Himlaväsen / Himlavasen

All dressed in black suits and sunglasses, there was never any doubt whether Himlaväsen had the Blues Brothers as heroes. Being formed in 1978 by session musician Sven Fridolfsson, it was not much more than a tribute band, but at the release of the first record, the 16-man band had moved further. On the cover of Hip Bop, there was still a number of Blues Brothers attributes to be found, but the music owed much more to slick West Coast and funk than to soul and R&B. And though the album was completely instrumental, "Walkin On" actually became a radio hit. On the next album they included more soul, and three tracks with vocals, sung by Frank Ådal and Bryan Duncan. But the tame production didn't do the funky songs justice, a problem that would follow Himlaväsen throughout their career, performing great live but releasing mediocre albums. And preferring to play in churches and at religious ventures, Himlaväsen never managed to get a big audience.

Two years later, in 1994, Bluesmobile was released, the title another obvious homage to the Blues Brothers, and the band still dressed in black suits and sunglasses while playing live. Brothers was released in 1995, the title again referring to the same thing, which was strange since the music had not had much to do with Blues Brothers ever since their first album. It did not get much attention outside the religious press, but the reviews were decent, if pointing out the lack of progress. ~ Lars Lovén, Rovi