THE SAVAGE ROSE - Wild Child

http://rapidshare.de/files/39084378/WCTSR73.rar.htm DISCOGRAFIA: Savage Rose (68), In The Plain (68), Travellin' (69), Your Daily Gift (70), Refugee (72), Pop History Vol. 15 (72), Dodens Triumf (72), Babylon (73), Wild Child (73), I'm Satisfied (7?), En Vugge Af Stal (??), Solen Var Ogsa Din (77)

Savage Rose are a Danish band from the late '60s and early '70s. Apparently they released several albums but I only know of two, which are the two I have. In the Plain, released in 1968, is drenched in the psychedelia typical of that time, though there is some foreshadowing of the progressive revolution that was to begin full-force the following year. There are three keyboard players who play piano, organ and harpsichord. There's also recorder, accordion and steel guitar in addition to acoustic and electric guitar. Lead vocals are provided by Annisette who somehow manages to sound like a sexy and diminuitive wildcat! Actually, I'm reminded just a bit of Cindy Lauper. Her vocal styling gives the music drive and energy as she gives her all. There are also some softer moments of piano and vocals giving a folkish quality to some songs. Your Daily Gift follows along the same lines but is both more mature in style and folkier in influence. Annisette's voice is also more powerful than ever. Highly recommended if you are a psych fan but I don't think the Sympho/Prog crowd would like this very much. This Danish band was quite popular in Scandinavia. It's said their first album was outsold only by the concurrent Beatles release. They certainly posessed a sound all their own, and while the overall style of In The Plain is definitely psychedelic, it has elements that can be described only as progressive. Masterminded by brothers Thomas and Anders Koppel, and starring the soulful voice of the diminutive Annisette, who has been stylistically compared to Janis Joplin but really sounds like no one I've ever heard before. Her high-pitched voice may sound grating and shrill to the uninitiated, but one would hardly expect to hear such an impassioned singer in a Scandinavian band. The band had a very distinctive line-up, bass, guitar, vocals and drums along with piano and organ, played by Thomas and Anders, and harpsichord played by Thomas' wife Ilse. The sound created by the three keyboards interacting is quite original. The band also experiments with auditory landscapes on the dreamy "God's Little Hand" and the beautiful "I'm Walking Through The Door." The rest of the album is psychedelic rock-soul of the highest order, with the odd folkie touch; as on "Evening's Child," which has Thomas playing a Persian santour (hammer-dulcimer). The closing track, "A Trial In Our Native Town" with its laborious Vanilla Fudge tempo, gurgling cathedral Hammond organ, roaring guitar and Annisette's aching vocals, is one that is sure to make psych fans salivate. The other album I have, Your Daily Gift, is more folk-prog than psych-prog. Ilsa Koppel took maternity leave from the band, reducing the line-up to a six piece. Some of the tracks are pretty lame and dated sounding, like "Listen To This Tune From Mexico," with its inane lyrics and Vegas-lounge organ. But "Speak Softly" is a beautiful R&B oriented ballad, one of Annisette's best vocals performances. "Tapiola" is a seven-minute free improvisation, pretty interesting stuff. "Unfold" is a sort of country-rock-folk mix with slide guitar joined by harpsichord! The title song closes the album appropriately, the bright, optimistic lyrics neatly contrasting with the sad, gloomy tone. The minor-chorded piano, and brushed drums work well for this song, the use of accordion adds a creepy element.