
4. "Mr. John Carlos" 6:43
5. "Innerst Inne" 3:16

Side B
1. "Livet är en fest" 4:16
2. "Speedy Gonzales" 4: 9
3. "Paradisets berg" 2:01
4. "Lägg av!" 2:28
5. "Hanna från Arlöv" 3:41
6. "Bängen trålar" 4:15

Paul McCartney & Wings - "Band On The Run" (1973)

This was McCartney's fifth record after The Beatles, and the third with the Wings. The public hadn't been very impressed with the first albums where Wings participated, so Paul really had to prove himself this time. He had gotten the idea that it would be interesting to do the recording in an exotic place, and therefore chose the EMI studio in Lagos, Nigeria. It might have been a good idea in theory, but it turned out that the studio was substandard, the political situation unstable and Paul and his wife Linda was robbed at knife point of the demo tapes (among other things). And to add salt in the wound, two of the Wings members left the band just before leaving for Nigeria, so it was just a trio involved in the recording - Paul, Linda and Denny Laine. This meant that Paul had to play various instruments on the album, including guitar and drums, which probably wasn't a huge problem for the multi instrumentalist Paul.

Many consider this to be Paul's best solo record, although it was initially received a bit hesitantly by the public, and one of the top creations any of the ex-Beatles did after the band was abandoned. And I can't deny it's a qualitative album, although expectations are (possibly too) high on an ex-Beatle. But personally, I hold his album Ram higher, as it contains more interesting songs. I've always thought Lennon made better and more interesting songs in the Beatles, and while Lennon's solo albums are of mixed quality, they're not always so kind, gentle and easy going. Sometimes McCartney feels a little too nice, happy and playful. His music, including Band On The Run, is somehow music's version of a feel good movie. There are nice harmonies, positive, good songs with catchy hooks, and often a sing along mood. You never get provoked, upset or thoughtful when listening to Band On The Run. It's not really a criticism, but is it something I miss on the album, it's that. Something that challenges a bit more.

Crazy man Ginger Baker lived in Nigeria at this time and offered Paul to record the entire album in his studio. Paul was somewhat doubtful concerning this offer, but ultimately recorded the song Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me) there. After watching the Netflix documentary on Ginger Baker, I suspect it was a wise decision to have a bit of a distance to him. The photo on the cover is the trio that played on the record, together with a bunch of other famous people. Apparently, the photo was taken in low light so the camera needed to have the lens open for about two seconds. This meant that the gang had to stay absolutely still during this time. As they had just come from a party Paul had arranged, everyone was on various drugs, which made the staying still a challenge.

In conclusion, Band On The Run is a good album, and if you like McCartney, it's probably a must have. There's really no bad song on the record, every title has their own unique character, even though I personally sometimes think it's too gentle and cute. Personal favorites are the title track and the closing number Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, which I think sounds like Gnarls Barkley's Crazy.


Tracklist (Helen Wheels was not included on the original release in England, only on the American)

Side A
1. "Band on the Run" - 5:12
2. "Jet" - 4:09
3. "Bluebird" - 3:23
4. "Mrs. Vandebilt" - 4:40
5. "Let Me Roll It" - 4:51

Side B
1. "Mamunia" - 4:51
2. "No Words" - 2:35
3. "Helen Wheels" - 3:44
4. "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" - 5:49
5. "Ninety Hundred and Eighty-Five" - ​​5:28

Kuuntele Ääntä (1977)

Year 2012 I stopped working at a place where I had been employed for 11 years. I visited the home of one of my colleagues, and since her vinyl collection only collected dust, she offered me to check it out and take all the albums I wanted, as a goodbye gift. I was so overwhelmed by the offer that I barely managed to say yes, but after some prompting I indulged. One of the albums that followed me home was this one. My colleague had lived a number of years in Finland a long time ago, and therefore there were some Finnish records in her shelf. However, this one had been bought in Uppsala (Sweden), at the mythical record shop Musikörat. According to the price tags that are still there, she paid 2 Skr. (around a quarter) for it, it had been reduced from the previous price 5 Skr (around a dollar). Probably not a record that sold in heaps.

Discogs classifies the album genre as Folk, World & Country, and its style as Political. Since it's only sung in Finnish, and all the text on the sleeve is in Finnish, I don't know what the songs are about, and on internet I find no information. So this is a record I can only listen to for the melodies, the message is completely lost on me. But it does remind me of some Swedish political music from the 70's, and the cover sure gives you a vibe of a leftist engagement. According to Google Translate, the album title means Listening to sound.

A variety of artists contribute on the album and it's better than I thought. The initial songs are
really nice, beautiful melodies and harmonies in the singing. I agree with Discogs' folk definition, some songs sound like Fairport Convention. However, I don't hear any country. A few songs into the album there's an new artist, he has almost an opera voice that I'm not too fond of, but the arrangement with piano and flute is nice. Since I usually focus more on melodies in music, rather than text, initially I don't have a problem that I don't understand what they're singing, but after a while, somewhere on side B, it becomes a thing as I think the music stops being interesting, a bit repetitive. An understanding of the texts would probably help to keep up the interest.

If I compare, for example with Röda Bönor, a Swedish political group from the 70's, Kuuntele Ääntä is much better. The arrangements are nicely done with a lot of air, acoustic guitars, piano, flute, a saxophone in some places. And the melodies are (often) beautiful. The language is probably the main negative thing. Finnish has a special sound, that puts a clear mark on the songs. Compared for example with Spanish or French, where I also don't understand so much of what they're singing, Finnish feels rougher and more strange in its sounds. The record is released on Love Records, a Finnish legendary label created in the 60s, that ceased to exist 1979. One can't say their logo is very subtle.

On Discogs, one copy of the record has been sold, for the price of 22 Canadian dollars. So my colleague's investment of a quarter has yielded a few thousand percent in return (if she had kept the record).


Tracklist

Side A
1 Herran Pää On Paljaana 3:25
2 Heilani On Kuin Helluntai 4:00
3 Soi Lauluni 3:45
4 Kuuntele Ääntä 3:21
5 Ay 2:05
6 Atlantin Valleilla 2:31

Side B
1 Vallankumous 1:35
2 Lakkopäivänä 3:19
3 Käy Tehtaan Portilla Miettimään 3:18
4 Laulu Turhautumisesta 2:25
5 Kuolema 3:35
6 Kaverit Yes Toverit 2:55

Tom Waits - "Rain Dogs" (1985)

This is another album I felt the need to save from my parents lets-get-rid-of-all-records project, it belonged to my mother. I remember that she sometimes played it at home, and how she expressed she liked it, and that I never understood what she meant. For the teenage version of me, this album was way too weird. Tom Waits' voice was strange, and I thought my mother was as strange to like it. Did she really know anything about music?

Today I think differently. It's a good and interesting album with a different sound. It's usually considered to be the second album in a trilogy, where Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years are the start and end. The music could be described as some kind of Vaudeville. Kurt Weill mixed up with Dr. John's voodoo blues and a spoon of Les Claypool, maybe. Instruments used in the songs include Farfisa organ, trombone, marimba and accordion. Together with Waits' peculiar voice, a distinctive mood is created, it's like a snake in the gutter that tells you in his wheezing voice about the night's shadow creatures.

This mood is broken a few times by the more easily accessible and beautiful creations Time and Downtown Train (which later became a big hit with Rod Stewart). Hang Down Your Head is also one of the more "normal" songs that might be needed to balance the more weird creations. In three songs you hear Keith Richards on guitar, as he puts his typical licks over the music. On one song, Tony Levin is heard on bass. The album has a Swedish connection as the album cover photo is taken by Anders Petersen, it's a picture from Hamburg from the 60's, although many have thought it's Tom Waits himself who is portrayed.

A good and challenging album, that might not suit everyone, though, as it has a very peculiar and special sound. 19 songs in just under 54 minutes. A lot of music to be one record. Many think it's Tom Waits' best, personally, I can't say as I haven't heard so many of his other albums.


Tracklist

Side A
1. "Singapore" 2:46
2. "Clap Hands" 3:47
3. "Cemetery Polka" 1:51
4. "Jockey Full of Bourbon" 2:45
5. "Tango Till They're Sore" 2:49
6. "Big Black Mariah" 2:44
7. "Diamonds & Gold" 2:31
8. "Hang Down Your Head" 2:32
9. "Time" 3:55

Side B
1. "Rain Dogs" 2:56
2. "Midtown" 1:00
3. "9th & Hennepin" 1:58
4. "Gun Street Girl" 4:37
5. "Union Square" 2:24
6. "Blind Love" 4:18
7. "Walking Spanish" 3:05
8. "Downtown Train" 3:53
9. "Bride of Rain Dog" 1:07
10. "Anywhere I Lay My Head" 2:48

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band "Live 1975-85" (1986)

This box contains 5 LPs, and me and my brother bought it together for our mom at Christmas, the year of the release. It was a serious and expensive Christmas gift, I was only 14 years old, my brother five years older, and neither of us had a lot of money. But we knew our mom liked Springsteen, so together we managed to cough up enough money. It felt good to be able to give something so colossal as a gift. I had just passed the age when the presents one gave were 10-minute drawings, or "beautiful" handicraft done in schools's art class.

The box contains more than 3.5 hours of music, and although our mom liked Springsteen, I realize now that the passion might not have been so strong that she would listen for 3.5 hours of him very often (she only had Born In The USA, so she was no fanatic). But this means that the albums today are in top condition, NM (Near Mint), as it's usually called in vinyl circles, as they probably only have been played a few times. Like some other albums in the collection, this was saved when my parents were to get rid of their entire collection. I couldn't let such an item be lost.

For a Springsteen fan this box is a must in the record collection, I suppose. Many fans had long been waiting for a live album from the Boss, and when it finally came, it delivered, both in quality and quantity. There are songs from all of his career, up to 1986 of course, the sound quality is great, and there's a clear live feel. Three songs were previously unreleased - Seeds, Because Of The Night and Fire. It beat the record of pre-orders in terms of worth of dollars, and it went straight to Billboard's number one.

Personally, I'm not a big Springsteen fan, although many songs are qualitative, and his lyrics are often well written, his straight rock n'roll - bar rock, as it's often called - is not my thing. Lots of guitar, saxophone and powerful singing, it's often loud and uptempo. However, I like his calmer and darker side that sometimes appears, such as songs from the Nebraska album, or I'm On Fire, another old favorite just like The River. In songs like these, the sadness, melancholy or nostalgia that is found in the lyrics, really moves me. Sometimes I'm almost brought to tears when I read the words as I recognize the feelings.

As it often was at this time, there is a pamphlet in the box informing the buyer of other records that one could also purchase. I think these were adapted a little bit to the album, to maximize the outcome (a rock n'roll album's accompanying sheet should primarily display other rock n'roll albums). The pamphlet in this box featured names like Steve Tibbetts, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Pat Metheny and other similar artists. Almost as far from the Boss you as you can come. A little odd.

In summary, a good overview of Springsteen's career, up to 1986, and although I'm not really in the target group, I'm still glad I've got it. First of all, it's fun to have a box of five LPs, but also for the calmer parts on the albums that I think are beautiful.


Tracklist

Side A
1 Thunder Road 5:41
2 Adam Raised A Cain 5:25
3 Spirit In The Night 6:22
4 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) 6:29

Side B
1 Paradise By The "C" 3:34
2 Fire 3:12
3 Growin' Up 7:57
4 It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City 4:37

Side C
1 Backstreet 7:27
2 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) 9:59
3 Raise Your Hand 5:10

Side D
1 Hungry Heart 4:28
2 Two Hearts 3:05
3 Cadillac Ranch 4:50
4 You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) 3:51
5 Independence Day 5:09

Side E
1 Badlands 5:15
2 Because The Night 5:18
3 Candy's Room 3:09
4 Darkness On The Edge Of Town 4:28
5 Racing In The Street 8:13

Side F
1 This Land Is Your Land 4:17
2 Nebraska 4:16
3 Johnny 99 4:21
4 Reason To Believe 5:15

Side G
1 Born In The U.S.A. 6:07
2 Seeds 5:13
3 The River 11:37

Side H
1 War 4:51
2 Darlington County 5:12
3 Working On The Highway 3:59
4 The Promised Land 5:32

Side I
1 Cover Me 6:58
2 I'm On Fire 4:23
3 Bobby Jean 4:27
4 My Hometown 5:08

Side J
1 Born To Run 5:02
2 No Surrender 4:42
3 Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 4:18
4 Jersey Girl 6:31

Tangerine Dream - "Stratosfear" (1976)

I can't say I have many German albums in the collection, and I can't say I know a lot of German artists or bands. Kraftwerk, Nina Hagen, Nena, Scorpions, Rammstein and a few bands from the Krautrock scene. And Tangerine Dream. Germany is a big country, but the number of famous artists doesn't correlate with the population size. I suppose a language barrier is to blame.

Like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream uses mostly synthesizers of different kinds, but there the similarities end, musically in any case. Kraftwerk is colder, harder, more precise in their arrangements, almost robot like, while the creations of Tangerine Dreams radiate warmth, softness and humanity. Although Tangerine Dream sometimes creates dark and gloomy soundscapes, there is still a pleasant feeling surrounding it. Another difference is that Kraftwerk more made verse-verse-chorus songs, often with singing, at times with a pop ingredient as a number of mainstream hits show, while Tangerine Dream's creations more lean towards sound sculptures without the same clear structure, always instrumental. Tangerine Dream's music is simply much more druggier, and it's not surprising that it was a popular band among the hippies who visited Goa in the 70's. How many acid trips have had this album as a soundtrack, I wonder. At least for 35 minutes.

Stratosfear was the eighth album by the band. It was first mixed by Nick Mason from Pink Floyd, but this mix was abandoned because of arguments between Tangerine Dream and Virgin. It's a good album, a musical journey in the inner regions of consciousness. It was the last album where the classic setting Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann and Christopher Franke collaborated. The sound is typically electronic 70's, positively meant, often quite dark, some parts could be soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. But as mentioned, there's always a warmth there, it's as if the music sweeps the listener into a dark, warm, mental blanket. What was new with Stratosfear was that some analog instruments sneaked in here and there, guitars are heard, some kind of flute, a grand piano. They often stay in the background, the synthesizer still dominates, but they contribute to the mood. The entire album actually ends with a few minutes of piano chords with a flute soaring above it.

Four songs of different lengths, they are quite varied, although it may be one synthesizer loop as a base that hypnotizes. But on top of this different things are going on, so it never feels boring. Probably not a record for everyone, but I like it.


Tracklist

Side A
1 Stratosfear 10:04
2 The Big Sleep In Search Of Hades 4:45

Side B
1 3AM At The Border Of The Marsh From Okefenokee 8:10
2 Invisible Limits 11:40

Made In Sweden - "Where Do We Begin" (1976)

I wanted to give Georg Wadenius another chance, so let's take a look at his band Made In Sweden's last record. In the late 60's and early 70's, the band recorded a number of albums, then Wadenius left for the US and played with Blood, Sweat And Tears. When he returned to Sweden, he recreated Made In Sweden, where only himself was left of the original members (I think). In other words, a totally new band. The other members were Tommy Körberg, Pekka Pohjola, Vesa Aaltonen, and Wlodek Gulgowski. Sweden, Finland and Poland represented. Most fun for me is to find Tommy Körberg here, I've only known the older version of him and the kind of music he's done at this period of his life (very different kind of music), and I have no relation whatsoever to the younger version of him. To a non-Swede, this guy is probably a totally unknown.

I found this album in Sweden, I didn't know much about Made In Sweden, but had understood that many think they have a given place in Sweden's progressive music history. Since I was just about to move to Montreal, I thought the album might be harder to find here and therefore ask a somewhat higher price. Perhaps something of a rarity. I could sell it, or change it to two other albums. It was an idea that didn't really match reality.

Even though I find the record a bit more fun than Wadenius' solo album Cleo, I can't say it's particularly interesting. It's usually defined as progressive, but compared to bands like King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Genesis and other authorities in the genre, it's not a lot of prog. Rather easy-going jazz fusion. Both songs with singing and instrumentals are found, and the musicians most likely belong to the elite, but it rarely takes off. I like the instrumentals best, Körberg's singing kind of turns me off. A song like Manhattan Vibes is probably a totally OK song within its genre, but since me and jazz fusion have never been tight, it's still nothing for me. The closing song, 43 Sec. Of Arc Per Century, I feel is the most "difficult" song, but at the same time the most interesting. I haven't heard any of Made In Sweden's earlier records, maybe they would suit me better.


Tracklist

Side A
1 Where Do We Begin 4:27
2 Manhattan Vibes 7:05
3 Pop-Poem 3:38
4 Our Man 5:02

Side B
1 We Must Be Crucified 4:02
2 Lady G 4:13
3 Sometimes 1:49
4 43 Sec. Or Arc Per Century 10:02