...och stora havet ("...and the Great Ocean") is the debut studio album by Swedish pop singer Jakob Hellman. It was released on February 13, 1989 by EMI.[1]
The album was recorded in 1988 in EMI's studio in Skärmarbrink, Stockholm, and was produced by Dan Sundquist. During the recording, Sundquist worked in parallel on an album by Freda', which had higher priority than the low-budget Hellman album. Sundquist and Hellman also had differing ideas about the sound of the album. Hellman wished to retain the more primitive feel of the 1987 demo that served as the basis of the record, while Sundquist was aiming for more of a pure pop production. Sundquist eventually got what he wanted.[2]...och stora havet was initially pressed in an edition of 5,000 copies. Once the song "Vara vänner" became a hit, the album was certified gold in the summer of 1989. The album was followed by a tour where Hellman was accompanied by musicians from Eldkvarn, Reeperbahn [sv] and Wilmer X.[2]
Lyrically, the album is tinged with a longing to get away. The songs also capture a sense of being young, impatient, misunderstood, and angst-ridden.[2]
The album was released in a remastered edition on CD on June 17, 1998.[3]Nöjesguiden named ...och stora havet the best Swedish album of the century.[4] It is also among the titles in the book Tusen svenska klassiker ("A Thousand Swedish Classics", 2009).[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jakob Hellman,[1] unless otherwise specified
Gradvall, Jan; Nordström, Björn; Nordström, Ulf; Rabe, Annina (2009). Tusen svenska klassiker: böcker, filmer, skivor, tv-program från 1956 till i dag (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. ISBN978-91-1-301717-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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