VA - Dansk Rock Historie 1965-1978. Box Gul (2010) [11CD Box Set]

Danish 60's hippie-rock band. Shortly after the the release of the groups only album, the critically acclaimed "Hip", the groups vocalist, lyricist and frontman Eik Skaløe travelled to India but disappeared and later was found starved to death with a suicide note on him. His death, the short-lived band and a very competent album has turned Steppeulvene into one of Denmarks few rock legends.
The danish organization for music critics has named their award "Steppeulven" after the band.

~ discogs

Tracklist:

01. Dunhammeraften 05:25
02. Itsi-bitsi 04:54
03. Til Nashet 05:23
04. Jensen 06:40
05. 0-0-0 05:02
06. Lykkens pamfil 05:44
07. Kvinde kom ud 04:03
08. Kun for forrykte 05:19

The two-man, one-woman Danish trio of Cy, Maia & Robert recorded both acoustic folk and quirky pop-folk-rock albums in the mid-'60s. Comprised of Cy Nicklin, Maia Aarskov, and Robert Lelievre, their albums for the Sonet label are little-known to English-speaking audiences, though they're sung entirely in English and obviously primarily inspired by American folk influences. The threesome was pretty much a Peter, Paul & Mary kind of act on their On the Scene album, but moved into more pop and rock-flavored arrangements on the subsequent Out of Our Times. That LP has some interest for 1960s folk and folk-rock aficionados, not so much because of the quality of the songs and singing (which are okay), but for its unusual blend of bits and pieces of folk boom harmonizers like Peter, Paul & Mary, pop-folk stars like the Seekers, folk rockers like the Mamas & the Papas, some jazz-pop-style harmonies, and some almost sunshine pop-like orchestration from time to time.

by Richie Unterberger, AMG

Tracklist:

On the Scene (1966):
01. A Church is Burning 03:35
02. Two Brothers 03:32
03. The Other Day 04:03
04. Cannot Keep From Crying 03:23
05. Aziza 04:15
06. Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall 03:19
07. Dady Roll 'Em 02:32
08. Rocking the Craddle 02:36
09. The Water is Wide 04:16
10. Moonshiner 04:29
11. Whoa Back Buck 03:14
12. I've Been on the Road 03:49

Out of Our Times (1967):
13. I Lie With You 04:06
14. Tommy Taylor the Third 02:29
15. Born and Bred 03:31
16. Carlos 02:23
17. Cuckold 03:20
18. City Blues 02:55
19. Twenty Summers 02:45
20. Goin' Where I'm Wanted 02:11
21. Night Mare 02:42
22. Lonely Child 02:58
23. Town 02:37
24. I'm on My Way 03:04

One of the most well-known rock groups from Continental Europe, Denmark's Savage Rose recorded a wealth of intriguing and eclectic progressive rock in the late '60s and '70s. In their early work, one hears faint echoes of the Airplane, Doors, Pink Floyd, and other psychedelic heavyweights combined with classical jazz and Danish-Euro folk elements. Their arrangements rely heavily on an incandescent, watery organ that sounds like nothing so much as psychedelic aquarium music. The most striking aspect of the band's sound, however, was the vocals of lead singer Annisette. Her childish wispy and sensual phrasing can suddenly break into jarring, almost histrionic wailing, like a Janis Joplin with Yoko Ono-isms, and eerily foreshadows Kate Bush's style.

Stars in their native land, Savage Rose also achieved a bit of underground success abroad, and several of their albums were released in North America. Between 1968 and 1978, the group released nine albums, moving from vaguely psychedelic rock and the heavily gospel-influenced Refugee to the nearly classical ballet score Dodens Triumf and the folky, nearly all-Danish Solen Var Ogsa Din (their first eight albums were sung entirely in English).

Always a radical band – the Black Panthers even invited the group to play at a benefit for Bobby Seale after hearing one of Savage Rose's records – they took the extremely radical step of withdrawing from the studio entirely by the end of 1970s to focus on using their music to support leftist political causes. Although they continued to make music and perform, they were often heard at benefits and free concerts, actually playing in Lebanese hospitals, schools, and refugee camps at the P.L.O.'s invitation. They eased back into recording in the early '80s with Danish-language efforts on small labels, eventually getting back into the mainstream music business with established distribution. Their mid-'90s album, Black Angel, was their first English-language recording in many years, and a substantial Danish hit. By this time the only remaining members from the original band were Thomas Koppel and Annisette (now his wife); Koppel also records and composes symphonic music as a solo artist.

by Richie Unterberger, AMG

Tracklist:

The Savage Rose (1968):
01. Your Sign, My Sign 03:07
02. Open Air Shop 05:32
03. You Be Free 01:30
04. Oh Baby Where Have You Gone? 02:11
05. A Girl I Knew 04:36
06. Everybody Must Know 02:57
07. Savage Rose 02:41
08. Her Story 04:36
09. White Swans' Marriage Clothes 02:24
10. Sleep 01:57
11. You'll Be Alright 03:17

In the Plain (1968):
12. Long Before I Was Born 03:21
13. I'm Walking Through the Door 04:33
14. Let's See Her 03:56
15. Ride My Mountain (Jade) 05:44
16. The Sheperd & Sally 05:22
17. His Own Happiness 04:52
18. Gods Little Hand 02:24
19. Evening's Child 03:31
20. A Trial in Our Native Town 07:11

Often cited as one of the first genuine psychedelic rock bands to emerge in Denmark during the 1960s, Young Flowers were a blues-based power trio whose music was heavily influenced by Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Young Flowers were formed in Copenhagen in 1967 by guitarist Jens Dahl and drummer Ken Gudman, both former members of the Defenders, and bassist and singer Peter Ingemann, who previously worked with Seven Sounds. Young Flowers cut their first single in the fall of 1967, "Like Birds," but shortly afterwards Dahl dropped out of the band, and Peer Frost, who had played guitar with Les Rivals, joined the trio. Young Flowers scored a big break in 1968 when they were recruited to provide music for a television movie staring Danish actor and author Thomas Winding. Much of the music on their debut album, Blomsterpistolen (meaning "Flower Pistol"), was written for the television film of the same name, and the album had a powerful influence on the Danish rock scene, which at the time was dominated by folk-rock and pop groups.

A second Young Flowers album, simply called No. 2, appeared in 1969, and when filmmaker Jens Jorgen Thorson created a screen adaptation of Henry Miller's novel Quiet Days in Clichy, he asked Young Flowers to write and perform several songs for the soundtrack. In 1969, Young Flowers became the first Danish group to tour North America, playing a string of dates in the United States and Canada, but the members of the group developed different musical interests, and Young Flowers broke up in 1970. Peer Frost went on to play with Midnight Sun and the Savage Rose, while Ken Gudman joined Culpepper's Orchard and Peter Ingemann performed with No Name. Young Flowers' popularity and historical importance led to a steady stream of reissues and archival released in Denmark, and in 2012 the British RPM label issued Take Warning: The Complete Studio Recordings.

by Mark Deming, AMG

Tracklist:

Blomsterpistolen (1968):
01. Ouverture / Take Warning 04:29
02. The Moment Life Appeared 02:30
03. 25 ore 08:02
04. Oppe i træet 03:31
05. To You 02:07
06. Down Along the Cove 04:04
07. April '68 09:02

No.2 (1969):
08. You Upset Me Baby 03:51
09. And Who but I Should Be 05:33
10. Calypso 02:49
11. Won't You Take My Place in the Queue 05:20
12. Slow Down Driver 05:28
13. The Daybreak 06:10
14. Kragerne vender 10:39

M144 is the debut album from experimental Danish Jazz/ rock act Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe. Heavily rooted in the Danish jazz scene in the sixties Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe began to incorporate more rock influences into their music and soon had a good following in their native Denmark. M144 was released in 1969 and was one of the few Danish rock albums from that time with an international sound. The band enjoyed quite a success internationally especially in the UK where the album actually charted as one of the first foreign albums ever. Germany and the rest of Scandinavia were also markets for Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe.

M144 is a double album which was also something that was very unusual for Danish artists in 1969. The first LP has Danish sung lyrics while the second has English sung lyrics. About half of the songs are instrumental though. The lyrics are generally pretty fragmented and weird. I´m not sure but Ridder Rød ( Red Knight) does sound like there are some socialist thoughts put into it ( which was a very common thing in Danish lyrics from this time). Kaj is a pretty hilarious song about the lonely guy named Kaj who is only interested in girls on pictures. He lives with his aunt who is very interested in him ( censorship bip bip).

The album is full of great bluesy jazz/ rock tunes, very much in the vein of bands like Colosseum and Audience. Lots of brass and catchy hooks. Songs like Antique Peppermint, Medardus ( with vocals that remind me of Magma) and Saxophonepiece 1 and 2 are all excellent mostly instrumental jazz/ rock songs. Songs like Ivanhoe i Brøndbyerne, Ridder Rød, Marsfesten, Kaj and Purple Hearts also showcase Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe´s high level of compositional and technical skill. Ksilioy ends the album and I must admit that it´s a bit too much for me with the repetitive midsection even though the musicianship is outstanding in this song.

The CD version is a double CD with six added extra songs where Why Don't You Trust is the most exciting one. Kaj is there again in a version recorded in 1997.

The musicianship is excellent and all involved are higly skilled musicians. Especially the brass playing is of an extremely high standard.

The production is excellent. Great organic mix.

What I enjoy so much about the album is that it never gets too jazzy. It´s always more rock music than jazz ditto and that´s how I like it. M144 is without a doubt one of the most groundbreaking releases in Danish music history and it´s a great progressive rock album as well. It´s close to being a masterpiece but not quite and 4 stars is well deserved. It´s a highly recommendable bluesy Jazz/ rock album. Maybe one of the best out there.

by UMUR, progarchives

Tracklist:

01. Ivanhoe i Brondbyerne 03:55
02. Ridder Rod 03:55
03. Saxophonepiece Piece 1 02:18
04. Marsfesten 05:34
05. Antique Peppermint 04:09
06. Indre landskab 03:02
07. Jiizlou 02:43
08. Kaj 02:44
09. Tingel-tangelmanden 05:30
10. Læg Dig Kun Ned 03:35
11. Saxophonepiece Piece 2 01:55
12. Medardus 06:39
13. Purple Hearts 05:47
14. Larsens 03:35
15. Ouizl 06:37
16. Ivanhoe in the Woods 05:17
17. Ida Verlaine 04:19
18. Sensitive Plant 03:21
19. Inside 02:49

Eponymous debut album from this quintessential Danish group Alrune Rod (Mandrake Root), which was highly touted in the underground scene for their disregard to commercial aspects of the music business. Indeed their heavy psych-prog, sung in Danish (apparently a first), sounds like a darker Vanilla Fudge or Floyd (between Saucerful and Atom Heart) was full of lengthy tracks with elongated solos, dark brooding vocals and multi-movement tracks. Graced with a very sexy psychedelic gatefold artwork, the album has gained a cult status in its homeland and the vinyl is fetching considerable price.

From the very first notes of the opening eponymous track (10-mins long), it is clear that this album is not wedding dancing party music, and should you find a woman willing to make out to it, get a grip on her and marry her! ;o)p) And if the AR track was not enough, wait till you get a load of the following 10-min Natskyggevej (yeah, bless you too! ;o), which is definitely even deeper and sombre with the ever-present organ. Even if sombre, the ambiances are actually often beautiful and sometimes solemn, but also menacing and spellbinding. Closing the A-side is the short and unusual Hvor Skalwhatchymacallit with some acoustic guitars and congas. Bassist Roden's voice can be an acquired taste, especially on tracks were vocals take a more upfront role.

The flipside only contains two more epics, starting with the 12-min 3-phase Bjergsangen which sounds much like its cousins, searing guitar lines, good base work and enthralling drum playing, but the middle section is a bit awkward and add to the feeling that the music also has an anaemic side to it. Ziegler's organ sounds like a cross of Banton meeting Jon Lord through Kaye or Wright, but fails to take the lead from Giese's fuzzed-out guitar lines. Closing the album is the 13-min+ Rejsen Hejm (Pardon my Danish) is the most dramatic of the album, and its dynamics are adding a bit of a third dimension to the album.

AR's debut album is not a really easy listen, especially given that the album is rather long, (approaching the 50 minutes), but should ravish organ-driven hard rock with a psych edge! Although likely to please most progheads, I'd warn those liking very complex symphonic rock (ala Yes or ELP), that they might not find what they're looking usually for in this group. Very close to being essential hippie icon, and to file next to Vanillage Fudge.

by Sean Trane, progarchives

Tracklist:

01. Alrune Rod 10:00
02. Natskyggevej 10:03
03. Hvor skai jeg se solen sta op? 03:19
04. Bjergsangen 11:26
fase a: Kom og tag min hand
fase b: Du er sa sod
fase c: Nar yderst er inderst
05. Rejsen hjem 13:23

Povl Dissing

Danish singer, guitarist, mouth organist and songwriter. Born 21.01.1938 - active from 1963. Started as a folk singer, but has also a deepfelt partiality for the blues. Has worked with a number of danish groups and artists, with greatest succes together with danish writer Benny Andersen, together with whom he released Svantes Viser.

~ discogs

Tracklist:

Dissing (Nogne Ojne) (1969):
01. Ingen 04:00
02. Godt nyt i dag 03:05
03. Honningland 04:02
04. Anemonesmil 03:52
05. Jeg gor dig rig igen 04:14
06. Du er fjern 03:46
07. Tape fra en halv mand 10:39
08. Nogne ojne 04:41

Povl Dissing & Burnin Red Ivanhoe - 6 Elefantskovcikadeviser (1971):
09. Introduktion v. Sigvaldi 00:46
10. Wallifanten 06:43
11. Narrevise 05:26
12. Snehvidekys 04:05
13. Kometen v. Sigvaldi 00:34
14. Ta' fri, ta' fri 02:57
15. Et samfund 02:01
16. Tingel-tangelmanden 10:33
17. Introduktion til Medardus 02:45

Danish folk-inspired duo working with a loose constellation of backing musicians throughout the 1970's. After the breakup of Young Flowers in early 1970 bass player Peter Ingemann started collaborating with folk singer Niels Skousen as a duo before establishing a full band. The folkish debut album, 1971's Herfra Hvor Vi Står is considered a milestone in Danish rock music history with it's unique Danish expression and became a catalysator to Danish rock mucicians writing lyrics in their own language. Early 1972 the recording and touring line-up evolved into Musikpatruljen, and then disbanded within a year. By summer 1975 Skousen and Ingemann played in the band of singer-songwriter Stig Møller, and the year after the threesome recorded Lykkehjulet, released in November. For their last album Forbryderalbum, released in October 1978, the duo assembled a whole new group of musicians. During the 1980's and 1990's they worked on and off playing live, as a duo or with backing musicians. In 1984 Ingemann and Møller participated to "concert of the year" in Denmark, organised by the Danish committee against the European Community, and contributed the 1971 single "EEC Blues" to the resulting live album (Årets Koncert). In May 2011 Skousen and Ingemann reunited to perform the entire album Herfra Hvor Vi Står at a live concert to commemorate its 40 years anniversary.

~ discogs

Tracklist:

01. Isabel 08:20
02. Svæt at na frem 05:43
03. Fodbold 06:45
04. Kaptajnen 04:16
05. Knud Lavard 14:51
06. Herfra hvor vi star 04:47

Danish group formed late 1969 by Cy Nicklin and Nils Henriksen. First live performance January 30th 1970 with Michael Friis and Rodger Barker.

Mid 70s, after their third album, the group had trouble getting release contracts, - but still played live at various events (Roskilde Festival 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978).

Their fourth album from 1976 was self-financed, released under the shorter group name Culpeper and showed a change in musical style.

~ discogs

Tracklist:

Culpeper's Orchard (1971):
01. Banjocul 00:44
02. Mountain Music Part 1 06:25
03. Hey You People 01:29
04. Teaparty for an Orchard 06:10
05. Ode to Resistance 05:49
06. Your Song and Mine 05:33
07. Gideon's Trap 05:42
08. Blue Day's Morning 02:09
09. Mountain Music Part 2 07:23

Second Sight (1972):
10. Julia 03:16
11. Keyboard Waltz 04:24
12. Classified Ads 04:12
13. Late Night Woman Blues 06:36
14. Mind Pollution - Weather Report 09:34
15. Autumn of It All 04:05
16. Satisfied Mind 06:05

This band just made one sole hard-prog-rock album back in the era where Denmark had a lively prog scene (bands like Burnin'Red Ivanhoe, Coronaria Dans, Secret Oyster, ACHE and many more).

They took their name from the Old Tale (seems to be quite popular one around the Baltic Sea) and made their album based on that. All of the songs on the album has been awarded an icon image of this tale on the booklet of the CD. Thge songs are definitely hard rock with a predominent guitar but KB are also quite present . We are also gratified of a few flute interventions. The vocals are in English and quite apt. The Monk Song is the highlight and cut into two section with the first part showing all of the possibilities of the band.

All in all , with this album, we are hovering around Zeppelin, Purple , Heep, Rooster and a few more bands of the genre but this album is far from derivative of those cited here.

by Sean Trane, progarchives

Tracklist:

01. Living Dead 07:47
02. Princess 06:02
03. Jingoism 06:56
04. Prelude 01:11
05. Monksong Part 1 05:51
06. Monksong Part 2 03:36
07. Going Blind 10:31
08. Circulation 05:58
09. Lady Nasty 07:49
10. Nasty Backbone 04:23
11. Roll the Dice 03:17
12. The Jam (Live) 07:20







Tracklist:

01. Skousen & Ingemann - Blæsten over soen 06:08
02. Alrune Rod - Pigen pa stranden 05:14
03. Alrune Rod - Tæl aldrig imorgen med 04:19
04. Alrune Rod - Himlen er bla 03:19
05. Povl Dissing - Jeg tændte ingen sol for dig 04:37
06. Povl Dissing - Jeg er sa dejlig jeg ikke behover pral 02:26
07. Povl Dissing - Fabeldyret 03:12
08. Povl Dissing - Gud ved hvem der kysser dig nu? 03:00
09. Povl Dissing & Burnin Red Ivanhoe - August Gyldenstjerne 04:03
10. Povl Dissing & Burnin Red Ivanhoe - Hvem tor? 03:44
11. Culpeper's Orchard, Sys Swarbrick, Birgitte & Mette - Troldspejlet 04:17
12. Culpeper's Orchard - Steamhouse 02:34
13. Culpeper's Orchard - Raving 05:13
14. Cy & Maia - Portland Town 02:47
15. Cy & Maia - Chickens Are A-Crowing 02:41
16. Cy, Maia & Robert - Lonesome Valley 02:11
17. Cy, Maia & Robert - This Sporting Life 02:16
18. Cy, Maia & Robert - Take a Look Inside 01:50
19. Cy, Maia & Robert - Green Rocky Road 03:19
20. Cy, Maia & Robert - Harvest of Hate 01:58
21. Burnin Red Ivanhoe - Ksiloy 10:35





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