ARBETE & FRITID Ur Spar Swedish prog psych

$

73

Arbete & Fritid - Ur Spar! Cover is a very nice EX; Vinyl is a beautiful M-.

Pressing: MNW 5F (1974) Original Swedish press

"To be honest, I was geared up to be blown away by these guys, who have pride of place in the first lines of the notorious Nurse With Wound influences/admiration list, since well before this reissue was even in the offing. Having devoured the recent years' bounty of Swedish avant-rock arcana unearthed to whet our appetites, I knew to expect something special from this late revival. Arbete och Fritid (Work and Leisure) bore the reputation of a live favorite on the Scandinavian festival circuit and some crossover with the membership of the exciting Pärson Sound/Träd, Gräs och Stenar/(International) Harvester axis. Propitious enough, and the album's opening notes only served to confirm Arbete och Fritid as the real deal. I should say "note," a glorious sustained blur of brass and strings trembling with the potential to go anywhere. Oh Lordy! Like the circle gathered around the creative compass of BoAnders Persson, Arbete och Fritid mainstay Ove Karlsson was inspired by the tape and drone experiments of Terry Riley, whose frequent visits to Stockholm throughout the '60s had stirred up and galvanized the local talent. Jazz, rock and folk musicians enlightened to the possibilities of the almighty drone, Karlsson, Persson and others began to blend techniques gleaned from avant-garde avatars like Riley and La Monte Young with the traditional melodies and rumbustious jazz-rock jams that went over so well at communal gatherings. Where Träd, Gräs och Stenar appealed to the youthful rabble with Rolling Stones and Hendrix covers and the paraphernalia of Eastern exoticism and shamanism, Arbete och Fritid cleaved to Nordic culture and recorded infrequently. Adapting folk melodies, already steeped in the rich overtones of keyed fiddles, bird-like flutes and thrumming drums, to drone-minded arrangements of horns and electrified instruments, Arbete och Fritid made the ancient music of Sweden much more palatable to modern ears, without resorting to the crass tactics employed by later Scandinavian folk upstarts like Hedningärna and Väsen." - Fakejazz.com

What a great review of this band! This album, BTW, has one track spanning both sides! Welcome to another AshRaTom prog and psych auction! From the point of my ownership (in many cases I am the original owner), all albums are carefully played on a Rega Planar 2 turntable. As well, all covers are protected in plastic sleeves. I'm a conservative grader, so bid with confidence! Albums are well packed and should arrive in the same condition they left. Any problems with the stated condition and we'll work it out I assure you. Postage chart for one record:
USA/Canada:
Media mail: $2.50
Priority Mail: $5.50 (all zones)

Europe/UK:
Air mail: $11

Japan/Korea/Australia/New Zealand:
Air Mail: $13

All other countries/regions not listed:
Price will be determined after close of auction

Surface mail (Overseas) = SLOW: Available on request.

Multiple LP wins: Postage will be determined after auction but, suffice to say, the more albums you win, the better the postage ratio.