This is an album I long struggled with, having first heard it in the late 80s. Eventually I picked up the CD in 2011, and within the last couple of weeks I squeezed a +1 out of it. I think the primary issue here is the opening side. It's unlike anything else the group released, and it mars an otherwise excellent work. The album opener has an American west coast hard rocking psych vibe to it. Though strangely modern neo psychsters Dungen can portray this sound on occasion to better results. A2 is an instrumental, not bad at all, but is a bit static overall. A3 is a silly hoedown number that leads to the title track. And it's here that Kebnekaise finds its sea legs. Though the silliness factor is still in effect with the chipmunk voices. Oddly, Mikael Ramel used the same technique on his Till Dej album only one year later. Must've been a Swedish thing (and Ramel and guitarist Kenny Hakansson played together prior). No matter, as the music behind it is splendid with superb guitar. Side 2 is all aces. Mostly a hard blues rock outing, that recall fellow countrymen November at the beginning of their career. The lengthy B1 is the highlight of the album for me. After this debut, the band would embrace more their "Swedishness". To great success I might add.
Ownership: LP: 1971 Silence. Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition (2024). Discogs states that the cover (not the vinyl) of this is from the 80s based on rumor and hearsay. I don't think that's correct. Just a variation on the back cover (probably a different printer). It certainly feels like an early 70s cover from Sweden.
The CD listen above convinced me to keep the album, and I added it to my LP want list not expecting a reasonably priced copy to be offered up anytime soon. But that's just what happened, as a US based seller recently offered up a very generous price, so I nabbed it (mintish vinyl too). The CD offers nothing else, so it can go.
3/27/11 (first listen); 11/18/17; 3/24/24 (review / new entry)
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