Charlie & Esdor - Charlie & Esdor (Remastered) (1970/2005)

This is the collected works of Charlie and Esdor, or from what is saved from their recordings.

Charlie and Esdor had started as a hippie psych duo on sitar and guitar, drums and bass, soon became a quartet (with an extra lead and rhythm guitarist, Tobben and Esdor). This version must have been powerful, playing a one hour version of “Tomorrow Never Comes” (Beatles) and some Hendrix tracks on their first and only gig, which left a tremendous influence on the duo, but the two other members preferred to go their own way as another duo. Later on a festival they played as a trio (intended as a quartet) just once more. The label contact of still fresh progressive label MNW, Bo Anders Larsson, gave the duo several chances for recording sessions.

Their first single, which are the first two tracks of this compilation are powerful heavy ragarock tracks (with all instruments played by the duo), and shows for me a great side of the group.

While recording an LP, intended as one side in Swedish and one in English, they also recorded two single-tracks as a re-establishment of Bo’s former project, Scorpion, with a B-side, called “fuck the cops” (whose title was changed by the label management, because they preferred not to be too controversial). These are the two following tracks on the compilation. The style is very different from the previous single, with the B-side at its most raw and heavy, is bluesy rock.

At this time, Swedish progressive rock was on the rise, and to maintain their own identity in the scene English seemed no longer to be accepted, so the duo had to rewrite the whole b-side of the upcoming album into Swedish, which they did. Still they couldn’t find the inner “message” of the group or label it so properly and decided after a long year of waiting only to release a mini-LP, with 3 tracks from the LP and a live version (as a trio), which are the following tracks on the compilation. The style especially on the first two tracks of this session has some loose guitar jamming and sounds as if it has a somewhat improvised energy (“Green is beautiful”,). The sitar is very much mixed to the far background and all focus is on the freaky electric guitar and hippie-psych rhythm on “Bridge for two blues”. “Idag Sticker jag Bort” I think I like best from this session. It becomes really freaky and somewhat experimental near the end, with some psychedelic effect. Because the original intended LP was not going to be released they went to the studio to get the tapes, but they seemed to have been lost. The saved tracks might only have given a slight idea of the intended album. We miss now for instance an 11 minute track of “How does it feel to be without friends”, a track which the group still had from a 1970 performance (played as a duo on guitar, sitar only).

The two radio performances the group once did for national radio were not kept by the radio and the only left over tape from the second session was stolen in a car burglary. More attempts were done by the group the following years but they were not all successful because of more sad circumstances, until they parted to go their own, different ways.

The compilation gives some idea of the range of interests from the group, from disciplined arrangements of sitarrock (first two tracks), to raw rock (the Scorpion tracks) to somewhat loose jams with an improvised feeling and possibility, with bluesy hard rock guitars, and with a psychedelic effect, which could eventually lead to inventive and unique moments. The group had bad luck when we talk about storing some of their best moments, but now have all the luck they can have for Mellotronen always make the best compilation a group could dream of, with a 32 page booklet with info and rare pictures.