SOLAR PLEXUS

"Bouillabaisse" is one of many standout tracks on this recording. The electric piano, drums, bass and organ sound amazing to start and the guitar joins in before a minute but it's brief. It settles down and the contrasts will continue. Some cool bass lines in this one and the guitar does return late. "A Polka For Orsa" is less than a minute of flute. "My Song Is For Her" is my favourite. Tommy on vocals kills this and he reminds me so much of another Prog vocalist that I can't put my finger on and it's been driving me crazy. The lyrics are so meaningful in this smoky, jazzy tune and I really dig the guitar style. I can play this over and over. "Loveliness" sounds pretty amazing with all the atmosphere with the cymbals clashing slightly and the bass and flute. Beautiful stuff. It's slowly building and the guitar becomes prominent after 4 minutes. It calms right down before 6 minutes like the beginning right to the end. Great track!

"Wallenberg" is one of those songs that you have to move to, so catchy with those vocal melodies. Check out the distorted keys before 2 minutes after the vocals stop. So good as drums and pulsating organ support. A change 3 1/2 minutes in as it settles down and male and female vocals arrive. This reminds me of Canterbury even the humerous lyrics. It kicks back in with those vocal melodies around 5 1/2 minutes. "The Eye Of Odin" has shimmering keys, bass, percussion and a relaxed horn. Gorgeous sound here. It does pick up and turn fuller but not by lot. Piano to the fore after 3 minutes as the horn stops temporarily. "Like A Spinning Sun" opens with piano and I think Spanish guitar as Tommy comes in on vocals. When it picks up at 1 1/2 minutes it's so catchy and uplifting. It's like this band has a gift for being melodic and funny and experimental, they do it all so well. I like the pulsating keys and the guitar after 2 1/2 minutes. Back to the opening soundscape after 3 minutes.

"Concerto Grosso For Pop Group And Symphony Orchestra" is the over 23 minute orchestral piece with an actual orchestra helping out. I'm not really into orchestral music but they add enough "Rock" elements to keep me happy. I like the bass after a minute and the picked guitar and flute around 3 1/2 minutes all while the orchestral sounds lead the way. A change before 7 minutes as the orchestral stuff stops and drums and organ lead the way. Check out the bass solo 8 minutes in then the organ leads as the brass and strings come and go. It turns classical before 10 minutes then the drums and distorted keys join in. Nice. A drum solo is fairly brief then the strings return after 11 minutes. Guitar around 14 minutes. A change after 18 minutes as the guitar stops and strings take over. Dual keys only before 19 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in to an orchestral mode at 20 minutes with bass and piano too as drums follow. Many aren't thrilled with this suite but it adds to the charm in my opinion.

"Phrygian Samba" is another killer track with bass and electric piano to start as drums and more join in quickly. Great sound! Guitar joins in before 2 minutes. Catchy is the word. "Think When We Live All Together" is another silly song sounding like it's out of the thirties or something especially the male and female vocals that are channeling that vibe. The laughter to start the song is a clue what's to follow. Piano support the vocals. "They're Building Their Cities" is another memorable song that opens with mono- tones female vocals and an experimental backdrop bring RIO to mind right away. It does change before 1 1/2 minutes as it picks up with drums, organ and bass as the male vocals join in. Electric piano too. An instrumental break before 3 minutes and the guitar joins in as he starts ripping it up. Male vocals are back after 4 1/2 minutes then it ends like it began. "A Real Goodun'" is the jazzy closing number with bass, drums and organ leading the way as the guitar joins in around 2 minutes.

Sure this isn't perfect just like "666" isn't perfect but I'm a sucker for electric piano and it's played by two of the members so it's prominent, but also the talent that is featured in this band just boggles my mind. The compositions, playing and singing all clicked with me from the very first listen.

"Det är inte båten som gungar, det är havet som rör sig" from 1974 is Solar Plexus' third studio album(of four). The cover isn't as psychedelic as their two earlier releases even if the name of the record is abit surrealistic. The musicians were Tommy Körberg (vocals, guitar, percussion), Bosse Häggström(bass, vocals), Tommy Borgudd(drums, percussion, vocals), Carl-Axel Dominique(keyboards, flute, saxophone, vocals) and Monica Dominique(keyboards, vocals).

The band invites us on a musical journey of a very different sort. This jazz rock isn't as heavy and crazy as many such band and not either some form of soft jazz rock with quite conventional rock songs. "Solar Plexus" seemed to be making an artistical landscape here which mixtures traditional jazz with rock, big band and sung poetry slam. The result is a very pleasant experience where every song gives you something new. The title track "Det är inte båten som gungar, det är havet som rör sig"(7/10) releases a nice swing to us but "The girl of the dawn"(8/10) is much better; here shows Tommy Körberg his great vocal abilities and it is one of the record's gems. "Man ska tala idag"(8/10) is also one of the best, an experimental jazz pop song i like a lot. "Fåglarna i Nam Dinh" is a calmer more traditional jazz piece with fine flutes but I think it's the records least interesting song(6/10). "This is the place" (7/10) is another nice track and of the two English sung tracks. The best and most interesting composition though is "Jorden är ett underbart ställe"(8/10) which is along lasting song. Here we face a composition with a poetical and political text which merge together in a musically gorgeous piece.

Solar Plexus' third album has an average high standard with splendid playing from the five band members even if I don't think there are masterpieces here. The music is complex but easy listened so I can really recommend it! My rating: 3.67 which becomes four stars. Best songs: "Jorden är ett underbart ställe", "The Girl of the Dawn" and "Man skall tala idag"

There are quite a few stoies that by now seem comical. Tomas Bolme, a well known actor in Sweden who took part in the movement, told story once of such a story. He and others of the FNL- movement was collecting Money or the people in Vietnam, then struggling during the war with the USA. A colonel (or something of that kind) in the Swedish army approached them, intending to give some Money tothe cause. When he approached Bolme he put away the Money-box, saying "You can't give any money". Well, that was all in the past and what's left are the remnants of an era, still echoing out it's views. Sometimes it's good and sometimes outright bad.

Solar Plexus is one of those great bands to whom he music mattered just as much as the lyrical content. This was my first venture into the world of Solar Plexus and to me it still is their greatest achievement.

The band consisted of very well known, no less today, members. The singer is a very eclectic performer who has crossed the borders of all genres and done it with exceptional brilliance. The couple Dominique are very well known jazz and classical figures in Sweden. All still active. With two keyboard players in the band it is safe to say that there are alot of great electric piano and organ to enjoy. The Wurlitzer electric piano is often distorted and played through a wah-wah pedal, giving it a very distinct and powerful sound. The organ is superbly played.

This album consists of jazz rock of a typical Swedish kind, which also brings in quite a big dose of folk and that is really enjoyable. (They kept this course throughout, before and after this album.) The opening track, however, is a storming piece of hard jazz-rock, driven by a powerful riff and awesome keyboards. The title translates "It is not the boat that's rocking, it is the ocean moving", meaning the People ae getting ready to overthrow the Ship (i.e. the capitalist forces). Quite a statement. Regardless of your political point of view, the song remains as powerful as ever. Equally powerful is "Man skall tala idag", translated into "One must speaktoday". Also political it is in similar vein as the opening title track.

The tracks "Girl of the dawn" and "Fåglarna i Nam Dinh" (The birds of Nam Dinh) are very beauiful pieces. Dreamy and spacious I love those tracks, giving the listener some time out from the very powerful tracks I have reviously mentioned.

The epic of the album is the 17 minutes long "Jorden är ett underbart ställe" (The world is a wonderful place), which is made up of several sections. It covers every aspect of the Solar Plexian vision of what music ought to be, a perfect blend of lyrical importance and musical perfection.

This album is very dear to me and remains a staple in my collection of Swedish progressive music. The lyrics are almost entirely in swedish but that ought not discourage anyone from discovering this piece of superior jazz-rock. A pinnacle of it's genre.