Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings (Bo Hansson album)
Encyclopedia
Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings is an instrumental
progressive rock
album by Swedish musician
Bo Hansson
. As its title suggests, it is a concept album
based on author J. R. R. Tolkien
's high fantasy
novel, The Lord of the Rings
. The album was originally issued in Sweden in late 1970, under the Swedish title of Sagan om ringen, and was subsequently re-released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in September 1972. The album reached the Top 40 of the UK Album Chart and was eventually certified gold in the UK and Australia. It was also moderately successful in America, where it reached #154 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
chart. Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings remains the only release by Hansson to have reached the UK and U.S. charts and as a result, it is by far his best known and most successful album.
of material that would eventually be included on the album.
Hansson then approached sound engineer
and founder of Silence Records
Anders Lind, with the idea of recording an album based on The Lord of the Rings. Lind was encouraged by the demos and agreed to release the album on his Silence label. However, the fledgling record company
could not afford the expensive studio
time needed to realise the production of the album and so, a small summer house
on the remote island of Älgö, in the Stockholm archipelago
, was converted into a makeshift recording studio. Throughout late 1969, Hansson and Lind worked on the album at the summer house, with the help of a handful of session musicians and friends, before relocating to Studio Decibel in Stockholm to complete the album in early 1970. Hansson has stated that his original intention for the album was to include a string section
and other exotic instruments, such as the harp
, but the lack of finances available from Silence Records resulted in the majority of the album having to be recorded using primitive electronic keyboard
s and Moog synthesizer
s.
The album was released in Sweden by Silence Records in December 1970, with the title Sagan om ringen (which was also the title of the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings at the time; lit. "The Saga of the Ring"). It enjoyed modest commercial success in its native country and received heavy rotation on the Swedish national radio station
Sveriges Radio P3. Following its initial release, Hansson composed additional material based on Tolkien's book and consequently, later pressings of the album contained extra tracks not found on the original Swedish release. News of the album's success and popularity in Sweden travelled to England and as a result, it was licensed to Tony Stratton-Smith
's Charisma Records
in 1972. However, Hansson and Charisma were forced to give the album the augmented title of Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings, at the insistence of Tolkien and his publishers
Allen & Unwin
. Tolkien's publishers also had a hand in determining the musical content of the album, as Hansson told music journalist
Tony Tyler
in the November 18, 1972 edition of the NME
: "I originally intended to use voices - perhaps a girl soprano - on the tracks but when we contacted George Allen and Unwin they put a firm 'no' to the idea. So we had to use the term 'inspired' by Lord of the Rings' - and we had to keep it purely instrumental."
were taken from the album, a promo
-only single featuring the song "The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford" was issued by Charisma Records in 1974.
Today the album is considered by many critics to be a classic of the progressive rock genre as well as Hansson's best work. In addition, it can be seen as an early example of multi-instrumentalist rock, predating similar 1970s albums by artists such as Mike Oldfield
, Rick Wakeman
, and Brian Eno
. In his book The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music, author Bradley Smith has described the album as "an early classic of space music
" and Bruce Eder, writing for the Allmusic website, has called it "one of the few progressive rock instrumental recordings that still holds up on repeated listening." In addition, author Charles Snider has noted in The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock that the album's "quiet yet sinister organ tones are more similar to Pink Floyd
than anything fairy tale-like or electronic". In his review for the Dutch Progressive Rock website, Nigel Camilleri also likened the album to early Pink Floyd but was critical of its overall lack of variety and outdated keyboard and synthesizer sounds.
illustrator
Rodney Matthews
. It was subsequently reissued in the United States in 1979 by PVC Records, with its original 1972 artwork intact. The album was first released on CD
in 1988 as an "extended remixed version", with an additional eleven bonus tracks taken from Hansson's other 1970s albums Magician's Hat and Attic Thoughts
. It was then reissued on CD for a second time in 1993 by Resource Records, again in a remix
ed version but without any bonus tracks. In 2002, the album was re-issued again by Silence Records and Virgin Records
, with the inclusion of the previously unreleased bonus track "Early Sketches from Middle Earth".
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:...
. As its title suggests, it is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
based on author J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
novel, The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. The album was originally issued in Sweden in late 1970, under the Swedish title of Sagan om ringen, and was subsequently re-released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in September 1972. The album reached the Top 40 of the UK Album Chart and was eventually certified gold in the UK and Australia. It was also moderately successful in America, where it reached #154 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings remains the only release by Hansson to have reached the UK and U.S. charts and as a result, it is by far his best known and most successful album.
History
Prior to the recording of Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings, Bo Hansson had worked as one half of the duo Hansson & Karlsson. The duo were relatively well-known in their native Sweden and between 1967 and 1969 they released a series of well received albums. By early 1969, however, Hansson's musical partner Janne Karlsson had embarked upon a successful career as a television presenter and comedian, resulting in the breakup of the duo. At around the same time, Hansson became fascinated with the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and in particular The Lord of the Rings, after being introduced to the book by a girlfriend. Hansson moved into a friend's apartment and began working on a musical interpretation of the book, producing a number of demo recordingsDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of material that would eventually be included on the album.
Hansson then approached sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
and founder of Silence Records
Silence Records
Silence , is a Swedish record company located outside Koppom, Värmland in Sweden.Silence was started in 1970 in Stockholm and released records by, amongst others: Bo Hansson, Philemon Arthur and the Dung, Samla Mammas Manna, and other progressive rock acts...
Anders Lind, with the idea of recording an album based on The Lord of the Rings. Lind was encouraged by the demos and agreed to release the album on his Silence label. However, the fledgling record company
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
could not afford the expensive studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
time needed to realise the production of the album and so, a small summer house
Summer house
A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed to provide cool shady places...
on the remote island of Älgö, in the Stockholm archipelago
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
, was converted into a makeshift recording studio. Throughout late 1969, Hansson and Lind worked on the album at the summer house, with the help of a handful of session musicians and friends, before relocating to Studio Decibel in Stockholm to complete the album in early 1970. Hansson has stated that his original intention for the album was to include a string section
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
and other exotic instruments, such as the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, but the lack of finances available from Silence Records resulted in the majority of the album having to be recorded using primitive electronic keyboard
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
s and Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s.
The album was released in Sweden by Silence Records in December 1970, with the title Sagan om ringen (which was also the title of the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings at the time; lit. "The Saga of the Ring"). It enjoyed modest commercial success in its native country and received heavy rotation on the Swedish national radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
Sveriges Radio P3. Following its initial release, Hansson composed additional material based on Tolkien's book and consequently, later pressings of the album contained extra tracks not found on the original Swedish release. News of the album's success and popularity in Sweden travelled to England and as a result, it was licensed to Tony Stratton-Smith
Tony Stratton-Smith
Tony Stratton-Smith was an English rock music manager, and entrepreneur. He was best known as founder of London based independent record label Charisma Records which he began in 1969. Groups he managed included The Nice , Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator...
's 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...
in 1972. However, Hansson and Charisma were forced to give the album the augmented title of Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings, at the insistence of Tolkien and his publishers
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
. Tolkien's publishers also had a hand in determining the musical content of the album, as Hansson told music journalist
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
Tony Tyler
Tony Tyler
James Edward Anthony Tyler was a British writer who authored several books and wrote for the New Musical Express, Macworld, MacUser, PC Pro and Computer Shopper....
in the November 18, 1972 edition of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: "I originally intended to use voices - perhaps a girl soprano - on the tracks but when we contacted George Allen and Unwin they put a firm 'no' to the idea. So we had to use the term 'inspired' by Lord of the Rings' - and we had to keep it purely instrumental."
Release and reception
The album was released by Charisma Records in September 1972, accompanied by an extensive television advertising campaign. In the UK alone there were thousands of advance orders for the album and upon release, it quickly became popular with fans of progressive rock. The album's blend of strange, other-worldly music and Tolkienesque subject matter proved popular during the early 1970s, a time when interest in Tolkien's writings among college students was at an all-time high. The album peaked at #34 on the UK Album Chart in November 1972 and reached #154 on the U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart in May 1973, eventually becoming a gold record in the UK and Australia. Although no official singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
were taken from the album, a promo
Promotional recording
A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available...
-only single featuring the song "The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford" was issued by Charisma Records in 1974.
Today the album is considered by many critics to be a classic of the progressive rock genre as well as Hansson's best work. In addition, it can be seen as an early example of multi-instrumentalist rock, predating similar 1970s albums by artists such as Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
, Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
, and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. In his book The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music, author Bradley Smith has described the album as "an early classic of space music
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
" and Bruce Eder, writing for the Allmusic website, has called it "one of the few progressive rock instrumental recordings that still holds up on repeated listening." In addition, author Charles Snider has noted in The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock that the album's "quiet yet sinister organ tones are more similar to Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
than anything fairy tale-like or electronic". In his review for the Dutch Progressive Rock website, Nigel Camilleri also likened the album to early Pink Floyd but was critical of its overall lack of variety and outdated keyboard and synthesizer sounds.
Side 1
- "Leaving Shire" – 3:28
- "The Old Forest & Tom Bombadil" – 3:43
- "Fog on the Barrow-Downs" – 2:29
- "The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford" – 4:07
- "At the House of Elrond & the Ring Goes South" – 4:40
Side 2
- "A Journey in the Dark" – 1:10
- "Lothlórien" – 4:01
- "Shadowfax" – 0:51
- "The Horns of Rohan & the Battle of the Pelennor Fields" – 3:57
- "Dreams in the House of Healing" – 1:56
- "Homeward Bound & the Scouring of the Shire" – 2:54
- "The Grey Havens" – 4:57
1988 CD reissue bonus tracks
- "Findhorn's Song" – 1:36
- "Before the Rain" – 1:30
- "Fylke" – 1:52
- "Playing Downhill into the Downs" – 1:45
- "Wandering Song" – 3:16
- "Excursion with Complications (Part One)" – 1:55
- "Rabbit Music - Intro" – 0:38
- "Attic Thoughts - Repose" – 2:18
- "Attic Thoughts - Wandering" – 2:23
- "Rabbit Music - Fiver" – 2:43
- "A Happy Prank" – 3:17
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:...
– organElectronic organAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, 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...
, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - 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 ....
, congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s - 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...
- Sten Bergman – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Peter Lindholm – cover painting (original 1970 release)
- Jane Furst – cover painting (1972 release)
- Rodney MatthewsRodney MatthewsRodney Matthews is a fantasy artist and illustrator.In 1978, he published Yendor: The Journey of a Junior Adventurer, a hard-back picture book featuring his distinctive paintings of "The Wild Country", a fantasy world seen through the eyes of young Yendor, named after his son...
– cover painting (1977 reissue)
Release history
Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings was re-released by Charisma Records in 1977, with brand new cover artwork by fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
Rodney Matthews
Rodney Matthews
Rodney Matthews is a fantasy artist and illustrator.In 1978, he published Yendor: The Journey of a Junior Adventurer, a hard-back picture book featuring his distinctive paintings of "The Wild Country", a fantasy world seen through the eyes of young Yendor, named after his son...
. It was subsequently reissued in the United States in 1979 by PVC Records, with its original 1972 artwork intact. The album was first released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 1988 as an "extended remixed version", with an additional eleven bonus tracks taken from Hansson's other 1970s albums Magician's Hat and Attic Thoughts
Attic Thoughts
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...
. It was then reissued on CD for a second time in 1993 by Resource Records, again in a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed version but without any bonus tracks. In 2002, the album was re-issued again by Silence Records and Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, with the inclusion of the previously unreleased bonus track "Early Sketches from Middle Earth".
| Date | Label | Format | Country | Catalog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1970 | Silence Silence Records Silence , is a Swedish record company located outside Koppom, Värmland in Sweden.Silence was started in 1970 in Stockholm and released records by, amongst others: Bo Hansson, Philemon Arthur and the Dung, Samla Mammas Manna, and other progressive rock acts... |
LP LP album The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
Sweden | SRS 4600 | Original Swedish release with the title Sagan om ringen. |
| September 1972 | Charisma 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... |
LP | UK | CAS 1059 | Original UK release. |
| October 1972 | Charisma/Buddah Buddah Records Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding... |
LP | US | CAS 1059 | Original US release. |
| 1977 | Charisma | LP | UK | CAS 1059 | Re-release with new Rodney Matthews Rodney Matthews Rodney Matthews is a fantasy artist and illustrator.In 1978, he published Yendor: The Journey of a Junior Adventurer, a hard-back picture book featuring his distinctive paintings of "The Wild Country", a fantasy world seen through the eyes of young Yendor, named after his son... cover artwork. |
| 1979 | PVC | LP | US | PVC 7907 | |
| 1988 | Silence | CD | Sweden | SRSCD 4600 | "Extended remixed version" with eleven bonus tracks. |
| 1988 | Silence | LP | Sweden | SRS 4600 | |
| 1993 | Silence/Resource | CD | Sweden | RESCD 508 | |
| 1996 | Edsel Demon Music Group Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records... |
CD | UK | EDCD 493 | |
| 1996 | One Way | CD | US | OW 33654 | |
| 2000 | Silence | CD | Sweden | SRSCD 3600 | CD re-release titled The Lord of the Rings/Sagan om ringen. |
| 2002 | Silence | CD | Sweden | CDV2960 | CD re-release with one bonus track. |
| 2002 | Virgin | CD | US | 12061 | CD re-release with one bonus track. |