KEBNEKAISE II

According to Kenny Håkansson, after the release of Kebnekaise's first album he was touring with singer/songwriter Cornelis Vreeswijk, who had two fiddle players in his backing band.Their music was so impressive that forced Hakansson to redefine Kebnekaise's sound.By the time of a second album Bella Fehrlin and Rolf Scherrer had left the group, which featured now an expanded line-up: Ex-Heta Linjen's Göran Lagerberg on bass, Mats Glenngård on violin, Gunnar Andersson on drums, Thomas Netzler on bass, Ingemar Boecker on guitar, Hassan Bah on percussion and Pelle Lindström on harmonica and violin.The album, simply entitled ''Kebnekaise II'', was recorded at the Decibel Studios in September 73' and it was released at the end of the year on Silence.

It wouldn't be an excess to say that Kebnekaise not only had passed through a total lifting, musically speaking, but their new style defined a whole new world for Swedish Rock, with elements that plenty of groups borrowed in the future.They mixed Psychedelic Rock with Swedish Folk in a charming way, combining the rock instrumentation with the some folky tunes and the heavy use of violins.Unlike mane people would expect, their music was rather joyful with optimistic tunes, headed by the impressive electric guitars of the Hakannson/Boecker duo, the rural edge of traditional fiddles and the strong use of percussion.Groovy, mid-tempo tracks with good interplays and an emphatic rhythm section, backing the main role players.They even included a long composition, the 16-min. ''Comanche spring'', which sounded a bit different and rather more progressive than the rest of the album.The guitars had now a slight jazzy edge, the solos became more furious, the interactions between guitars and violins were endless and the track swirled between different atmospheres with upfront segments and more smooth lines.The performances overall are pretty great with the Folk touches in the forefront but also many Psychedelic Rock offerings.

A milestone album for Swedish Rock.Not totally flawless or masterfully composed, but certainly this is an album full of great moments and a very original mood.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars