HANSSON & KARLSSON/MONUMENT LPHM 46260/ST (-67) SWEDEN

A Swedish duo made up of Bo Hansson (organ) and Janne Karlsson (drums). The music was a mix between jazz, rock and pop and they are today considered forerunners in the prog genre. H&K recorded three albums in the late sixties. This debut started as a soundtrack to an experimental show made for the Swedish television, composed of distorted and warped pictures and film sequences creating a psychedelic effect. An exemple is the back cover pic of Paul McCartney shown below. The music appears like a dynamic flow, sometimes following a specific melody and sometimes improvised. The organ is in the lead and the drummer follows and supports with jazz licks. Jimi Hendrix was a fan and hung out with the team when he visited Stockholm and later recorded one of their numbers -"Tax Free". This first press had mono label and number, but it's actually a kind of compatible stereo. The audio is big, clear and natural, allowing you to hear every nuance. It was good back then and sounds even better today. Don't know of any other vinyl issues, but a collection including this album and a couple of other tracks came on CD 1998 (Polydor 557 279-2). The premiere vinyl release had laminated f/o cover. (SCÄ*)(ÄZC*) (ZÖNT*)(CCÖ*)