Search - Bo Hansson :: Magician's Hat

Progressive Rock at Its Very Best

David Elliott | Regina, Saskatchewan (SK) Canada | 04/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this as a vinyl LP when it was first released in 1972. It never ceases to amaze me. Hansson is just briimming with diverse musical ideas from a wide range of infuences, and he weaves them together into an enduring thematic whole. Unlike so many other progressive rock bands of the time, Hansson lacks the somewhat grandiose pretensiousness other groups seemed to engage in that now makes their music seem dated and unsophisticated. Hansson's vision seems to be pursued for its own sake, and this has lasted. This is an absolutely outstanding recording."

Another great album from one of Sweden's prog greats

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 12/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although I prefer Lord of the Rings (Sagan Om Ringen) and Attic Thoughts (Mellanväsen) over this one, Magician's Hat (Ur Trollkarlens Hatt) is still another great progressive rock album from Sweden. Although it lacks some of the magic of Lord of the Rings, the music here is more accessible and is actually preferable to those who might have been put off by the repetitive nature of Lord of the Rings. "Big City" is the opening cut, and trust me, if you only owned the Charisma LP, you only get half of this piece. If you own the original Swedish LP on the Silence label, it's twice as long, and believe me, this full version totally blows away the butchered version! Why Charisma had to hack it like that, I'll never know. As for the rest of the album, you get plenty of Bo Hansson's trademark fairy tale-influenced prog rock, although this one tends to be a little more jazzier than his other efforts, especially because there tends to be more horns than his others. There's a couple of songs that seem like pointless, directionless noodling that seems to go nowhere, and that's why I took a star off this album. But the rest is great Bo Hansson, lots of great organ and synthesizer work from Bo himself, as well as friends helping on guitar, sax, flute, bass, and drums. I have to say the full "Big City" is truly one of the finest pieces he's ever done, and the rest of the album is quite good and I recommend it."

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the_tim@medscape.com | winchester, uk | 06/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The CD's first track, 'Big City', is a straight copy of the original vinyl's majestic 'The City' [6min.], followed perhaps rather needlessly by a further few minutes of some studio out-takes from this track's recording; this does detract from things somewhat, but there we are."