TID ÄR LJUD

Well I have to agree with Eric with the 3.5 star rating for GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA's debut.There's so much here that I like though that I feel bad for not giving this 4 stars, problem is that there's even more here that I haven't been able to get into yet. More listens to come so that may change. I do really like the keyboards on this one, and count the Fender Rhodes playing by David Lundberg as the highlight for me.

"Helgamarktz" opens with cricket-like sounds that are building. There must be a lot of them. Synths and acoustic guitar slip in unoticed by the hoard before it kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes. What a great sound here. "Syrenernas Sang" opens with a heavy beat. Keys before a minute. Some spoken words after 4 minutes,guitar too. The tempo picks back up again after 6 minutes. "Aniarasviten" kicks in before 30 seconds. It settles 1 1/2 minutes in as the guitar slowly plays. A change after 4 minutes,some atmosphere too. It settles right down then kicks back in.

"Ljud Fran Stan" at least has some energy. Guitar before 3 minutes as he starts to solo. It's building before 6 1/2 minutes. Great sound. Crickets end it. "Tog Du Med Dig Naturen" is drum and guitar led. A steady and repetitive rhythm is the result. It finally changes before 8 minutes.8 minutes ! It settles again late. Keys come to the fore quickly on "Knolsvanen". It kicks in with a nice heavy sound 1 1/2 minutes in. The tempo picks up around 3 minutes. It then stops and builds again. Great sound again 6 1/2 minutes in. A gong ends it (where are the crickets?). "Svarta Hal Och Elljusspar" opens with guitar that recalls Fripp somewhat. Keys and a full sound come in quickly. It settles after 3 1/2 minutes. We get some flute and mellotron too (before 7 minutes) as it stays calm to the end.

This sounds so good at times, I just wish it did more often.