Sunday, February 24, 2008

Hoola Bandoola Band-Discography 1971-75,1971-1975,LPs,Sweden

Garanterat Individuell,1971
Vem Kan Man Lita På? ,1972
På Väg ,1973
Fri Information ,1975

Hoola Bandoola Band was, together with Nationalteatern, the biggest band of the Swedish progg movement. And where Nationalteatern put social realistic lyrics to rock songs, Hoola Bandoola had more political lyrics and swerved further from traditional rock.
The name is inspired by a fictional language spoken by ants in a Donald Duck short cartoon, most likely "Tea for Two Hundred", directed in 1948 by Jack Hannah, with ant language spoken by Pinto Colvig.
The band was formed in 1970. In 1971, they had their first radio hit and were immediately contacted by two record companies, one commercial and one alternative, MNW. In the political climate of the 1970s, the choice of side was crucial, and by choosing the alternative company, Hoola Bandoola came to be the most well-known band on the alternative side in Sweden.
Their debut in 1971, Garanterat individuell, (Guaranteed to be individual) was hailed as the start of a new era for Swedish pop and was elected the album of the year. It was not overly political when it came to lyrics, but on the second album Vem kan man lita på?, (Who can you trust?) released the next year, the socialist message was clearer. It still sold very well and included long-lasting hits like Keops pyramid.
With På Väg, (On the way) recorded with a balalaika orchestra, Hoola Bandoola became one of the best-selling groups in Sweden. In 1975 they released the forth album Fri information (Free information), where the socialist message was more outspoken than ever before. And this time, Afzelius had written half of the songs, where before it had been Wiehe writing almost everything.
In 1975, the alternative movement gathered in opposition to a tennis game played between Sweden and Chile, which at the time was under the military dictatorship of Pinochet, and for that event, Hoola Bandoola released Stoppa matchen (Stop the game) as a single. This was to be their last studio recording. In 1976, the band broke up and Wiehe and Afzelius started very successful careers as singer/songwriters, both together and by themselves.
After 20 years' absence, Hoola Bandoola reunited in 1996, playing warmup for Bob Dylan and going on their own nationwide tour. On this tour, the live album För dom som kommer sen (For those who come later) was recorded. But in 1999, Björn Afzelius died, making further reunions more unlikely.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoola_Bandoola_Band"
Great polit-rock band from Sweden.Musically the style varies from crazed folk,to stretched out country rock to demented blues rock and psychedelic compositions.This is almost their complete discography (there are 2 more less interesting LPs released in the 90s). Personal faves are :På Väg and Vem Kan Man Lita På?.
get them all here and here


6 comments:

kingpossum said...

Bless you Mutant! Swedish prog from "the movement" era is exciting, wide-ranging and often outlandish. HBB were one of the most successful of the breed.

Anyone who's halfway interested in this stuff would be advised to check out The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music 1967-79. Great book that comes with a sampler CD.

avdo said...

Thanks for HBB fantastic swedish music.

Anybody who have theirs ?

Svit För P. (Export/Mini-LP) from 1972
on link
http://www.progg.se/band.asp?ID=36&skiva=352

or

Country Pleasures , on CD from 1996

link
http://www.progg.se/band.asp?ID=36&skiva=437

Thanks in adcance

Anonymous said...

Mutant Sounds is by far the best blog I've found. Just unbelieveable, really. Many, many thanks!! --Peter

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, I love your blog, but I just don't know what this very bad popmusic has to do here - well, tastes may be different, but it's even no prog at all, does nobody agree with me??

cheers!

Anonymous said...

Of course. Ridiculous. And as mutant as Saltsjöbadsavtalet. Look that up if you like this. If you don't, don't.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a million for posting this. Great music!