Attic Thoughts
Encyclopedia
Attic Thoughts is an instrumental
progressive rock
album by Swedish musician
Bo Hansson
. The album was recorded during 1974 and 1975 at Studio Decibel in Stockholm, and at Hansson's home, which had virtually become a studio by this point in his career. The album featured contributions from many of the same session musician
s and friends that had played on Hansson's previous album, Magician's Hat. In Hansson's native Sweden, Attic Thoughts was released with the Swedish title of Mellanväsen. It was released with its English title in April 1975 by Charisma Records
, but was less commercially successful than Hansson's preceding solo albums and failed to reach the charts in the UK or the United States. In addition to featuring Hansson's usual blend of other-worldly progressive rock and fairy tale
-like ambiance, Attic Thoughts includes a suite
named "Rabbit Music", which was inspired by Richard Adams
' novel Watership Down
, a subject that Hansson would explore further on his 1977 album Music Inspired by Watership Down
.
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
album by Swedish musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Bo Hansson
Bo Hansson
Bo Hansson was a Swedish musician best known for his four instrumental albums released in the 1970s.-Early life and musical career:...
. The album was recorded during 1974 and 1975 at Studio Decibel in Stockholm, and at Hansson's home, which had virtually become a studio by this point in his career. The album featured contributions from many of the same session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s and friends that had played on Hansson's previous album, Magician's Hat. In Hansson's native Sweden, Attic Thoughts was released with the Swedish title of Mellanväsen. It was released with its English title in April 1975 by Charisma Records
Charisma Records
Charisma was a record label founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. Manager for The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own...
, but was less commercially successful than Hansson's preceding solo albums and failed to reach the charts in the UK or the United States. In addition to featuring Hansson's usual blend of other-worldly progressive rock and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
-like ambiance, Attic Thoughts includes a suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
named "Rabbit Music", which was inspired by Richard Adams
Richard Adams
Richard Adams was a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, known as author of sermons and other theological writings.-Life:...
' novel Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
, a subject that Hansson would explore further on his 1977 album Music Inspired by Watership Down
Music Inspired by Watership Down
Music Inspired by Watership Down is a progressive rock album by Swedish musician Bo Hansson. The album is Hansson's fourth solo album and is, as its name suggests, built around musical ideas inspired by Richard Adams' heroic fantasy novel Watership Down...
.
Side 1
- "Attic Thoughts: a) March b) Repose c) Wandering" – 5:33
- "Time and Space" – 1:39
- "Waiting..." (Bo Hansson, Kenny HåkanssonKenny HåkanssonKenny Håkansson is the bassist of the highly influential Swedish rock & roll band the Hellacopters. The Hellacopters were founded by Håkansson's childhood friend Nicke Andersson as a side project to his role as a drummer in the heavy metal band Entombed, considered to be founders of death 'n'...
) – 7:34 - "Waltz for Interbeings" – 3:26
Side 2
- "Time for Great Achievements" – 3:11
- "The Hybrills" – 1:24
- "Rabbit Music: a) General Woundwort b) Fiver" – 6:30
- "Day and Night" – 4:33
- "A Happy Prank" – 3:17
2004 CD reissue bonus track
- "The Crystal Suite: a) Crystals b) Memories of Darkness c) Light Again" – 6:21
Personnel
- Bo HanssonBo HanssonBo Hansson was a Swedish musician best known for his four instrumental albums released in the 1970s.-Early life and musical career:...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
s, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, special effects - Rune Carlsson – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Kenny HåkanssonKenny HåkanssonKenny Håkansson is the bassist of the highly influential Swedish rock & roll band the Hellacopters. The Hellacopters were founded by Håkansson's childhood friend Nicke Andersson as a side project to his role as a drummer in the heavy metal band Entombed, considered to be founders of death 'n'...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Jöran Lagerberg - bass guitar, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
- Gunnar Bergsten – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Rolf Scherrer - acoustic guitar
- Tomas Netzler - bass guitar
- Mats Glenngård - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Anders Oredsson - mixing on "Waiting..."
- Jan Ternald - cover painting
- Barry Lester and Company - artwork