I'd Rather Write A Symphony was the sixth album and the second international release from Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 singer/songwriter Ted Gärdestad

Ted Gärdestad

Ted Gärdestad , internationally known as Ted Gardestad, Ted Gaerdestad or just Ted was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician.-Early career:...

, released in 1980 on the Polydor label in West Germany and The Netherlands, promoted by the single "Don't Treat Me This Way" backed with "Mindblower". An expanded and partly re-recorded version of the album was released as Stormvarning

Stormvarning

Stormvarning was the sixth album from Swedish singer/songwriter Ted Gärdestad, released on the Polar Music label in Sweden in early 1981. Stormvarning was an expanded and partly re-recorded version of the international album I'd Rather Write a Symphony, released in West Germany and the Netherlands...

on the Polar Music

Polar Music

Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...

 label in Sweden the following year, the track "Love Light" is however only available on the international edition.

Two unreleased songs from the album sessions, the title track and "Nobody Loves You Now" saw their debut twenty years later as part of the 2001 4 CD boxed set Solregn.

I'd Rather Write A Symphony in its entirety remains unreleased on CD. However, all tracks are included in the 2009 8 CD box set Helt Nära Dig - Samlade Album.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Kenneth Gärdestad, music by Ted Gärdestad

Side A:

1. "Mindblower" ("Stormvarning")
2. "Don't Treat Me This Way"
3. "You Got Me Dancing"
4. "How Do You Wanna Make Love"
5. "The Reason"

Side B:

1. "Let the Sun Shine Through" ("Låt Solen Värma Dig")
2. "It's You"
3. "Love Light"
4. "Slingan"
5. "Down at the Zoo"

Personnel

• Ted Gärdestad
  Ted Gärdestad
  Ted Gärdestad , internationally known as Ted Gardestad, Ted Gaerdestad or just Ted was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician.-Early career:...
  
   - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
  Acoustic guitar
  An 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...
  
  , piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , cymbal
  Cymbal
  Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
  
  s, strata
• Janne Schaffer
  Janne Schaffer
  Jan Erik Tage Janne Schaffer is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and Tony Williams...
  
   - guitar
  Guitar
  The 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
• Lasse Wellander - guitars
• Kjell Öhman - piano
• Björn J:son Lindh
  Björn J:son Lindh
  Björn J:son Lindh is a Swedish flautist, keyboardist and composer. Lindh has scored music for films including Mannen på taket, directed by Bo Widerberg and Jägarna, directed by Kjell Sundvall...
  
   - piano, string arrangements
• Per-Erik Hallin - piano
• Wlodek Gulgowski - piano
• Rutger Gunnarsson - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Stefan Brolund - bass guitar
• Mike Watson - bass guitar
• Sam Bengtsson - bass guitar
• Åke Sundqvist - drums
• Per Lindvall - drums
• Ola Brunkert - drums
• Lennart Östlund - strata
• Ulf Andersson - saxophone
  Saxophone
  The 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...
  
  
• Tomas Ledin
  Tomas Ledin
  Tomas Folke Jonas Ledin is a Swedish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He grew up in the town of Sandviken.Tomas Ledin started his career in 1972 when his first single, Då ska jag spela, was a big hit...
  
   - backing vocals
• Mikael Rickfors - backing vocals
• Annica Boller - backing vocals
• Diana Nunez - backing vocals
• Maritza Horn - backing vocals
• Liza Öhman - backing vocals
• Py Bäckman - backing vocals
• Agneta Olsson - backing vocals
• Lasse Westman - backing vocals

Production

• Ted Gärdestad - producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  
• Lennart Östlund - producer
• Janne Schaffer - producer
• Leif Mases - sound engineer
• Lennart Östlund - sound engineer
• Recorded at Polar Studios
  Polar Studios
  Polar Studios is one of the most famous recording studios in Scandinavia. Originally located in a former movie theater from 1934 at Sankt Eriksgatan 58-60 on Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden, Polar Studios was founded by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA in 1977 and had its grand opening on...
  
  , Stockholm

Sources and external links

• Official home page, The Ted Gärdestad Society
• Liner notes I'd Rather Write A Symphony, Ted Gärdestad, Polydor 2344 164, 1980.