Biography:
In their early years, KAIPA was one of Sweden's best seventies symphonic prog bands. Roine STOLT from THE FLOWER KINGS was a member of KAIPA. Their albums contain a mostly instrumental music, drawing its influences from Progressive music (CAMEL, YES, GENESIS...), classic music (BACH) or Swedish folklore.
The first three albums ("Kaipa", "Inget Nytt Under Solen" and "Solo") are a beauty and probably most indicative of their style - dreamy symphonic rock with simple, yet very effective melodies and a great deal of emotion. "Notes From The Past" is their 6th studio album since 1975 and the first one since 1982. All colours of the unique KAIPA-music from the 70's are present but with a brand new collection of masterpieces. With the new album "Keyholder", Hans LUNDIN and Roine STOLT perform some new music, searching for a new level of progress, yet echoing fragments of the glorious 70's, trying to bring the new Kaipa-sound to a higher level. The melodies linger on and will probably stay with you for decades to entertain and to thrill. AN ESSENTIAL CDS for fans interested in symphonic progressive rock!
~ progarchives.com
Review:
If you are a fan of Kaipa as it is organized today, you are in for a treat when you go into their back catalogue and discover the music they were making in their salad days. Though I can't claim to have been a Kaipa fan then, I certainly wish I had been as I would have had many more years of enjoyment of these obscure early prog masterpieces. And though the term "masterpiece" is often overused, when you take into account the age and experience of the musicians at the time of issue, you will hear that the term applies here. This set is loaded with some positively astounding tunes!
Kaipa: The Decca Years is comprised of three studio albums, a demo which was previously unreleased, and a previously unreleased live set. The three studio albums are occasionally available individually, but this collection is the only place you'll obtain the other two. The main problem is that this is a limited edition. It sold out quickly here, I was able to get one only by going to the German amazon site and ordering it from a partner there. I took the salami on the price (over one hundred dollars) but am satisfied that it is a good value. I have since seen it at a much better price on Inside Out Records German website so you might check there for a copy if one is unavailable here.
Here's a listing of the CDs and their highlights:
1) Kaipa: an excellent debut. The most interesting tunes are Ankaret, the lovely Skogspromenad, and the jazzy Forlorad I Istanbul.
2) Inget Nytt Under Solen: My favorite is Skenet Bedrar, which is a textbook example of what prog is all about. Other highlights, some of which have passages evocative of Procol Harum are: Korstag, Dagens Port, Awakening Bitterness, and The Gate of Day.
3) Solo: I like the inspired Den Skrattande Grevinnan, the dreamy Vissan I Sommaren, the relaxing Taigan, the soaring Respektera Min Varld, the majestic En Igelkotts Dod, and the epic Total Forvirring.
4) Kaipa Live: There are some fairly spectacular cuts here in which the youth of the musicians is belied by the maturity and depth of the arrangements. I enjoy most Total Forvirring, Skenet Bedrar, Musiken Ar Ljuset, and Se Var Morgon Gry.
5) The 1974 Unedited Master Demo Recording: Shows Kaipa's early promise and some masterful licks by a young Roine Stolt. My favorites are the relentless Taktus, the driving Cirrus, the interesting keyboards in Pa Fard, and the guitar work in Karavan. This demo is more advanced than some "popular" groups' entire recording output!
This is a box set which belongs in the collection of every serious prog fan, particularly those who follow Swedish prog. Unfortunately, if the record company is to be believed, it is available only to three thousand of them. The value of this set is augmented by a rather thick booklet containing pictures of and stories about the band and its music. Get this unit wherever and whenever you can!
by Bon Vivant ~ amazon.com
Total Förvirring:
Personnel:
CD1: "Kaipa"
- Ingemar Bergman / drums, percussion, vocal
- Tomas Eriksson / bass, vocal
- Hans Lundin / Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Grand piano, Yamaha SY1 Synthesizer, Harpsichord, Logan String-machine, Glockenspiel, lead vocal
- Roine Stolt / electric and acoustic guitars, vocal
CD2: "Inget nytt uner solen"
- Ingemar Bergman / drums, temple blocks, rattle & vocals
- Tomas Eriksson / bass, synth-bass & voice of the Almighty
- Hans Lundin / Hammond organ, Grand piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Mellotron, Yamaha & Korg synthesizers, Logan string machine, Hohner Clavinet, vibes, marimba, prepared piano & lead vocal
- Roine Stolt / electric guitar, 6 and 12-string acoustic guitar and rattle
- Lars Hoflund / lead vocal on tracks 7, 9 & 10
CD3: "Solo"
- Ingemar Bergman / drums, percussion, laughing
- Mats Lindberg / bass, Moog Taurus pedals, percussion
- Hans Lundin / Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, grand piano, Mellotron, Mini and polymoog synths, Korg String 2000, Hohner Clavinet, vocal
- Mats Löfgren / lead vocal, percussion
- Roine Stolt: 6 and 12-string electric guitars, acoustic guitars, guitar-synthesizer, percussion, vocal
CD 4: "Kaipa live"
Track 1-7
- Ingemar Bergman / drums
- Mats Lindberg / bass, 12-string electric guitar, Moog Taurus pedals
- Hans Lundin / Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Crumar organ, Korg String 2000, vocal
- Mats Löfgren / vocal, electric guitar, percussion, glockenspiel
- Roine Stolt / electric guitar
Track 8-11
- Ingemar Bergman / drums, vocal
- Tomas Eriksson / bass, vocal
- Hans Lundin / Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha SY synthesizer, Logan string-machine, vocal
- Roine Stolt / electric guitar, Talk-box
CD5: "1974 Unedited Master Demo Recording"
- Ingemar Bergman / drums & vocal
- Tomas Eriksson / bass & vocal
- Hans Lundin / Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, Davoli synthesizer & vocal
- Roine Stolt / electric guitar & vocal
Tracks:
CD1: "Kaipa" (53:38)
1. Musiken är ljuset (7:04)
2. Saker har två sidor (4:34)
3. Ankaret (8:40)
4. Skogspromenad (3:40)
5. Allting har en början (3:12)
6. Se var morgon gry (8:53)
7. Förlorad i Istanbul (2:24)
8. Oceaner föder liv (9:28)
Bonus tracks:
9. Från det ena till det andra (2:49)
10. Karavan (2:54)
CD2: "Inget nytt uner solen" (58:29)
1. Skenet bedrar (21:41)
a) Uppvaknandet 2:43
b) Bitterheten 3:10
c) Hoppfullheten 4:44
d) Överheten 8:12
e) Vilseledd 2:52
2. Ömsom sken (3:17)
3. Korståg (5:19)
4. Stengrodornas parad (0:56)
5. Dagens port (2:34)
6. Inget nytt under solen (6:10)
Bonus tracks:
7. Awakening/Bitterness (6:10)
8. How might I say out clearly (3:38)
9. The gate of day (2:26)
10. Blow hard all tradewinds (6:18)
CD3: "Solo" (50:33)
1. Den skrattande grevinnan (4:46)
2. Sen repris (3:22)
3. Flytet (2:46)
4. Anar dig (4:05)
5. Frog funk (3:35)
6. Visan i sommaren (3:35)
7. Tajgan (3:25)
8. Respektera min värld (6:16)
9. En igelkotts död (3:40)
10. Total förvirring (7:25)
11. Sist på plan (7:38)
CD 4: Kaipa live (79:30)
1. Total förvirring (8:42)
2. Skenet bedrar (16:29)
3. Visan i sommaren (3:23)
4. En igelkotts död/Ömsom sken (4:35)
5. Inget nytt under solen (8:02)
6. Copenhagen House-jam (5:48)
7. Flytet (2:54)
8. Musiken är ljuset (7:30)
9. Se var morgon gry (9:13)
10. Noice-village-stone-frog (5:49)
11. Oceaner föder liv (End part) (7:05)
Track 1-7 recorded at "Huset" Copenhagen Denmark 78.05.25
Track 8-9 recorded at "Östanåskolan" Eksjö Sweden 76.03.02
Track 10 recorded at "Bullerbyn" Stockholm Sweden 77.04.07
Track 11 recorded at "Stenungsundsgymnasiet" Stenungsund Sweden 77.04.27
CD5: "1974 Unedited Master Demo Recording" (49:14)
1. Saker har två sidor (6:44)
2. Under stora gröna träd (3:01)
3. På färd (12:32)
4. Taktus (3:47)
5. Folke 2 (1:38)
6. Allting har sin början genom solen (5:07)
7. Cirrus (1:07)
8. Akrobaternas flykt (5:50)
9. Akrobaternas dans (2:31)
(Homage to Samla Mammas Manna)
10. Nattens affär (4:06)
11. Karavan (2:51)
Total Time: 291:24
[ Rip and Scans by CrunchyFrog ]
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