簡介： by Lars LovénMaybe Stefan Sundstr?m was too unsophisticated and coarse to ever reach a big audience and, sure, he couldn't sing. But he was 更多>
by Lars LovénMaybe Stefan Sundstr?m was too unsophisticated and coarse to ever reach a big audience and, sure, he couldn't sing. But he was still the most influential Swedish singer/songwriter in the '90s, together with Lars Demian. Sundstr?m's style had its roots in an old Swedish ballad tradition, going back to Evert Taube and even 18th century poet Carl Michael Bellman, but also contained straightforward rock & roll. It was copied by numerous aspiring bands and became sort of an informal standard against which younger singer/songwriters, like Lars Winnerb?ck, had to be tested.
Sundstr?m grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, and learned to play the guitar at the age of 15. Five years later, in 1980, he released two singles with the group Trots. But envisioning a market of cheap cassettes in order to make the music available for everyone, he spent the coming eight years releasing tapes on non-profit labels like Sista Bussen. 1989's Renj?garens Visor, which is considered his first real album, was actually also released on cassette and, in a few years, it became almost impossible to get a hold of. Backing Sundstr?m on the tape was the band Apache. En B?rs Med Nefretite was Sundstr?m's only LP before the CD took over, and after being signed to MNW, he released Happy Hour Viser, H? H? Ja Ja, and Vitabergspredikan, all of them with Apache. For the next album, Sundstr?m chose to use another band, consisting mainly of violins, cellos, and a choir. This resulted in music markedly different from that he had made earlier, and the title track, "N?stan Som Reklam," became Sundstr?m's biggest hit. After a reunion with Apache, Babyland was released in 1997. But during the break, the members of the band had formed Weeping Willows together with singer Magnus Carlsson, and while playing with Sundstr?m on some more shows, they would soon concentrate on their own, commercially more successful career. Babyland was clearly influenced by the Rolling Stones and got a very mixed reception, and even more so did the next album, Fisk I En Sk?l, released in 2000. Some critics named Sundstr?m pathetic and incompetent, while others saw him as an honest outpost in superficial times.
