onurblues: Portrait : Sven Zetterberg (1952-2016)

→ Special thanks to L.C. for introducing me to this exciting bluesman from Sweden

Soul of the blues

It took him just a short year to master guitar perfectly when he was already 24. So perfectly that he was able to back the great Muddy Waters at a 1976 show in Stockholm. Since then he could compete with the best US blues guitarists. But his discovery of the blues goes back way before that when by the age of 12 he used to listen to blues on his small radio. After hearing Walter Horton, he started playing harmonica, and later started to sing, soon becoming a skilled blues singer.
His first band, Telge Blues, active from 1972 to 1976, released a unique album in 1975. He was singing and playing harmonica. It is when the band split that he decided to practice guitar intensively.

Oooops ! Wrong pic !

His next band was Blue Fire and he was now in charge of the lead guitar. The group disbanded in 1979. In 1981, he met Norwegian guitarist Knut Reiersrud and they set up a new band, Four Roosters, which released one album and lasted for a few years.

Here's the right one !
During all these years, Zetterberg was working for the Swedish Postal Service as a delivery van driver until 1985. The year before he had gathered some of his former mates from Telge and Blue Fire to form a new combo, Chicago Express, with which he stayed until 1999. They released four albums, three studio opuses (The Blue Soulution, 1990, Watch Your Step!, 1991, and Permanently Blue, 1995) and the live Steppin’ Out Alive! in 1996.

In the beginning
From 1999, he went solo, backed by various line-ups and bands, releasing about 10 albums under his name, and appearing in numerous side projects. Though never disavowing blues, he got more and more interested in the 1960's soul.
In December 2016, back from a successful tour, he collapsed from heart failure at only 64 years of age. A huge loss not only for Swedish blues but for blues itself.

The Blue Soulution, 1990 : as the title indicates this first album with Chicago Express is largely devoted to soul and R'n'B, with covers of Booker T. Jones & Isaac Hayes, James A. Lane aka Jimmy Rogers, Joe Tex, "Papa" Lightfoot, Walter Jacobs aka Little Walter… And four originals signed Zetterberg.
The band is completed by a four-piece horn section. Harmonicist Jan Sjöström takes the lead vocals on two tracks (“Sloppy Drunk” and “Jump The Boogie”), while Little Hank Jansson is on lead guitar on “Further Information”.
Even if not my favorite opus from Zetterberg with Chicago Express, this album has all the ingredients that make great performers.

Watch Your Step!, 1991 : the opening track, the Albert Collins instrumental “Thaw-out”, foresees a solid blues album : rocking tempos, scorching guitar, great harmonica and vocals, and original arrangements. A real treat. Only one title signed Zetterberg but exciting revisits of songs by Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Booker T. Jones, “Sugar” Ray Norcia, famous soul hits writer Dan Penn, Vernon "Geater" Davis, or from less familiar authors like George Allen Smith, Cliff Crofford, Snuff Garrett...
Again, Jaan Sjöström is on lead vocals on Little Walter's “My Kind Of Baby” and Ray Norcia's “No More Chances', while on the latter Hank Jansson is in charge of the lead guitar. Zetterberg is just perfect on guitar and vocals.
Note : Chicago Express' bassist Bertil Pettersson has designed the front cover.

Permanently Blue, 1995) : Zetterberg, who wrote seven of the eleven titles, also appears on slide guitar, while the lead guitar is in the hands of Swedish jazz guitarist Max Schultz on the title track.
More varied than the previous album, Permanently Blue offers echoes of different styles : swamp, gospel, soul, rock… It's all perfectly mastered.
The covers includes titles by Al "TNT" Braggs & Bobby Bland (“The Soul Of A Man”), Jimmy Dawkins (the superb “All For Business”), Amos Blakemore (the percussive instrumental “Cha Cha Cha In Blues”), and Reuben Bell & Vernon Davis (“Sweet Woman's Love”). The horns are back on some tracks, and Zetterberg definitely proves he's an exceptional guitar master and a talented soulful singer.

Steppin’ Out Alive!, 1996 : 15 tracks to discover the band recorded for the first time on stage on two nights in Stockholm in mid-September 1996. Zetterberg and his musicians deliver some impressive moments, from the opener “Tip On In” featuring Zetterberg's fancy vocal tricks, to the rock'n'roll final on “You Can't Sit Down”, through great versions of Jimmy Dawkins' “All For Business”, Fenton Robinson's “You Don't Know What Love Is”, Magic Sam's “Riding High”, Jimmy Rogers' “Act Like You Love Me”, the 9-minute long “Open House At My House”, Milton Campbell's “That's What Love Will Make You Do”, or Willie Dixon's “Down In The Bottom”.
Two songs were written by the talented harmonicist Jan Sjöström, “Don't Slow Me Down” and the rightly titled funky “The Groove”, who, for obscure reasons, was now credited as Harmonica Henry, and takes on the lead vocals on four titles. As for Zetterberg, he is as impressive on guitar as at singing. An irreproachable album indeed.

Blues from Within (1999) : Zetterberg's first solo opus after the end of the Chicago Express band is still solidly anchored in Chicago as his brilliant opening original “Plenty Of Everything” clearly demonstrates. Follows a double homage to B.B. King : the energetic instrumental “38th Street Blues”, and the soulful “You're Breaking My Heart” superbly executed both on guitar and vocals.
Magic Sam is also honored through the covers of two of his songs, “That's Why I'm Crying” and “All Your Love”, as well as Willie Dixon with “Bloody Tears”, Snooky Pryor with “Crosstown Blues”, and Jimmy Johnson with “The Bottom Of The Top”.
Zetterberg himself wrote two more songs, the muscular “She's Doing The Boogaloo” and the very Fats Domino-inspired “My Deepest Emotions”.
With this first solo album, the Swedish bluesman opens a new chapter of his musical saga in the most promising manner.

Let Me Get Over It (2001) : Two years later, forget Chicago and forget straight blues, Zetterberg released quite a different album, reminding the soul mood of The Blue Soulution eleven years earlier. This time, except the final cover of Buster Benton's “Lonesome For A Dime”, seven of the featured titles are signed by much less familiar authors, though some like “Can I Change My Mind” were successfully covered by several famous soul artists.
Three were co-written by himself with partners like Anders Lewén, who also signs a song by himself, or Allen Finney. Only two tracks bear his sole signature but stand out as some of the best tracks of the collection.
The album, recorded with a totally renewed backing team and featuring guests certainly famous in Scandinavia, is clearly inspired by horn and organ-fueled soul and R'n'B. Fans of James Brown will dance on “He's Too Old”, and frustrated pure blues aficionados will find solace in “Leaning Tree”.

Moving In The Right Direction (2004) : Zetterberg confirms his taste for soul music. Tracks such as “Song from a Worried Heart”, “A World Outside”, “Heartaches Was All You Got” and “My Way Around” even have a symphonic dimension, with a string section. And all tracks feature a horn section, much closer to Otis Redding than to Magic Sam.
Blues is still present with the funky varnish of “Mile After Mile” and with “Dead Ringer Blues”, two of the tracks where Zetterberg let his guitar talk. As a matter of fact, he plays guitar on only half of the titles, obviously more interested in singing, which he does with talent too. On the other eight tracks, Anders Lewén is taking the guitar parts.

Anders Lewén

His influence as Zetterberg's new songwriting and musical partner is clearly confirmed : he's the unofficial conductor of the album, taking charge of most of the horns and strings arrangements, writing three songs, co-writing five with Zetterberg (generally the music), who for his part only signed four alone.
The pair excels in 1960's style romantic soul ballads, even with a reggae beat like on “Since I Been Lovin' You”, a song from Oliver Sain who died just a few weeks after the recording session.
A great treat for soul lovers; probably less for straight blues fans...

Those were just seven albums covering different facets of Zetterberg. More are available on YT for listening underneath, including the 2022 posthumous Rain On. Blues aficionados will certainly appreciate it, as well as the seducing Hollerin' Up A Storm (2007), and a bit less Mileage (2012). ■

► Sven Zetterberg web site : http://www.svenzetterberg.com/

Audio  Albums
► Telge Blues (1975) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mOv4QNrsRf3Ym-eDgeTmhWiLJdqre8Bnc

With Chicago Express
► The Blue Soulution (1990) :
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ld1vne0m7fXIKHb5iwe8R3otfPGoZohGA
► Watch Your Step! (1991) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mzirU6cZnyuItY8gIX1oDt3emDm4xaNjQ
► Permanently Blue (1995) : https://youtu.be/DxRvXN-xtpo
► Steppin' Out - Alive! (1996) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nKrbyuIomFrjfEaEENxZfnGtqrsMjQT9o

Solo 
► Blues from Within (1999) : https://youtu.be/8jIKoQgeDMM
► Let Me Get Over It (2001) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kDGbx9uT4tI951Wv67839lqWVbVFi40_U2
► Moving In The Right Direction (2004) : https://youtu.be/4kyPEBsdG2c
► Southern Soul Agenda (2006) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k-_ErtlAMfffB9cEJawhPMcOogx4VaUrk
► Hollerin' Up A Storm (2007) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nHJ2LcILuiorajaQqsWC1lVr2Y0VANWbo
► Grounded In Reality (2010) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_luomrMWhP8MEMYkwQt6BMYAdMC3Gr9cHs

► Mileage (2012) : https://youtu.be/5v5G4Akdm0U
► Something For Everybody (2016) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l1VBVh-5Ax_xhC1QtY8-ssjU5km9KRfw0

► Rain On (The Lost 1999 Session) (2022) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mheXWYJv6CNvGb8ZSzx74qiUrJTpwveZQ

Side Project
► Swedish Harp Artists (Sven Zetterberg, Jan Sjöström, Thomas Grahn, Greger Andersson, Stefan Dafgård, Sture Elldin), Horton's Briefcase (2000) : https://youtu.be/TZlVMGF35vU

Live Videos

Knut Reiersrud

► Knut Reiersrud and Sven Zetterberg Four Roosters, Oslo, Norway, early 1980's : https://youtu.be/h7GnkBr1gJg
► Åmål Bluesfestival, Sweden, 1998 : https://youtu.be/q84XWl0N96E
► Sven Zetterberg Blues Band, Boras, Sweden, 2002 or 2004 : https://youtu.be/6xlzNhrED8I
► Blues Got Soul, Swedish TV program, 2003 : https://youtu.be/10cP2ezeF7Q?t=118