b o b

I found this CD at a major chain store, sitting in the middle of a pile of CDs by the teeny-bopper pop band Hanson. I wonder whether some store clerk saw it in a catalog and made a mistaken order, thinking it was the pop band's new disc... Anyway, on this album Hansson and his band manage to create some fairly exotic sounding music with the standard bass, drums and guitar augmented by congas, sax, flute and tons of organ and moog. While the music isn't particularly successful in bringing images from its namesake book to mind (at least not for me), it does at least generate an otherworldly atmosphere for most of the album. There are enough changes of tempo, texture and mood to keep the album interesting and keep the listener moving along from track to track. When I first bought the CD, I thought it was OK if not particularly memorable. While writing this review though, I'm giving it a listen for the first time in months, and I'm finding that the album has grown on me a lot. At any rate, I like this much more than the other Lord of the Rings inspired album I coincidentally bought around the same time - Glass Hammer's Journey of the Dunadan. That one lasted about three or four spins in my CD player before it got tossed on the "cheesy neoprog" pile. I have a feeling that the Bo Hansson disc will be sticking around much longer. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

j o e

Note: This review is very old and may no longer accurately reflect the author's views. If it weren't for the fact that I find nothing more boring than conversations about 'what is or isn't prog,' I'd have to point out that this seems to me more accurately described as an average, psychedelic album recorded with the primary instrumentation of the day also used in prog. Certainly don't purchase this expecting to hear maddening virtuosity or Paganini-like moog lines or astonishing eclecticism in sound. Lord of the Rings mostly sounds like late 60s Pink Floyd being hired to score a spaghetti western. Don't laugh, but "Leaving Shire" certainly evokes more Sergio Leone than J.R.R. Tolkien, and I keep half-expecting Clint Eastwood to tap me on the shoulder each time I listen to "At the House of Elrond & The Ring Goes South." The music is pretty atmospheric, but ultimately it just doesn't excite me. A bit of an underwhelming experience. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

e r i c

Bo Hansson is a multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, guitar, moog, bass), and this release from 1970 contains symphonic space rock that is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. The music is similiar to that of Mike Oldfield and early Pink Floyd; a heavy organ sound is used as the foundation for the music. Other keyboards along with drums, flute, sax, and sound effects are found here. The songs are short for the prog world, the longest clocking in at 4:57. To me this recording sounds somewhat dated and Hansson's lead guitar work leaves much to be desired. I am not a huge fan of space/psychedelic music, but considering when it was made it probably was very original. It is difficult to listen to it and put yourself back in the time that this was written. Hansson does create some nice atmospheres and musical themes. If you enjoy Oldfield, Tangerine Dream and other instrumentalists, this is probably for you. review by Eric Porter — undated —

b r a n d o n

Considering that this album is all about moog and moog and more moog, without too much variation in tone color or orchestration, the atmosphere that Hansson manages to build is pretty impressive. Foreboding, relaxation; movement, stasis; these moods and more can be found here, produced by a simple arrangement and pretty simple melodies and harmonies as well. For some people this is a landmark album; unfortunately, for me it begins to sound monotonous after a while. Despite Hansson's ability to create effective moods, his single-minded reliance on the moog gets old after a while. The album, then, certainly makes for pleasant listening, but for me it soon fades into the background, with nothing really standing out. Which is curious, because the album is overall much more fast-paced than other albums that it is compared to but that hold my interest better: namely, Oldfield works. review by Brandon Wu — undated —