"Consolation" is a song by Swedish pop band the Hep Stars, written by their keyboardist Benny Andersson. Andersson composed the song during the summer of 1966 and was initially reluctant over its qualities. He was persuaded to record it by his bandmates during the sessions for the band's second studio album in August 1966 at the Philips Studio in Stockholm. The song was produced by the band themselves, with Gert Palmcrantz engineering. Musically, "Consolation" is a pop song that prominently features an echo effect alongside a "mystical" keyboard sound akin to the music of the Doors.
Olga Records released "Consolation" as a single in Sweden on 15 October 1966, with "Don't" as the B-side. The release was prompted by response to their Swedish language- single "I Natt Jag Drömde" which had alieniated fans. The single was a commercial success in Sweden, reaching number two on Tio i Topp and topped the sales chartKvällstoppen for ten non-consecutive weeks between November 1966 and January 1967. It was also successful outside of Sweden, reaching number seven in Finland.
In April 1967, "Consolation" was awarded a gold disc for the sales of 100,000 copies in Sweden, shortly after its inclusion on their second album The Hep Stars in December 1966. An alternative take of "Consolation" was issued in Britain by accident. Upon release, "Consolation" received mixed reviews, with some critics praising Andersson's keyboard performance and others dismissing it as subpar material. Retrospectively, Andersson was continously dismissive of it, considering it his worst composition. It nonetheless reflected a musical thread to his later work in ABBA, and other critics cite it as a highlight of late 1960s Swedish pop.
Composition and recording
Benny, always his own harshest critic, was sometimes unable to recognize the true merit of his material. Originally, he didn't see any potential at all in "Consolation" and had to be persuaded by his fellow band members that the song should be recorded.
As with the Hep Stars' two prior English-language singles "Sunny Girl" and "Wedding" (both 1966), "Consolation" was penned by keyboardist Benny Andersson.[2][note 1] Written during the summer of 1966,[4]ABBA biographer Carl Magnus Palm stated that "Consolation" marked an "unabated" development in Andersson's songwriting.[1] It is suggested that Andersson was doubtful about "Consolation", finding it to be subpar to his earlier material; he had to be coerced by the other members of the band to record it.[1] Dan-Eric Landén states that "Consolation" was most likely recorded on 29 August 1966,[5] during the sessions for the band's second studio album at the Philips Studio in Gärdet, Stockholm.[6] the members of the Hep Stars producing the recording themselves.[7] Long-time band collaborator Gert Palmcrantz was present as an audio engineer.[3][7]
With a runtime of 3:25,[3] "Consolation" is in the key of C with a BPM of 129.[8] Two versions of "Consolation" exist, with the one released in Sweden featuring an echo effect.[9][note 2] Music journalist Harry Amster draws a parallel with Andersson's organ sound on "Consolation" to Ray Manzarek's equivalent sound in the Doors, though believes the former would have been forgotten if not for his later association with ABBA.[10] Similarly, Palm noted the organ on "Consolation" as "mystical".[1] He believed the song to be a pop production that featured a memorable chorus.[1] Similarly, he also believed it to be representative of late 1960s Swedish pop.[11]
Release and commercial performance
As a precursor to the Hep Stars second album,[12]Olga Records issued "Consolation" as a single on 15 October 1966 with the Elvis Presley cover "Don't" as the B-side.[4][13][note 3] "Consolation" was also released as a single in West Germany through Polydor Records.[14][note 4] The song was released only a few weeks after their previous single, the Swedish language "I Natt Jag Drömde", which had alienated fans as it was material aimed at the more mature Svensktoppen chart.[15][16] This discrepancy was commented on in the Swedish press, with the staff writer for Arbetet believing that "Consolation" was rush-released to satiate fans of the band who were critical of "I Natt Jag Drömde".[13]
Hep Stars posing with gold discs in 1967. "Consolation" was the seventh single by the Hep Stars to be awarded a gold disc.
"Consolation" entered Swedish record chart Tio i Topp at number four on 29 October 1966, before peaking at number two on 12 November, unable to dislodge "Marble Breaks and Iron Bends (Dum Dum)" by the Deejays from the top spot.[18][note 5] It spent a total of five weeks on the chart.[15][note 6] On sales chart Kvällstoppen both "Consolation" and "Don't" were listed as a double A-side and debuted at number one on 8 November 1966.[21] In total, "Consolation" and "Don't" spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one, and was the Hep Stars most successful single on that chart.[21][note 7] According to Cash Box, "Consolation" was Sweden's third biggest selling single in November 1966, and the best-selling single during the entirety of December.[22] Elsewhere in the world, "Consolation" also reached number seven in Finland in November 1966.[23]
By mid-December 1966, "Consolation" had sold 80,000 copies in Sweden alone,[24] 90,000 by early January 1967,[25] before the Hep Stars received a gold disc for the sale of 100,000 copies of the single in Sweden in April 1967.[26][4] "Consolation" was the seventh of eight singles by the Hep Stars to be awarded a gold disc.[17] "Consolation" was included as the third track on the Hep Stars second studio albumThe Hep Stars which Olga issued on 19 December 1966.[27][note 8] On the album, it was sequenced between the songs "The Birds in the Sky" and "Easy to Fool".[29] In the UK, Olga released an alternate take of "Consolation" as the B-side of the single "Wedding" in February 1968.[30][note 9][note 10]
Reception and legacy
Upon release, "Consolation" received mxed reviews in the Swedish press, with a statement by Håkan Sandén of Bildjournalen classing it as a "beautiful, haunting" record.[31] He praised the build-up of the verses into the chorus to be of an "international level".[31] His review ended with a praising of Andersson's keyboard performance.[31] Similarly, the staff reviewer for Arbetet particularly noted Andersson's performance on the disc as "inventive", describing him as a keyboard-virtuoso.[32] He also praised the songwriting as one of the Hep Stars' advantages.[32] On the contrary, the staff reviewer for Expressen called "Consolation" nothing more than a "middle-of-the-road" single that would sell only because of the Hep Stars' fame.[33]
Despite the commercial success the single saw, Andersson was never proud of the song, and in a May 1967 interview still considered it his worst composition to date.[4][12] In retrospect, however, Andersson stated that he saw a musical thread between "Consolation" and "Wedding" that carried over to his later works with ABBA alongside the Chess and Kristina från Duvemåla musicals.[34] Journalist Dan Backman of Svenska Dagbladet classify both "Consolation" and "Wedding" as two of the Hep Stars best recordings.[35] Landén found "Consolation" to be a "strong melody" with a clear "Andersson-signum" and a highlight of the Swedish 1960s pop, and additionally suggested the success of the single contributed to the Hep Stars being behind 10% of all domestic record sales in Sweden during 1966.[12]
Personnel
Personnel according to the liner notes of Like We Used To: The Anthology 1965-67, unless otherwise noted.[36]
The Hep Stars
The Hep Stars also collectively produced the recording.[7]
↑"Wedding" had been co-written by the band's lead vocalist Svenne Hedlund.[3]
↑The second version of "Consolation", released in England, features the bass mixed low, lacks the afforementioned echo and features an alternate organ arrangement during the song's introduction. Palm speculates that this was the first take of "Consolation".[9]
↑"Marble Breaks and Iron Bends (Dum Dum)" by the Deejays was produced by Benny Andersson and Svenne Hedlund, and had been released on the Hep Stars' independent record label Hep House.[19]
↑Comparatively, "Sunny Girl" and "Wedding" spent 15 and eight weeks on Tio i Topp, respectively.[20]
↑"Consolation" shared the number-one spot on Kvällstoppen with "Miss Mac Baren" by Tages during its' tenth and final week on top of the charts on 17 January 1967.[21]
Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3[Eric Hallberg Presents Kvällstoppen on P3] (in Swedish) (1sted.). Sweden: Drift. ISBN9-789-16-302-14-04.
Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74[Tio I Topp With The Eliminated On Try 1961–1974] (in Swedish) (2nded.). Sweden: Premium. ISBN978-91-89136-89-2.
Peterson, Sven Åke (1996). The Hep Stars (CD) (in Swedish). Sweden: EMI. 7243 4751872 0.
Landén, Dan-Eric; Palm, Carl Magnus (2004). Cadillac Madness: den otroliga berättelsen om the Hep Stars (in Swedish) (1sted.). Sweden: Premium. ISBN91-89136-04-7.
Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-31-2503-5.
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