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Hljómar
s/t

(SG Hljómplötur 1967/Skífan 2002)

Fondly remembered for being Iceland’s first “Beatle Band”, Hljómar became big stars in their native land and helped bring the British Invasion to Iceland in the mid 1960s. The band was the proverbial big fish in the little pond-doubtlessly the most popular and most prolific pop group playing in Iceland in the 60s. This, their first album, proved to all that Hljómar was an innovative and talented group, and not merely British Invasion clones. The album features the band’s big hit “Heyrðu Mig Góða”, an interesting and unusual song featuring a bizarre spoken intro and several tempo changes. Like all of the group’s early recordings, “Heyrðu Mig Góða” features excellent vocal harmonies, at times making the group sound something like an Icelandic version of the Hollies. The album features several other exceptional original compositions, including “Æsandi Fögur”, “Þú Og Ég”, and the pretty ballad “Miðsumarsnótt”.

In addition to the original numbers, the album features several covers of English and American pop hits performed in Icelandic. The best of these are “Um Hvað Hugsar Einmana Snót” (“Rain on the Roof”), “Þú Ein” (“Love Hurts”), and “Einn Á Ferð” (“Nowhere Man”). The style of the album is an interesting amalgam of Burt Bacharach-esque melodic pop and guitar-driven rock. The performances throughout the album are quite good. In particularly the guitar work and vocal harmonies are exceptional. Following their first album, Hljómar added singer Shady Owens and released a second, also self-titled album in 1968 which is somewhat more in the mold of US West Coast rock, but certainly no less interesting than their debut. Following that album, Hljómar evolved into Trubrot, a psychedelic/progressive styled group that recorded in 1971 the highly-acclaimed album Lifun. This recent CD reissue of the first Hljómar album is on the Icelandic label Skífan, and it’s nicely presented, including photos and complete lyrics. Recommended for fans of European 60s pop and simply those who want to explore unusual rock music from the period. CD available from www.smekkleysa.net…ask for Gunni.

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Sweetwater
Cycles: The Reprise Recordings

(Rhino Handmade 1999 [Limited Edition] )

http://sweetwaterband.com/

Sweetwater was an interesting and unique band that didn’t get much attention when their records came out the first time. None of their three albums on Reprise managed to make much of an impact on the national music scene, despite the group’s ambitious style and distinctive look. This compilation from Rhino’s limited edition, Internet-only “Rhino Handmade” imprint attempts to make a cohesive statement of the group’s best recordings. Cycles features tracks taken from their albums Sweetwater, Just For You, and Melon, in addition to two previously unreleased tracks and a new song recorded by the reformed band in 1998. Sweetwater’s style is diverse and difficult to categorize, encompassing classical music, pop, rock, jazz, and psychedelia. The group’s distinctive style is characterized best by August Burns’ cello work and the crystal clear vocals of lead singer Nansi Nevins. Sweetwater employ a variety of exotic instruments and effects on their songs, such as flute, cello, harpsichord, fuzztone guitar, and echodette vocals. Certainly there is some excellent music on this compilation. However, far and away the best material comes from the group’s debut album.

Tracks like “What’s Wrong”, “My Crystal Spider”, and “Two Worlds” are true pop gems. Following this album however, the group seems to become increasingly ambitious and self-indulgent. An unreleased version of “What’s Wrong” recorded live at Woodstock in 1969 shows the group was probably more skilled in the studio than on the stage. The ten-minute long “Just For You” from their second album of the same name is rather tedious and unfocused, and features so many intros that the listener gets lost just waiting for the song to begin. Despite this however, there are good songs taken from their second album, including “Look Out” and the wistful “Day Song”. Only three tracks are taken from the band’s third album “Melon”; the best of these being the remorseful “Don’t Forget”. Another song taken from this album is “Join the Band”, a somewhat uninspired sing-along hippie anthem. The final track on the CD “Home Again” was recorded in 1998 by the reformed Sweetwater, and while it is a very serviceable pop tune, it unfortunately shows singer Nansi Nevins to be extremely weak vocally. Overall, this compilation is good, but reissues of the individual albums might have been a better idea. The unreleased tracks also largely uninspired, and the selections from the debut album outshine the remainder of the material. The packaging of the CD is very nice, featuring lyrics, photos, and band commentary. Cycles is enjoyable but imperfect.

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Can
Soundtracks

(Spoon 1970/Spoon 1989)

http://www.spoonrecords.com/news.html

After Can-the undisputed pioneers of Krautrock-released their visionary debut album Monster Movie, the band made several recordings that were used in the soundtracks of several art films and softcore porn movies. Those recordings form the basis for Soundtracks. This album features songs recorded while the band were in a phase of transition, as idiosyncratic lead singer Malcolm Mooney was being ousted and the equally idiosyncratic Damo Suzuki was taking his place. Mooney’s vocals are featured on only two of the numbers contained on Soundtracks: “Soul Desert” and “She Brings the Rain”, the latter of which is undoubtedly his most accomplished vocal performance. The rest of the tracks on the album feature vocals from Damo Suzuki, whose heavily accented delivery creates a new and unique dynamic within Can’s music.

The floating, ambient “Tango Whiskeyman” is just as insecure as it is menacing. “Deadlock” is a bluesy dirge with great guitar work contributed by Micheal Karoli. The fifteen-minute long “Mother Sky” likewise features excellent guitar work and strong drumming as well. The latter track attempts to build on the “long song” template of the twenty-minute “Yoo Doo Right” from their debut album, but it is not as successful at maintaining interest. The songs on Soundtracks maintain a fairly high standard, however since each one was made for a different purpose and in a different context, the album lacks a certain degree of cohesion and doesn’t succeed at making an organized statement. Soundtracks is good but it’s not Can at their best.

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