Waters

Description

Waters is the debut album by the Finnish rock combo Ben Antell Band, released on the Swedish gospel label Talking Music in 1982. Also released in Canada by Tunesmith. The album was recorded during three days of the winter of 1981 and was mastered by audio wizard Peter Dahl and Benjamin at Cutting Room in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Canadian Tunesmith label reached its arm across the ocean to pick up this excellent Finnish band’s progressive rock obscurity and attempt to give it the exposure it deserved. Waters is easily one of the top releases for the label. Whether the moods are gentle and jazz influenced or loud and rockin’, Antell’s guitar work is always the highlight here. The slow-burn hard rock instrumental «Nardus Op2» features scorching lead guitar reminiscent of Pink Floyd, as does the lengthy title track before shifting its mood to a sprightly jazz jam session (which also in Floyd tradition includes inscrutable conversation in the background). «AU 24» is an interesting piece that rocks along to a choppy reggae rhythm. Side two opens with another ace instrumental entitled «Quo», followed by the climactic ballad «Always One». Two more lengthy rich melodic softer-textured tracks finish out the album: «The Calling Of The Night-Bird» (featuring a cacophonous avant garde intro and heavily phased fade-out) and the dreamy «Mountain “I Am”» which is set in a hypnotic synthesizer wind effect. The original Swedish press on Talking Music has a crisper sound. The jacket is more or less the same, but includes an inner sleeve with all the lyrics, additional artwork and the instruments/musicians on each track (I see lots of references to Telecaster and Stratocaster). Fascinating cover art by Antell of a mobster diving from a car’s path, inspired by an old Frank Sinatra flick. [Ken Scott, The Archivist]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/waters/495710720)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “You’re So Real” – 3:53
A2. “Au 24” – 3:20
A3. “Nardus Op.2” – 7:42
A4. “Waters” – 6:37

Side Two
B1. “Quo” – 4:32
B2. “Always One” – 4:36
B3. “The Calling Of The Nightbird” – 6:42
B4. “Mountain “I Am”” – 6:06

Note: The original studio master was destroyed in a studio fire. (The Swedish pressing sounds much better than the Canadian pressing.)

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