SAGAN OM RINGEN [AKA: MUSIC INSPIRED BY LORD OF THE RINGS]

Bo Hansson's debut album - first released in his native Sweden in 1970 before being given a wider release in 1972 - could well be one of the first great symphonic prog albums to come out of Scandinavia. Not only that, it's one of the earliest examples of an all-instrumental symphonic concept album - Krautrock bands had been releasing all-instrumental albums prior to this, mind, but those tended not to be concept albums and of course ploughed a very different furrow.

A series of keyboard-heavy instrumentals inspired by Lord of the Rings sees Bo backed up by a very capable band that he is more than happy to share the limelight with, knowing when to back off on his keys or guitar to let the sax or flute melodies breathe. The album is also surprisingly diverse - the concept might make you expect a disc heavy on medieval-influenced fare, but I also detect a certain Santana influence at points. Technically it's quite capable, and surely helped drive the growth of prog in Scandinavia, though with the passage of time I find it less enchanting. Ultimately, musically speaking it's a bit generic; I don't know whether the Tolkien theme was settled on before the fact or afterwards, but it certainly doesn't come through very much through the music for me.

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