Studio (album)

Studio was largely conceived and written by bassist Göran Lagerberg and producer Henriksson, but features songwriting credits from all band members, particularly lead vocalist Tommy Blom and rhythm guitarist Danne Larsson.

[6][7] After seeing Howlin' Wolf and Lightnin' Hopkins live in Gothenburg, Tages had begun abandoning their folk roots in favour of a sound much more oriented toward rhythm and blues and hard rock, evident on their fourth single "The One for You" (1965).

[9] The group members also wanted to leave their earlier sound due to insecurity in their songwriting along with the fact that "Sleep Little Girl" was ravaged in the Swedish press.

[14][15] "In My Dreams" was released as a single and was one of the earliest examples where folk music was integrated in a song by a commercially successful pop band in Sweden.

[2] The single track "She's Having a Baby Now" was recorded at Europafilm in Stockholm, which was Tages' and Henriksson's preferred studio, during a nightly session between 17 and 18 April 1967, before Contrast was released.

[39] At the press conference, Tages revealed that Parlophone had arranged work permits for the band in the United Kingdom, and the members flew to London on 9 October.

[2] In addition to producing the sessions, Henriksson, who was a multi-instrumentalist, played most keyboard instruments on the tracks, including piano, organ and the celesta.

He and Lagerberg spent an increasing amount of time in Henriksson's parents' summer cottage, located in the small village of Tällberg by the lake Siljan, all of which came to influence several songs on the album.

[21] According to vocalist Blom, tracks on Studio use instruments present in "ancient Swedish history",[41] and generally used in genres not connected to pop music.

[42] Svensson ways the usage of Swedish folk music was a "gimmick which was the present [1967] trend", and that Tages refrained from using influences from India because of the Beatles doing it.

[43][nb 7] The other material on the album, mostly the tracks not composed by Lagerberg and Henriksson, seek influences elsewhere which with the inclusion of brass and string instruments.

[2] The band is accompanied on brass by Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra during the choruses, after which a "battle between strings and guitars", as Wiremark describes it, occurs during an instrumental break.

[50] Side one's closer, "She Is a Man", is the first song on Studio without the involvement of any band members, as it was written by Henriksson and the 19-year-old producer Bengt Palmers.

[1] It was largely written by Lagerberg but credited to the entire band because he thought the creative process in the studio made it a group composition.

[34] The song features some of Studio's more complex arrangements regarding both the brass performances and vocal harmonies, the latter of which have echo applied through a mechanical process.

[51] The song features session musician Janne Kling, who contributes the cornett, crumhorn and the Swedish folk instrument spilåpipa through multitracking.

[27] The song is characterized by a piano riff performed by Henriksson, which repeats after the verses and choruses, and Töpel's lead guitar recorded through a Leslie speaker.

[64] After having two singles, "I'm Going Out" and "Treat Her Like a Lady", chart in the Danish top ten, Parlophone believed that the band were big enough to warrant a release of their album in Denmark.

[62] In a last effort to promote Studio, Parlophone and Tages got SVT to finance the half-hour television special Dalamania, produced by Peter Goldmann and shot on location in Dalarna and at Radiohuset in Stockholm.

[74] He praised the inclusion of folk musicians which "makes the album unique, possibly the first of its kind" and applauded the general songwriting and production effort.

[76] Therefore, Unterberger states that it is not surprising that Studio contains "florid-pop psychedelia" with "productional gimmicks", whimsical songwriting and "soul and orchestration in the arrangements".

[77] According to journalist Andres Lokko, the thing that distinguished Studio from contemporary albums, both Swedish and international, is "the confidence and usage in the Nordic folk music that characterizes so much of the content".

[78] The critic singles out "Have You Seen Your Brother Lately" and "She's Having a Baby Now" for praise, considering them "punchier" equivalents to David Bowie's debut album from the same year.

[81] The critic states that the album "reveals itself" with repeated listens and is a "finely crafted piece of work" and a "treat", despite that Tages never made it big outside of Sweden.

[82] Despite this, Theander says that Studio has a place reserved right next to Odessey and Oracle rather than any Beatles album, while simultaneously believing Tages deserves the same cult status as the Zombies have.

[49] Lead vocalist Blom became disillusioned with Tages as he was largely considered a secondary member by 1968, overshadowed by Lagerberg who by this point was the band's artistical driving force.

[62] After the release, Studio fell into obscurity as the musical directions in Sweden changed into heavier rock and the political movement progg.

[80] American indie pop band the Lemon Twigs cited Tages' recording experimentation on Studio as a primary influence for their 2024 album A Dream Is All We Know.

[89][90] Studio was not re-issued in full until 1994, when it was released on the CD Fantasy Island, a part of the 3-CD box-set This One's for You!, which collected all of Tages' recorded output.

[80] In 2015, Studio received its first vinyl re-issue for Record Store Day, released under the Parlophone brand as an exact replica of the 1967 LP.

Roger Wallis reviewing Contrast for Sveriges Radio . Critics enjoyed the musical direction the band took with the album. [ 3 ]
The tracks " Like a Woman " and "It's in a Dream" were cut at EMI Studios in London. [ 27 ] [ nb 1 ]
The Swedish province of Dalarna inspired the theme of the album.
The gatefold inlay feature the band members superimposed over the album's title
Studio was Tages' final album with lead singer Tommy Blom .