User:FacesSmall/The Prelude (album)

The Prelude is the eponymous debut album by the Prelude, released on 5 March 1965 by Olga Records. Produced by their manager Tim Blomberg, it became a large hit in its native Sweden, where it managed to reach number 3 on Kvällstoppen (a chart that both calculated album and single sales at the time), a feat never accomplished by an album before. It remained at number 3 for over ten week and also became successful in Scandinavia, in which it reached the top ten in both Denmark and Norway. Surprisingly, it became a minor hit in France, where it peaked at number 17.

Of the album's 13 songs, 9 were self-composed material, and 6 of them were written or co-written by Victor Friberg, including "Leaving Here" and notably "Tired of Waiting For You" which had become the first track written by the now iconic Wihlborg–Friberg writing team who would compose the majority of the tracks of their later albums. The album spawned two successful hit singles in Sweden, the aforementioned "Tired Of Waiting For You" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (number 2 and 10 respectively on Kvällstoppen).

Despite its success, it recieved mixed to positive reviews upon release, and has been considered "throwaway" by many. The band members has since complained in later interviews that due to the hurried nature of the recording sessions, they never had the chance to shape the songs the way they wanted them to sound. It remains the group's only release to feature the initial quartet, as the follow-up album Next! includes Simon Hellström on bass guitar. Although Hellström was an official member at the time of the album's release, recording had wrapped up just days before his includation as a band member, and he is not represented on the album cover. Hellström also plays on one track as a studio musician.

Background
In August of 1964, the Prelude released their second single, named "Zoot Suit" to a minor chart success; it reached number 15 in Sweden. Despite this, Olga Records, their label considered dropping the act. They would they go on a heavy touring schedule for the remainder of the summer, and returned to the studio to record "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", which fared even better, reaching number 6 in its native country. The record label was still reluctant in letting the band record an entire album, and instead apted for an EP released, entitled Louie Louie, containing five tracks including both sides of their debut single. After the huge chart success of "Tired of Waiting for You", which peaked at number 2 on January 4, 1965, Olga finally decided to let the group record a full-length LP.

"I remember the head of Olga Records, Åke Gerhard. He was a funny looking man, a tad overweight but still in relatively good condition . He called [us] up to his office one day in January and announced that we were permitted to record an album. The entire room went ecstatic, none of us had ever recorded an album, so this was a huge milestone for all of us. In a retrospective view, I could imagine Åke's regret once he saw us all crazy."

Furthermore he offered the group another contract, since their original contract signed in early 1964 was to expire in April 1965. they politely declined this offer, much to Gerhard's dismay. Nonetheless, the band was on a Scandinavian tour with several other acts at the time, this tour ended during the later parts of January 1965, before they could finally arrive in Stockholm in order to record the album.

Title
Early in its production, a working name for the album was Three Clockworks and an Orange, derived from A Clockwork Orange, which at the time was Anton Wihlborg's favorite novel. The title, however was declined by Gerhard after he feared Anthony Burgess would take legal action against them. This title would eventually be used for his solo debut album in 1970. Other suggestions included Tired of Waiting for You, suggested by Victor Friberg in order to capitalize on the success of that single. However, this led to an arguement between Wihlborg and Friberg on whether this was honest or not. Eventually they came to the agreement to make the album eponymous. Other concept names by Gerhard were Preludes, On the Road, Prelude: The Hitmakers and Anton Wihlborg with The Prelude, which became a quite controversial title within the group itself, since they were not a backing track for Wihlborg himself.

Cover
The cover for initial Swedish copies of the album showcased the band on Stureplan, Stockholm, in a photo taken on 9th December 1964 with bold letters stating the group name. For international issues this was replaced by a more standard photo, taken in January 1965 with a design by Bergström that showcases four different boxes, visually similar to A Hard Day's Night. The third and final album cover showcases the group on top of a Stockholm Tram, which has now become standard on official reissues.

Recording
Assisted by their manager Tim Blomberg, who also was a producer, they managed to get studio time for several hours throughout the following two weeks. However, Blomberg deemed this insufficient, and asked Gerhard for an extension. Gerhard declined, but offered to include "Tired of Waiting for You" on the album instead.

The first track recorded specifically for album release was "E Too D". Initially an 7-minute slow-paced instrumental composed by William Hoang, lyrics were written for it by Friberg, along with several changes in the tempo. It was cut in 3 takes on 26 January 1965. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was recording the following day in 12 takes, other songs recorded on the 27th included "One Night Stand", which was finalised in a single take, "Own Up Time", a studio jam credited to the entire band and an alternate take of "E Too D". Most cover songs were recorded on the 30th, with the exception of "Bald Headed Woman", which was cut on the 5th of February in 3 takes.

The 6th of February saw the recording of "It's Too Late", "Don't Stop What You're Doing". By this point, Friberg suffered from writer's block, so it was decided to record Brazer Özel's "C'mon Children", a fast pace rocker which was completed in 2 takes. The band would now send an acetate disc to Gerhard, who declined, stating that "side two was too short, record another song for it." Instead of writing any original material, it was decided that this final track was going to be a cover. They recorded several demos of songs such as "I'm a Man", "Spoonful" and "Back Door Man". However, both Hoang and Anton Wihlborg thought these were "throwaway filler". With time running out, Friberg was desperate enough to look at his past discography, and suggested they'd record "Dreaming", a track he had performed in a previous band of his, the Widgets. The track was initially started on 9 February, in 4 takes, with further progress being made the 10th, 12th and 13th. The 22nd take became the master of it. All tracks on the album was recorded using three-track equipment, which meant that most songs had no overdubs.

"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"
The album's opening track, written by Wihlborg, heavily features the Rickenbacker 360/12, played by Wihlborg. This sound would be heavily associated with the group for the remainder of 1965, though then played by Friberg, who used it as his primary guitar between 1963 and early 1966. The lyrical contents are described by Wihlborg as an attempt of writing something "Similar to the Beatles", whom the group were heavily inspired by. Nonetheless, there's been quite a dispute between Hoang and Wihlborg in who wrote the track, as Hoang claims he majorly contributed to the composition, while Wihlborg insists it's a solo-composition. Like many other tracks on the album, it's sung by Wihlborg. It was released as the second single from the album, and became the groups third top-ten single in Sweden, as it reached number 10.

"You Need Love"
"You Need Love" marks the first cover song on the album, as it was penned by Willie Dixon, albeit with slightly changed lyrics. The choice was marked by Özel, who loved Muddy Waters (the first artist who performed the song, contrary to popular belief, it was not Dixon). Although this arrangement was vastly different from the original, it still solely credits Dixon as a writer. However, on earlier UK copies, it's erroneously credited to Dixon and Waters. This rendition is particularly praised by critics for Wihlborgs raw and energetic voice, a distinct feature he would be known for during the 1970's.

In 1969, Led Zeppelin released "Whole Lotta Love" a single, a track that features the same lyrics as the original, while using the Prelude's arrangment on it. Robert Plant's phrasing is particularly similar to that of Wihlborg, who added "he [Plant] sang it the same, phrased it the same, even the stops at the end were the same". Similarities with "You Need Love" led to a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin in 1985, settled out of court in favour of Dixon for an undisclosed amount. On subsequent releases, Dixon's name is included on the credits for "Whole Lotta Love". There was no comment from any of the members of the Prelude for using their arrangment.

"Leaving Here"
The third track marks the first of six songs written or co-written by Friberg. He claims it was written in late 1962 and was demoed by his group, but ultimately not released. However, upon shortage of material for the album, it was decided to record several older songs. Friberg has since commented admiration for the song. "Our debut album? I don't think that was such a great album at all. However, there are some good tracks on it, like "Leaving Here" is my personal favorite of the album, not gonna lie, it's a great song, filled with rhythm and blues. Even I was shocked on how I could've written such a good song back in '65." Several group members have stated that it was part of their setlist between 1964 and 1966, but briefly re-introduced in 1971.

"Daddy Rolling Stone"
The track, written by Otis Blackwell, was initially called "Rollin' Stone", but for the release, it was for unknown reasons switched to "Daddy Rolling Stone". Like "You Need Love", the track features slight changes in it's lyrical department, and was for a long period between 1964 and 1966 part of the group's live repertoire, in honor of Blackwell, who was a great inspiration for Friberg. The cover was liked by most members, with the exception of Hoang, who stated: "Daddy Rolling Stone" is like, one of those songs that sound fantastic in live performances, but sound terrible on record." This frustration and lack of creative power would ultimately end in Hoang leaving the group to become their producer instead.

"Own Up Time"
"Own Up Time" is the only instrumental track on the album, and is also the shortest. "Own Up Time" has the distinction of being one of only a handful of compositions credited to the entire group, and the only one to do so in the group's initial inauguration. The track is a studio jam, started by Özel during his frustration over the large lack of material, Friberg would soon join on bass and Hoang on keyboard, namely the Vox Continental which would become the signature instrument for both of the band's future keyboardists. While it has the length of only 1:45 on the LP, it was initially a longer improvisal track. A slightly longer version can be found on many deluxe editions. ""Own Up Time" was one of those spontaneus compositions you know? It just popped up in our heads and I started the beat so to speak. After about a minute or so somebody started recording the track. If I remember correctly, it was around 20 minutes long, and all of us became relatively disappointed when we saw that it was around 1 minute and 40 seconds on the LP. I mean, it's like a little child being proud of a drawing, and then finding it in the trash. [Laughs]"

"E Too D"
The 6th track of the album is the first composition by Hoang, who largely wrote it in late 1963 as a jam, and would be incorporated in the Prelude's live repetoire for a brief period in early 1965, this time in the form of a six minute, largely improvisional jam. For the album release however, it was deemed "too long" for an instrumental, and was reduced to about 3 minutes. However, Hoang thought that it needed lyrics, which led to Friberg contributing to it, something he has stated he enjoys doing: "You know, adding lyrics to an instrumental is very convenient, because you don't have to take the melody into consideration that much and you're free to improvise." The lyrics was an attempt at a more introspective style by Friberg:

Friberg would later say that while he is not 100% happy with the song, he thinks it has among the best lyrics on the entire album.

"One Night Stand"
The closing track of side one is also the album's most controversial one too, sparking outrage by many Swedish families, who deemed the Prelude too "immature for creating music" and made headlines in Sweden. Fear of further scandals, Olga decided to substitute the song with "I Can't Explain" on international copies of the album, and "One Night Stand" became publicly unavailable in countries such as Canada for more than 5 years. The lyrical content satirically refers to a one-night stand Wihlborg had in 1964. ""One Night Stand" was written as a publicity stunt. [laughs] You know, back in the days Sweden used to be majorily conservative about sex, and the song was used to specifically promote our music, since it literally appeared in headlines across the nation."

"Come On Children"
Opening side two, "Come On Children" is the sole song which features Özel on any form of vocals, whether lead or backing. It is the first of only three original compositions credited to him. Apparently, this was among the first of only five song from their original repertoire. "This music is great" Özel would later tell Time in 1965. ‘It gets hold of you onstage. You want to yell and leap about. It’s part of you and you just do whatever you like." At the gig the magazine's writer attended at the Cavern, during "Come On Children" the band had spontaneously broken into the old standard "You Are My Sunshine". Nonetheless, the piece remains a classic within the mods and garage rock enthusiasts. The song was voted number 230 on Ultimate Classic Rock 's list of all Prelude songs, ranked. John Kay of Steppenwolf has stated multiple times that "Come On Children" has become a garage-rock standard and was a huge influence on him when forming Steppenwolf.

"Tired Of Waiting For You"
The first collaboration between Anton Wihlborg and Victor Friberg showcases an attempt at softness. According to Friberg, the music for "Tired of Waiting for You" was written on the train to the recording studio and the words were written at a coffee shop during a break in the session. During the recording sessions for the song, the band felt that the guitar sound evident on their previous two singles ("Zoot Suit" and "Sha-La-La-La-Lee") was missing. Although the band was concerned that the guitar would ruin the reflective track, the band felt that the guitar added more to the song. Wihlborg said:"The recording went well but there was something missing and it was my raunchy guitar sound. Victor and I were worried that putting that heavy-sounding guitar on top of a ponderous song might ruin it. Luckily it enhanced the recording, giving it a more cutting, emotional edge. In my opinion 'Tired Of Waiting' was the perfect Pop record."Hoang also said of the song, "It was a change of style for us, we got a bit posher! Our material started to get a bit more melodic after that." The single became their first top 5 single in Sweden, reaching number two, stalling behind the Beatles "I Feel Fine". It remained on the charts for 10 weeks. According to Friberg, the band received a telegram from Stockholm while on tour in Landskrona telling them of the success on Kvällstoppen, but while the rest of the band went partying, Whilborg ordered a bottle of champagne and enjoyed his success.

"Don't Stop What You're Doing"
"Don't Stop What You're Doing" was attempted during an 1964 recording session, but was ultimately scrapped. In 1965 however, with time running out for recording, it was readmitted into the recording schedule. It is considered by many the most lame inclusion on the album, simply because it's unpolished. Hoang was missing from the recording session, as he'd miss his train on his way to the studio. He has later jokingly stated that "I'm glad I wasn't in the recording studio when they cut "Don't Stop What You're Doing", I don't want my name plastered over that shit.". It has been compared many times as a light-weight version of "Baby Don't You Do It". Dave Weller of AllMusic describes the song as "An attempt to write an hard hitting piece about a sexual interaction that ultimately fails since it can't really capture the essence of hard rock, and instead represents itself as an abomination of garage rock and beat which unfortunately does not work."

"It's Too Late"
Carl Everett describes "It's Too Late" in his 1984 autobiography of the Prelude The Prelude and Other Stories as a "strange combination of country blended with beat in a way that makes it smooth." It was written by Hoang, following the death of his cousin as an attempt to reflect over their previous relationship. "It's too late now for you to say your sorry, It's too late now for you to make amends, You're gonna pay for all the lies you told me" describes his frustration against him. "It's Too Late" is the only song on the album that doesn't feature Friberg in any way, as the bass duty is performed by studio musician Simon Hellström upon his return from the United Kingdom. Hellström would the following week be asked to join the group, in order to strengthen their guitar sound. Everett's description, the arrangement includes Hoang's rockabilly-inflected lead guitar, played on his Gretsch Tennessean, contrasting with Wihlborg's Steve Cropper-styled Memphis 'chick' rhythm part". A demo that was recently unveiled shows that the song would initially not be a country song; in fact, it was considered and written as a beat song. William Hoang later stated that "When I wrote it, I had stuff like The Searchers in my mind. When we went into the studio a couple of weeks later to record a demo, we would figure out the lyrics did not match the genre. Much to my dismay, me and Victor Friberg sat down and re-wrote the entire song, chord for chord, with Victor adding the piano middle-eight. Ironically he does neither play or is contributed as a songwriter on the song."

"Bald Headed Woman"
"Bald Headed Woman" had previously been recorded by the Kinks for their debut album Kinks, an album admired by the entire group. Following the Who's cover in late 1964, it was incorporated into their repertoire and was decided to be recorded for the album. While Shel Talmy is credited as the songwriter on all versions of the album, the origins are disputed; some argue that it is a blues standard, while others indicate that it is infact a blues standard that Shel Talmy included lyrics on. Everett describes the song as "the most authentic example of the group's sound during the 1960's; a beat piece slowly but surely rises into a drop, followed by a climatic finale." "Bald Headed Woman" is notable for being the song to be in their setlist the longest time; 14 years, between 1965 and 1979 the song was performed and was never dropped once. Brazer Özel considers this the best track on the album. "I dont know, I think "Bald Headed Woman" is the ultimate track from the album. It features everything; my explosive drumming, William Hoang's frantic keyboard, Anton Wihlborg belting out on vocals and Friberg being Friberg."

"Dreaming"
The last track on the album is also considered by many to be the best. It was first recorded by Friberg's band the Widgets as the B-side to their single "Keep On Running" in early 1964. Following his writers-block it was decided to record the song for the album. Paolo Hewitt states that "Dreaming is a hauntingly beatiful, yet melancholic and eerie composition. A Wihlborg and Hoang duet, it features Hoang singing falsetto in a beatiful and unique way. What really drives the song is Friberg's evocative lyrics: "I don't care if I get nowhere. I can just dream and you'll be there. What else is there to do?" brings a sense of nostalgia to the listener, about a childhood forever gone." Everett also states pretty highly about the song "Dreaming however, is probably the most idiosyncratic piece on the entire album; It is a ballad, about either one's childhood or about some bloke with schizophrenia; that is ambiguous for the listener; you decide. Despite being made up of only three chords, and only being two minutes and one second long, the fact that it is so different from anything a beat group would record, makes it stand out as the best composition of the Prelude's first release." Friberg too has stated positively about the song: "I mean yeah, it is probably the best track on there, and the only one that I personally enjoy listening to."

Release
The album was released on the 5th of March 1965 in Sweden, with a worldwide release the following day. Fueled by the success of "Tired of Waiting For You", the album became a hit in Scandinavia, reaching number 7 in Norway, 4 in Denmark and number 3 on Kvällstoppen, a chart that combined both single and album sales, and had since it's inauguration in 1962 been dominated by singles. The success of the album came as a success for many, including Friberg himself:

"Regarding our debut LP, it was quite hastily recorded I believe, about two weeks or so, but upon release it was actually an unpredencented chart success in Sweden, since the chart there combined both Album and Single sales for god knows how long, all I know is that the success that the album brought came as shock for the general public, and it quickly became a so called "talkie" in the elementary schools, it was then that we knew it; we had made it in Sweden."

It became a top 20 hit in France and Switzerland, where it reached number 17 and 20 respectively. While not charting on it's original release, it would eventually, upon reissue in 1966 also reach number 10 in Canada on the 5th of December 1966. A scheduled US release was cancelled for unknown reasons, and many tracks would later be included on Introducing: The Prelude! and The Second Prelude Album instead.

Just four days after it was recorded, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was issued as a single, and reached number 10 in Sweden. This was not an authorized release by the group; in fact, they only knew of it's release upon hearing it on Tio I Topp, a Swedish radio show. This led to tensions between Åke Gerhard and the group. Ultimately, the contract would expire, which led to the group cutting their ties with Gerhard for good. Robert Stigwood, who was visiting Sweden, approached them later that week, and the group signed to Reaction Records.

Reception
Despite being a huge success in Sweden, initial reviews for the album were mixed to positive, including one by The Daily Telegraph, dating 6th April 1965, stating "The Prelude's debut album is full of great and memorable tracks including the emotional song "Dreaming", however these tracks are mostly (and sadly, quite frankly) overshadowed by covers and filler material, and most of these sound hurried." Rolling Stone gave it a more favorable review: "Their eponymous debut album is mostly self penned, which is rather impressive considering English is not their native language, it includes great renditions of songs like "You Need Love", which features Anton Wihlborg belting out on lead vocals. The few songs that could be considered filler are boring and easily forgotten about, though.

In a more retrospective review, AllMusic critic Richie Unterberger compliments the album: "This album is unique in the fact that it represents Friberg's songwriting in it's early infancy, here he writes mostly about relationships and love, as opposed to the more introspective and critical lyrics he has been widely regarded as an innovator in. However, this album is not perfect, and seems unbalananced. In particular, the halting waltz of "Dreaming" never achieves the sweet ethereal atmosphere it aspires to. The album also contains much material that hasn't had been polished, like "Don't Stop What You're Doing", which is quite a raw, weirdly mixed track. Overall this album is a typical 1960s album – mostly self-penned with typical rhythm and blues covers coming in.

The album has been frowned upon by band members, mostly Friberg"Our spiral down the success rabbit hole came with our eponymous debut album. It reached the top 5 in Sweden and is quite shit if you can put it like that. I believe I penned most tracks on it, can't say if I like the lyrics on it, especially "Don't Stop What You're Doing", is fucking bad, it was written in what? Like five minutes, and was recorded in three takes or so. I think the awfulness of the album mostly derives on the hurried nature of the recording session, we would just walk in, record a song or two in a three-hour session, and then walk out, job done! If we only had the time, I'd say this would actually turn out to be a balanced and polished album, which it isn't now. Then again, it mostly just represents our live sound [laughs], I believe half of the tracks were just ripped straight from our repertoire."

Personnel
As per Tim Blomberg.

The Prelude

 * Anton Wihlborg – lead vocals (except 4–6, 8, 10–11), backing vocals (4, 6, 10–11) lead guitar (all tracks except 1, 5, 9), rhythm guitar (all tracks), harmonica (4, 12), handclaps on "Own Up Time", unintelligible noises on "Own Up Time"
 * Victor Friberg – lead vocals (1, 6, 10, 12), backing vocals (2–4, 7–9, 11) bass guitar (all tracks except "It's Too Late"), tambourine (2, 8–9), maracas on "Bald Headed Woman", unintelligble noises on "Own Up Time"


 * William Hoang – lead vocals (4, 11, 13), backing vocals (1–3, 6–9, 11), Vox Continental (5, 8–9, 12), piano (1, 3–4, 11, 13), Hammond organ (2, 6–7), unintelligble noises on "Own Up Time"
 * Brazer Özel – lead vocals on "Come On Children", drums (all tracks), tambourine (6, 10)

Additional musicians

 * Simon Hellström – bass guitar on "It's Too Late"
 * David Bergström – guitar overdubs on "Tired of Waiting for You"

Technical

 * Tim Blomberg – producer, studio engineer, cover design, liner notes
 * Åke Gerhard – studio engineer, liner notes
 * Janne Frisk – studio engineer
 * Lennart Hegland – cover photography (first issue)
 * Christer Andersson – cover photography (international issues)
 * Tommy Sjöberg – cover photography (reissues)