It's been a full 20 years since I last heard this album, a long time favorite that should be heard more often than that. Here are my notes from that last listen:
Sweden at the beginning of the 1970's, like Germany close by, had an exciting music scene where American and British trends were being ignored. Here the bands were not shackled by commercialism and could pursue the freedom to explore all sorts of combinations of styles. In this environment, bands such as Algarnas Tradgard, Samla Mammas Manna, Kebnekaise and International Harvester produced a very exciting rock culture filled with creative ideas. All appeared on the Silence label, the Swedish equivalent of Germany's Ohr label. Flasket Brinner (The Flesh is Burning) were but one of these great bands. On their self-titled debut, Flasket Brinner pursued the instrumental free-form jam mixed with the odd progressive composition in a live setting. The style is very much inspired by the free jazz scene that flourished in late 1960s Europe. However here, the instrumentation was more rock based with organ, guitar, bass, drums, flute and sax. The playing is extremely energetic which, if not careful, will catch the listener in a bit of head-banging. And, best of all, the melodies were based on traditional Swedish themes making a wonderful concoction of rock, free jazz, psychedelic and folk. A brilliant album overall and a must for fans of Euro psychedelic fusion.
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Not much more to add, as last night's listen confirms a wonderful experience. I would also add that Side 2 definitely picks up the pace and is the better half. The album peaks on the awesome 'Bosses Låt'. I believe most - if not all - of this album is live. Sometimes it's obvious, other times I think they just filtered out the audience noise. There is some overlap here with the brilliant Mellotronen 4 CD set. Most notably, this lineup ties to the 1970 (disc 1) concert.
Ownership: Silence (LP). Later 70s pressing.When I first joined Discogs in 2012, there was only the one 1971 release for Flasket Brinner. I didn't think that was right at the time, but couldn't refute it either. In the late 80s, I would see this album often in catalogs, and it was listed as a repress. Every time I attempted to obtain it back then, I was thwarted. Finally when I did secure one (inexpensive), it had the same label as the first copy of Algarnas Tradgard that I owned - a bright yellow. That for sure was a repress (since replaced with the original). I was always told originals had a pale yellow label. Well, sure enough, it's all come to light now. Apparently I have a 3rd pressing (based on weight). They say late 70s, but I'd be willing to bet 1980s based on others from the same label - and its relative availability later in the decade.
3/30/01 (review); 2/11/21 (update / new entry)
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