Studio (album)

Lagerberg and Henriksson wrote and rehearsed the majority of their contributions to Studio in the late summer of 1967.[3] Henriksson's home in Tureberg, in Sollentuna, was initially used as a base for the duo's songwriting. Lagerberg would "crash on a horrible couch" which would keep him up at night, allowing him to focus on songwriting for Studio.[21] Henriksson had lived in the Swedish province of Dalarna during his first few years and took great inspiration from staying there. He and Lagerberg spent an increasing amount of time in Henriksson's parents' summer cottage, located in the small village of Tällberg by the lake Siljan, all of which came to influence several songs on the album.[21]

The Swedish province of Dalarnainspired the theme of the album.

According to vocalist Blom, tracks on Studio use instruments present in "ancient Swedish history",[41] and generally used in genres not connected to pop music.[22] Henriksson saw it as a tribute to the spelmän of Dalarna.[42] Svensson ways the usage of Swedish folk music was a "gimmick which was the present [1967] trend", and that Tages refrained from using influences from India because of the Beatles doing it.[42]

Folk instruments are present on about half of Studio's tracks.[43][nb 7] The other material on the album, mostly the tracks not composed by Lagerberg and Henriksson, seek influences elsewhere which with the inclusion of brass and string instruments.[40] As with their previous two albums, Extra Extra and Contrast, Studio showcases Tages experimenting with psychedelic sounds, including techniques such as backmasked electric guitar,[43] a Leslie speaker used by lead guitarist Anders Töpel, reverberation and feedback.[44] As was common in Swedish pop music at the time, Tages viewed lyrics as an afterthought to the music, because most Swedish teenagers buying the records had a limited grasp of English.[17]

Studio opens with the song "Have You Seen Your Brother Lately".[45] The name of the song came as an accident after Lagerberg misread the title of the Rolling Stones' song "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (1966). Henriksson found Lagerberg's error amusing enough to compose a melody around it.[46]The song, which opens with a fade and folk instruments before Tages' members enter with their instruments,[45] was meant to set the tone for the rest of the album.[45] "It's My Life", which follows, bases its sound on a hard rock riff which complements the somewhat introspective lyrics by Lagerberg.[47] The track has prominent vocal harmonies and a chorus where the backing vocalists sing in a counter-melody to Lagerberg's lead vocals.[47] On the track Henriksson plays an accordion in the style of French bal-musette.[2]

"Like a Woman" was composed by Lagerberg, Henriksson and rhythm guitarist Danne Larsson.[1] The song was allegedly written during the night before the recording session as Tages did not have any other songs ready.[34] Wiremark states that "Like a Woman" lyrically features Lagerberg singing about how a sixteen year old moves and loves like a woman.[48] The midpoint of side one provides a change as the focus switches from songs written and sung by Lagerberg to songs written and sung by Blom. The first of these is "People Without Faces", which is mixed low and has a melody accompanied by a string quartet from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.[2] The lyrics were personal for Blom, who was tired of his grandparents. The song makes references to an older generation with nothing better to do than "complaining on a television show".[49][25]

"I Left My Shoes at Home" was written by Blom and Larsson.[1] The song is about Blom as he sits in a park without shoes, because he had forgot his shoes under the table in his living room. It features a moody and abrasive piano opening line performed by Larsson.[2] The band is accompanied on brass by Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra during the choruses, after which a "battle between strings and guitars", as Wiremark describes it, occurs during an instrumental break.[50] Side one's closer, "She Is a Man", is the first song on Studio without the involvement of any band members, as it was written by Henriksson and the 19-year-old producer Bengt Palmers.[2][nb 8] Wiremark calls it the album's most "conventionally psychedelic song" due to the usage of backmasked guitar by Töpel.[50] The song features two lead vocalists: Blom sings during the verses and Henriksson provides the falsetto lead during the chorus.[2] "She Is a Man" is lyrically about a transvestite or a trans woman.[25][50]

Side two opens with the song "Seeing with Love".[1] It was largely written by Lagerberg but credited to the entire band because he thought the creative process in the studio made it a group composition.[34] The song features some of Studio's more complex arrangements regarding both the brass performances and vocal harmonies, the latter of which have echo applied through a mechanical process.[51] The song features session musician Janne Kling, who contributes the cornett, crumhorn and the Swedish folk instrument spilåpipa through multitracking.[2] The song's ending features a performance on the fiddle mirroring the melody line.[52] The following track, "Created by You", is the first and only composition not related to the band,[1] having been written by Claes Dieden, guitarist of the band Science Poption, who gave Tages the song on 4 October 1967 during the recording of the programme Julgransplundring med Tages, a Christmas special on Sveriges Television (SVT).[52][53] The ballad features sporadic appearances of a flute and Henriksson on celesta.[2]

The following song, "What's the Time", was written by Blom and Larsson but sung by Lagerberg.[2] The song deviates the most from the rest of Studio, as it is an upbeat soul-pop song which heavily features Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra playing brass instruments.[54] The flute which persists during the instrumental break keeps it connected with the album's folk sound.[2] The lyrics are about love from the perspective of a longing narrator.[2] "It's in a Dream" was written by Lagerberg and Henriksson.[27] The song is characterized by a piano riff performed by Henriksson, which repeats after the verses and choruses, and Töpel's lead guitar recorded through a Leslie speaker.[54] Lyrically, the song tackles peace through metaphors involving Robin Hood, while alluding to child soldiers and war.[43]

"She's Having a Baby Now" revolves around out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancy.[25] Lead vocalist Blom describes the lyrics as social pornographic and as criticism of family separations.[55] Musically, the song was a group composition.[34] It is largely fuelled by vocal harmonies and interchanging lead vocals by Lagerberg and Blom.[56] The album closes with "The Old Man Wafwer", which is the only instrumental track Tages ever recorded.[54] The composition is split into two section, one which uses an arrangement of brass instruments played by Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra which leads into a riff on the accordion played by Henriksson.[34] The second part is based on musical improvisation and features Kling's flute playing throughout, while Svensson's drums have a major part in the arrangement.[54] The title was taken from a man who lived on Vaverön, an island in the lake Siljan in Dalarna.[57]

Upon original release, Studio received favourable reviews.[54] Reviews appeared in both major publications and teen magazines, including Bildjournalen, where the in-house reviewer, Håkan Sandén, was an admirer of Tages.[54] Sandén said he initially was disappointed by the album but nevertheless thought it was "phenomonal".[70] He said that despite Tages' ability to "borrow" aspects from their favourite bands, Studio in no way plagiarizes them.[70] He said he heard influences from the Beatles and that the inclusion of Swedish folk tones was great.[70] He called the album "excellent throughout" and praised the album cover.[70]

Studio was reviewed by a staff writer for Expressen, who said that Studio was less "odd and strange" than Contrast.[71] The reviewer praised the songs on Studio, writing that several of them easily "get stuck in your head".[71] The critic said that pretentiousness sometimes ruins the immersion, and criticized Tages for the inclusion of folk instruments, stating that "they were lost in the forest of gimmicks".[71] The critic did praise some of the lyrics, believing that Tages "have found the importance of lyrics as well as music".[71]Svenska Dagbladet gave the album a brief, positive review, stating that it is a well-produced and well-performed album by musicians who "very well know what they are doing".[72] The critic called the gatefold cover unique.[72]

The reviewer for Aftonbladet praised most of the material on Studio.[73] Despite praising the production and recording, the critic was slightly disappointed in the string arrangement, comparing it unfavourably to a contemporary record by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.[73] The critic described some of the lyrics as "stiff or awkward", particularly in "People Without Faces".[73] Despite the criticism, the critic called the album "worthvile" and considered it one of the best Swedish album as of lately.[73] In Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning, Henning Svensson wrote that Studio is Tages' most personal album.[74] Svensson said Tages "were trying to find new ways" with the album, something they succeeded with.[74] He praised the inclusion of folk musicians which "makes the album unique, possibly the first of its kind" and applauded the general songwriting and production effort.[74] In Hudiksvalls Tidning, the critic wrote that Studio showcases Tages' "ever growing musical ambitions" and complimented the songwriting.[75]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[76]
Mojo	[77]
The Times	[78]

Retrospectively, Studio has received acclaim by reviewers. In a review for AllMusic, music critic Richie Unterberger states that Studio sounds "pretty close to a mid-60's British group", which he attributes to Tages' ability and willingness to adapt to the current musical climate.[76] While he says that Studio is "carefully arranged and produced", the songs found on the album "do not live up to their British influences".[76] Therefore, Unterberger states that it is not surprising that Studio contains "florid-pop psychedelia" with "productional gimmicks", whimsical songwriting and "soul and orchestration in the arrangements".[76] He says there are no bad tracks on the album which is composed "of approaches that were in fashion".[76] He ends the review by praising Henriksson's work, stating that the album features "unique production tricks" which increase its appeal.[76] Due to the variety of genres, Wrigholm says the album is not "plagiated from Beatles nor any other English bands", while stating that it is a product of its time.[49]

Writing for Mojo magazine, Kieron Tyler describes Studio as a "groundbreaking riposte" to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, stating that it is the best Swedish album of the 1960s.[77] He says that Tages were "progressing forward" with the album and that it is "as striking" as Odessey and Oracle (1968) by The Zombies and "much more hard-hitting" than Butterfly (1967) by the Hollies.[77] He positively reviews Tages' decision to use folk instruments rather than looking elsewhere for inspiration, stating that this was radical for its time.[77] Tyler believes that the album was groundbreaking as it "fused tradiitonal Swedish instruments" with "psych-pop", and ends the review by stating that it is as "important as any album by the Beatles".[77] According to journalist Andres Lokko, the thing that distinguished Studio from contemporary albums, both Swedish and international, is "the confidence and usage in the Nordic folk music that characterizes so much of the content".[79]

In 2010, a critic for The Times described Studio as "a record in a palpable thrall" compared to the "nascent psych-pop" from the United Kingdom.[78] The critic singles out "Have You Seen Your Brother Lately" and "She's Having a Baby Now" for praise, considering them "punchier" equaivalents to David Bowie's debut album from the same year.[78] The critic calls Studio a "magnificent period piece".[78] According to a staff review in 2017 for BrooklynVegan, the album could not have been more "aptly named".[80] The critic states that the album "reveals itself" with repeated listens and is a "finely crafted piece of work" and a "treat", despite that Tages never made it big outside of Sweden.[80] In 2010, Rock & Roll magazine critic Martin Theander compared Studio with work from the Beatles, stating that both took inspiration from the same sources which lead him to call Studio "a Swedish Sgt. Pepper".[81] Despite this, Theander says that Studio has a place reserved right next to Odessey and Oracle rather than any Beatles album, while simultaneously believing Tages deserves the same cult status as the Zombies have.[81] He says Studio should be listened to by "every pop musician" and considered their "holy heirloom".[81]

In 1997, the Swedish Musicians' Union magazine Topp 40 placed Studio at position 36 on a list of the best Swedish albums of all time.[82] The music magazine Sonic placed it as number 35 on its list of the 100 best original Swedish albums, where it was the only one by a Swedish pop band of the 1960s.[79][83]