Norrköpings Tidningar 121219
By: LOLLO ASPLUND
Benny Andersson Band
BAO in Box
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6 CDs och 2 DVDs
Mono Music
Box
It started with a song idea. The working title was Ehrlingen. Benny Andersson thought the melody as reminiscent of a popular song by composer / bandleader Thore Ehrling. There somewhere the dream of leading an entertainment orchestra in good old style was born. Ehrlingen became later, when completed, “Vår sista dans” (Our last dance), one of the first hits for Benny Andersson Band.
Now BAO is celebrating their 10th anniversary. This means that the initially loosely assembled “hobby band” is Benny’s longest-running band project, it beats both Hep Stars and ABBA, which was almost as long.
BAO is hardly a band that takes any musical risks. Nostalgia runs like a common thread in most melodies the band is playing. But that is offset by the versatility, mixing and giving in a lovely way. Song-friendly waltzes come next to dramatic film music, sentimental Swedish charts winner are interspersed with spirited circus marches, Gamle Svarten trots, cheered on by pop king Jules Sylvain. Everything is done with music pleasure – and finesse.
6 CDs and 2 DVDs of course are difficult to take in at once, BAO is best enjoyed in small portions. Personally I´m most attracted to the CD with the label “Fiddler Music”. It includes music candies, tiny accordion waltzes, happy schottisches and sparkling music of Orsa Spelmän (Orsa Fiddlers) in fiddle tunes.
The greatest popular success BAO had with songs where Benny worked with Bjorn Ulvaeus. The list of Swedish charts hits are long: “Lätt som en sommarfjäril” (Gentle as a summer butterfly), “Du är min man (You’re my man), “Skenbart” (Ostensibly) and “Vår sista dans” are just some of the songs where the unique “chorus singer” Helen Sjöholm shines. Tommy Körberg has his great moment in the box with the ominous ballad “Fait Accompli”, an almost equally strong song as Anthem from Chess. “I hear…” is a ballad that fits Tommy perfectly. The hit machine Björn & Benny is still delivering after 40 years in the business. Impressive!
A few years ago my wife and I saw and heard BAO at Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred. Sang along in “Gamle Svarten”, danced to “Du är min man” and took a boiled sausage with bread during the break. A lovely July evening helped to feel the park atmosphere. The memories wash over us now, in the middle of a grey slushy winter. Two concert films on DVD take us back to a warm summer evening, a dance floor with colored lanterns and a happy band that never wanted to stop playing.
BAO, Benny Andersson Band, consists of 16 musicians, including brothers Kalle, Olle and Perra Moraeus from Orsa Spelmän, Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg. BAO in Box contains all the recordings with the band, spread over six CDs and two DVDs.