BJÖRN J:SON LINDH
Från Storstad Till Grodspad
1971
96.7 MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
Vinyl (?) rip & scans from SR RELP 1135
It's not common practice to post rips from other sources here but the previous Lindh post (Cous Cous) has proven extremely popular. Now that Smooth at My Jazz World has fleshed out some of BJL's discography in the last few days, extra links have been added to the list as a result. However, this debut effort doesn't seem to have popped up yet so I thought I'd post this HiQ version originally upped on PirateBay by user Knaverlisa in a torrent collecting Lindh's 70s albums. Both the torrent and user have long ago walked the plank, so dropping it here to fill in the blanks for all those funky flute fiends who frequent Soundological.
Från Storstad Till Grodspad (which according to Google Translate means From Metro For Frog Brick thus making even less sense to those of us who speak English) fits more into the fusion à la prog file and is considerably more experimental than his later works. This comes through clearly on the first track which takes up the whole of side one - especially the second half of same, which some tasteful cat put up on YT this summer. Listen below, it's a SERIOUSLY dope piece and the excerpt kicks in just as the track moves out of the cinematic build-up and into the meat around the ten-minute mark. This segment alone has made it one of my favourite Lindh albums and puts it in the category of "must have," at least as far as his career is concerned.
Side two sounds like it could be incidental music for film or TV and varies from minimalist free form improv ("Stäng Locket Hon Fryser") to Swedish sex romp silliness ("Tom Bohla") and spaced-out pop rock ("Biezlov" & "I Grodspadet"). Don't worry, he doesn't forsake the funk which stays up front on "Grytnäs Sväller" as well as being sprinkled throughout the first side. There's a load of musicians involved across the multiple recording session, including longtime collaborator Janne Schaffer on guitar. Soundological would love to provide more info on the proceedings but Swedish ain't our strong suit so any native speakers who can help us in the comments would be doing us a solid (update 2009/01/05 - a kind reader who wishes to remain anonymous sent a translation which I have posted in the comments).
Björn J:son Lindh - Piano, Organ, Flute
Hawkey Franzén - Guitar, Accordion, Vocals
Anders Nordh - Guitar, Vocals
Janne Schaffer - Guitar
Kenny Håkansson - Guitar
Rune Gustafsson - Guitar
Bengt Linnarsson - Bass
Georg Wadenius - Bass
Palle Danielsson - Bass
Bobo Stenson - Electric Piano
Ola Brunkert - Drums
Rune Carlsson - Drums
Jan Bandel - Drums
Janne Carlsson - Drums
Kofi Ayivor - Congas
Bengt Olsson - Horn
Bengt Sundberg - Horn
Bernth Gustavsson - Trumpet
Bertil Lövgren - Trombone
Jörgen Johansson - Trombone
Nisse Sandström - Sax
Lars-Erik Rönn - Oboe
Lucas Lindholm - Bass
Mats Hagström - Cello
Göran Lagerberg - Vocals
Karin Stigmark - Vocals
1 Musik Från En Storstad
2 Tom Bohla 1971
3 Grytnäs Sväller
4 Biezlov
5 Den Dansande Wollmar
6 I Grodspadet
7 Stäng Locket Hon Fryser
8 Tom Bohla 1972
Pick up your frog brick from Soundological HERE or HERE.
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14 comments:
I consider myself pretty well educated on music but somehow I never heard of this guy -- or such a funky Swedish scene -- before I started downloading his albums this year. Don't know how that happened, but both him and Janne Schaffer are pretty cool. Thanks for another slice in his history, Cheeba. Really digging your blog lately.
Thanks for this one... I found "Sissel" here:
http://thefairfieldparlour.blogspot.com/
The rip is correct but only @224.
N.
I feel the same as Ish - I´m listening to this kind of music since 1971 and I thought I knew everything until this blogging thing came up. Man, was I ignorant....
Did you realise that most of the musicians that backed up Bo Hansson was playing on this album too?
Manfred
Thanks guys! I'll agree completely about the exposure to new sounds that the blogworld has provided - Ish you've turned me on to artists that I figure I "should have" known.
I only had BJL's Cous Cous and hadn't had an opportunity to listen to the others until this year.
So, to answer your question Manfred, no I wasn't aware! In fact, I'm pretty much in the dark about Bo Hansson so will be checking his stuff out. Any suggestions where to begin?
Hanimex, always appreciate your tips!! I've added that version of Sissel to the discog. Like you, I'm still looking for Boogie Woogie (a.k.a. Second Carneval) too...hopefully it will pop up. The version I have from the torrent is corrupted but from what I can hear it sounds like a seriously funky monster.
Thanks, downloading now. About the title, its more like "from big city to frog stock"... frog stock being the water you just cooked a frog in... still doesn't make a whole lot of since does it?
Anyway, this is really the only BJL album thats considered hard to find.
If you're interested in some more funky scandinavian sounds, I've got a couple of them on my blog, for example;
http://thingsstuffandmusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/sundance-sundance.html
or..
http://thingsstuffandmusic.blogspot.com/2008/10/trouble-after-war.html
Peace
Thank you.
Nice one, Steve! Thanks for the explanation...it doesn't make a lot of sense as you say but at least it kind of explains the cover!
Thanks for the links, I'll drop by for a visit!
Speaking of visits, nice to see you again Solomon. Hope you enjoy!
BTW I was able to suss another scrap of info about this record as well, seems it is a collection of material composed for TV...
I did forget to say thank you, didn't I?
To get into Bo Hansson you definitely should start with "Magician's Hat". It´s not the kind of music for your blog, I think - a mish-mash of late psychedelia, Scandinavian folk and something you might call jazz eventually.
I mentioned it because Bo Hansson was the only Scandinavian thing we German teens were aware of in the early seventies - and we loved it. It was quirky, sounded fresh and had a distinct "cold", unbluesy feel to it. And - after all - Bo Hansson made a soundtrack (or should I say painted a sound picture?) to Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings", which fitted perfectly to the book. Bo Hansson was the starting point to dig deeper and find Terje Rypdal, Jan Garbarek and Samla Mamas Manna.
Thank you again,
Manfred
That Bo Hanssen Lord of the Rings was big amongst the dungeons-and-dragons-playing geeks when I was in college. It's made it onto CD. It's a little dated sounding but not awful. Sorta somewhere between prog-rock, new age a la Andreas Vollenweider, and Mike Oldfield.
This is a totally new BJL album for me as well. Thanks Cheeba, awesome stuff as always.
Thanks for the tip on Bo, Manfred. Will give "Magician's Hat" a shot on your say so.
Ish, I'll probably put off the LotR thing for a while, partly due to your review but also b/c it didn't beat my saving throw of 18 while I'm wearing magical armour that gives me +3 against aural enchantment.
As mentioned in the post, a reader has provided a translation of the liner notes:
"From Big City to Frog Sauce"
Liner notes by Lars Magnus Janson
To represent Swedish Radio in the international radio broadcast of the 1971 Prix Jean-Antoine Triumph Variete, a radio man, an actor and a musician were invited to depict reality through music.
The result was a large city. Based on authentic audio recordings of daily urban sounds in Stockholm, improvising musicians presented a vision of the modern metropolis. Cars, sirens, pile drivers, church bells mix into an inferno of music. From the treacherous calm of a city morning, these sounds eventually rise up to smother those sounds nature calls her own. This is a highly personal image of an environment to which millions of people are forced to adapt daily.
This personal image is signed Björn J:son Lindh.
Björn J:son Lindh, 27, has one of the most significant profiles in the modern Swedish music scene. His compositions and arrangements have contributed (among other achievements) to the success of Cornelis Vreeswijk's double LP Poems, ballads and a little blues. Lindh can also take a great deal of credit for the attention given to Bernt Staf's debut. Together with Hawkey Franzen, Lindh wrote and produced the LP View from Djupvik, and he has been one of the central figures in the celebrated group Jason's Fleece.
In the late Summer of 1971, Lindh (a flute soloist) released his debut solo album. Rarely has a pop-jazz record received as much acclaim as Ramadam.
Besides a large number of record productions, Lindh has also written music for TV and stage. He studied flute formally at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and is also trained as a pianist.
In addition to "Music from a Big City", which received Second Prize in the 1971 Triumph Variete in Monte Carlo (and which occupies one side of this LP), this album shows Björn J:son Lindh further testing his composition and performance skills. "From Big City to Frog Sauce" is proof of how strongly a seriously trained musician and composer with a strong dramatic personality can handle modern pop music, whilst creating work that shows music a way forward in the 1970's.
SIDE ONE
Music from a Big City (21'36)
Björn J:son Lindh: conductor, piano, organ, Moog and flute.
Jan Bandel, Ola Brunkert & Rune Carlsson: drums.
Palle Danielsson & Bengt Linnarsson: bass.
Kenny Håkansson, Anders Nordh & Jan Schaffer: guitar.
Mats Hagström: cello.
Members of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stig Westerberg.
Recorded in Studio 7, Radio House, Stockholm, March 22nd - April 1st 1971, and in the Musical Academy auditorium May 4th, 1971.
Music Technicians: Berndt Berndtson, Ola Kejving & Syive Sjöberg.
Production Team: Berndt Berndtson, Thomas Hellberg, Anders Henriksson, Lars Magnus Janson & Björn J: son Lindh.
SIDE TWO
Seven pop pieces
1. Tom Bohle 1971 (1'21)
2. Grytnäs swell (1'38)
3. Biezlov (1'46)
4. The dancing Wollmar (6'41)
5. In grodspadet (Lindh-Hawkey Franzen) (3'30)
6. Close the cover - she's freezing (3'46)
7. Tom Bohle 1972 (1'14)
Björn J:son Lindh: conductor, piano, organ.
Jan Bandel & Janne Carisson: drums.
Lucas Lindholm: electric bass.
Kenny Håkansson & Rune Gustafsson: electric guitar.
Hawkey Franzen: guitar, accordion.
Nisse Sandström: tenor saxophone.
Jörgen Johansson and Torqny Nilsson: trombone.
Bertil Lövgren & Beinth Gustavsson: trumpet.
Lars-Erik Rönn: oboe.
Bengt Olsson & Bengt Sundberg: horn.
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra String Section.
Karin Stig Mark, Göran Lagerberg, Anders Nordh & Hawkey Franzen: vocals.
Recorded in Studio 7, Radio House, Stockholm on 11th - 23rd June 1971.
Music Technician: Berndt Berndtson.
Production Team: Anders Henriksson & Björn J:son Lindh.
The Swedish Composers Performing Rights Society (STIM) contributed financially to the production of this disc.
Cover Design: Lasse Åberg.
Photo: Press Photo.
All those Bo Hansson albums have popped up here:
http://vinyl4giants.blogspot.com/
Hi,
and thanks for uploading J:son Lindh. He was one of my teenage idols (along with Weather Report, Santana, Jan Garbarek and a bunch of others). It really nice to hear this music again, finding that it still sound so cool. However, I didn't manage to download Ramadan and Raggie (only Cous Cous and Sissel). Would you consider uploading again?
Great thanks anyway!
Ulrik
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