index page for Delicado Album Details
Trollskog  - Merit Hemmingson - 1972
Label: EMI Svenska 4750192 (Sweden)
Format: CD
From: Sweden
My rating: 7/10

Entered: 08/14/2002
Last updated: 08/14/2002

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This album is rather unlike most in my collection. I know very little about it, and bought the CD because I was ordering CDs from a Swedish store anyway, and had heard a vague recommendation somewhere. The price was about $6, so I figured it was worth a try. I'm glad that I bothered.

The album is long, with 20 tracks. The footnote to its title states that it is 'Swedish folk music with a beat'. To my non-Swedish ears, some are considerably more accessible to others. I recommended 'Mandom Mod Och Morske Män, ' a catchy blaxploitation-meets-church organ fusion, over at musical taste. Nevertheless, there are many beautiful things hiding in this album.

A couple more tracks follow the beat-oriented tone of the first track, adding some nice wordless vocals: 'Brudmarsch Efter Lisme Per' and 'Oxdansen'.

Also accessible to me are the slow, melancholy jazzy instrumentals with guitar and organ. The feel of these, while understated and slightly prog-rock sounding, reminds me of the airy soundscapes of Gainsbourg's 'Melody Nelson' album. 'Jag Ser Uppå Dina Ögon', 'Leksands Brudmarsch' and 'Så Ödsligt Molnen På' are good examples of tracks in this style.

The album is also notable for its excellent use of vocals. 'Fäbodpsalm Av Oskar Lindberg' reminds me of the Beach Boys singing 'Our prayer,' while 'Brudmarsch Efter Florsen I Burs' sounds like a slightly less jazzy and more folky reworking of the kind of sound Piero Umiliani achieved on the 'Sweden, heaven or hell' soundtrack.

There are also several overtly folk tracks, often featuring prominent violins, vocals and harpsichord, such as 'Lill-Pelle Kúut Fort!', 'Fyllepolska Från Jät', 'Engelbrekt Och Hans Dalkarlar', and 'Eklundaposka'. In fact, much of the last quarter of the album is in this style, and the final track ends with the sound of the wind.

In all, it's a very interesting record, and I wonder how well known it is outside of Sweden. I love the semi-classical undertone in several of the tracks, and the way they run together and continue into each other.
Merit Hemmingson recommendations at Musical Taste
   Mandom Mod Och Morske Män

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