The Hep Stars (album)

The Hep Stars (also known as just Hep Stars) is the eponymous second studio album (and third overall album release) by Swedish pop group Hep Stars, released on 19 December 1966[2] on Åke Gerhard's Olga Records, the catalogue number LPO 04.[3] The album can be considered the band's musical breakthrough, as five out of twelve tracks are original compositions, and nine out of the twelve tracks had never previously been recorded by other bands.

The Hep Stars
Studio album by
Hep Stars
Released19 December 1966
RecordedApril – 4 December 1966[1]
StudioEuropafilm Studio, Stockholm
Genre
Length30:35
LabelOlga Records
ProducerGert Palmcrantz
Hep Stars chronology
Hep Stars on Stage
(1965)		 The Hep Stars
(1966)		 Jul med Hep Stars
(1967)
Singles from The Hep Stars
  1. "Wedding"
    Released: May 1966
  2. "Consolation"
    Released: October 1966

However, with over 40.000 copies of the album being sent to record stores across Scandinavia, it became a huge hit, reached number 12 on Kvällstoppen in Sweden, reached number 5 on Norway's VG-lista and reached number 3 in Finland, where it stayed for two months.[1] The album was later certified gold in Sweden after selling 25.000 copies.[1]

Material

In contrast to the heavier and more rhythm and blues based sound of their debut album We And Our Cadillac, songs on The Hep Stars varies from pop on songs such as "Lady Lady", to psychedelia on "Consolation". The album also marks keyboardist Benny Andersson's songwriting debut, as five tracks are credited to him. "Isn't It Easy To Say" is also the first collaboration by him and future ABBA-bandmate Björn Ulvaeus.[4][5] The album features an English version of "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", a song Hep Stars previously had a hit with in Sweden with a Swedish translation called "I Natt Jag Drömde".[6]

"No Time" was a song given to the band by Ulvaeus, since he had decided to record "Sunny Girl" for his band Hootenanny Singers' 1966 studio album Många Ansikten / Many Faces.[7][8] It also features two hit singles, "Wedding" and "Consolation", which both reached the peak positions on the Kvällstoppen chart for 4 and 10 weeks respectively.[9][10] The album itself peaked at number 12 on the same chart.[11] Which at the time was a huge feat for an album, as it at the time was dominated by singles. This had only previously been achieved with the album Rubber Soul by the Beatles.[1]

"Lady Lady" was released as a single in Belgium in 1968 by Columbia Records, backed by "Sunny Girl", a release which failed to chart.[12] Both "The Birds In The Sky" and "Morning Comes After Night" had initially been recorded by a Swedish group called Vat 66 in 1966. These releases failed to chart.[13][14] Vat 66 also recorded and released "Lady Lady" as a single in 1967.[15]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."No Time"Björn Ulvaeus2:48
2."The Birds In The Sky"Berry Bjärenäs3:12
3."Consolation"Benny Andersson3:29
4."Easy To Fool"
  • Berndt Öst
  • Peter Himmelstrand
2:34
5."Sound Of Eve"Andersson3:13
Total length:15:16
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Isn't It Easy To Say"
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
3:00
2."Lady Lady"Andersson1:54
3."Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream"Ed McCurdy2:22
4."Morning Comes After Night"Bjärenäs2:15
5."I've Said It All Before"
2:50
6."Wedding"
2:58
Total length:15:19
1996 Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
7."Sunny Girl"AnderssonSingle A-Side, 19662:23
8."Hawaii"
B-Side of 'Sunny Girl', 19661:30
9."When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again"
  • Wiley Walker
  • Gene Sullivan
B-Side of 'Wedding', 19662:47
10."I Natt Jag Drömde"
Single A-Side, 19662:19
11."Jag Vet"
B-side of 'I Natt Jag Drömde', 19663:23
12."Don't"
B-side of 'Consolation', 19663:08
13."Malaika"Adam SalimSingle A-Side, 19672:49
14."It's Nice To Be Back"AnderssonB-Side of 'Malaika', 19672:34
Total length:20:53

Personnel

Hep Stars

  • Svenne Hedlund – lead vocals, percussion
  • Janne Frisk – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Lennart Hegland – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Benny Andersson – various keyboard instruments, backing vocals
  • Christer Pettersson – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel

References
  1. Palm, Carl Magnus (12 June 2004). Benny's Road To ABBA. Premium Publishing. p. 262. ISBN 91-89136-14-4.
  2. "Hep Stars nya LP". Expressen (in Swedish). 1966-12-18.
  3. "The Hep - The Hep Stars". www.thehepstars.se. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  4. "Thank you for the music: how ABBA became one of the most iconic pop bands the world has ever known". Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  5. "Björn Ulvaeus: Vi litar fortfarande på varandra till hundra procent". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  6. "Svenne Hedlund till Helsingborg: "Det är fortfarande lika roligt att möta publiken"". HD (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  7. Tobler, John (2012). Abba - Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-908538-23-9.
  8. "Hootenanny Singers - Många Ansikten - Many Faces". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  9. "Wedding By Hep Stars - Chart Position". nostalgilistan. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  10. "Consolation by Hep Stars - Chart Position". nostalgilistan. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  11. "Hep Stars - The Hep Stars - Chart Position". nostalgilistan. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  12. "The Hep Stars - Lady Lady". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  13. "Vat 66 - The Birds In The Sky / The Square Of The Won Fights". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  14. "Vat 66 - Morning Comes After Night / Vat 66 Theme". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  15. "Vat 66 - Lady Lady / I'll Better Be Alone". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-08.


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