''The Hep Stars'' (also known as just ''Hep Stars'') is the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous second studio album (and third overall album release) by Swedish pop group

Hep Stars The Hep Stars are a Swedish rock band formed in Stockholm in 1963. During 1965–1966 the band was the most successful of contemporary 1960s Swedish pop groups performing in the English language. Outside the Nordic countries the band is best ...

, released on 19 December 1966 on

Åke Gerhard Åke Gerhard (Utansjö, Ångermanland, 26 March 1921 – 20 August 2009) was a Swedish songwriter. His songs won the title for the first three years of Sweden's Melodifestival: In 1958 "Lilla stjärna" Little star sung by Alice Babs, in 195 ...

Olga Records Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia ...

, the catalogue number LPO 04. The album can be considered the band's musical breakthrough, as five out of twelve tracks are original compositions, and nine out of the twelve tracks had never previously been recorded by other bands. However, with over 40.000 copies of the album being sent to record stores across

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, it became a huge hit, reached number 12 on Kvällstoppen in Sweden, reached number 5 on Norway's

VG-lista VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...

and reached number 3 in Finland, where it stayed for two months. The album was later

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in Sweden after selling 25.000 copies.

Material

In contrast to the heavier and more

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

based sound of their debut album ''We And Our Cadillac'', songs on ''The Hep Stars'' varies from pop on songs such as "Lady Lady", to psychedelia on "Consolation". The album also marks keyboardist

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

's songwriting debut, as five tracks are credited to him. "Isn't It Easy To Say" is also the first collaboration by him and future

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

-bandmate

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

. The album features an English version of "

Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" (also known as "The Strangest Dream") is a song written by American folk singer-songwriter Ed McCurdy in 1950. Due to McCurdy's connection with fellow musicians, it was common in repertoires within the fol ...

", a song Hep Stars previously had a hit with in Sweden with a Swedish translation called "I Natt Jag Drömde". "No Time" was a song given to the band by Ulvaeus, since he had decided to record " Sunny Girl" for his band

Hootenanny Singers The Hootenanny Singers were a popular folk group from Sweden, founded in 1961. The group included Björn Ulvaeus, who later became a member of ABBA. Other band members were Johan Karlberg (b. Karl Johan Hilding Karlberg, 14 April 1943, Vimme ...

' 1966 studio album ''Många Ansikten / Many Faces.'' It also features two hit singles, "

Wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

" and "Consolation", which both reached the peak positions on the Kvällstoppen chart for 4 and 10 weeks respectively. The album itself peaked at number 12 on the same chart. Which at the time was a huge feat for an album, as it at the time was dominated by singles. This had only previously been achieved with the album ''

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work ...

'' by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. "Lady Lady" was released as a single in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1968 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, backed by "Sunny Girl", a release which failed to chart. Both "The Birds In The Sky" and "Morning Comes After Night" had initially been recorded by a Swedish group called Vat 66 in 1966. These releases failed to chart. Vat 66 also recorded and released "Lady Lady" as a single in 1967.

Track listing

Personnel

Hep Stars * Svenne Hedlund – lead vocals, percussion * Janne Frisk – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals * Lennart Hegland – bass guitar, backing vocals *

– various keyboard instruments, backing vocals * Christer Pettersson – drums, percussion, backing vocals Additional personnel * Lennart Fernholm – bass guitar *

Gert Palmcrantz Gert Palmcrantz (born 1 February 1938) is one of the most distinguished sound engineers in Sweden. He commenced his career in the late 1950s, at the gramophone studios of Europa Film. In 1976 Palmcrantz recorded Sweden's best-selling jazz record ...

– producer

References

1966 albums Hep Stars albums {{1960s-pop-album-stub