ABBA -THE ALBUMS YEAR BY YEAR THE 1960's
PLUS AS A SPECIAL BONUS- BJORN'S AMAZING INCREDIBLE SOLO CAREER!!!!
All original ABBA and ABBA solo releases, are listed here, by year of release, the order of release within each year is approximate. Albums are listed by country of orgin, unless they were released widely throughout the world. The most recent available format of release (LP or CD) is what is listed and is what has been reviewed. Singles are listed only if they include non album tracks. Multi-artist collections are usually not listed unless they include tracks not available elsewhere. Bootleg LP's or CD's are not included in this listing. Albums are listed in chronological order as much as possible...Related artists are included when it is deemed relevant or convenient to do so...
|
1964 In 1964 only one of the four future members of ABBA was recording-Björn and his folk group the Hootenanny Singers.The only other ABBA related recordings done prior to this time were recordings that ABBA manager Stig Anderson did in the fifties and sixties , either as a singing duo or as a songwriter... Hootenanny Singers-Hootenanny Singers 1964 Swedish LP Hootenanny
Singers-Lincolnsvisa & others Swedish EP August 1964 Hootenanny Singer Swedish markert singles 1964-1975 |
Hootenanny Singers-Hootenanny Singers February ? 1964 Swedish LP
This is
the first album ever recorded by an ABBA member. It is also the
Hootz's debut album. The Hootenanny Singers included Björn
Ulvaeus,
Tony Roth , Johan Karlberg and Hansi Swartz.
They all sang and played instruments,though
some times studio musicians played on their records.
Oddly, Hansi Swartz was a German national.
The other three Hootz were Swedish folk.
The group
was not always a full time pursuit ,the boyz
went to college, the army and did other jobs during the group's
lifespan.
The group started life in 1963 in Vastervik,
Sweden as the West Bay Singers but Stig Anderson changed their
name to the Hootenanny Singers when he signed them up to be Polar
Records' first act.
It may surprise one a little that the Hootenanny Singers were actually one of only a few Polar Music's acts in the 1960's/ The Polar record label was actually rather small and only issued five or ten albums a year.A large part of Stig's reputation as "MR.BIZ" was built not on the sucess of Polar records, but on Stig's numerous Swedish translations of foreign hit song lyrics, To get the Swedish rights to American and English songs Stig had to develop a whole series of important international contacts...
Their first
album features some songs in English. But Stig encouraged them
to emphasize Swedish language folk music.
The Hootenanny's first album included their first
hit " Jag Vantar Vid Min Mila" (a updated Dan Andersson
song which supposedly translates to "I'm Waiting For You
at the Charcoal Kiln")
It's a surprisingly powerful debut single.
A harmonica is featured prominently!
Some English folk songs were included on
the Hootz debut were -songs such as " Little Light Of Mine"
,"Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" "Bonnie Ship The
Diamond" ,"Kevin Berry "
and there is even a song in Spanish ("Ave Maria No Morro").
SIDE ONE
FROGG /JAG VÄNTAR VID MIN MILA
ANN-MARGRET /HEM IGEN /GODNATTSAGA
EN BALLAD OM FRANSKA KUNGENS SPELMÄN
SIDE TWO
THIS LITTLE LIGHT
OF MIND
/SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE/
AVE MARIA NO MORRO /BONNIE SHIP THE DIAMOND /
KEVIN BERRY /HEY LILEY LILEY LO
Hootenanny Singers-Hem Egan, Lincolnsvisa & others SwedishEP August1964
This was the Hootenanny's second of about eight Swedish Extended Play discs, I don't normally include EP's in the this narrative .But, Unlike most of their EP's this one includes two non-album tracks... Those tracks are "This Land Is Your Land" and "Lincolnsvisa" both of these tracks feature a guest appearence by Swedish folk singer Lasse Frosterud,. All of the Hootz's Ep's have about four songs apiece and Hootz seemed to have stopped releasing Ep's in late 1967..
Lincolnsvisa/This Land Is Your Land/Hem Igen/Godnattsaga
Hootenanny Singers-Hootenanny Singers (2nd album)November 1964 Swedish LP
This includes
the single "Gabrille" which reached #5 on the Swedish
sales charts.. "Gabrille" was recorded in six languages.
(For example, it was recorded in Finnish-and became a minor hit
there... ) All of the songs on this LP are in Swedish , other
songs featured include
"I Lunden Gröna " and "Darling". One
interesting coincidence to note here is that like Bjorn ,Agnetha
Faltskog also did not bother to come up with specific titles for
her first two albums.
SIDE ONE
GABRIELLE
LERA OCH STEN
KÖRSBÄR UTAN KÄRNOR
I LUNDEN GRÖNA
DÄR SKALL JAG BO
ÄLVENS MÖRKA STRAND
SIDE TWO
DEN GYLLENE FREGATT
EN MOR - LA MAMMA
ÖSREGNET
STANNA EN STUND
MIN GRÖNA DAL
DaRLING
|
1965 1965 brought forth Benny's first work with the Swedish rock group the Hep Stars as well as continued releases from Björn's Hootenanny Singers Hootenanny Singers-Sjunger Evert Taube 1965 Swedish LP THE HOOTENANNY SINGERS -FOREIGN
LANGUAGE SINGLES 1964-1967 Hep Stars SINGLES 1964-1969 |
Hootenanny Singers-Sjunger Evert Taube April 1965 Swedish LP
Evert Taube
(1890-1976) was one of Sweden's
greatest songwriters , Taube was the subject of
two albums by the Hootz. This was their first
album of Taube songs. This features the
hit "Den Skona Helen" which has a bit of Country music
feel to it. Hootenanny Singers expert, Karl Van views this as
one of the Hootz best albums.
This album was released on CD ,but the CD is out of print..
Britta (Soldatvisa) /
Här Är Den Sköna Sommar/
Den Gyllene Fågeln (Bröllopsresan till Barcelona)
Solola/ Min Älskade Hon Gick Sig I Min Lustgård
Den Sköna Helen (Flican i Peru)
Anna Bella Mirafior /Telegrafisten Anton
Hanssons Vals
En Håttespeleman /Första Torpet
/September Tango Rosa
| THE HOOTENANNY SINGERS -FOREIGN LANGUAGE SINGLES 1964-1967 |
|
The Hootz released the 1964 recording "Gabrielle" in six different languages. I can think of no other ABBA related song that had been recorded in so many different languages by the same artist...This was all part of Stig Anderson's largely unsuccessful efforts to break the Hootenanny Singers internationally... FOREIGN LANGUAGE
RECORDINGS found on only singles Gabrielle (Finnish)/La Mamma(Spanish) Denk´ daran (Gabrielle in German)/La Mamma They also released this other German language single Wenn alle Ströme versiegen/Nimm dein Banjo dir zur Hand Time To Move Along in German) And these two other
Finnish language singles... On the Hootenanny albums of course you will find lots of song recorded in English and a few in other languages... SOURCE -ABBAVAN's HOOTENANNY SINGERS WEBSITE |
That's Caddy-lack.
Benny Andersson joined the Hep Stars in October 1964 .They had
made just one single (Kana Kapila) with their first organist ,
Hasse Ostlund. For this, their debut album , the Hep Stars would
feature Svenne Hedlund on Lead Vocals, Janne Frisk on Guitar and
backing Vocals ,Benny on Keyboards, Christer Pettersson on drums
and Lelle Hegland on Bass. The group's early record are more group
efforts - Benny and Svenne do not dominate the group as much as
they would on the later records.
The group hit it big in Sweden right after Benny joined. A raucus Who-like TV debut on Marhc 23, 1965 would heLP the group top Sweden's charts with the songs " Farmer John", "Cadillac",and "Bald Headed Woman" and hit the top five with "Tribute to Buddy Holly". All of which can found on the CD version of this, the Hep Stars first album.
"Cadillac" is powerful and "Bald Headed Woman" shows what Benny can do with a Hammond Organ. Most of the songs are covers of American and English songs. This album also features Benny's first released composition; a Kinks like rocker (with bad lyrics), called "No Response". "No Response" was supposedly the last song recorded for the album. This album was released by EMI-Sweden's Olga label,
Original album- Cadillac, Be my baby, That's when your heartaches begin, Send me some lovin', Young and beautiful, Rockin' love, No response, I'll never quite get over you, Sweet little sixteen, Oh! Carol, Then she (he) kissed me, Bald headed woman
CD Bonus tracks: Kana Kapila, I got a woman, A tribute to Buddy Holly, Bird dog, If you need me, Summertime blues, Farmer John, Donna
KRILLE! JANNE! LELLE! BENNY!
SVENNE!-THE HEP STAARS! That's how this album starts.
A very Swedish announcer pronounces all the Hep Stars names with
same ending syllable, (Krill-lee was the nickname of the Heps'
drummer -Christian Peterson. )
ON STAGE is a highly vigorous
live album recorded on the Swedish folk park circuit in the summer
of 1965. The early Hep Stars were not known for restraint on stage.
The fan screaming on here is not manufactured and not totally
without some justification. This album is more exciting
than ABBA's live album, albeit, with far worse material and musicianship.
Most of the material played
here are covers -a limitation which had drove Benny to write material
for the group. Benny mainly plays electric organ here.
At one point Svenne asks the Swedish audience to "Clap Your
Hands" but he does it in English, as if saying such things
in Swedish wouldn't be cool.
All the recent CD reissues
of Hep Stars albums include non album A and B sides
as bonus tracks. The bonus tracks here include "So Mystifying"
(the Kinks song), the single
version of "Cadillac" and" Should I" (originally
by Chad and Jeremy) ." Should I" blindsides with a blistering
organ solo that comes at 1:33 into the track.
Although this is good live album, it is of less interest to ABBA fans simply because there is only one song written by Benny to be found here.
| 1. Cadillac
2. What'd I Say 3. Donna 4. What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes For? 5. So Mystifying 6. Only You 7. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck 8. Surfin Bird 9. Tallahasse Lassie 10. No Response |
11. If You Need Me Bonus tracks |
| Hep Stars SINGLES 1964-1969 with highest Svenkstoppen chart position if any... | |
| 1964 | Kana Kapila/I Got A Woman |
| 1965 |
A Tribute To Buddy Holly/Bird Dog #5 Summertime Blues/If You Need Me Farmer John/ Donna #1 Cadillac/Mashed Potatoes #1 Bald Headed Woman/Lonesome Town No Response/ Rented Tuxedo #2 So Mystifying/ Young And Beautiful #5 Should I/ I'll Never Quite Get Over You #2 |
| 1966 |
Sunny Girl/ Hawaii #1 Wedding/When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again#1 I natt Jag Dromde/Jag Vet #2 Consolation /Dont #1 |
| 1967 |
Malaika/It's Nice To Be Back Again #1 Christmas on My Mind/Jingle Bells Mot okänt land/Nagonting Har Hant #1 She Will Love You/ Like You Used To Do#7 |
| 1968 |
It's Been A Long Long Time/Musty dusty #14 Det Finns En Stad/sagan Om Lilla Sofi #4 Let it Be Me (studio vers.)/Groovy Summertime #4(studio vers.) I Sagans Land/Tanda PA Varaan #3 |
| 1969 |
Holiday For Clowns/Flower in My Garden Speleman/Precis Som all Andra #10 Speedy Gonzales/Är det inte kärlek/ säg? #2 |
|
1966 1966 saw the birth of Björn and Benny's writing partnership in the song "Isn't it Easy To Say", as well as some rapid sophistication in the work of both the Hootenanny's and the Hep Stars. Hootenanny Singers-International 1966
Swedish LP |
.Hootenanny Singers-International Early 1966 Swedish LP
Our Björn
and his boyz went off to London here to record a
few tracks and to take in the scene. Yes. some of the songs here
were actually recorded in London... The resulting album includes
the key song, " No Time " -Björn's first important
composition in English (though supposedly he had heLP from a Martin
Dean on the songs' socially conscious lyrics. ) Benny's band the
Hep Stars would also record "No Time".. Others songs
in English include "Time To Move
Along" ,and "In the Darkness of My night".
The major Swedish song here was "Björkens Visa "(Song
of the Birch Tree).
SIDE 1
Björkens Visa
Små Nära Ting
Vildandens Klagan
Finns Det Liv Så Finns Det Hopp
Lili - Marleen
En Festling Dag (It`s good news week)
SIDE 2
No Time
Wenn Alle Ströme Versiegen
Time To Move Along
Fermati In Me (Stanna en stund)
In The Darkness Of My Night
La Mamma
Hootennanny singers- Manga Ansikten/Many Faces Late 1966 Swedish LP
There you go a translation in the actual album title. The cover features two nearly identical photos of the boyz, one serious , one relaxed.
The songs on side one are in Swedish and on
side two are in English. The English titles include "Through
Darkness Light"(written and produced by Manfred Mann's Mike
'D'Abo) ,"Just The Way That You Are" , "The Long
Black Veil" as well as two more famous songs-"Baby,
those Are The Rules" and Benny Andersson's song-"Sunny
Girl".
This album
includes Björn's chauvinistic but,
tongue in cheek pop song "Baby Those Are The Rules".
Like lots of Hootz records "...Rules" features a lot
of harmonica. The lyrics on "Baby ..." were written
by American producer Sandy Alexander. It was a hit in Sweden.
This album
also has a version of Benny's song
"Sunny Girl" as well as Benny's first appearence playing
together on record with Björn on the song "Blomman"(The
Flower). Benny's organ takes over the record on "Blomman".
One of the best of the remaining songs on the album, was
Björn's composition-"In Thoughts of You". , Bjorn
was preparing for the day when he could have a solo career.
The big hit on the album was actually one of the Swedish tracks-"Björkens Visa"..
MANY FACES and it's predecessor INTERNATIONAL are probably the two most important Hootz albums in terms of Bjorn's ambitions to have a international career but strangely they have not been chosen to be rereleased on CD. However you can get five of the songs from Many Faces on the Basta hits collection..
Side A
1.Blomman
2.Marianne
3.Vid Roines Strand
4.Vid En Bivåg Till En Byvåg Bor Den Blonda Beatrice
5.En Man Och En Kvinna
6.Tänk Dej De' Att Du Och Jag Var Mej
Side B
1.Through Darkness Light
2.Sunny Girl
3.In Thoughts Of You
4.Just The Way That You Are
5.The Long Black Veil
6.Baby Those Are The Rules
The Hep Stars -The Hep Stars December 1966 Available on Swedish CD.
An important album! The Hep stars have a slightly mellower sound here. This is probably the most consistently good Hep Stars album and probably the best ABBA related studio album of the 1960's.
This is where Benny emerges here for first time as a full fledged songwriter and his talent is already blossoming. The CD version of this has seven songs written by Benny and or Björn. (Five of which were on the original LP.) The first song Björn and Benny ever wrote together the exquisite "Isn't It Easy To say is here.
The oft-told legend has it that "Isn't It Easy to Say" was written in the office of Björn's father's papermill after Björn and Benny had met at a party in Vastervik that both the Hep Stars and the Hootenanny's attended.
A real standout track is
one of Benny's solo compositions a #2 Swedish hit called "Consolation"
-"Consolation" is seemingly the lament of a dead (or
metaphorically dead) lover . Benny's organ melds well with the
band here.
The song's chorus hook soars to the sky on the
strength of the band performance.
Benny also wrote the haunting
classically
influenced "Sound of Eve" which features some lovely
piano and actual birdsong (A promo bio of Benny at the time indicates
that Benny already had developed an interest in bird-watching).
The backing vocals on "Sound of Eve' are ambitious.
Two of the most famous
Hep Stars
songs are here. The Hep Stars biggest
international hit-"Sunny Girl"(written by Benny)
is found here as a bonus track.
The other famous songs is "Wedding" a wedding march
written by Benny and Svenne that later was played by Benny at
Björn and Agnetha's wedding. in July 1971.
The Hep Stars version of
the Hootenanny Singers
hit "No Time ' is done here at a less sleepy pace than the
Hootz's original. The best of the non-Benny compositions is the
anti-war song "Last Night I had the Strangest Dream"
which like a lot of songs here has some solid three (or more)
part harmony on which Svenne sings with Janne and Benny.The Swedish
version of the same song can also be found here. (The Hep Stars
often did English and Swedish versions of the same song).
All in all ,this album
stands up well against albums by British and American artists
of the time.
It is a must have for students of the songwriting of Björn
and Benny.
No time (Ulvaeus-Dean)
The birds in the sky (Bjarenas)
Consolation (Andersson)
Easy to fool (Ost-Himmelstrand)
Sound of eve ( Andersson)
Isn't it easy to Say (Andersson-Ulvaeus)
Lady, lady (Andersson)
Last night I had the strangest dream (MCurdy)
Morning comes after night (Bjarenas)
I've said it all before (Martin-Morrow-Arnold)
Wedding( Andersson-Hedlund)
Tracks not on original LP but added to CD reissue-
Sunny girl (Andersson)
Hawaii (Wilson)
When my blue moon turns to gold again (Sullivan-Walker)
I natt jag drömde (McCurdy-Vreeswijk)
Jag vet (lindeman-Stutz)
Don't (Lieber-Stoller)
Malaika (Mdawida)
It's nice to be back Again(Andersson)
Benny Andersson Singles for Hep House label 1966
Benny Andersson produced or co-produced a few singles for Hep House -the Hep Stars vanity label imprint - Among them were MARBLE BREAKS AND "IRON BENDS / FEVER by the Dee Jays and "Puff the magic dragon" /"This land is your land by the ' Fabulous Four."..The Hep House label fell apart when the Hep Stars finances fell apart....
|
1967 In late 1967 both Agnetha and Frida began recording, though Agnetha's work wouldn't make it unto a album till 1968 and Frida's till 1971. Hootenanny Singers-Civila 1967 Swedish
LP Northern Lights-GABRILLE mid 1960's
American LP |
Hootenanny Singers-Civila -Mid to Late 1967 Swedish LP
The title
means civilians, a reference to the the fact that three of the
Hootz had to do a their tour of duty in the Swedish army between
June 1966 and June 1967.. This album has "En Gang ar Ingen
Gang" which is
a cover of "There Goes My Everything" an American country
music song. This was a song that Frida also did a cover of. Covers
of country songs would be become a major
part of the Hootz repretoire in the later 1960's.
This has
"En Gang ar Ingen Gang" which is
a cover of "There Goes My Everything" an American country
music song. This was a song that Frida also did a cover of.
The Hootz
return largely to a Swedish repretoire on this album with songs
such as"Början Till Slutet ", "Marie-Christina"
," Laura (Vad Är Den Han Har Som Fattas Mej) "and
" Mårten Gås ". " Mårten Gås
"is a fairly good song made by the strange by lead vocals
of the Hootz's
grizzled roadie .
For some reason the 1967 Hootz single Mrs. O'Grady/The Fugitive was recorded around the time but not included as part of the album.
SIDE ABörjan
Till Slutet
Du Ska Bara Tro På Hälften
Marie - Christina
Sång Och Musik
Den Dagen Den Sorgen
LAURA
SIDE BAdjö,
Farväl
Du Eller Igen
Silver Och Guld Och Gröna Skogar
Mårten Gås
En Gång Är Ingen Gång
Svenne Hedlund-Svenne Sings Elvis 1967 Swedish LP Also issued on CD in 1995
I believe this is the only solo album for the Hep Stars lead singer . Of course I could be wrong.... Elvis covers were in fact , a Svenne Hedlund specialty.
As far, as I know Benny does not play on this album, but I don't really dont know.
Hep Stars-Oh, The Hep Stars, Europa Film C 6405, 1967 Swedish
Reel to
Reel Tape
The Hep Stars released this collection of oldies on reel to reel
in
you guessed it in 1967.
1. When My Blue Moon Turns
2. Be My Baby
3. Then She Kissed Me
4. Send Me Some Lovin
5. I`ll Never Quite Get Over You/Don`t
6. Jag Vet
7. Sweet Little Sixteen
8. Lonesome Town
9. Bald Headed Woman
10. Oh,Carol
11. Sunny Girl
12. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream.. ..
Northern Lights-GABRILLE 1967 ?American and British LP
Björn
was the first of the eventual- members of ABBA to have
an album released in America. The Hootennany
Singers released this album under the name
Northern Lights . It includes songs
from the first few Hootenanny Singers albums.
Strangly
Swedish language tracks were chosen,even though English language
tracks were available, Not surprisingly, the album didn't go anywhere-
but it does exist. I have seen it with thine eyes!
(Thank you, Bob Eber!)
I list 1967 as the date of release but I forget where I got that!
SIDE ONE
Gabrielle
Finns Det Liv Så Finns Det Hopp
Björkens Visa
I Lunden Gröna
Vid En Biväg Till En Byväg Bor Den Blonda Beatrice
Vildandens Klagan
SIDE TWO
Jag Väntar Vid Min Mila
Vid Roines Strand
Marianne
Ann-Margret
Wenn Alle Ströme Versiegen
.Hootenanny Singers-Basta October 1967 Swedish LP
This was
the first Hootz hits collection...
, "Basta " preety much means " Best of " in
Swedish.This collection includes some but not all their 1960's
hits. Included are"Gabrille (Swedish version), 'Marianne",
"Blomman" and "No Time".
The Cd
version of this album combines this album with 1969's
collection called DU BASTE MED HOOTENANNY Singers and Björn
Ulvaeus (see review below). So that's makes this CD a great
value and a reasonablly simple way to get most of the
important Hootenanny songs.
If you can only have only one Hootz record in your collection
this would be the one to have! More likely you have no hootz in
your collection and thats ok too! Go Red Sox, Go Smurfs Do Not
pass go...
Songs forom the original
BASTA LP--
Jag väntar vid min mila-Hootenanny
Singers(1st album) ,1964
Gabrielle -Hootenanny
Singers (2nd album) 1964
Den gyllene fregatt -Hootenanny
Singers (2nd album) 1965
I lunden gröna-Hootenanny
Singers (2nd album), 1965
Ave maria no morro-Hootenanny
Singers 1964
Björkens visa--International 1965
En sång en gång för längesen-Manga Ansikten/Many Faces 1966
Marianne-Manga Ansikten/Many
Faces 1966
Blomman- Manga Ansikten/Many
Faces, 1966
Vid en biväg till en byväg bor den blonde Beatrice-Manga Ansikten/ Many Faces,1966
Baby Those Are The Rules- Manga Ansikten/Many Faces 1966
No time-International
1966
Frida's early recording career Late 1967-1970
Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) went into the recording studio and recorded her first single for EMI in late 1967.. Frida's early career entirely consisted of singles releases released only in Scandinavia.. None of her early singles were particularly successful....Many of these songs would show up on her second album-which was a collection of her early singles.
Her early work was largely light jazz or sophisticated pop music. All of this material has been made available on Cd and much of it had been released on album.
| 1967 |
|
En Ledig Dag / Peter Kom Tillbaka Late
1967 Din / Du Är Så Underbart Rar Late 1967 |
| 1968 |
|
Simsalabim / Vi Möts Igen Mid
1968 Mycket Kär / När Du Blir Min Late 1968 |
| 1969 |
|
Härlig Är Vår Jord / Räkna De Lyckliga Stunderna Blott Early 1969 This song was entered in the Swedish
heat (melodidfestivel) ot he Eurovsion song contest. Så Synd Du Måste Gå / Försök
Och Sov På Saken Spring 1969 Peter Pan / Du Betonar Kärlek Lite Fel Late 1969 |
| 1970 |
| Där Du Går Lämnar Kärleken Spår / Du Var Främling Här Igår Early 1970 |
The Hep Stars -Jul Med Hep Stars- December 1967 Swedish LP Issued on CD November 2001Christmas with the Hep Stars.
Festive, no doubt. The
LP edtion of this ,IS somewhat rare.
This was reissued on CD for Christmas 2001.It is reissued with
a new track listing that includes a couple of previously unreleased
tracks as well as the omision of some 3 of the lesser tracks.
The original album had lots of talking in Swedish..
The CD opens with "Christmas On My Mind" a fairly good song that's on the HEP STARS 1964-69 Cd. This album also includes "Nu ar det jul igen" , "Nu tandas tusen juleljus" and a humourous version of "Jingle Bells".
The Swedish Christmas standard "Nu Tandas tusen julejus" would be later recorded by Björn's Hootenanny Singers and Agnetha & Linda Fältskog. It is the only song I believe to have been recorded by three different ABBA solo acts.
Track listing for 2001 CD version....
1. Christmas On My
Mind
2. Pojken Som Jultomten Glömde
3. White Christmas
4. Alla Sover Utom Jag
5. Jingle Bells
6. Christmas Today
7. Good King Wencelas (previously unreleased)
8. The Boy That Old Santa Forgot
9. Det Strålar En Stjärna (previously unreleased)
10. Gläns Över Sjö Och Strand
11. Nu Tändas Tusen Juleljus
12. Stilla Natt
13. Dotter Sion
|
1968 1968 saw the innocent first album of Agnetha Faltskog as well as Björn's short-lived solo singles career. Hootenanny Singers-Bellmann Pa Va Sart
1968 Available on Swedish |
The Hep Stars-It's Been a Long Long Time -February 1968 Swedish LP Out of print Japanese Cd
This album was recorded
in November/December 1967 largely in London.
They were no longer the new hip thing, and were regarded by this
time to
becoming too middle of the road.
1967 had been a year in which the Hep stars had searched for various ways to break out internationally, but the only sucess they had was Duthc hit in 1967 with "Sunny Girl"...
Early in the year they worked on aborted film project- Habari Safari-( some of which was filmed in Africa, but because there was no plot the footage filmed proved to be useless.
On this album session musicians filled in for Janne, Christer
and
Lennart. Using a session musicians was a common if cruel practice
in
the 1960's. An American producer, Steve Clark, was brought in
to produce
the album. There were no rock and roll covers and few self-written
tunes. Instead a selection of new songs written in the soft rock
vein
mostly by California songwriters was used, as if the Hep Stars
were The
Association or something, So, in a lot of ways this really isn't
a Hep
Stars album.This album was not as sucessful as earlier Hep Stars
albums..
The original album featured a lot of songs mainly written by others
supposedly in the soft rock vein. Benny did write the title track
which
also was released as a single....The bonus tracks included many
of the
songs on Songs We Sang 68 CD-(if by some miracle you have this
CD you
could probably get by without Songs We Sang 68).
This album originally was released not on the Olga label but on
the
Cupol label. The front cover of the LP features a colorful drawing
-ah the fabulous 1960's!!!
It was reissued on CD by M&M Records in Japan. EMI did most
of the
other Hep Stars reissues. This was the first of the Hep Stars
studio
albums to be reissued on CD. But the CD is no longer easily available.
Enter the young/Hope/5 am/It's Time
For A change/Changing Away From You/It's Been a Long Long Time
/Musty Dusty/Spinging,Spinging,Spinging/There Is love/ Would
You Like To Go /It's now A Winters' Day /Another
Time/
Bonus tracks found on CD issue
Det Finns En Stad/ Sagan Om Lilla Sofi /Let It BE me/Groovy
Summertime/Holiday For Clowns/A Flower In My Garden/Save Your
Heart For me/I Sagans Land/Bilden Av/Suddenly Tommorow Is Today/Warten
Auf Den Tag/Songs We sang
Björn Ulvaeus Solo Career- 1968-1969
So your up late at night
unable to sleep-and you toss and you turn as you wonder -did Björn
ever have a career as a solo artist? The answer is yes.
Björn's short solo career occurred whilst he was still a
Hootenanny,and most of his solo tracks showed up on Hootenannny
albums. His solo career only ended because he joined up with Benny
to become a duo (Björn and Benny).
Björn put out ,
under his own name, four singles (but no LP) out in 1968/69 on
the Polar label.
These singles are his only solo records to date. Three of Björn's
A-sides made it onto this onto the second Basta album, which also
functioned as the Hootz second Greatest Hits collection. Björn's
covers of" Harper Valley PTA" (rewritten to become "Froken
Frederickson' -they must not have PTA's in Sweden) and the Bobby
Goldsboro's hit "Honey" (called here "Raring')
were big Swedish hits.
Björn's singles-
Raring/ Vill Du Ha En Vän SPRING
1968
Fröken Fredricksson/ Vår Egen Sång FALL 1968
Saknar Du Något Min Kära/ Gömt Är Inte Glömt
SPRING 1969
Partaj-aj-aj/ Kvinnan I Mitt Liv Late 1969
Hootenanny Singers-Bellman På vårt satt, Polar POLS 214, Mid 1968 Available on Swedish Cd May ?1992
Our boyz
our on the cover decked out in 1700's garb. Björn has a mustache
and is holding a wooden flute. Hansi is having a cocktail.
When we read the liner notes we find all
the songs have long titles and references to
to numbered epistles. Whatz up! Well our boyz
are paying homage to Swedish poet/musician Carl Michael Bellmann
(1740-1795).
Bellmann's classic work was the Fredman's Epistlar published in 1790 .It's 82 songs tell the story of a middle class hard drinking clockmaker in a style that originally parodies the Pauline epistles.All of the songs here are adaptions of Bellmann songs .The boyz had to shorten many of the texts.
It's not
clear where the impetus for this
project came. Obscure Hootz albums are not the kind of thing you
hear about in ABBA interviews.
The first track on the album ,"Maltidssang" ,was a mild
Swedish hit for the boyz. This is obviously
a less pop sounding album but the boys strident harmony singing
sounds the same as it always has. Interestingly , there are some
short orchestral bits thrown in here and there that were arranged
by S.O. Walldorf. Walldorf would also do string arrangements for
Agnetha's solo albums and ABBA themselves.
This album was recorded at Metronome Studios in Stockholm and co-engineered by Michael Tretow. This is the earliest of the the Hootz studio albums to be available on Cd. This is the only Hootz studio album from the 1960's currently available on Cd..
SIDE A
.Måltidssång
Rörande Kortspelet På Klubben/
Angående Ulla Winblads Lustresa Till Första
Torpet Utom Ka/ttrumpstullen /
Till Lokatten
Till Gumman På Thermopolium /
Boreale Och Hennes Jungfrur
SIDE B
Aftonkväde /Nota Bene /
Till Fader Berg Rörande Fiolen /
Till En Och Var Av Systrarna, Men Enkannerlingen
Till Ulla Winblad /
Varuti Avmålas Ulla Winblads Hemresa Från
Hessingen I Mälaren En Summarmorgon 1769/
Klingar Väl Vid Flöjttraver/
Agnetha Fältskog-Agnetha Fältskog Late 1968 Swedish LP
available on cd Reissued in 2004 as part of Agnetha Box set..
This is Agnetha's first album
ever...In the late Summer of 1967,Agnetha was singing in Bengt
Enghardt's dance band in Jonkoping, Sweden when a demo tape she
had sent to Cupol Records drew the interest of producer Little
Gerhard.
Sadly, for the Bengt Enghardt dance band, only Agnetha was signed..
Agnetha recorded her first single in October
1967 and by late 1968 her first album had been recorded and released.
The Agnetha Fältskog album compiled the contents of her first five singles. Two of the singles "Jag Ar Sa Kar" (I Was so in love)"and"Allting har förändrat sej (Everything has changed ) were actual hits.
The album cover pictures Agnetha in a sweet but sexy pose in a miniskirt. Agnetha wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on her first album a remarkable accomplishment for a 18 year old woman singer in 1968. This is a very innocent album.
This has finally been reissued
on Cd by
Royal Records. The cd includes three bonus tracks, and some of
the original artwork.This album is also reissued as part of -De
Första Åren - Agnetha Fältskog 1967-1979 6 CD
box set
|
Track listing for original
LP; |
Bonus
Tracks- Sjung denna sång / Någonting händer med mig / Borsta tandtrollen bort (Aggie's Public service record to remind Swedish children to brush their teeth.) |
Hootenanny Singers-FEM AR Late 1968 Swedish LP
The album title translates to Five Years. The Hootz had been together five years. This features a very strangely recorded Swedish cover of the Turtles hit-"Elenore" . Well I suppose the Hootz version of "Elenore" is not that strange since strange weird effects & phased guitars were normal in 1967 and Sweden's music wa a little behind the scene..at the that time. Also included is Bjrorn's Swedish language cover of "Harper Valley PTA" called FRÖKEN FREDRIKSSON !
On this
album the Hootz do a Kingston Trio song . "Greenback dollar'
-the Hootz were continuing to draw on folk sources for the majority
of their material even though Björn personally favored
doing more Rock and Pop numbers.
Nomar was just as good as A-ROD......
SIDE A
FRÖKEN FREDRIKSSON
MARY'S BOY CHILD
ELEONOR
SÅ LÄNGE JAG LEVER
GREENBACK DOLLAR
VÅR EGEN SÅNG
SIDE B
FÅFÄNGANS MARKNAD
DEN SOM LEVER FÅR SE A Banda
MAMMA, PAPPA OCH BARN
DU DANSAR OM SOMMAR'N
RO MEJ, TRO MEJ
LOVE COMES, LOVE GOES
Hep Stars -Songs We Sang '68 Late 1968 Available on Swedish CD.
The Hep Stars continue
down the middle of the
road a bridge too far perhaps here .The group
now included Svenne's future wife, Charlotte
(Lotta) Walker a African-American singer from
an American pop-soul group called the The Sherry's.
Somehow, Lotta found herself
stuck
in Sweden in the arms of Svenne Hedlund . Svenne knew full well
that Bjorn would soon have a short solo career....
In Lotta's honor, the album starts out with a medley of Soul cover numbers (mostly) recorded at Swedish folkparks in 1968.Among the covers are "You Keep Me Hanging On", Let It be Me" and two versions of San Cooke's "Shake" .
The second side of the album features original studio material. It's good but it lacks direction. The second released Björn and Benny composition is here and it's called "A Flower in My Garden". Svenne sings it with a Carl Wilson-esque slur.
The title cut ("Songs
We Sang")is sung by Lotta (one of the first songs written
by Benny with a lead vocal sung by a woman).
The bonus tracks include the Hep Stars last singles going into
1969. The bonus tracks include the folksy B&B song, "Speleman"
.Also included are The b-side to "Speleman" - B&B's
, "Precis Som Alla Andra" ,and two numbers written by
Benny with Svenne called "Like You Used To Do" and "She
Will She love You" .
ORIGINAL LP-LIVE SIDE A (LIVE)Shake/Svenne I love you/We say yeah, Let it be me, Going out of my head/Can't take my eyes off you, You keep me hangin' on, Svart-vit, caLPyso/Natursbarn/Pata pata/Charlotte's children game, Groovy summertime/Shake
SIDE B (STUDIO) Holiday for clowns, A flower in my garden, Save your heart for me, Bilden av dej, Suddenly tomorrow is today, Warten auf den Tag, Songs we sang
CD Bonus tracks: Mot okänt land, Någonting har hänt, She will love you, Like you used to do, Let it be me, Grooy summertime, Tända på varann, I sagans land, Speleman, Precis som alla andra, Speedy gonzales, Är det inte kärlek, säg
Agnetha Fältskog-Agnetha Fältskog-Volume 2
(some sources say this album was released in 1968, but that seems to be in error-so see review for this album in 1969)
|
AGNETHA's 1960's SWEDISH singles 1967 Jar var sa kar Agnetha Fältskog Slutet gott, allting gott/Agnetha Fältskog Utan Dej 1Agnetha Fältskog
Försonade Agnetha Fältskog
Den jag väntat paAgnetha Fältskog
Nagonting händer med dej (Duet with Jörgen Edman)Sjung denna Sang
Min farbor Jonathan 1968Agnetha Fältskog
1969 En gang fanns bara vi tva/Agnetha Fältskog-Volume 2 Fram för svenska sommaren 1969Agnetha Fältskog-Volume 2
Tag min hand lat oss bli vänner 1969Agnetha Fältskog-Volume 2
Som en vind kom du till mej 1969Agnetha Fältskog-Volume 2 |
|
1969 In mid -1969 Benny left the Hep Stars and began working full time as songwriter,producer and performer with Björn who nonetheless continued to work part time with the Hootenanny Singers. Benny and Björn began working with Frida on her singles. Hootenanny Singers & Björn Ulvaeus-Du Baste Hootenanny Singers & Björn Ulvaeus 1969 Available in tandem with BASTA on cd Jorgen Edman -Jorgen Edman 1969 Out of print Swedish LP Agnetha Fältskog-Agnetha Fältskog-Volume 2 1969 Swedish LP The Hep Stars-Pa Svenska 1969 Swedish
LP |
Hootenanny Singers & Björn Ulvaeus-Du Baste Hootenanny Singers & Björn Ulvaeus Early to Mid 1969 Available in tandem with BASTA on Swedish Cd
So you
ask yourselves yet again ,for the second time in as many minutes
,did Björn ever have a career as a solo artist? ????The answer
still is yes.
Björn's short solo career occurred whilst he was still a
Hootenanny,and only ended because he joined up with Benny to become
a duo (Björn and Benny).
Björn
put out , under his own name, four singles (but no LP) out in
1968/69 on the Polar label.
These singles are his only solo records to date. Three of the
A-sides made it onto this album which also functioned as the Hootz
second Greatest Hits collection. Björn's covers of"
Harper Valley PTA".(rewritten to become "Froken Frederickson'
-they must not have PTA's in Sweden) and the Bobby Goldsboro's
hit "Honey" called here "Raring' were big Swedish
hits.
The best song from the second hit collection is a original composition by Björn done for the Hootz as a single called "Mrs O'Grady" . which features great rythems and intriguing English lyrics. The use of staccato strings was inspired no doubt by Beatles records like "Eleanor Rigby".
All the tracks released on this LP were added to CD version of BASTA as bonus tracks.
-Songs from the original LP DU BASTE MED HOOTENANNY SINGERS & Björn ULVAEUS
Början till slutet-Civilia 1967
Finns det liv så finns det hopp-International, 1966
Fåfängans marknad-Fem
Ar 1968
En gång är ingen gång-Civilia, 1967
Saknar du något min kära-A-side by Bjorn,1968
Adjö farväl-Civilia,
1967
Elenore-Fem AR, 1968
Raring-Bjorn A side,
1968
Mårten gås-Civila,
1967
Så länge du älskar är du
ung- -Aside, 1968
Fröken Fredriksson Bjorn
A-side& Fem Ar 1968
Mrs. O'Grady A-side
, 1967
Jorgen Edman -Jorgen Edman Early ?1969 Out of print Swedish LP
This album was the first to feature both sides of Agnetha's 1968 single with Jorgen Edman- Sjung denna säng("Sing C'est La Vie")/ Nagonting händer med dej (Something Happened to Me). These two tracks had been recorded August 19, 1968
Jorgen was a Cupol records label mate... These tracks also show up on the Sjung denna säng album and other compilations ...The rest of the songs on this album are Jorgen Edman tracks.
The Hep Stars-Pa Svenska Autumn 1969 Swedish LP
The Hep Stars were having troubles
staying whole at this point. Their main problem was that they
owed money to the Swedish taxing authorities , but also Benny,
Svenne and Lotta
were itching to try something new. So a totally new studio album
wasn't in the offing for 1969 and instead a compilation of the
Hep Stars Swedish tracks was put together. This includes includes
both recent and older material., most of the songs had not been
available on LP at the time...Svenne and Lotta 's wedding portrait
is on the cover. This doesn't seem to available on Cd.
This was the last Hep Stars album before the tax problems and career changes led Svenne, Lotta and Benny to leave the band. The last concert with Benny was August 31, 1969. The rest of the Hep Stars continued on into the early 1970's ,Svenne and Lotta continued to occasionally work with Benny in concert till 1973.
Björn & Benny would also have some involvement with Svenne & Lotta's albums when Stig signed S&L to the Polar label. The rest of the Hep Stars would continue to work together,,
| I natt
jag drömde
A side Mot Okänt Land A-side Bilden av dej -Songs we Sang Är det inte kärlek, säg? B-side Speleman A side |
Sagan
om lilla Sofi Precis som alla andra B-side Någonting har hänt B-side Jag vet B-side I sagans land t B-side Tända på varann A-side |
Brita Borg- Ljuva Sextital 1969 Swedish 45 single
This was the first hit single for a"B&B " as a writing team. The song was later recorded by Agnetha Faltskog for Swedish radio tribute to Stig Anderson...
Various Artists "SVENSKTOPPEN - TOPPAR" 1969 LP
Out of print
A Polar Music compilation many of which
were non-LP tracks... This album included both sides of a 1969
bjorn Ulvaeus single...
1. NANA- ARNE LAMBERTH
2. KÄRLEKENS VALS- BRUNO WINTZEL
3. LIMON LIMONERO- MATS OLIN
4. DRÖM EN DRÖM -ARNE LAMBERTH
5. GÖMT ÄR INTE GLÖMT-BJÖRN ULVAEUS
6. BERLIN -ARNE LAMBERTH
1. LJUVA SEXTITAL-BRITA BORG
2. KAKTUSBLOMMAN -ARNE LAMBERTH
3. SAKNAR DU NÅGOT MIN KÄRA- BJÖRN ULVAEUS
4. JAN ÖIWIND SWAHN- BRITA BORG
5. TIMMARNA MED DEJ-BRUNO WINTZELL
6. DET SKALL DU VARA GLAD FÖR-MATS OLIN
Agnetha Fältskog-Agnetha Fältskog Volume 2 Late 1969 Swedish LP available on CD (a couple of sources say this album was released in 1968) Reissued in 2004 as part of Agnetha Box set..
Agnetha's
first two albums were produced by the man who discovered her,
Karl-Gerhard Lundqvist (who also went by his performing name-Little
Gerhard). Little Gerhard also wrote or cowrote
some of the songs on Aggie's first few albums.
VOLUME 2 is similar to the first album. The main difference is that this album has fewer songs written or cowritten by Agnetha./ This one features "Zigenarvan" (Gypsy Friend") a rollicking song co-written by Aggie that apparently offended her large Swedish gypsy audience. These same gypsies were apprently not offended by Bjorn's solo career...
At this point in her career Agnetha also attempted to become big in(the album GEH MIT GOH in Germany . This album was co-engineered by Michael Tretow.
This album was rereleased in 2000 on CD with bonus tracks by Royal Records .Has lyrics and three bonus tracks! Features "Nu Ska Vi Opp" as a bonus track. "Nu Ska Vi Opp" was featured in the THANK YOU ABBA video in a bizarre vintage 1969 TVappearence where Agnetha joins the Swedish airforce. The bonus tracks dont appear to be found on De Första Åren.
This album is also reissued as part of -De Första Åren - Agnetha Fältskog 1967-1979 6 CD box set
track listing. with bonus tracks..
Framför Svenska Sommaren/Lek Med Dina Dockor/Ge Dej Till Tåls/Skål Kära Vän/Glöm honom/En Gång Fanns Bara Vi Två/Hjärtats Kronprins/Det Handlar Om kärlek/Som En Vind../Senor Gonzales/Zigenarvän/Tag Min hand../Nu Ska Vi Opp Opp/ Medley:3 songs/En Stilla
The Hootennanny Singers - PÅ TRE MAN HAND December 1969 Swedish LP
And then there were three. (the album's title means -"A group of Three")
The irreplaceable
,,Johan Karlberg left prior to the making of this
album so the Hootz were forced to make do as a threesome.
Johan wanted to go back to working at the family car dealership business.
This album
includes three unsuccessful Swedish singles
"Vinden Sjunger Samma Sång ",
"Ring Ring Här Är Svensktoppsjuryn" &
Om Jag Kunde Skriva En Visa/".
The album
had couple of songs in English -
"When I was Young" & "Who's Gonna Hold Your Hand"
and two tracks credited to Björn alone
when they were released as singles-
the pleasent "Kvinnan I Mitt Liv" and the bizarre
B&B song"Partaj-aj-aj" The album hasn't been released
on CD.
|
SIDE A VINDEN SJUNGER SAMMA SÅNG |
SIDE B PARTAJ-AJ-AJ
Who's Gonna Hold Your Hand |
or go to the next section ABBA the ALBUMS 1970-1974Montief's handy guide to ABBA the Albums
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MONTIEF'S HANDY GUIDE TO ABBA THE ALBUMS!!! |
| ABBA THE ALBUMS -SITE INDEX -REVIEWS OF ALBUMS SORTED BY ARTIST |
|
ABBA THE ALBUMS - GROUP & SOLO ALBUM REVIEWS LISTED IN ODER OF YEAR OF RELEASE Chart revised July 2006 by Montief OR SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE HIM... |
-j.c.b.
Bjorn had a solo career goddamit , he did....Well at least i think he did..
Damn I am not really sure!