Made in Sweden - Made in England (1970 Sweden Prog Rock Jazz)

TRIO SUECO QUE FAZIA UM SOM PODEROSO NUMA MISTURA DE ROCK PROGRESSIVO COM PITADAS FORTES DE JAZZ E BLUES!! O SOM DOS CARAS ERA DE PRIMEIRA COM UMA SONORIDADE MAIÚSCULA!! MÚSICOS DE EXCELÊNCIA!! AOS AMANTES DESTE ESTILO É IMPERDÍVEL!!

Made In Sweden's sound borrows heavily from both the English groups of the late 60s-early 70s and from the San Francisco sound. There are elements here of The Turtles and The Zombies, more so the latter. This band is contemporaneous with these influences, as Made In England, the band's fourth album, was recorded in 1970 (and produced by Tony Reeves and now re-released by Mellotronen, in conjunction with Sonet/Universal Music; Sonet was the original label). I'm not sure which came first, Scott Mackenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" or MIS's "Chicago, Mon Amour," but something tells me that it was "San Francisco." Whereas "San Francisco" begins with the memorable line, "If you are going to San Francisco, where some flowers in your hair...", "Chicago" begins with "I came from San Francisco with flowers in my hair..." Though, other than that, this track also sounds at times a little bit like McCartney's "Blackbird." It is a melancholy tune, with a string backing (mellotron). This is immediately contrasted by "Love Samba," a jazzy little instrumental piece that also bears similarity to other pieces of music, especially in the bit of scat at the beginning. Georg Wadenius (guitar, organ, piano, and vocals) was raised in a jazz environment, so say the informative liner notes. His mother would play Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson and Wadenius listened to the bass work of Ray Brown and Sam Jones, his guitar playing influenced by Jim Hall and Rune Gustafsson. The trio is rounded out by Tommy Borgudd on drums and percussion -- he gets an impressive solo spot on "Love Samba" -- and Bo Häggström on electric bass, mellotron, and piano.

"Blind Willie" is big band jazz mixed with blues guitar, quite a departure from that which has come before on this album. The story being told here is kinda humourous. The album starts out with the fusiony "Winter's A Bummer," and is followed by the bouncy "You Can't Go Home." "Mad River" is darker track, as the title might suggest, which a much slower pace. This pace continues with "Roundabout," though this is even mellower, and strongly reminiscent of The Zombies. "Little Cloud," which closes the album (and also appeared on their second album, Snakes In A Hole) is little more psychedelic that the rest of the album (hints at "Aquarious/Let The Sun Shine In" are sprinkled through out, though I don't think it was being referenced). The playing here is terrific and tight, as each shows the same kind of dynamics in their playing as many a jazz artist, meaning that there is a lot more going on beneath the surface than you at first notice. This is quite an interesting and tasty set of music.

Track List:

1.Winter's A Bummer (5:30)

2.You Can't Go Home (3:39)

3.Mad River (5:08)

4.Roundabout (5:04)

5.Chicago, Mon Amour (5:08)

6.Love Samba (7:24)

7.Blind Willie (3:30)

8.Little Cloud (3:34)

http://www.driveway.com/opFfB6h3So