User:FacesSmall/The BBC Sessions

The BBC Sessions
Live album by The Prelude
Released	14 October 1998
Recorded	2 October 1965 – 14 June 1968
Venue	Various
Genre	Rock beat hard rock rhythm and blues psychedelic rock progressive rock
Length	2:37:11
Label	Stiff Records
Producer	Brian Willey Jimmy Grant Bernie Andrews
The Prelude chronology
The Olga Years: 1964–1965 (1998) The BBC Sessions (1998) The Reaction Years: 1966 (1999)
The Prelude live chronology
Hollywood Bowl 1968 (1989) The BBC Sessions (1998) Live Prelude Volume 1 (2018)

The BBC Sessions is a live album by Swedish rock group the Prelude. It was released on 14 October 1998 by the group's own record label, Stiff Records. Being previously unreleased (albeit heavily bootlegged), It was their first release of new material since Hollywood Bowl 1968, and overall first release of new material since Farewell in 1979.

Although the songs were recorded ahead of broadcast, allowing for retakes and occasional overdubbing, they are essentially "live in studio" performances. All songs except "In the Hall of the Mountain King", "If I Were a Carpenter" and "Every Little Bit Hurts" are original material, with songs recorded between 1965 and 1968, showcasing the group maturing in real time. Before the album's release, comprehensive collections of the Prelude' BBC performances had become available on bootlegs.

Overview

Background and content

Following the Prelude's first visit to the United Kingdom in late September 1965, with a top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart, "Somebody Help Me", they were approached by the BBC in order to record sessions for a broadcast of Saturday Club, which they accepted. Following this, they became long-term stayers on the show, recording several sessions between 2 October 1965 and May 1967 when the show was cancelled for unknown reasons, following this, they recorded several other songs for Top Gear, along with Pop Profiles.

The songs recorded consisted of the group's singles, B-Sides and album tracks. With the exception of both "Early Morning, Cold Taxi", which was written by Mårten Forsén and was an outtake for The Prelude Sell Out in 1966, and "In the Hall of the Mountain King", which bizarrely was recorded during their penultimate session. The album features all previous members, namely William Hoang and Simon Hellström in 1965-1966. It was compiled by their long-term manager Tim Blomberg.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Rollinge Stone	A
The Daily Telegraph
Paste	92/100

Upon release, it amassed mostly positive reviews by critics, and was well recieved. Richie Unterberger gave the album 4.5 stars on AllMusic, appreciating the humorous interviews, and the growth of a band in the making.

The Prelude are back with unreleased material. Unreleased if you're a law abiding citizen, that is. Most material here has been previously bootlegged, albeit with severely worse quality. However, on The BBC Sessions, it was completely remastered, with all tracks in as clear sound quality as a blue sky. It's amazing how many tracks survived the BBC's regular wipes. Outside of technical notes, the album represents a maturing group in their compositions. For example, "E Too D", which is the eight track on the album has a easier chord progression than "David Pink", the last track on the album. Anton Wihlborg's sharp voice dominates most tracks, especially on "Leaving Here". The interviews are a must-listen too, they are quite humorous! The first interview with Victor Friberg where Brian Matthew and Friberg discuss on how to avoid taxes is probably the most controversial, yet satirical piece of recording during 1966.

— Richie Unterberger, AllMusic review

Track Listing

All tracks written by Anton Wihlborg and Victor Friberg unless noted. (Interviews are uncredited.)

CD 1: Sessions 1965 – 1967

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Interview with Anton Wihlborg"	–	Anton Wihlborg	0:50
2.	"Somebody Help Me"		Wihlborg	2:10
3.	"It's My Life"	William Hoang	William Hoang	3:00
4.	"A Legal Matter"		Simon Hellström	2:57
5.	"It's Too Late"	Hoang	Wihlborg	2:18
6.	"Understanding"		Victor Friberg	2:46
7.	"Interview with Victor Friberg"	–	Friberg	0:57
8.	"E Too D"	Hoang Friberg	Hoang	2:20
9.	"Interview with Simon Hellström"	–	Hellström	1:23
10.	"L.A, Hollywood"	Hoang	Wihlborg	2:17
11.	"Red Rubber Ball"		Wihlborg	2:50
12.	"Where Are The Friends?"	Milton Leinonen	Milton Leinonen	3:38
13.	"Leaving Here"	Friberg	Wihlborg	3:00
14.	"Interview with Milton Leinonen"	–	Leinonen	1:20
15.	"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"		Wihlborg	2:53
16.	"I Can See For Miles"		Wihlborg and Friberg	4:13
17.	"Early Morning, Cold Taxi"	Mårten Forsén	Mårten Forsén	2:59
18.	"Interview with Mårten Forsén"	–	Forsén	0:47
19.	"Someone's Coming"	Wihlborg Friberg Brazer Özel	Brazer Özel	2:40
20.	"I Can't Reach You"		Friberg	3:02
21.	"Here Come The Nice"		Wihlborg	2:58
22.	"Interview with Anton Wihlborg"	–	Wihlborg	0:45
23.	"Talk To You"	Leinonen	Leinonen	1:59
24.	"In The Hall Of The Mountain King"	Edvard Grieg	instrumental	4:05
25.	"Interview with Milton Leinonen and Victor Friberg"	–	Leinonen and Friberg	1:54
26.	"Barricades"		Friberg	5:04
27.	"See Emily Play"		Wihlborg	3:20
28.	"David Pink"	Forsén	Forsén	3:03
Total length:				1:11:28

CD 2: Top Gear and Pop Profiles

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
29.	"Pop Profile: Anton Wihlborg"	–	Anton Wihlborg	11:47
30.	"Pop Profile: Victor Friberg"	–	Victor Friberg	12:00
31.	"If I Were a Carpenter"	Tim Hardin	Wihlborg	3:40
32.	"Every Little Bit Hurts"	Ed Cobb	Wihlborg	5:40
33.	"Pop Profile: William Hoang"	–	William Hoang	10:34
34.	"Pop Profile: Simon Hellström"	–	Simon Hellström	10:52
35.	"Get Together"		Wihlborg and Friberg	3:17
36.	"Tired of Waiting for You"		Wihlborg	5:40
37.	"Pop Profile: Milton Leinonen"	–	Milton Leinonen	11:21
38.	"Pop Profile: Mårten Forsén"	–	Mårten Forsén	10:52
Total length:				1:25:43

Recording and broadcast details

1965

Tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4 recorded 2 October 1965 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 4 October 1965

Tracks 5, 6 and 7 recorded 6 October 1965 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 9 October 1965

Tracks 8 and 9 recorded 1 December 1965 at the Aeolian Hall in London

• Produced by Bernie Andrews
• Broadcast on Audrey Lane Show, 12 December 1965

Tracks 33 and 34 recorded 6 December 1965 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 19 December 1965

1966

Tracks 10 and 11 recorded 1 March 1966 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 5 March 1966 Tracks 29 and 30 recorded 4 March 1966 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London
  • Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
  • Broadcast on Saturday Club, 12 March 1966

Tracks 12, 13, 14 and 15 recorded 7 June 1966 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 11 June 1966 Tracks 10 and 11 recorded 12 June 1966 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London
  • Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
  • Broadcast on Saturday Club, 18 June 1966

Tracks 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 recorded 29 November 1966 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 4 December 1966

1967

Tracks 21, 22, 23 and 24 recorded 25 January 1967 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 28 January 1967

Tracks 25, 26, 27 and 28 recorded 8 June 1967 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London

• Produced by Brian Willey and Jimmy Grant
• Broadcast on Saturday Club, 10 June 1967

1968

Tracks 31 and 32 recorded 25 March 1968 at the Aeolian Hall 2 in London

• Produced by Bernie Andrews
• Broadcast on Top Gear, 28 March

Tracks 35 and 36 recorded 14 June 1968 at the Aeolian Hall 2 in London

• Produced by Bernie Andrews
• Broadcast on Top Gears, 20 June 1968