STOCKHOLM SYMPHONIE

After an eleven year hiatus following two dismal albums in the nineteen eighties, the original lineup that brought us the first two (and best up to that point) albums regrouped and returned to symphonic prog in grand fashion. I would favorably compare this album to some of Focus' better works (without yodeling, of course).

Like most Kaipa albums, Hans Lundin's keyboards are the focal point in each song. But there is plent of room for Roine Stolt to work his guitar magic as well.

The best track, easily are the opener, Allthing har en Borjan and the closer Hoppfullheten - Overheten - Vilseledd . But I also like the Spanish flavored Forlorad I Istanbul.

It may seem like retro prog, but these guys were there in '75.

Kaipa's "Stockholm Symphoni" is often sold as a legitimate release, originally appearing on a Japanese label in 1993, but its no-show on their recent "The Decca Years" 5-CD box pretty much proves its lack of legality, I think.

Definite information is hard to come by, but going by the tracklisting, it appears to be a radio broadcast (no audience track) from around 1976, featuring material from their first two albums, Kaipa and Inget Nytt Under Solen.

The musicianship is excellent, as is the song selection, including the brilliant "Musiken Är Ljuset" from their debut, the only problem being that Roine Stolt's guitar seems to be mixed noticeably higher than Huns Lundin's keyboards, although it's clearly a desk recording.

Now, I know the band never owned a mellotron, hiring one in for their two relevant albums, so it's quite surprising to hear one used here. Lundin seems to have effectively reproduced his album parts from "Inget Nytt", with choirs on "Korståg" and "Hoppfullheten" (part three of "Skenet Bedrar"), although all strings are synth generated, for some strange reasons; as on their albums.

This album isn't very difficult to find, and can even be bought from some retailers, working on the assumption that it's at least condoned by the band, so if you like their studio work, I doubt if you'll be disappointed. Very little 'tron, however. I wonder why they even bothered? Three stars.

There are a lot of questions that revolve around this release, questioning how authentic it is. Even the RYM site has it filed under the Bootleg section, and Andy at Planet Mellotron also refers to it as a Bootleg. From what I understand this is a rare Japanese pressing of a live radio show the band did sometime before their second album was released. So maybe this was never officially released by the band, and as Zowie Ziggy points out it's not even in their box set and considering the acclaim this gets i'm sure it would have been if this was endorsed by the band. As far as the album goes it just doesn't click with me like the first two studio albums do for some reason. I would rate it higher than all their albums that follow though so 3.5 stars is my rating here. Roine is more prominant on here than on the studio tracks but the keyboards seem to be scaled back so there isn't as much depth or atmosphere to the sound. Whatever it is something is missing.

"Allthing Har En Borjan" opens with piano and the sound picks up before a minute.Vocals follow. A laid back instrumental then takes over to the end. "Forlrad I Istanbul" is uptempo with intricate guitar and throbbing bass. Organ then synths before 3 minutes then back to that earlier soundscape. "Saker Har Tva Sidor" is guitar led and vocals come in before a minute, vocal melodies too. Nice chunky bass then organ after 2 minutes followed by synths during this instrumental section.The guitar leads before 4 minutes and the vocals return after 6 minutes.

"Musiken Ar Ljuset" opens with some excellent guitar and bass before we get a calm 1 1/2 minutes in, then the vocals come in. Organ before 3 minutes then more excellent guitar and bass before 5 minutes.Vocals are back after 7 1/2 minutes then the guitar returns before 9 minutes. "Korstag" isn't a bad instrumental but it's not doing much for me. "Stengrodornas Parad" is silly with vocals. Not a fan.

"Hoppfullheten-Overheten-Vilseledd" opens sounding like a marching band then the guitar solos.Vocals after 4 minutes are rough and we get piano too. A calm before 7 1/2 minutes with vocals then it kicks back in and keyboards lead after 11 minutes. Another calm after 12 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in late.

I would think twice about getting this one, although as I said earlier many fans rave about it so the choice is yours.