1. Leaving shire (2:47)
2. The old forest / Tom Bombadil (3:42)
3. Fog on the barrow - Downs (2:28)
4. The black riders / Flight to the Ford (3:48)
5. At the house of Elrond / The ring goes South (4:23)
6. A journey in the dark (1:07)
7. Lothlórien (3:22)
8. Shadowfax (0:50)
9. The horns of Rohan / The battle of the Pelenmor fields (3:58)
10. Dreams in the houses of healing (1:50)
11. Homeward bound / The scouring of the shire (2:11)
12. The grey havens (4:56)
- Bo Hansson / organ, guitar, Moog synthesizer, bass
Guest musicians:
- Sten Brgman / flute
- Gunnar Bergsten / saxophone
- Rune Carlsson / drums, conga
From ProgressiveRock :
Organist Bo Hansson and drummer Rune Karlsson had a relatively well-known duo in their native Sweden during the late sixties, releasing three albums as such. They were even friendly with Hendrix, having jammed with him when they opened for the Experience in 1966. Hansson also worked with US singer Boz Scaggs on his first album that, oddly enough, was recorded in Sweden. The duo eventually split in late 1969. Hansson, locked away in his recording studio, began recording his musical interpretation of the Tolkien fantasy trilogy; or rather "inspired by", at the Tolkien estate’s request. Silence Records released the album to relative commercial success in Sweden in 1970. Charisma picked up the album some two years later, where it earned a respectable Top 40 appearance in the UK. Therefore, it is relevant to note that the album is one of the first in the multi-instrumentalist tradition and does in fact considerably predate Mike Oldfield’s better-known debut. Hansson’s album is often misinterpreted; his quiet yet sinister organ tones are more similar to Pink Floyd than anything fairy tale-like or electronic for that matter. But hooking up with Tolkien’s trilogy, which was undergoing a huge renaissance in the early seventies (as were most things sci-fi/fantasy), certainly helped things along. Hansson would record several other similar albums over the next few years, but never achieve this level of success, creative or commercial.
