Aftonbladet blog 110611
By: JENS PETERSON
In Friday’s Aftonbladet, June 10, I reviewed the new album by Benny Andersson Band. O Klang och jubeltid is available in stores on Wednesday, June 15.
It´s very good. Four fat plus. BAO is a band that is so special that you always recognize their sound, and they are true to themselves in the sense that they are always different. Can mix in everything in the songs. I didn´t get enough space for everything I wanted to write in the newspaper. Here’s a review track by track:
1. O Klang och jubeltid (O Time Of Sound And Rejoicing)
The title sounds like a solemn praise, but the lyrics are a sad reflection on past times and graduation songs filled with hope and unending greenery. Where did you go sweet dreams? Touching lyrics and fantastic melody. Wonderful when the choir eventually joins in.
2. Kära Syster (Dear Sister)
The single, released in May, in which Helen Sjöholm appeals to another woman not to seduce her husband. Chours and hypnotic music.
3. Månstrålar klara (Moonbeams Shining)
Tommy Körberg indulges in an old song that Jussi Bjorling used to sing. More fun than touching, like the Melody Radio sounded a long time ago.
4. Midsommarpolka (Midsummer Polka)
Classical instrumental BAO music for dance pavilions. Full speed and fling in the barn.
5. Allt syns när man är naken (Everything Is Visible When You’re Naked)
Helen Sjöholm sings in the fragile beginning, but soon it becomes a dancing catchy melody about daring to expose oneself to the other and complement one another. Duet with Tommy Körberg, and in the end there are more voices and arrangement grows.
6. Alla goda ting (All Good Things)
Orsa fiddlers take the lead in this rousing folk music that should attract the audience to dance on the summer tour.
7. En dag i sänder (One Day At A Time)
Rocking pop reminiscent of ABBA or other melodic rock music. The part when Helen Sjöholm sings “Look at me, I’m the woman you took in your arms” sounds very much Benny Andersson. Should be a new single.
8. Flickornas rum (The Girls’ Room)
You will see ballet dancers elegantly swing around in 1700’s outfits in this beautifully tripping piano song. After a while backed by strings and sounds like a Viennese cafe.
9. De ljuva drömmarnas orkester (Sweet Dreams Orchestra)
Ten years have passed since the first record and gig with Benny Andersson Band. And now they got their statement. Björn Ulvaeus has written lyrics that capture the spirit of the musicians. “Together we can reach higher”. A perfect march for the band on stage, like a circus orchestra that walks into the ring. “And the couples there on the floor, dancing close by, they seem pretty happy, and so are we.”
Well, thank you.
10. Jag hör (I Hear…)
A magical ballad by Tommy Körberg, which gives you Anthem shivers and goosebumps. Brilliant, enigmatic lyrics, open to interpretation. What do you hear when you get older and the twilight land is waiting? A dignified solo enhances the mood.
11. Sorgmarsch (Mourning March)
Could be the soundtrack to a Sicilian drama. A funeral at dusk. An instrumental loaded march with pompous blow.
12. Vilar glad. I din famn. (Resting Happy. In Your Arms)
The most beautiful song that Helen Sjöholm sings on the new album. Kristina Lugn has written these lyrics about love and safety. Love for another person or to a deity or to nature? Heavenly tones.
13. Brudmarsch (Wedding March)
Atmospheric in traditional costume, BAO bringing it all back home. When the first album was released in 2001, 12 of the 14 tunes were instrumental. Now the singing has been given more space. You can hear the key harp and in the grand finale even Adolf Fredrik’s Girls Choir.