Magnus Carlsson - A Nordic Soul

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 25 / 9 / 2018

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Review

Lead singer with Swedish band Weeping Willows, Magnus Carlson is something of a musical chameleon. The first time this writer heard Carlson sing was on ‘Broken Promise Land’ by Weeping Willows. It was a heartfelt ballad that recalled Roy Orbison and the title track of the band's debut album released in 1997. While it was representative of the whole album, it just had the edge over the other tracks and, despite the Orbison inflections on that title song, placed Carlson as a modern day crooner. Back in 1997, it was unusual to hear a band that are often described as indie rock/pop, making such a fine job of using late 1950'1s and early 1960's influences as a template for their sound. Despite the obvious influences their first two albums brought the sound of that era up to date. In Carlson they obviously had a versatile and emotive singer. The band is still successful in their home country and beyond even though they have moved on musically. Fast forward a few years to 2014 and Carlson, along with Swedish country music star Jill Johnson, introduced the world to the talents of Doug Seegers that was detailed in the television programme ‘Jill’s Veranda’. In the programme Carlson’s obvious love of music shines through, and for those who heard the singer perform with Seeger and Johnson it was obvious that he could add his own twist to country/blues too. Along with Weeping Willows Carlson even cut some of the most affecting Christmas songs as well, one featuring Ane Brun and a cover of the Glasvegas song, ‘A Snowflake Fell (and It Felt Like a Kiss)'. It seemed like this singer could tackle any genre and come out winning. In 2017 Carlson released a mainly Swedish language set of songs, some of which were produced by Andy Lewis in Paul Weller’s studio in Ripley, which showed yet another side to the man’s talents. Not surprisingly given the location, backing musicians and producer the album, ‘Den Långa Vägen Hem’, had a distinct Northern Soul vibe around the majority of the tracks. Around the same time a couple of singles were released on vinyl; a satisfactory cover of the Four Seasons' ‘Beggin’, an excellent take on Eddie Hollman’s ‘I Surrender’ and a brace of originals all given the classic Northern Soul treatment. These tracks have now been issued with further English language songs to make Carlson’s new album ‘A Nordic Soul’. And what a treat for Northern Soul fans it is! The brassy opener, ‘From Now On’, sets the scene for most of which follows. It’s a classic slice of Northern Soul and impossible to sit still to. ‘Now That It’s Over’ features Fay Hallan on vocals and is another soul stomper, sure to bring a smile to any soul fan. It’s not easy to capture not only the sound but also the mood of those original Northern Soul sides and add a contemporary edge, but Carlson and company have done just that with this collection. Maybe we’re all too over familiar with ‘Beggin’ for it to have much effect here, so there’s much new and inspired music to take in that while it is performed perfectly it doesn’t hit home like the other tracks on the album. ‘Keep On Dreaming’ adds a slick disco sheen to the proceedings, Songs such as ‘What If’ find Carlson putting in even more soulful performances while never losing sight of that Northern Soul beat. There are unsurprising Style Council touches here and there; ‘’The Long Way Home’ is one example, while even the acoustic opening to ‘Wait For Love to Grow’ recalls Weller during his Style Council period. ‘The Torch’ (maybe a little nod there to a certain club especially with its “we’ll keep the flame alive” and “keep the faith” lines) is not the Soft Cell song, but a Northern Soul stomper that Marc Almond would have given his right arm to have written. ‘I Surrender’ is another track that will have old Soul Boys reminiscing; we actually moved our creaking bones to songs like this once you know. Towards the end of the album the mood changes and that song which introduced so many of us to Magnus Carlson rings out, ‘Broken Promise Land’ has lost none of its charm, and still a spine-chiller. It’s followed by another couple of slower songs of which the closing ‘Eternal Love’ almost matches the emotion expressed in ‘Broken Promise Land’; it’s that moving. ‘A Nordic Soul’ needs to be on your shelf if you’ve any interest at all in the Northern Soul genre. It’s a keeper.

Track Listing:-