SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA

How could SMM better their work after the astounding Maltid? Well they certainly tried very hard to duplicate the success without making a carbon copy of their previous oeuvre or reproducing exactly the recipe and almost succeeded in bringing us something as tasty as Maltid. But Klossa Kuapitatet (KK for short) is still an excellent album, that was recorded the following year with an unchanged line-up and it was granted another weird freak artwork, again with no obvious relation with the music, even with the track titles translated.

Staying more or less in the same musical realm than with Maltid, KK actually dare goa little further in jazz (or jazz-rock as in the superb and lengthy Liten Dialektik), or in the burlesque (the yodelling of Kaninhal) or even in the dissonant and absurd (Influences) or in the festive folk and circus-like music (Mousemilkingmachine) and sometimes Crimsonoid deviations (Influences again). The Zappa stature is probably less present here than on Maltid though, and while the vocalms remains strange, we can also say they're less Focus-like as well. Elsewhere Holmer is giving us some accordion (yuck!!) on the title track, while the closing Ramlosa Kvallar is a fitting closing bit for such a crazy album that the name ended up being used for a future acoustic folk side-project, but here it's definitely more like Crimson playing Moonshine or Providence and after that returning to some brilliant polka music..

With Maltid under their belt, SMM tried a bit too hard to better or match their previous effort, and it is that very "forced bit" that does make the difference, but probably the opposite way they had intended. Still an excellent album, even if it lacks its predecessor's almost flawless aura.

Wonderfully played, instrumental piano-focused Swedish prog! This is a good SMM album and is a substantially good introduction for newbies to the RIO/Avant genre.

1. Forsta Satsen- Very good song. Instruments are all extremely well-played and I like the typical SMM folk touch to it at parts, it really is a lot of fun! Plenty of song changes and masterful playing keep this song heavily enjoyable and exciting. 9/10

2. Andra Satsen- From the bizarre circus-like opening, this shorter piece continues the same feel as the previous one, light-hearted, enjoyable music with Swedish folk and other influences thrown in to create one long symphony split into four songs. Great part, but it barely misses the mark that the first one set for it. 8/10

3. Tredje Satsen- Continuing the same vein, this is another well-played track. This one is my least favorite on the album though simply because it doesn't strike me as much, but I can't find much other than personal preference to justify that since there is nothing wrong with the instruments or the composition. Out of any of the parts, this one has the potential to drag the most. Nonetheless, it's still a pretty decent song and keeps the same mood. 6/10

4. Fjarde Satsen- This song is not as frantic or upbeat in a bizarre dance-type of mood as the previous three, but it is still pretty good. Serves as a wonderful and more serious closer to this series and I really like the instrumental playing. The ending gets a bit repetitive, however. 7/10

This is a good album, but not the best from SMM. It is a good starting point for anyone who likes piano-driven instrumental compositions and for RIO in general, but it doesn't have the same masterpiece value of other SMM albums like Maltid or Knossa.

Still, an excellent addition to any prog collection.

Måltid ( translates into Meal)is the second studio album from Swedish avant garde rock act Samla Mammas Manna. Their debut was a brilliant album and with this second album Samla Mammas Manna really shows that they have developed their unique sound even further. The biggest difference between Måltid and the debut is the addition of guitarist Coste Apetrea. As a consequence of his addition to Samla Mammas Manna Måltid sounds much more complete than the debut which had no guitars.

The music generally has a happy mood and besides the new addition of a guitar to the bands sound there are lots of enthusiastic piano parts and even more challenging drum and percussion parts from Hasse Bruniusson ( The Flower Kings). The music on Måltid is very rythmic. The music is generally instrumental but there are a few vocal parts which are mostly high pitched and hystarical. Just hilarious moments IMO. There are lots of jazz influences in the music, but thankfully it never evolves into ordinary jazz music.

The musicianship is one of the biggest assets on the album as every musician playing on the album are very accomplished.

The production is much better than the unpolished sound of the debut.

Måltid is a step forward for the band and a really excellent avant garde rock album. This is the kind of album you put on if you´re in a good mood or if you want to be in a good mood. That´s the impact it has on me anyway. A very deserved 4 star album IMO.

I have to thank SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA, because they opened more my eyes, I had the preconception that all Avant bands where extremely weird, extremely technical and with a total lack of sense of humor. Well, this band has made me travel from the late 60's inspired debut to the incredibly strange "Dear Mamma" and now is the turn o review their second release "Måltid".

If SMM is almost Psyche and "Dear Mamma" is one of the most characteristic expressions of Avant Garde, "Måltid" is a beautiful fusion of different sounds and styles that go from Fusion top the most experimental forms of Electronic.

"Dundrets Fröjder" starts with a strange intro that leads immediately to a strong passage reminiscent of EMERSON LAKE & PALMER which without even noticing morphs into a guitar oriented Jazz section, without losing their sense of humor they continue exploring this trilogy of influences for the almost eleven minute's that the song lasts. Am incredible experience that broadens the horizons of melodic fans like me, but without scaring us with almost impossible to understand experimentations. The frantic ending when they go a step back towards some form of Acid Psychedelic Jazz is simply amazing.

In "Oförutsedd F¢rlossning" they start joking with their voices, but in contrast a very sober piano makes a fantastic melody, first in the background and then takes the lead, but the vocal jokes follow, this time with a powerful guitar supporting them, at the end all the band together play some sort of ultra elaborate fusion.

"Den Återupplivade Låten" starts weirder than ever but now a very dramatic and strong section irrupts out of nowhere, somehow Symphonic with Jazzy and Hard Rock leanings, this proves how versatile this guys are. The last section blows minds, is completely unexpected, but when you are used to this band, you should expect anything. When explained with poor words may sound confusing but when you listen it, everything is in it's place.

"Folkvisa I Morse" begins Medieval oriented with a troubadouresque tune that goes for a long period of time with soft humming in the background, by moments they enter into a delightful cacophony, but just for a few seconds before they return to the main tune.

"Syster System" is hilarious, I dare anybody to listen the vocals and not to laugh, but the take the music seriously, because the piano is fantastic, even when a bit repetitive, no radical changes until the end, just screams and the constant piano.

"Tärningen" is a mixture of Rock and ...anything, SMM seems to get more adventurous as the album advances, but this time reminds me a bit of the radical changes in some of the most elaborate FOCUS tracks. But the most interesting feature is how the song evolves through different sounds and moods with no effort, as if it was something easy and natural.

"Svackorpoängen" begins with a very Classical oriented piano intro that grows in intensity as it advances, again the voices join with their high pitched tones and conversations taking us a few centuries back to the late Medieval era, but radically change into some form of Modern classical, Lasse Hollmer does a brilliant work in the piano. Can't help feeling the strong FOCUS reminiscences in "Minareten" but of course much more complex, the melody is lead by the guitar in a perfect Jan Akkerman style. For the first time in the album, the song flows gently without surprises until almost the middle, when they start with a controlled experimentation and screams, you must listen this track, because words can't describe it.

The official release ends with "Værelseds Tilbud" which starts incredibly dramatic, with a mysterious Avant (the real Avant Garde) piano which takes the central role and makes all the changes and experiments almost alone, wonderful ending.

The album has three more bonus tracks, but as always I stay with the original song list, because that's the way the author released it and how IMO should be listened.

Even when more mature than the self titled debut, I feel they lost some of the beautiful naïve sound that was so pleasant, but instead we get a more solid musical expresion.

A fantastic album for people who are willing to take the risk with more adventurous musical forms, that I can't rate with less than 5 stars.

>b>Unique but unusual experience, not for everybody

Usually I don't review RIO/Avant bands because I'm not a fan of the genre, but when I find an excellent band as FACTOR BURZACO or in this case SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA, I don't need a special effort, because the quality and the musicality of them, wins over any general dislike for the genre.

Last week I reviewed the fantastic SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA debut and expressed my admiration for this Swedish pioneer band, simply outstanding, uncommonly for RIO/Avant, with a privilege of musicality and melody over weird experimental sections with little sense for me, so in my very peculiar order, I will go with their last album "Dear Mamma".

In this case the situation is different; they evolved so much that the album is extremely weird, full of conversations, strange sounds very complex structure, less musicality but a great sense of humor.

From the beginning "Introduction" is one of the weirdest tracks I ever heard, incredibly cacophonic (but interesting), weird sounds and very little melodies, but still the "Je ne sais quoi" keeps the listener's interest, even if you are used to more melodically music.

I never thought I would say this but "Frestelsens Café", an incredibly weird song with almost tribal rhythms mixed with incredibly complex cacophonies and experimental to the maximum, sounded excellent to a person used to pristine Symphonic. There's some kid of magic in the sound that makes me love the track.

Never a name was better selected than "ooaajjii / ohdadaididadaidi", the first half is only a mixture of strange sounds (with percussion as background) that sound more or less than the first word of the title. The second half is more adventurous, they include conversation and funny sounds mixed with pieces of music no longer than a few seconds, a dramatic finale adds something pleasant o the song

"Langt ner I ett Kaninhal" is simply too bizarre for me sounds, babbling and at the end each and then, even a Venezuelan typical song with a dose of extra weirdness. Not my cup of tea.

"Dear Mamma Pt 1" is even more strange, the only melody I recognize is the soundtrack of the 60's TV version of Batman all created with vocals, then they loose it with incredibly strange yodeling but still in the background, some dramatic and intense melodies appear covered by theatrical screams.

"Ingenting" starts as a very unusual Jazz track, the drumming is outstanding and the melody reminds me of those 70's and 80's TV police soundtracks with a more naïve sound, don't know why but I like it.

"Forsta Ikarien" really blows my brains, I just can't describe what's happening here, you have to listen it to believe, nothing has musical sense but at the same time makes sense in this context, I don't dare to say if it's good or bad, it depends in the listener.

"Dear Mamma pt. 2" is stranger than pt 1 (If this is possible), not even Thijs Van Leer dared to make such weird sounds, it's almost a joke, a reason more to make me not understand why THE BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND is not here, they simply hit the piano and in general all the instruments with no coherence, at.

I reached the point where the incredibly bizarre "Andra Ikarien" sounds normal, there is a strong and dramatic basic melody created with "God knows" what instruments, but it's fantastic and addictive.

"Jolk" starts with an almost cavern men shouts and all the song is basically vocal, withh grunts laughs and sounds that I can only dare to describe as a conversation between Neanderthals and a bit of comedy. I believe this time they went too far.

"Tredje Ikarien" has a very interesting but simple melody, if I dare to compare it with something I would say that it would be perfect for a soundtrack of a 1930's terror movie with Abbott & Costello, only around the middle they get interesting, but without leaving behind that tragicomic atmosphere.

"Fredmans Session 1" and "Fredmans session 2" are a weird way of closing a weird album, some melodies but a lot of experimentation.

After writing this, I know why this album has been rated but never reviewed, it's incredibly hard to describe what is happening in the album or what passed in the head of the musicians, even the three ratings reflex how hard to understand this alnum is, one believes it's an essential masterpice, other believes is good but not essential and the third one thinkks it's poor.

Giving a fair rating is also very hard, because the album has some outstanding moments but others that simply reach 10 in the 10 based scale of weirdness, I honestly don't believe the greatest Avant/RIO fan will be able to say he/she understands what is going here, sometimes the bands in their quest for experimentation go so far that nobody except them can follow the album completely, so I will go with three stars because of some excellent moment and their sense of humor.

The first time I listened to SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA I asked myself What in God's name is this? Because this guys are weird to an extreme, for many it could be just a funny band making some sort of Vaudevillian act, but if you listen the music that surrounds all the sounds and weird vocals, you notice immediately that this guys are really skilled and the music is first class Prog.

But lets go immediately with the self titled debut of this excellent Swedish band.

The album starts with "Circus Apparatha" a strange track that creates a circus paraphernalia, it's amazing how they can blend all the comic sounds and vocals (which I can't understand) with excellent Psyche and Prog music, the radical chhanges keep the listener clueless about what's coming next, and they even add some dramatic organ sections by the surprising Lasse Hollmer, who does an outstanding work.

"Pausus" is a short 20 seconds interlude that works as an into for "Vidgat Läge", a radically different song top the opener, the intro reminds me a bit of Santana with the Hammond recreating the spirit of the late 70's and the percussion by Bebben Öberg who adds congas with a Latin edge. Then the song turns absolutely dramatic with contradictory sections linked all together with great skills. Again the keyboards are delightful.

"Släde Till Satori" is another strange song that blends perfectly a theatrical atmosphere with a Classical sound and a Jazzy edge, the piano is played with unusual fury and the drumming is outstanding. May seem a repetitive song but every round is different to the other, some strange and new element is added, like the extra 52 seconds which are very spacey.

"Schekina" starts with a barely audible piano and drums section that goes "in crescendo" like announcing a climax that reaches after a minute with the organ, guitar drums and bass hitting the listener with a sonic wall, again outstanding.

"Uvertyr Till Häst" keeps the atmosphere of the first track but the sound has evolved becoming more complex and elaborate, the detail of the hand clapping is perfect, the melody is simply beautiful, I always wonder how this guys can make something sop elaborate and complex sound so simple?

"Flickan I Skogen" is an excellent track where the unusual guitar style is absolutely unique, like hitting the instrument with hate, while the organ keeps a soft Psyche melody in the background almost as if they were jamming, also solid work by Lasse Krantz in the bass, as the support of all the music.

"Manna Jamma" begins with the strangest "a capella" section I ever heard, like a comedy dialogue that ends in donkey sounds and immediately leads to a jazzy passage where the keyboards and drums take the lead and then the complete band enters with all the have making us take a trip back to the late 60's, pure Psyche.

"At-One-Ment" is another song that takes us back to the 60's, reminds me of "Meshkalina" by TRAFFIC SOUND but with congas and fully instrumental, turms softer in the middle just to end completely weird.

"Skrik Från Embassy-Live" is a song that seems a complete jamming session, with strong and unusual sounds, full of interesting cacophonies, the star here is Bebben Öberg with his complex and elaborate percussion. Normally jamming bores me, but this song is fantastic.

Now its' time to get really crazy with "Fittravisan", a complete cacophony where percussion, piano and guitar blend in some sort of sonic wall, they made it short enough not to bore anybody.

"E'Pop Tai" is completely different to any previous song, an extremely beautiful Synth melody with a backing sound that seems made with maracas. Strangely flows gently from start to end without surprises.

The edition I got has two extra tracks, the frantic, cacophonic and Jazzy "Circus Impala" and "Lawrence in Sahara" which sounds like a Latin version of "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", but as always, I only focus in the tracks that were released with the original release, because that's the way the band believed the album should be listened (Well also due to time limitations of the Vinyl records).

There's no other possible rating than 5 stars because "Samla Mammas Manna" fulfills all the requirements of the guidelines, it's essential for any Prog Collection, being this is the pioneer album of the influential Scandinavian Prog and it's a masterpiece (At least in my opinion).

I believe that despite it's weirdness, this album is for any fan of real Prog with strong Psyche elements, so get it with confidence, you won't regret.

Samla Mammas Manna is a great experiemtal/ RIO rock band from Sweden. Their music is influenced by lots of different genres, and they end up sounding very original. It is note worthy that this album is from 1971. Even though that time was mostly dominated by symphonic prog rock bands a few bands stuck out and insisted on making something different and Samla Mammas Manna is certainly one of them.

The album is mostly instrumental, but starts with Circus apparatha which is a song with swedish lyrics and singing. I must say that even though the instrumental songs are very impressive Circus apparatha is my favorite here. This song has first of all a great instrumental track and on top of that the strange and funny Swedish lyrics that are just hilarious to me. The singing in itself is also very good here. The rest of the songs are also very good instrumental songs with lots of piano and organ led melodies. A lot of the melodies remind me of a day in the circus as they have that happy flavour of clowns, candyfloss and elephants. The songs rely heavily on rythm though, and with both a drummer Hasse Bruniusson ( now in The Flower Kings) and a percussionist Bebben Öberg, this is the part of Samla Mammas Manna´s music that is dominating and I promise you that they play some pretty impressive things. The songs are slightly complex yet memorable. This is not totally inaccessible RIO, but rather a pleasant variant. Handclaps are even thrown in to great humorous effect.

The musicians are outstanding and I´m especially impressed by that brilliant rythm section, but the funny little piano/ organ melodies are also wonderful.

The production isn´t the best but it doesn´t ruin the music and it has it´s charm.

This debut album is an excellent RIO album and I enjoy it very much. Had there been more of those funny vocals this could have been a masterpiece, but as it is I will rate it 4 stars.

I love the piano and drums. I am not entirely invoked by these albums, but the music is good. Furthermore, as far as RIO goes, you could probably put this in when your friends visit. They will ask you if it's Zappa, and since most of your friends like Zappa, it's ok. Still, it is really hard to get a handle on, but it's compelling enough to put on every once in a while, and is actually better than a lot of Zappa.

I love the piano and drums. I am not entirely invoked by these albums, but the music is good. Furthermore, as far as RIO goes, you could probably put this in when your friends visit. They will ask you if it's Zappa, and since most of your friends like Zappa, it's ok. Still, it is really hard to get a handle on, but it's compelling enough to put on every once in a while, and is actually better than a lot of Zappa.

4.5 stars. At the end of the liner notes they wrote "Remeber-joy is contagious!" Lets just say that this band has made a lot of people smile over the years.I laughed right out loud a couple of times while listening to the insane vocals.I'm sure they are singing some funny lines too,but it's all sung in Swedish.I had a hard time finding this cd but thankfully i finally got it and it was well worth the search.As a side note the Zeuhl band UPPSALA(great band) named their band after the city that guitarist Coste Apetrea is from.They met him and another Swedish guitarist while on vacation and were so affected by this meeting that they thus named their band UPPSALA and even named a song after the two guitarists.Like they said "Joy is contagious",they caught something special from that meeting anyway.Another side note is that the drummer(Hasse) has been the percussionist for the FLOWER KINGS for a long, long time. The first song "Dundrets Frojder" really embodies what this band is all about.This is also my favourite song off of the album.It features a catchy,uptempo melody with keys and drums leading the way.The guitar is fantastic!The tempo picks up as these crazy vocals come in.It gets heavy before 7 minutes with some excellent drumming followed by mellotron.Nice.Scorching guitar late,on this the longest track. "Oforutsedd Forlossning" features funny vocals and light drums.The sound gets louder as the guitar comes in. "Den Aterupplivade Laten" opens with odd sounds before we get a melody.The piano reminds me of GENESIS as the soundscape does have a symphonic flavour.Nice piano to end it. "Folkvisa I Morse" is a short and catchy folk song. "Syster System" has these hilarious vocals with piano and drums. "Tarningen" is a great uptempo track with outstanding piano,drumming and guitar. "Svackorpoangen" is led by piano and theatrical vocals. "Minareten" is bright and uplifting for 2 minutes before settling down as we get some more lunatic vocals.There is a fantastic sound the rest of the way until the mood changes after 7 minutes.The final song "Vaerelseds Tilbud" is made up of mostly piano melodies. This is like the polar opposite of UNIVERS ZERO,it's bright,fast and catchy,but most of all it will make you smile.