Shaggy - Lessons For Beginners

Shaggy - Lessons For Beginners 

Release date:1975

Genre: Hard Rock

"Shaggy" was formed by Thomas Ryan, Fidde Rognås, Thomas Engström and Jan Fretman in Gothenburg in 1973 and had a British keyboardist and an Austrian drummer.
Later that year drummer Kurt Kästner joined.
The band influenced by Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Lucifer's Friend. They played an energetic progressive rock as well stand comparison with their role models but also with Swedish Blåkulla, Solid Ground and Rhapsody.
In 1975 they released their first and only album "Lessons For Beginners"  recorded at "Tal & Ton" studios in Gothenburg. Their album features English-language hard rock with some progressive moves. High points on "Lessons For Beginners" include "No Strings" and the instrumental title track, which is their version of "In The Hall Of The Mountain King", composed by Edvard Grieg 100 years earlier. The UK band Nazareth once showed an interest in recording the song "Destination Nowhere", but "Shaggy" objected.
Later that year the opened for British rockglam band The Sweet at Scandinavium in Gothenburg in front of 5000 people.
In 1978 "Shaggy" split up, Ryan moved back to England and Rognås joined hard rock band "Rhapsody". Thomas Engström went on to publish the book "Stora Dansbandsboken 1963-2003".

1. Destination Nowhere
2. Vengeance
3. Bitch
4. No Strings
5. Lessons For Beginners
6. On The Road
7. Nobody Cares
8. I Can Feel
9. Brink Of Nowhere

• Thomas Engström - Lead Vocals 
• Jan Fretman - Bass, Vocals 
• Jan "Fidde" Rognås - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar 
• Kurt Kastner - Drums 
• Thomas J. Ryan - Organ, Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Panta Rei ‎– Panta Rei

Panta Rei ‎– Panta Rei

Release date:1973

Genre: Psychedelic Rock

"Panta Rei" was a Swedish Psychedelic Rock band formed in Uppsala around 1970 by guitarist Thomas Arnesen.
The line-up was Arnessen, Trolin, Östman and the Wihma brothers.
In 1973 released their debut sole album "Panta Rei". Guesting on the album were jazzers Gunnar Lindqvist (flute) and Göran Freese (saxophone), who both previously played in G.L. Unit.
The result was one of the most impressive progressive albums ever recorded in Sweden. The arrangements display great variety and flair with the flutes, guitars, maracas, timbales, harmonica, and remarkable percussion. An amazing combination of trippy blissed-out guitar raves, complex compositions, and consciousness-expanding improvisation, centered around the band's solid playing and Thomas Arnesen's terrific, searing guitar leads.
The psychedelic rock music with English lyrics and long delightfully hokey instrumental parts - and the cover of the naked man and the cats - has made the disc into a sought after collector's items.
"Panta Rei" was a great live act and did several sessions for Swedish radio. In 1974 the band changed its name to "Allting Flyter" (Everything Floats) which was a Swedish translation of their latin name.

1. Five Steps
2. White Bells
3. Five O'Clock Freak
4. The Knight
5. The Turk

• Thomas Arnesen - Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion
• Leif Östman - Guitar, Percussion
• Cary Wihma - Bass Guitar, Percussion
• Georg Trolin - Percussion, Vocals
• Tomo Wihma - Drums