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Rhapsody (SWE) - Strange Vibrations review



Reviewer:
7.5
Band: Rhapsody (SWE)
Album: Strange Vibrations
Style: Adult Oriented rock
Release date: 1978


01. I've Done All I Can
02. Been So Long
03. Crazy Dance
04. Belly Dancer
05. Strange Vibrations
06. The Creepers
07. Take To The Highway
08. It's Gotta Be Tonight [re-release bonus]
09. Sweet Rock 'n Roll [re-release bonus]

If you thought this was a Swedish tribute to the Italian "dragon slayer's" Rhapsody, you're totally wrong. I can assure you that the Italian band wasn't even thought about when this was released.
Rhapsody Sweden had a pretty decent time in the seventies; pretty much around the same time this album was originally released in 1977. They became extra popular in Hungary (strange, huh?), and fairly popular even here in Sweden.

But now it's time for the album to try the market once again, almost 30 years after it was originally released. And as you could see earlier in the review or just guess, it's German's largest Hard Rock/AOR label MTM Music's sub-division MTM-Classix that's going to release it on Monday (24th of January).
And it contains all the 7 tracks from the original released, all re-mixed. Plus 2 special, newly recorded, bonus tracks, and believe me, that's a rush.

Even if I don't think this album will be a gigantic hit in anyway, I believe that fans of hard rock and AOR from the seventies will be extra happy to get their hands on this.
And for me, that wasn't there during the lively seventies, I'm also happy, I get a chance to hear this Swedes original release, plus 2 tracks recorded with today's technology.

To be honest, it's actually the 2 bonus tracks that are the best, not only because of the technology, I also think that singer Benny Ahlkvist's voice is better, but you can hear many similarities in his voice, even if it's almost 30 years in between.
If you bought the MTM Music Compilation I reviewed a while back, you've already heard the opening track of this album, "I've Done All I Can", that's a very good starter, a pretty soft and almost poppy hard rock song, that will give you a clue what this album is all about.

So if you're into Hard Rock or/and AOR from the early years, I recommend you to buy Rhapsody Sweden's re-released album. But even today's fans of the same genres can check them up; I mean you'll also get two brand new songs, recorded last year, much in the same package.

Check Out: "I've Done All I Can", "It's Gotta Be Tonight" & "Sweet Rock 'n Roll".

Written by Malcolm | 27.01.2005





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