Atlas – Blå Vardag (1979, CD, Sweden)

Tracklist:
1. Elisabiten (7:12)
2. På Gata (14:10)
3. Blå Vardag (6:56)
4. Gånglåt (2:52)
5. Den Vita Tranans Väg (7:18)
Bonus tracks on 1995 CD release:
6. Björnstorp / Björn's Croft (6:17) *
7. Hemifrån / From Home (7:50) #
8. Sebastian / Sebastian (4:31) $

* Taken from LP "Mosaik" (1982)
# Composed 1977, recorded live-in-studio 1995
$ Rehearsal at Swedish Broadcasting in 1978

Musicians:
Janne Persson / guitar, congas, cymbal, flute & Mellotron (6)
Björn Ekborn / organ, piano, synth, clavinet, Mellotron, Rhodes
Erik Björn Nielsen / synth, Mellotron, Rhodes, organ, piano
Uffe Hedlund / bass, bass pedals, guitar
Micke Pinotti / drums


Atlas were a late-70's Swedish band I'd heard talk of for some time, quoted alongside the likes of Kaipa and Dice, as one of best progressives of the era. So, naturally I was quite keen to hear this reissue.
An instrumental progressive fronted by two keyboardists, their style was quite a melting pot, many atypical Swedish touches, though often relating close to Dutch styles (i.e. Finch, Focus, Trace, etc.) with vague touches of Canterbury feeling (hints of National Health, Gilgamesh, et al) in some of the moodier pieces. Atlas were indeed a fine band, with a good sense of texture and arrangement, with a sedate feel between classical and jazz fusion styles, only occasionally breaking out at all dynamically.
Also included on the CD are three bonus tracks, one by the later incarnation of the band as Mosaik, an early rehearsal session and a track from a recent reunion. It all adds up to a great value release! review by Alan Freeman from Audion magazine 33 (1995).