Folk och Rackare – Rackarspel (YTF 1978)

Folk och Rackare was one of the most influential folk groups in Sweden during the 70’s. It’s easy to think of them as a pure Swedish band, even though in reality half of the members were from Norway. Trond Villa and Jørn Jensen from the legendary Norwegian group Folque joined them, and they can be heard on this album alongside Ulf Gruvberg and Carin Kjellman. By the way, all four contributed with both vocals and instrumentation, but it’s the wonderful and very charming voice of Carin Kjellman that is the main attraction for me. ‘Rackarspel’ was the second Folk och Rackare album, and features good traditional folk music. It’s not especially rock-orientated, but more relaxed easy going music. Charming stuff indeed, and I always get in a good mood when I from time to time listen to this album. And all the songs are good. The opener ‘Vänner och Fränder’ is one of my favourites, as it features an excellent melody and a driving rhythm. The same can be said for ‘Lussi Lilla’. Very catchy! Songs like ‘Segla Mej Ut’ and ‘En Sjömansbrud Ska Blåklädd Gå’ are totally stripped down vocal-numbers, and very good as such. But my favourite song on the album is the closer, ‘Haugebonden’. The melody is simple, but oh so beautiful. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pretty repetitive song (and it is), as it’s sung so convincingly and the melody is strong enough to carry the song. ‘Rackarspel’ is a fine album with much to offer, but not a classic in my opinion.