Lars-Eric Uneståhl - "Hypnos" (1969)

This LP is something of a strange bird in my collection. It's neither rockn'roll, psychedelia or some form of electronic hypnotrance. What we've got here is instead a few hypnosis sessions led by the Swedish psychologist Lars-Eric Uneståhl. This album originally comes from my grandfather who purchased it in an attempt to tame his smoking habit, since one of the sessions revolves around reducing the urge to smoke. Since my grandfather continued to be a heavy smoker until the year before he died it doesn't seem like the LP worked, or at least wasn't very effective.

When I chose this album for the next blog post, I spontaneously thought I would have some fun at its expense and to somewhat mock it. A hypnosis LP from 1969 almost asks you to do this. I've listened to it once before in my teens, after that it has mostly been a funny ingredient in the collection, never played. But I changed my attitude after listening to it again.

Firstly, Lars-Eric gives the record owner three typed sheets, included inside the cover, with information about the research on hypnosis, a detailed description of the sessions on the album and what the listener can expect. That's nice! And kind of funny with typed material. When I lay down on the floor and got ready to be hypnotized, I realized the goodness of what I listened to. How could I make fun of someone who regularly tell me that I would "feel good in every way"?

Side A contains a more general session about calm and harmony, while the B-side focuses on the reduction of smoking and better sleep. Some classic work is heard in the background, such as Bach's Air, while Lars-Eric with a druggy voice tells the listener to relax. Deeper and deeper. And deeper. In the hypnotic state you are then given positive suggestions that will influence the listener positively, both during the listening of the album, but also in life outside the listening session. As mentioned, the A side is more on general peace, while the B side will help you with smoking and sleeping difficulties.

In the typed sheets it's mentioned that the first few times you listen to the LP you'll probably not be hypnotized, you have to listen to it several times on a regular basis. And of course this was the case for me, I didn't achieve any changed state of consciousness. After almost two sides of hearing Lars-Eric's stony voice telling me to relax and feel good, I became a bit bored.

But I have kept my new found positive view of the album, for surely it's a good thing trying to help people to a greater calm and better sleep? Of course you must see the record for what it is, it dates from 1969 and suffers a bit from time. At the same time hypnosis is still used in treatments and personal development, and no one can therefore just condemn it as some "hippie stuff from 60's". Personally, I recognized a lot of the relaxation techniques from the Yoga class I'm currently taking and the Yoga-nidra sessions we do (deep relaxation). It made me positively surprised when I realized that the old Yoga teachers must have learned a great deal from Lars-Eric. Or maybe it's vice versa?

In order to get something out of this LP one should probably listen to it several times to learn to get into the right state of mind. The goal is then to be able to do suggestions yourself, without the aid of the LP. I don't feel motivated enough to do this and will probably put the album back in its old role as a fun inventory and a rare bird in the shelf. But I've got a greater respect for it and no longer want to make fun of it. Maybe the hypnosis did work, after all?

I can mention that Lars-Eric was one of the people who introduced mental training for athletes in Sweden and has worked with a lot of outstanding athletes. He has published lots of books, CDs, etc. and currently runs the Scandinavian leadership school AB in Örebro. When he made Hypnos, he was 31 years old.

Tracklist
Side A

1.Hypnosinduktion Med Allmäna Suggestioner Om Lugn, Avspänning Och Vila
(Hypnosis Induction With General Suggestion About Peace, Relaxation And Sleep)

Side B
1. Rökanvvänjning (Smoking Cessation)
2. Sömnsuggessioner (Sleep Suggestions)

Richard Wright - "Wet Dream" (1978)

To me, Richard Wright is the same sort of figure as George Harrison - the number of songs he wrote wasn't that large compared to the two dominant persons in the band, but the songs he wrote were often really, really good. Wright was the creator of songs such as Remember A Day, Paint Box, Us And Them, and contributed a lot to suites like Atom Heart Mother, Echoes and others. A solo album with such a guy must be filled with treasures. Right?

For those who don't know him, Richard Wright (1943-2008) was the keyboardist of Pink Floyd. As a 12-year old, he taught himself to play guitar, trumpet and piano, and when he met Roger Waters and Nick Mason in the mid-60s, the embryo of Pink Floyd was born.

Wet Dream was created between the Pink Floyd albums Animals and The Wall. During the recording of The Wall Wright was forced to leave the band as he and Roger Waters ended up at odds with each other, he participated thereafter on the The Wall tour, as a hired keyboardist. Thus he was the only one of the Pink Floyd quartet that made money on this tour since it made great financial losses, which affected the people responsible (= the other three PF members). Well, of this Wright was blissfully unaware of the year of 1978 when Wet Dream was recorded.

On the album we hear Mel Collins on saxophone and Snowy White on guitar, both experienced fellow musicians to Pink Floyd. I found the album in Quebec last year for a sum that must be considered reasonable in this context. A great find, but I didn't have high expectations - I had never heard of it, which might be a sign that it didn't arouse much emotions in people, and I have another one of Richard Wright's solo projects (Zee) which is not too good, honestly. And frankly, it was probably good that my expectations were pretty low, it's not an album full of treasures.

It's music that is neither seductive nor challenging, rather it just passes quietly without arousing any reactions from me. Many of the songs are instrumental and the sound is quite soft and gentle, the music gives me some associations with summer, which in itself might be positive - sunny days, no worries, holiday from work but in this case also a fairly uneventful life. One almost longs for a heavy rain, lightning and rolling thunder. Somewhere, there is an embryo of something good, something that stands out and makes you curios, but Wright never takes hold of this and develops. Instead the flowing music continues along its soft lines. It doesn't feel as if Wright has a clear goal or focus with what he does on Wet Dream.

If I pick a song I like a little extra it's Waves, the finishing number on side A. Especially the end of it is beautiful, Wright's fat and powerful synth chords along with a saxophone that somewhere in the distance is heard playing. More of this would have been fun! The song before, Summer Elegy, is also quite OK. Pink's Song on side B is the top number on that side.

In summary, there is no real need to have this album in your record collection. It's not really a bad album, but it's not a very good one either. The problem is that it doesn't do anything for me - no joy, no disgust, no fascination. Neutral music, pure and simple. Maybe even a little bland and boring. Wet Dream made no success at its release, it passed without attracting much attention. As a true Pink Floyd fan, I am nonetheless very pleased to own it. Contradictory? Not at all.

Tracklist
Side A1. Mediterranean C 3:52
2, Against All The Odds 3:57
3. Cat Cruise 5:14
4. Summer Elegy 4:53
5. Waves 4:19

Side B1. Holiday 6:11
2. Mad Yannis Dance 3:19
3. Drop In From The Top 3:25
4. Pink's Song 3:28
5. Funky Deux 4:57

Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here" (1975)

Some bands become such institutions that they almost become clichés, and some albums are such classics that they almost become boring to discuss (because so many other have already done so). This applies very much to today's theme, both the band and the album. When someone asks me what my favorite band is, and I, after some pretended reflection, respond Pink Floyd, I hear how boring it sounds. It sounds so much cooler to answer Zappa, The Strawbs or Hatfield & the North. And as I often respond Wish You Were Here on the issue of favorite album, again, it sounds a bit boring and average. Almost a little mainstream, and is there anything a music connoisseur don't want to be it's mainstream.

However, it can not be helped, I'm a big fan of Pink Floyd and especially this album. Although not always ending up on the top spot in my own "Best album ever" list, it always gets a top 3 position. In other words, a really good album. (Sometimes, when I'm in an extra adventurous mood, I can give first place to an album like Love's Forever Changes).

This album was purchased in the golden teenage years, an era which was a great journey of discovery in the musical landscape. I was problably around 18 years old when I bought it. Some music I bought in my teens I have trouble listening to today. It's too associated with these years and I have progressed in my musical taste. But Pink Floyd's creations are as good yet, and I will most certainly still like them when I'm  70+.

What can you say about the music on the album? First of all, the preceding album was Dark Side Of The Moon, and how can you make a follow up on a record like that? The answer is of course Wish You Were Here where, according to me, PF reached even higher. Most of you have probably heard the song/songs Shine On You Crazy Diamond, which is divided into two long suites, one on each side. A superb song which is kind of dedicated to Syd Barrett, but "Shine On is not really about Syd—he's just a symbol for all the extremes of absence some people have to indulge in because it's the only way they can cope with how fucking sad it is, modern life, to withdraw completely. I found that terribly sad. " (Roger Waters). This is one of my favourite song, all categories. The essence of modern music?

The title track is also a classic that doesn't really need to be commented on, problably the song from this album that's been played the most - both on radio and by street troubadours. I myself was extremely proud when I managed to play the song's riff on guitar. On the song Have A Cigar, the folk singer Roy Harper sings since Waters had some voice problems and thought that he didn't have the vocal range required for the song, and Gilmour simply didn't want to sing it. Apparently, Gilmour added some guitar on one Harper song (he recorded in a neighboring studio at the same time), so Harper returned the service. Waters, however, later regretted this decision since he then thought he should have sung himself. But perhaps it was wise since the song is a murdering criticism of the music industry. Better let Harper take the shit for that, right?

A classic story from the recording, that most of you probably already have heard, is that of Syd Barrett coming right in to the studio during the recording. The band members hadn't seen him in years and as he now looked radically different they didn't at first recognize him. When they realized who it was some started to cry. According to legend Syd listened to Shine On ... and didn't like it. He then disappeared from the studio.

Syd visiting the studio

This was Pink Floyd's ninth studio album and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. One of my favorite albums but I really don't have much to say about it. Maybe you find that strange, but most have already been said.

Tracklist
Side A
1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5 13:32
2. Welcome To The Machine 7:31

Side B
1. Have A Cigar 5:07
2. Wish You Were Here 5:34
3. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 6-9 12:29

Steve Kilbey - "Earthed" (1988)

A Markus 17-18 years old. A cool cover. A cheap price. The combination was irresistible. So once again I got home with a record that I had no idea what it was, didn't know the artist but with a cover that aroused both the imagination and curiosity. What a great way to broaden one's horizons.

Surprise # 1. When I took out the disc itself, I noticed it wasn't black. It was transparent. Cool.

Writing posts like these increases my wisdom. Now I know that the big mystery Steve Kelbey is an Australian who was / is the singer and bassist in the band The Church, a band that is not completely unknown. This is one of his solo albums, a creation which is rather interesting. There are quite a big number of instrumental tracks that in most cases are admirably short. It's difficult to define the music, perhaps art rock is suitable. The album could be a soundtrack or music to a somewhat heavy theatre piece. Sometimes instrumental songs like these tend to get little bit boring in the long run, therefore my opinion that they are admirably short. You never have the time to grow tired on them.

It's pretty funny and interesting little pieces of music which in many cases are quite catchy. As I understand it, Steve plays all the instruments himself, the drums are, however, played by a drum machine. The 80s and drum machines are often a bad combination, but on Earthed it's tolerable. Apparently, it initially was a book of poems with the record, poems written by Steve. These was to be read with the music. I guess the man has many talents.

Surprise # 2. When you flip the side and start playing the first track, you hear a number of voices speaking. One of these, a female one, speaks Swedish!

I was somewhat shocked the first time I heard this. I hade come home with one, in my view, extremely obscure record that was a big enigma. And on this mysterious thing someone spoke Swedish. This was completely incomprehensible. If you look closely on the cover it says that all songs are written by Steve except one, which is written by K. Jansson. This should have given me a clue.Thanks to the internet I now know that Steve's ex-wife is called Karin Jansson, you have to look for a more Swedish sounding name than that and that is surely the explanation for this mystery. What she expresses in the song may be described as a pretty profound poem which content is too subtle for me to understand. I may add that the song with her voice is not the one she has written.

In my teens I was pleased to have this record since I found it both mysterious and obscure, the kind of record that transforms you into an interesting person. I played it once in a while but the last 20 years it has been untouched in my shelf. It was fun to revisit it. Now I might become an interesting person again.

Tracklist

Side A

1. The Dawn Poems 2:57

2. Neuman 2:51

3. Dreambeings 0:41

4. The White Plague 2:41

5. A Loveletter From Sydney 2:07

6. Carthage 4:14

7. City Of Women 1:06

8. Hotel 1:06

9. The Empire Mourns Her Sun Without Tears 1:11

10. Cornucopia 1:58

Side B

1. Memory 5:24

2. Aphrodite 3:10

3. ...The Reality Generators Malfunctioned 1:45

4. Napoleon's Army, Christmas Eve, Outside Moscow 2:41

5. Sad Little Piano Piece 1:02

6. Atlantis 3:13

7. Pan 0:30

8. The Woman Who Was Married To Love 3:06

9. Agog 1:22

10. Earthed 3:51

Buffalo Springfield - "Again" (1967)

Buffalo Springfield existed a relatively short period, 1966-1968, and managed to make three albums. Again was their second and is widely regarded as a masterpiece and as the high point in the band’s career. The band consisted of several prominent persons - Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer, where especially the first two are well known to a wider audience. The recording was not an entirely smooth process, there were some tensions between band members and Neil Young was largely absent. Also Bruce Palmer was absent in large part because of charges for drug possession. In contrast to their first album, Again is rather a collection of songs by individual artists than an effort from a band. Fortunately, each member had such musical qualities that the result was magnificent.

This album is a newcomer in my collection. As mentioned earlier, I regularly browse in the dangerous book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The purchase of Again is a consequence of this browsing. A growing list of other records I need to buy is another. I found.Again in one of Uppsala's stores for used records, and it proved to be an American second pressing from 1968. It was Mint condition (=like brand new), which commanded a price that was a little bit higher than I usually pay for a record. But I made ​​an exception. The business owner himself was thrilled when he found the record in his back room and photographed it before giving it to me. The vain part in me has thus raised the emotional value of this album many times and I can see myself bragging a bit about it when such things come up in conversations. Of course I instantly looked up the price on popsike.com when I got home and was happy to see that it had been sold for quite a lot more than I had paid.

The first time I listened to the album, I found it so-so. Two songs stand out, Expecting To Fly and Broken Arrow, both Neil Young compositions and two songs I already knew well. Expecting To Fly has a completely different sound than the other songs with its delicate but immensely powerful arrangement. An incredibly beautiful song. Broken Arrow also has a different production and is a song that sets out on a lot of adventurous detours and side roads. That’s fun. The other songs I thought sounded pretty standard. The second time I listened to the album, these "standard" songs suddenly sounded a little more interesting. The third time I listened through the record, I realized its greatness and saw that (almost) all the songs are, if not fantastic, yet very, very good. The fourth time I listened through the album, I couldn’t do anything but be fascinated at how great the songs and the album was.

Buffalo Springfield is often described as a folk rock band, and maybe it's folk rock the music on Again should be described as. I don’t know. Somewhere you will hear a spice of country & western, somewhere else some rockn'roll, at a third place a touch of psychedelia and so on.

It is worth mentioning that David Crosby helped Stills write the song Rock and Roll Woman. This is thought to be their first collaboration, a collaboration that later led to the legendary band Crosby, Stills & Nash. A band that also in periods was known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young as Neil Young reunited with Stills and his friends. But until then it was a few years, and in the meantime, I can’t help but recommend this album. But give it a few sessions on the turntable, it grows with each listening.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Mr Soul 2:35

2. A Child's Claim To Fame 2:09

3. Everydays 2:38

4. Expecting To Fly 3:38

5, Bluebird 4:28

Side B

1. Hung Upside Down 3:24

2. Sad Memory 3:00

3. Good Time Boy 2:11

4. Rock And Roll Woman 2:44

5. Broken Arrow 6:13