Various – A Real Cool Time Revisited. Swedish Punk, Pop And Garage Rock 1982-1989 (2010)

 

Goodness knows why, but in the early 80s Solna, a suburb of Stockholm, found itself the centre of a

startlingly fertile scene of high-energy rock'n'roll that looked back to the 60s for inspiration. This 40-track compilation rounds up the best of that music, starting and finishing with Swedish garage's two best-known bands, the Nomads (blistering through a cover of the Third Bardo's I'm Five Years Ahead of my Time) and the Leather Nun.

In between, snotty aggression is the order of the day, essayed to thrilling effect during the breakneck snarl of That's the Breaks by Voodoo Dolls. The audience for this stuff was small, but global and committed – the riff and refrain of the Screaming Dizbüsters' This Ain't the Summer of Love would crop up on one of the key early grunge singles out of Seattle, Green River's Swallow My Pride.

Crimson Shadows

[The way the unabashedly twee pop and fresh-scrubbed club confections have been flowing out of Stockholm for the last couple of years, it's easy to forget that Sweden was actually the European capital of raunchy fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll savagery during the 80s garage rock revival.

While the Lyres were battling the Chesterfield Kings over here for the titans of teen trash title, the Nomads, Shoutless, Problem, The Stomachmouths, The Creeps, Crimson Shadows, Backdoor Men, Wylde Mammoths, Wilmer X and others were tearing up clubs across Scandinavia packed with plastered suburban no-counts who would later form bands of their own.

The future members of the Hives and Hellacopers were clearly paying attention even if the rest of the world wasn't.

Many of  finest recordings made by Swedish bands of the era remained largely unheard outside of the country until 1985 when the Amigo label released a state-of-the-scene document called A Real Cool Time: Distorted Sounds From The North.

Highway Slugs

News quickly spread that Sweden was producing
some brutal bashers – inspired by the obscure 60s punk artifacts collected on the Pebbles and Back From The Grave archival comps – which could compete with the kick-ass combos springing up in Australia, Spain, Italy and in small towns all over North America.

To mark the 25th anniversary of that head-turning A Real Cool Time anthology, Amigo label A&R dude Ulf Lindqvist has put together A Real Cool Time Revisited: Swedish Punk, Pop and Garage Rock 1982-1989 (RPM) – an expanded two disc anthology with accompanying notes written by Sonic magazine contributor and former Voodoo Dolls frontman L-P Anderson.

The first thing that owners of the original set will notice is that Lindqvist didn't simply tack on a bit of bonus material, he completely overhauled the 1985 package. Consequently some great tunes on A Real Cool Time have been replaced with alternate selections by the same act: The Shoutless are now represented by Insane rather than Change My Ways, Dr. Yogami's Plastic Surgeon is substituted for Nightmare Birds, The Wayward Souls' Unknown Journey replaces Inside Your Mind and the Bottle Ups'  Bottle Beat has been axed in favour of Ramblin' Reckless Hobo and Too Much Talk.

Sator

Odd yes, but stranger still, Hidden Charms and Occasional Dead Flys who made it onto the first collection were mysteriously jettisoned from the revamped 40-track package. So if you loved the original set, hang on to it as this updated edition appears to be designed as a sort of companion piece with a slightly broader stylistic scope.   

The selection criteria of using one song per artist – except for the aforementioned  Bottle Ups who rate two tracks for some reason – is also a bit puzzling. It may be the most democratic method and would work just fine if the sole purpose was to simply showcase as many bands as possible.

However, if the goal was to assemble a fat-free double disc blast of the most exciting music of the period, a weighted selection might've been a better strategy to help ensure fantastic songs by prolific groups wouldn't be left off  to make room for mediocre numbers by one-single wonders.

The fact that the Nomads' lengthy and highly productive career is represented only by their cover of the Third Bardo's I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time just doesn't seem right even if it is a concert staple. And no, including the rip that the Nomads members did on Blue Oyster Cult's This Ain't The Summer Of Love while masquerading as the Screaming Dizbusters won't make up for what was missed.

Why not go with one of the Nomads' own compositions like say, Where The Wolfbane Blooms or Lowdown Shakin' Chills? Heck, use them both – they're better than most of the stuff that made the final cut including The Voodoo Dolls' ill-advised crack at The Apollos' untouchable scorcher That's The Breaks.

The Leather Nun

It's understandable that Lindqvist would want to include a track by Union Carbide Productions since the members went on to form The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. But of all the songs he could've picked, he chose Cartoon Animal, their straight-up cop of the Sonic Rendezvous Band's City Slang with alternate lyrics written and sung by Ebbot Lundberg.

I can't imagine Ebbot will be too pleased to have that embarrassing business coming back to haunt him, especially if the legal representatives of Fred "Sonic" Smith's estate notice some intriguing similarities between the two tunes.

Unusual and sometimes perplexing song selections aside, anyone interested in tracing the sonic roots of the Hives, Hellacopters, Sahara Hotnights, the (International) Noise Conspiracy and The Soundtrack Of Our Lives will find A Real Cool Time Revisited a great place to start but it might be wise to grab the double disc set while you can.
by Tim Perlich]

Various – A Real Cool Time Revisited. Swedish Punk, Pop And Garage Rock 1982-1989
Label: RPM International – Retro D873
Format:    2 x CD, Compilation
Country: UK
Released: 2010
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Punk, Pop Rock, Garage Rock

                                                                                              

Watermelon Men

CD1.

                                                                                                                         

01. The Nomads – I'm 5 Years Ahead Of My Time
02. The Shoutless – Insane
03. The Wayward Souls – Unknown Journey
04. The Backdoor Men – Out Of My Mind
05. Crimson Shadows – Even I Tell Lies
06. Dolkows – Silent Woods
07. Sonic Walthers – No Lies
08. The Hijackers – When I Get Home
09. The Sinners – When She Lies
10. Voodoo Dolls – That's The Breaks
11. Legendary Lovers – King Of The World
12. Watermelon Men – Your Eyes
13. Wylde Mammoths – Help That Girl
14. The Friends Inside – Where Are You Sleeping Tonight?
15. Stomachmouths – Don't Put Me Down
16. Psychotic Youth – Love Machine
17. Wilmer X – Motorbike Drivin'
18. Union Carbide Productions –    Cartoon Animal
19. The Bottle Ups – Ramblin' Wreckless Hobo
20. The Bangsters – Strangers

MP3 @ 320 Size: 136 MB
Flac  Size: 442 MB

                                                                                        

CD2.

                                                                                      

01. Screaming Dizbüsters – This Ain't The Summer Of Love
02. Problem – Uppskärarjack (Jack The Ripper)
03. The Slammers – Don't Push Me Around
04. The Creeps – She's Gone
05. The Maryland Cookies – Don't Lie To Me
06. Dr. Yogami – Plastic Surgeon
07. Highway Slugs – Just Another Loner
08. The Public Vein – Carry On
09. The Bottle Ups – Too Much Talk
10. Playmates – Days After Tomorrow
11. The Pyromaniacs – Lost Revenge
12. Slobster – Sudden Death
13. The Preachers – Thirtynine Steps
14. Pushtwangers – She Blind (But I Don't Mind)
15. Cornflake Zoo – Hey Conductor
16. Highspeed V – Sally
17. The Livingstones – Fastest Car Around!
18. The Rumblers – Bopalina Bopalina Ow Mow Mow Mow
19. Sator – Pigvalley Beach
20. The Leather Nun – Prime Mover

MP3 @ 320 Size: 142 MB
Flac  Size: 465 MB

                                                                                 

Swedish bands on Urban Asspirines: The Nomads, The Creeps, The Hellacopters