Sunday, March 7, 2010

Hanson & Karlsson "Rex" (1968)























Prog keyboardist Bo Hansson is prolly best known for his "Lord of the Rings" and "Watership Down" concept albums, which are dollar bin staples. He also did an LP call "Magician's Hat", the cover has a painting of a wizard on it, and that pretty much tells you where the dude is coming from.

This LP is probably from before he read Tolkein, a time when he was more about manly pursuits such as snorkelling with his buddy Janne Karlsson (truly a superb drummer) and wailing hard on the Hammond organ.

This live album mostly consists of the two of them frantically playing their instruments as fast as they can, presumably while grinning and waggling their eyebrows at each other. I mean that pretty much sums up side 1. To be honest, it doesn't sound great to a modern perspective (which is to say, I don't like it much).

Hansson & Karlsson - BFF!

Side 2 is a 22 minute suite call "Chateau Plaisance" and I include the first 5 and a half minutes here. It sounds like it was recorded off of one mic in Bo's bedroom (there were probably Gandalf posters on the wall) and it is just grimy as hell. Bo just sets up a nasty drone throughout the whole thing and the two of them crank up the intensity until... well, until an awkward cross-fade signifies that the whole thing must've been about to go off the rails. Let this one build, you guys.

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