Various - Pushing Scandinavian Rock To The Man Vol.3

  by Andrew Carver

published: 27 / 10 / 2002

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Denmark’s Bad Afro records, along with White Jazz, has been responsible for releasing most of the best rock’n’roll to come out of Scandinavia, including singles by groups like the Hellacopters and Turbonegro. It’s now on the third volume in a very solid series of compilations. The Bad Afro-ites have toploaded the comp, with the first four tracks most likely to inspire a listener to hunt down the albums. Finland’s Sweatmaster start the compilation, with a sound much like Spain’s Atomic Rhumba, on 'I am a Demon and I Love Rock’N’Roll.'  It features a Stoogish one-note piano solo (not the only one on the comp)  and lots of handclapping. Baby Woodrose’s 'Never Coming Back' boasts a lumbering riff and a typically snotty garage song lyric. The Royal Beat Conspiracy’s disco-garage-soul-rock concoction 'Gala Galore' was one of the best albums of 2000; an alternate version of 'Try Me' from their new record 'Dig It'shows they’re still going strong. Vegas VIP’s 'Nightrider' is probably the most fun track; a reverbed surfabilly track with a loungy vocal and horns for a sweetener tackle a B-movie revenge tale. Nothing else on the comp really sounds like it, and lyrics like “He’s a nightrider tonight ... his nightrider’s delight” straddle that all-important territory between stupid and brilliant. While the first volume of 'Pushing Scandinavian Rock To The Man!!!' seemed to lean more heavily toward the 70's, Vol. III  takes more from 60's soul and garage; there’s a lot more piano and organ on this outing, and a more soulful approach to the vocals. The Borderlines provide an exemplar of the sound on 'Pushing' with 'Come On, Hold On', which make an obvious nod to Sam and Dave. On Trial’s 'Higher' is more rocked up lo-fi soul (this time the title shouts out to Sly and the Family Stone); not too dissimilar to the Chronics, who also appear with an unreleased track, 'Slippin’ and Slidin'. The Flaming Sideburns’, the leader in this field, surrender a track from their second LP, 'Hallelujah Rock’n’Roll'. On a more garage rock vein, The Launderettes rock up the girl group sound with a high-powered version of 'No One But Me'. The Burnouts and the Thee Ultra Bimboos offer more straight-ahead rock’n'roll approach, the Burnouts with a drug score narrative on 'You Lose', while the Bimboos grouse about a no-good boyfriend 'PMS 666'. Species’ 'Ram It Up' pushes its head above the crowd (among other places, as you might have guessed from the title; the words “your ass” also feature prominently in the lyrics) with an excellent vocal performance. The Mutants 'Kung Fu' wouldn’t qualify as a disappointment on most comps, but there’s something a little too obvious in the martial arts movie soundclips that bookend the track. Vol. III features unreleased tunes, tracks from deleted singles and songs from hard-to-find independent releases, so, in addition to being an excellent introduction, it’s also most desirable for fans of the Scandinavian rock scene.

Track Listing:-

1 Sweatmaster– I Am A Demon And I Love Rock N' Roll
2 Baby Woodrose– Never Coming Back
3 The Royal Beat Conspiracy– Try Me
4 Vegas V.I.P.– Nightrider
5 The Chronics– Slippin' And Slidin'
6 On Trial– Higher
7 Species – Ram It Up
8 The Launderettes– Nobody But Me
9 The Maggots – Leave Me Alone
10 The Borderlines– Come On, Hold On
11 The Mutants – Kung Fu
12 The Burnouts– You Lose
13 The Defectors– Live To See (Your Face Again)
14 The Flaming Sideburns– Blow The Roof
15 Thee Ultra Bimboos– No Man's No Good (PMS 666)

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