Who are... Gasolin'!

Second time around for the 'Who are...' feature. Today, Denmark's biggest rock band through the ages - Gasolin' !

Who
In the beginning, Gasolin' consisted of singer/rhythm-guitarist Kim Larsen, lead guitarist/sax-player Franz 'Mr. Stone-free' Beckerlee, bass-player/Keyboard player Wili Jönsson and drummer Björn Uglebjerg. The band was formed in 1969, and released a handful of rock singles while playing local taverns, and local parties. Right from the begining, there was a lot of tension in the band between Larsen, who insisted on danish and humorous lyrics, and Beckerlee who wanted Hendrix-style guitar with jazzy song arrangements. Somehow they managed to co-exist, but the constant arguments was too much for drummer Uglebjerg who soon left the band, and was replaced by Gasolin' fan Søren 'Charlie' Berlev. This became the definitive Gasolin' lineup, that would last until 1979/1980. The music started out as pop/rock on the first couple of albums, but starting with album 3 the style turned more towards a heavier brand of rock, inspired by Gasolin's favourites like Jimi Hendrix, Mott the Hoople and Queen.

Releases of note
Gasolin' (1971)
Gasolin' 2 (1972)
Gasolin' 3 (1973)
Stakkels Jim ('Poor Jim', 1974)
The last Jim (Stakkels Jim in english, released in US, UK, 1974)
Gas 5 (1975)
What a lemon (Gas 5 in english, released in US, UK, Japan, 1975)
Live - Sådan ('Live - like that' 1976)
Efter endnu en dag ('After another day', 1976)
Gør det noget ('Does it matter', 1977)
Killin' time (various old songs, in english, 1978)
Gøglernes aften - Live i Skandinavien ('Carnies night - Live in Scandinavia' 1978)
The early years (Early singles and b-sides released on CD, 2000)

Add to this about 30 single releases, and 4-5 compilations, one of which (The Black Box, 2003) contains all 7 original danish studio albums, 'Live Sådan' and a disc of rare material.
The albums 'Gas 5' and 'Efter endnu en dag' contains some songs with english lyrics.

In Depth
Gasolin' (or Gas') became popular in a hurry, and were a popular concert attraction. But in 1975 with the release of Gas 5, they became the biggest rock band in Denmark and also became quite large in neighbouring countries Sweden, Norway and Germany. For the album, Gas managed to get producer Roy Thomas Baker, known for his success with Queen, and much admired by Gas. The album contained the following songs, 3 of which became the bands biggest hits:

1. Rabalderstræde
2. Fatherless Hill (english)
3. Lonesome Avenue (english)
4. Sjagge
5. Masser af success
6. Refrainet er frit
7. Kvinde min
8. 1975
9. Sct. Emetri
10. Good time Charlie (english)

The high points, on a near perfect album:
'Rabalderstræde' starts out the album brilliantly, an ode to the street where Gas spent a lot of their time as big kids, among bikers, pushers, prostitutes and similar people. It features some great guitar from Beckerlee set to some brilliant rhythm work from the bass and drums, and a lyric everyone from Copenhagen at the time could probably relate to. The song had 2 'fake' endings where the music faded out and then returned even louder, and Gas used this to great effefct when playing live, often stretching the song to 9-10 minutes.

'Fatherless Hill', entirely in english, featured backing vocals by members of all-girl group Sh*t and Chanel. The song shows a bit of Larsen's shortcomings when it comes to english, but it has a great chorus that is instantly memorable. Larsen was never the greatest poet in english, but this song, and 'This is my life' from the 'Efter endnu en dag' album were great attempts.
Examples from the lyrics: 'Well thank you Mr. Jesus, thank you for the game - I've been through many changes, but you're still the same' / 'Oh sister and brother, and sweet little mother - let's go, let's go to the mill, on fatherless hill'.

The tempo is taken down a bit in the songs 'Masser af success' and 'Kvinde min', two of the groups most loved compositions that are still heavily featured on danish radio today. 'Masser af success (Lots of Success)' was Gas' response to their surging popularity. They were finding it hard to maintain a healthy private life away from being rock stars, and this touching lyric about life on the road showed that they we're having a problem coming to terms with their recognition.
'Kvinde min (My woman)' was the most obvious love song they ever wrote, focusing on telling the subject of the lyrics that in spite of the problems that may occur in a relationship, they should have faith in love to guide them through. This is probably the most frequently covered song sung in danish.

'Good time Charlie' would go on to become the opening number on the ensuing tour, being an encouragement to enjoy life and party instead of fearing for war. Example from the lyrics: 'They say the boom is coming, the rats are running - but me and Camilla, we're sipping tequila'.

In english, the track listing was as follows:

1. What a lemon (Rabalderstræde)
2. Fatherless Hill
3. Lonesome avenue
4. Rebel run (Sjagge)
5. Lots of success (Masser af success)
6. It's all the same to an american dane (Refrainet er frit)
7. Lady oh Lady (Kvinde min)
8. Sad song of a bluebird (Sct. Emetri)
9. Rabalderstræde
10. The last Jim (instrumental, taken from 'Stakkels Jim/The last Jim')

Unfortunately, perhaps due to their inadequate english, Gas never made it big in England OR the US. They continued to be huge in Europe though, until they folded in 1980 to make way for Larsens growing solo career. The albums in english are well worth hearing though, and may be the best starting point for those who don't understand danish.

Best and worst
The best album, by a wide margin, is Gas 5, in danish. For non-danish speakers, 'Killin' time' may be the best place to start because those songs were written in english, then translated to danish, instead of the other way around which was usually the case.
The best song, in my opinion, is found elsewhere though.
On the album 'Efter endnu en dag', there is a song in english called 'This is my life', which is a slow and quiet song lamenting war, and aging. It features an opera singer in a middle portion, and contains the best lyrics the group ever wrote in english. The song would later be the best song on 'Gøglernes aften - Live i Skandinavien', where it was played in a faster, more rocking version, but retained it's melancholy and lamenting feel. The lyrics, in full:

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This is my life - this is my time
Show me the light, and I'll go there
Give me the wine - bitter and sweet
And a little bit of bread, that's all I need

No no no I don't want the gold from Xanadu
I think I'll leave it all to you
This is my life and I don't care

This is my street - oh you restless feet
Carry me on to anywhere
Take the fear - take it away
And give me some hope for one more day

I saw a ghost behind the door
When the kids were coming home from the war
With broken dreams, and nothing more
I heard a woman, singing her song
And it was good, and warm and strong
Oh she makes me cry, I don't know why

(opera in studio version, great guitar solo in live version)

No no no I don't want to bring you down
I declare it's good to be here
This is my life and I don't care
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Other recommended songs:
'Stakkels Jim' (Poor Jim), Gas' reworking of Auld Lang Syne complete with Hendrix guitar and futuristic lyrics about mankind leaving the cities behind and going back to nature.
'Kloden drejer stille rundt' (Slowly the world turns), a great track about a man reflecting on his day before going to sleep.

Worst is kind of hard to pick, but I have to go with the first album which contains all of one hit, 'Langebro', so it is kind of a boring album all in all. From there, the albums got better and better up to and including 'Efter endnu en dag', and then came a kind of lacklustre seventh album to finish Gasolin's studio days.