We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

35th Anniversary Collection [2CD] 2​.​5 hours remastered

by Mats/Morgan

/
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

about

35 years of work converted down to 2.5 hours of music! These are our favorite tracks! (All remastered!)

Booklet text here:

When I was 14 years old I received a telephone call from a lady that was organizing a concert in a little village outside Umeå, Sweden. She asked me if I could join this blind pianist named Mats Öberg. She knew about me and believed that I might be the right one for Mats. Same musical taste maybe, and same age. Mats had problems to find people in his own age with any interest whatsoever in playing the type of music that he liked. Mats was in fact listening to Miles Davis and Mahavishnu almost before he could walk, but at the same time music for children as well. I did have similar taste in music so I was very happy to get this request.
A few days later me and Mats met for the first time at the venue and started to discuss what songs we could possible do together. It had to be covers since we met only a few hours before showtime. Mats asked me ”do you know Beatles”?
- I guess I can play ”Help” without any rehearsal I replied. ”How about Frank Zappa"? - I can do 'Bobby Brown I think’.. ”Do you know Stevie Wonder”? Hm, do you know the first track on side two of ”Hotter Than July?”, yes, Master Blaster, ok lets do that one! We now had three songs which was enough for the 20 minutes that we were supposed to play. As soon as we started to play I simultaneously watched Mats in complete disbelief. He was only ten years old but played unbelievable and sang with the lyrics in good pronunciation (except for the dirty words in Bobby Brown that his mother wanted him to leave out!) After we finished I noticed that my dad was almost in tears and Mats daddy was very excited too and started to propose things to me 'maybe you should...you could... I mean... meet and play together some more, we have a drum set in our basement..’ This was in 1981, and now 35 years later I realize that we have been exploring music together more or less on a weekly/monthly basis all since then.
One thing that I particularly remember from the first years was the record collection in Mats parents basement. I used to scroll through these vinyls, grab one and ask ”Mothers Of Invention - are they good”? Yes! ”Gino Vannelli, is he good”? Yes! Can I borrow these? Yes! All this music opened up a new beatiful world and a spiritual state where I wanted to be. I also ran into Allan Holdsworth, Steely Dan and Return To Forever etc. which I was able to introduce for Mats as well. It was such an exciting time finding yourself through all this music. It happened so early for both of us too. There is many funny stories from Mats childhood that shows his passion for music, like that time when he forced his parents to buy the latest Earth Wind and Fire album, otherwise he would jump down the stairs....Or like when he was visiting his uncle Berndt Egerbladh and got to try his grand piano. Mats could not stop play this piano but after a while his father and uncle really had to make him to quit. Mats then replied ”if you force me to stop now I will pee my pants” - and so he did! - His father then replied ”Stevie Wonder would never do a thing like that”. I had a special moment in my youth as well while I had to defend my playing. My parents had some friends and their kids over for a dinner, so I played my toy drums for them. But they kept saying that what I did wasn’t especially good, so I tried harder but they kept saying ”not so good”. I then grabbed my cymbal and trowed it in the face of one of the guys who crashed down to the ground with blood coming our from his face. I got so scared so I thought I would die, but all came out good in the end (and we are still friends!) I actually told Mats about this incident early on which made him laugh a lot, but he got a bit worried for a moment also, saying ”but you don’t do these things nowadays, do you"? No. No I don’t. So all is good! Playing this music doesn’t make you rich though. But 35 years, including touring all over the world, releasing albums, meeting great people, playing with many of our teenage idols, receiving grammys on both sides of the Atlantic, seeing amazing places etc. This is something you can’t buy for money. Thank you all!! / Morgan Ågren 27/8, 2016.

credits

released October 4, 2016

Morgan Ågren: drums, samplers, programming.
Mats Öberg: keyboards, piano, vocals, harmonica.

Additional credits side 1:
Jimmy Ågren: guitar on tr. 4, 5, 6, 10 & 13.
bass on tr. 4, mandolin on tr. 12 & 18.
Alvin Ågren: vocals on tr. 3.
Tommy Tordsson: bass on tr. 5, 6, 10, 12 & 13.
Malin My Nilsson: violin on tr. 12.
Johan Söderkvist: klaviharp on tr. 12.
Lelo Nika: accordeon on tr. 8.
Gunnar Persson: bassoon on tr. 18.
Tina Ahlin: choir & choir arrangement on tr. 10.
Mija Folkesson: choir & choir arrangement on tr. 10.
Scott Thunes: wise words on tr. 14.
Simon Steensland: guitar & guitar arrangement on tr. 7.
Robert Elovsson & friends: choir & choir arrangement on tr. 19.

Additional credits side 2:
Jimmy Ågren: bass & yngwie harmonies on tr. 2.
guitar on tr. 5 & 21, mandolin on tr. 8 & 22.
Dilba Demirbag: vocals on tr. 2.
Fredrik Thordendal: guitar on tr. 2.
Robert Elovsson: keyboards on tr. 5, 8, 10, 12, 21 & 22.
Tommy Tordsson: bass on tr. 3, 5, 21 & 22.
Gustaf Hielm: bass on tr. 4.
Morgan Ågren: bass on tr. 2 & 17.
Derek Huntsman: vocals on tr. 2.
Jonas Knutsson: saw on tr. 14.
Simon Steensland: angklung on tr. 10.
Jocke Marsh: banjo on tr. 14.
Johan Granström: upright on tr. 7.
Jonas Lindgren: violin on tr. 8.
Gunnar Persson: bassoon on tr. 10 & 14.
Jan Hellman: stick on tr. 18.
Roger Bergström: marimba on tr. 14.
Erik Weissglas: telephone chat on tr. 19.
Patrik Ögren: cello on tr. 22.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

MORGAN ÅGREN Sweden

Has played with....
Frank Zappa
Magma
Devin Townsend
Fredrik Thordendal
(of Meshuggah)
Crimson ProjeKCt
(Adrian Belew, Tony Levin)
Squarepusher
Bill Laswell
Tosin Abasi
Steve Vai
Trey Gunn
Henry Kaiser
Fleshquartet
Karmakanic
Spoonman
Glenn Huges
Dale Bozzio
Mike Keneally
Denny Walley
Kaipa
Dweezil Zappa
BATTERIE DELUXE TRAILER;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DePRBxNDIy4&feature=youtu.be
... more

contact / help

Contact MORGAN ÅGREN

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like 35th Anniversary Collection [2CD] 2.5 hours remastered, you may also like: