Old-Timey String Band/Tennessee Travellers "Kountry Korral Is Proud To Present..." (Blue Horizon International, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Urban Huglund & Kjell Soderlund)
A split LP featuring two Swedish old-timey/bluegrass bands. The first side features The Old-Timey String Band, from Stockholm (with guitar picker Christoffer Halgren, fiddler Clacs Palmqvist, and Arnulf Ranung on guitar) while Side Two showcases a group from Borlange called The Tennessee Travelers (featuring Mats Haglund on banjo, fiddler Thomas Haglung, Urban Haglund playing guitar, and Ingmar Lind on bass.) The Travelers band continued to evolve over the years and later became the Blom Brothers band, with Thomas and Urban Haglund on board, playing fiddle and guitar, respectively.
Johnny Ost "Roda Sandens Dal" (Rondo Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Kjell Gradin & Ake Grahn)
Straight-up country stuff from Scandinavian twangster Johnny Ost (ne Kjell Johny Folke Jernberg, 1933-2008) a singer from Forsa, Sweden. Four songs are credited as Johnny Ost originals, joined by a couple co-written by Borje Carlsson and K.G. Lundkvist, who were probably in Ost's band. A few cover tunes as well, including a Swedish-language version of "Happy Hangovers To You," presumably a cover of the 1966 Jean Shepard single, though mysteriously credited as a "traditional" song.
Johnny Ost & Anna Ost "Mor Och Son" (Rondo Records, 1975) (LP)
An intriguing album recorded along with his mother, Anna Kristina Ost (1910-2011). She was the daughter of a famous Swedish fiddler Jon Erik Ost, a prolific composer who was central to a turn-of-the-century Scandinavian folk revival. Anna Ost took up the mantle, learning fiddle and guitar and was a central member of the Familjen Ost folk group, perhaps Sweden's equivalent of the Carter Family or The Stonemans. She was also the bridge to her son's interest in American-style country music, getting an affectionate nod from Johnny Ost on this collaborative album. The Familjen Ost band performed on radio and television and made an unknown number of records, including at least one album that featured Johnny Ost on a few tracks.
Johnny Ost "Hemma Fran Landet I Vaster" (Rondo Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Kjell Gradin & Radu Mircea)
Here the repertoire is split pretty much evenly between American covers along with translations and some originals by homegrown Swedish country artists such as Borje Carlsson, Lars-Erik Johansson, and K.G. Lundkvist. Johnny Ost also contributes a couple of his own songs, "Om Man Bara Bjuder Till," and "Vi Tva Tillsammans." One of the odd side notes about this album is the inclusion of three separate Judd Strunk songs, all translated into Swedish by Borje Carlsson; I think Strunk had some kind of special European publishing deal, as this is not the first album I've seen that was crammed with his material. Anyway, if you want to hear "Daisy A Day" sung in Swedish...
Johnny Ost "Sjunger Jim Reeves" (EMI Records, 1976) (LP)
My Swedish is getting a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure this was a tribute to American country crooner Jim Reeves, replete with translated versions of numerous Reeves hits such as "The Blizzard," "Distant Drums," "Danny Boy" and "Welcome To My World." Strangely though, this set leans heavily on Reeves's posthumous hits and completely omits his best songs, early knockouts such as "Blue Boy," "Four Walls," and "He'll Have To Go." I guess Ost was trying to go "deep cut" on this one?
Johnny Ost "Ta En Ton" (Columbia Records, 1978) (LP)
Johnny Ost & Familjen Ost "Fyra Generationer" (Global Sound Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Ost, Hans Jansson & Sven-Olof Olsson)
Paying homage to his family history, Johnny Ost hosts the whole kit and kaboodle on a wide-ranging, folkie session, showcasing his mother Anna Ost and several other relatives -- Erik Ost, Ivan Ost, Karl Ost, Siw Ost and others. Five generations worth! The album kicks off with an archival track of musical patriarch Jon-Erik Ost (who passed away in 1968) on a fiddle tune called "Lillstugan." The group gets some additional instrumental backing from Johnny Ost on zither(!) and guitar, Erik Christiansson (harmonica), Lars Ek (accordon and organ) and Herbert Ogren (harmonica).
Country music is everywhere, even in the erudite intellectual aeries of Europe... In fact, there's so much of the stuff, I barely know a fraction of it. This section includes a bunch of random bluegrass and country bands from across the European continent, although I'm aware there are many, many other artists and albums not currently on my radar. Also, separate sections exist for Germany and The United Kingdom and Ireland which have their own large, impressive country scenes, though many of those albums may also be included here. And trust me, once I crack the code and find all the records, France, Croatia and Lichtenstein will all get their own twang guides, too! (PS: I apologize for not being able to support umlauts and schwas and other special characters and for making all your languages look so very not right. I'm just not smart enough for all that technical-type stuff!)
