Songs about The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, etc. Bo Hansson, 1972. Evil hanging out in the upper-right hand corner of that 'music inspired by lotr' cover? The best of Bo Hansson's albums, and one of the few progressive rock instrumental recordings that still holds up on repeated listening. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy provide the inspiration for a series of strange, other-worldly tracks that transcend their source material. Hansson's keyboard playing is quite unlike the work of such rivals as Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman, less.

Bo Hansson
1970
Sagan om Ringen
01. Första vandringen (3:30)
02. Den gamla skogen - Tom Bombadill (3:43)
03. I skuggornas rike (2:31)
04. De svarta ryttarna - Flykten till vadstället (4:07)
05. I Elronds hus - Ringen vandrar söderut (4:42)
06. En vandring i mörker (1:12)
07. Lothlórien (4:00)
08. Skuggfaxe (0:50)
09. Rohans Horn - Slaget vid Pelennors slätter (4:00)
10. Drömmar i läkandets hus (1:58)
11. Hemfärden - Fylke rensas (2:56)
12. De grå hamnarna (5:07)
Bonus track
13. Tidiga skisser från Midgård (8:49)
- Bill Öhrström / Congas
- Bo Hansson / Organ, Moog, Mellotron, Bass, Guitar
- Gunnar Bergsten / Saxofon
- Rune Carlsson / Drums, Congas
- Sten Bergman / Flute
Bo Hansson is an acclaimed Swedish progressive rock multi-instrumentalist deserving of more attention than he received. Here in the States he couldn't get arrested which is our loss but this album did quite well in other parts of the world. Hansson plays all of the keyboards and guitars on his debut homage to Tolkien, getting help only on the drums, saxophone and flute. 'Lord of the Rings' is a largely quiet and contemplative album with a sound that is dreamy, spacey, often melodic. Some sections do wake up with energetic if not outwardly rocking playing. I guess I would describe the album as a mixture of Floyd for emotions, Popul Vuh for the meditative aspects, and Oldfield for the spirited moments like 'The Black Riders and Flight to the Ford.' This track runs the gamut from bright keyboards to rhythmic conga playing to acid-drenched guitar solos. In fact Oldfield work like Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn sound as if they could have been influenced by LotR which precedes both Oldfield classics. Overall the album is draped in organ textures, with accompanying saturated lead guitar, bass, flute and sax. Closer 'The Grey Havens' sounds very much like a Popul Vuh track with organ layered over the top. It sounds the same beginning to end with slow, subtle variations happening below the surface. If that sounds appealing don't pass up this album!
In his excellent Guide to Progressive Music, Bradley Smith notes the album 'exudes a hypnotic and mysterious atmosphere.not really jazz, rock, or classical, nor is it soundtrack music.at the time of its appearance there really were no precedents for an album like this.resembles the 68-70 era of Pink Floyd a la 'Set the Controls' only without vocals.takes the most moody and spacey elements of that style and expands it to album length, quite an innovative move for 1970.an intoxicatingly Gothic and psychedelic atmosphere that is drifting, pulsing, organic, spiritual, melodic, and friendly.' [Bradley Smith] A fabulous description and I couldn't agree more!
The one area where I don't find the album particularly successful is in the conjuring of images of Tolkien from the music. Others state that the music directly brings the book to one's mind and perfectly matches music to story. Honestly, if I didn't know the album was based on the Tolkien book I would never have made the connection. It's great and adventurous progressive rock but it doesn't remind me of Tolkien-esque images nearly as much as some other works. That minor quibble aside 'Lord of the Rings' is highly recommended to fans of instrumental fantasy prog; Oldfield fans, Nektar fans, and Floyd fans would all I suspect enjoy this very much.

Cover of the 1977 reissueMusic Inspired by Lord of the Rings is an album by Swedish musician. As its title suggests, it is a based on author 's novel,. The album was originally issued in Sweden in late 1970, under the Swedish title of Sagan om ringen, and was subsequently re-released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in September 1972. The album reached the of the and was eventually certified in the UK and Australia.

It was also moderately successful in America, where it reached number 154 on the chart. Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings remains the only release by Hansson to have reached the UK and US charts and as a result, it is by far his best known and most successful album. Dutch Progressive Rock Page. Retrieved 8 June 2010. ^. Retrieved 7 June 2010. ^.

Archived from on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010. ^ Snider, Charles. The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock. Strawberry Bricks. Pp. 120–121.

^ Brown, Tony. The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. P. 377. ^.

Retrieved 7 June 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010. ^ Whitburn, Joel. Record Research Inc.

Dutch Progressive Rock Page. Retrieved 8 June 2010.

Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings (CD booklet). CS1 maint: others. ^ Tyler, Tony (18 November 1972), 'Lord of the Rings', London. 'Review'. September 1996. P. 130.

^ Smith, Bradley. The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music. Billboard Books. Esprit International. Retrieved 8 June 2010. ^.

Archived from on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010. Archived from on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.

Archived from on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.

Retrieved 19 June 2010.External links. at (list of releases). Rxz wp61r2 driver for mac download.