''Tages 2'' (commonly referred to as ''LP 2'' or just ''2'') is the second studio album by the Swedish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Tages Tages was claimed as a founding prophet of Etruscan religion who is known from reports by Latin authors of the late Roman Republic and Roman Empire. He revealed a cosmic view of divinity and correct methods of ascertaining divine will concerni ...

, released on 4 August 1966 by

Platina Records Platina Records (Platina Skivor) was a Swedish independent record label founded in 1964 by businessman and songwriter Evert Jakobsson. The label saw great success throughout the mid-1960s with rock acts such as Tages, before turning to dansband m ...

. Often considered their artistic breakthrough, six out of twelve tracks are original compositions. The album was recorded and released during a tense moment for the group, where drummer Freddie Skantze was just about to leave the group; he was briefly replaced by Tommy "TT" Tausis, who plays on four tracks on the album. ''Tages 2'' would be the final albums for Skantze as he left following the recording, and Tausis would go on to play on '' Extra Extra'' before leaving towards the end of 1966. Both were replaced by drummer Lasse Svensson. Just like its predecessor ''Tages'', it was issued in 6000 copies, and sold over 10000, becoming their second and last album certified in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. ''Tages 2'' yielded three singles of which two charted. The album itself did not chart on Kvällstoppen.

Content

Overview

In contrast to both their debut and later studio albums is that ''Tages 2'' was self produced. The content is a lot more varied than their previous effort, in that it greatly contrasts in genres. The first track "

Dancing in the Street "Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

" captures the spirit of their debut. It is also on this track that Tommy Tausis makes his debut; he sings and plays drums on the track. On tracks such as "I Still Remember", "In My Dreams", and "Go", influences from

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

are apparent. On the album, six original compositions are present, of which five are credited to

Tommy Blom Tommy Albert Blom (3 March 1947 – 25 May 2014) was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician. He was a member of the band Tages in the 1960s. In the mid 1990s, he started hosting Vinyl 107. In 2008, he lost that job because "he was too old", but ...

Göran Lagerberg Göran Bertil Lagerberg (; born 20 September 1947) is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist in Swedish rock band Tages and later progressive rock act Kebnekajse. In the 1990s, he was a ...

, Danne Larsson,

Anders Töpel (Per-Inge) Anders Töpel (16 January 1947 – 10 April 2014) was a Swedish guitarist, best known for being the lead guitarist of the Swedish rock group Tages. Early life Töpel was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. He befriended Tommy Blom as a child ...

and Freddie Skantze. "Guess Who" can be considered an early expression of

Freakbeat Freakbeat is a loosely defined subgenre of rock and roll music developed mainly by harder-driving British groups during the Swinging London period of the mid-to late 1960s. The genre bridges British Invasion R&B, beat and psychedelia. Etymolo ...

. On the album, Larsson takes up more instruments than his usual guitar; he plays

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and various other

keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital piano ...

s. One single preceded the album, which was "In My Dreams". Recorded on 14 June 1966, it was Tages most successful release ever, reaching number one on both ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' (English: ''Ten At The Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record cha ...

'' and Kvällstoppen. It became Tages one and only single to achieve this feat. "In My Dreams" heavily features

bongo drum Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

s and flutes throughout, in an apparent attempt to experiment with their sound. The second single " Crazy 'Bout My Baby" was worked on by the band in May–June. Released three months after the album, it became their biggest flop yet, as it did not reach ''Tio i Topp'', and was the first release by them not to chart in the top ten on Kvällstoppen, only reaching number 16. The final single was released almost a year later, and was the cover "Dancing In The Street.", which failed to chart on either list.

Vocals and album cover

The album is diverse in its vocal duties, with drummer Tausis singing lead on his tracks, something Skantze had previously only done on ''Tages'' closing track " Stand by Me", a vocal he shared with

. Göran Lagerberg sings an overwhelming majority of the album's twelve tracks, similar to their debut album. Danne Larsson sings on "I Still Remember" and "Go" while Anders Töpel sings lead on "I Got You (I Feel Good) and "Dirty Mind". The album cover depicts the band in front of a pitch-black background. No text is visible except the Platina logo in the top left corner along with a huge number "2" which takes up a majority of the right portion of the album cover. Interestingly, Tausis is not represented in any of the album covers, front and back. Instead, he is only mentioned in the liner notes.

Track listing

All tracks written by

, Danne Larsson,

and Freddie Skantze unless noted.

Personnel

Tages

– vocals, bass guitar *

– vocals, harmonica, percussion *

– lead guitar, vocals * Danne Larsson – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals * Freddie Skantze – drums, bongos (2-4, 6, 8–12) * Tommy Tausis – drums, vocals (1, 5, 7)

Other musicians

* Lasse Samuelsson's Orchestra – flute, alto flute, clarinet and bass clarinet (6)

Technical

* Tages – producers *Björn Almstedt – studio engineer * Ulf H. Holmstedt – album cover photography *Hans Sidén – artwork, liner notes

Singles

References

External links

Tages studio album discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tages 2 1966 albums Tages (band) albums