Jakob Hellman - ...Och Stora Havet (1989/1998)

Often chosen as the best Swedish pop album ever, both by critics and in polls, Jakob Hellman's debut has a lot to live up to. It was popular already at the time of its release, but when Hellman didn't make any more albums and only made one tour before disappearing from the spotlight totally, it acquired an almost legendary status in Sweden. Most likely it is impossible to live up to all a legendary album is supposed to be, but ...och stora havet comes close, especially with the lyrics. Hellman managed to create simple, everyday poetry based on a charming awkwardness and naïveté where he didn't depend on contemporary details and modern phrases. Accordingly, his lyrics were granted a much longer life than most of his contemporaries'. And his style was so much his own that more than ten years later it hadn't been ruined by inept followers, despite the album's fame. Probably it was this quality that made the Swedish critics and record companies search for a new Hellman through most of the '90s. The music is not that revolutionary, but it has also survived very well, like the big hit "Vara Vänner," a jazzy ballad where Hellman is backed by both tuba and clarinet. Most of the songs are simple, catchy pop tunes that at times reach toward a darker sound often called alternative.~ Review by Lars Lovén