WELL

This really was a disappointment after being such a fan of their 1976 debut. That album was a Folk release and the cover art is one of my favourites. They would release three more studio albums in succession that are all rated poorly on here, and the cover art has gone down the tubes. That brings us to this 1991 release called "Well". Album number five and a long gap of eight years between recordings. There are no original members on this record, but the drummer and wind player who were on album number two are here. Down to a trio here from their typical five to six piece setup.

Mostly guitar, sax and flute led. Some organ and piano as well. All instrumental and we get nine tracks worth over 57 minutes. Man, this was a tough listen. I kept waiting for something to happen. The production isn't good either which doesn't help at all. This is one of the very few albums that had me asking what the plan was going in. Almost improv-like in nature.

I suppose if I had to pick one song that stood out it would be the title track. Flute leads at first then acoustic guitar followed by more flute. Some rumbling drums after that and a celtic vibe late. The third member who is the guitarist composed pretty much all of the music, and he's the new guy! I'm a little surprised this was released under the name RAGNAROK. I understand the followup album "Path" which was their final release from 2008 is a return to form with original members returning.

"Well" is a one-off really. An out of character release for this Swedish band. And not a good one.

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