Flying Norwegians

Wounded Bird

Apollon, 2021

9/10

Listen to Wounded Bird

Originally released way back in 1976, this sophomore album from Flying Norwegians cemented them as leaders in the area of country rock, and easily able to compete with the greatness achieved by similar American bands.

The 10 tunes here illustrate a more mature version of Flying Norwegians, and the lyrics, largely penned by Per Helge Hansen, netted the band even more attention, though worldwide fame would still elude them. It certainly didn’t help that the record was never released in the United States, either.

“Crazy Eyes” starts the listen with a warm and melodic version of country rock that welcomes soothing vocal harmonies amid the retro climate, and “Turn The Page” follows with soulful harmonica and crisp drumming leading into the glowing, pedal steel friendly delivery.

At the midpoint, the acoustic strummer “Evening Prayer” builds into a lush display of nostalgic Americana, while the title track makes good use of jangly electric guitar as no shortage of rhythm enters the album highlight. “Tangles”, another excellent track, then weaves in and out of pretty textures with a moodiness that illustrates incredible skill.

Close to the end, the emotive “Old Lady” parallels the greatness of Neil Young amid its cautious landscape, and “Absolutely Sweet Marie” exits on an upbeat, rock’n’roll inspired finish that thumps and bounces with a sweet, dance floor ready appeal.

Tragically, this was one of the best records of 1976 and it never saw the widespread praise it deserved. Now back in print CD and vinyl and remastered from the original tapes by Morten Lund, it’s of little debate that Flying Norwegians were the best country rock band Norway ever produced, and we should all be thankful that this reissue exists.

Travels well with: Aadal- Silver; Matterhorn- Outside