Back in 1992 I was in contact with some young Swedes who had formed a band called Galleon, and had released the album ‘Lynx’ on their own label. I duly reviewed it, and for the next few years we were in constant contact (they even sent me a really nice long sleeved t-shirt which my wife promptly stole), although we lost touch somewhere around the millennium. So, I was pleased to receive this album as Sven joined Galleon in time for ‘Beyond Dreams’ and among the many guests included on this there are Ulf Pettersson and Göran Fors. In addition some of the tracks are again feature Sven’s bandmates from Street Talk, Fredrik Bergh (keyboards), Björn Lodmark (bass) and Christian Johansson (drums) as well as singer Göran Edman. Other singers involved include Thomas Eriksson and Anders Åhlund.
The variety of musicians, as well as Sven’s own different interests (AOR and prog among others) has resulted in a wonderfully grown-up extremely well crafted album that is a sheer delight to listen to. At some points it is almost like Chris Rea with the simple guitar lines at the front, while at others it combines a myriad of styles in a laid-back almost lounge jazz-lite manner that is warm and embracing. The highlight for me is the penultimate song, “Castle of Mine”, which is a soft prog number with fretless bass and simple piano that builds into a number that has an amazing hook – if ever something should be a radio hit it is this.
This is Sven’s second solo album, and if the other is anything like as good as this then I want to hear it. Awesome stuff.
