Prog was, and continues to be, a worldwide musical force. We think about bands from the UK, Holland, Germany, Italy – even Argentina but there was a burgeoning Prog scene as far away as Denmark and Ache were one of the prime exponents of the form over there.
The line up of the Olafsson brothers (Torsten, Bass & Finn, guitar) along with Peter Mellin on keys and Glen Fisher on drums created, as Proggists tend to do, the world’s first Rock Ballet in ‘De Homine Urbano’ (About Urban Man) and if you strip away the pretentiousness of that concept the album is a real cracker. Mellin’s Hammond work is superb and Finn Olafsson demonstrates real dexterity in his guitar playing. – a lovely fluid sound full of soul and miles away from the Blues riffery of many of his contemporaries.
The vocals are fine, albeit a bit of an afterthought but it is the orchestral feel to the rock music that makes the band – they claim The Nice as influences and you can definitely hear that band’s sound signatures here although there is also the feel of The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and some of the darkness of Atomic Rooster in the music.
The debut album consists of two tracks, each an album side in length but you do not feel that they are stretching to try and fill it out – the length of the songs is justified.
‘Green Man’ is – to quote Torsten Olafssson – “Ache Rock Theatre – a dramatical art form based upon the coordination of heavy rock music, psychedelic light, dancing and acting” and it most definitely has the feel of a stage inspired series of tracks – be nice to see a DVD of the whole show at some time – and has moved into a heavier and more dramatic place. The music is more powerful and you really can sense the development of the band as musicians although there is a little less of the sweet naivety of the first album.
These guys were – and are – musicians of real quality and they produced two albums that are never less than interesting. Of the two I would probably go for ‘De Homine Urbano’ but they both have a place on my decks.
by Andy Snipper, 02 December 2012
Ache, a Danish band formed in 1968 that recorded two progressive rock albums in the seventies. Denmark isn't a well-known country as far as progressive rock is concerned. They first releases were "De Homine Urbano" (1970) and "Green Man" (1971). At the time, the band's line-up consisted of Torsten Olafsson (bass, vocals), Finn Olafsson (guitar, vocals), Peter Mellin (organ, piano) and Glen Fisher (drums, percussion). Ache first came to the attention of the public in Denmark with their debut De Homine Urbano, meaning 'about urban man'. This piece of music was the first rock ballet ever, performed in 1969 by the Royal Danish Ballet Company in Copenhagen. The original vinyl album contained two pieces of music, on each side one. The A-side featured the title track divided into ten parts. The track on the B-side was called Little Things. Both pieces contain approximately nineteen minutes of music mostly inspired by bands as The Nice and Iron Butterfly. I guess that Dutch band Ekseption could have been an inspiration as well. I even heard touches of The Zombies with Rod Argent behind the Hammond.
The music they composed was mainly based on Peter Mellin's powerful Hammond organ sound and the fluent guitar playing of Finn Olafsson. He both played the electric and the acoustic guitars. The two pieces on De Homine Urbano mainly contain large instrumental parts on which both musicians could show off. However, the band also used their vocal capabilities rather well. The voices of the Olafsson brothers are both worthwhile listening to. The band also had the talent to write good songs for the album features rather melodic compositions.
This also applies to their second album Green Man released in June 1971. It continued the musical style of their debut. The album contains seven shorter compositions including the Lennon-McCartney song We Can Work It Out. They covered this song a bit like Deep Purple did on The Book Of Taliesyn (1968). This version has more organ parts than the original one. The other tracks are more song orientated than the material on their first offering, but again, as I said before, all worthwhile listening to.
by Henri Strik
Tracks
1. De Homine Urbano (Torsten Olafsson, Peter Mellin arr. Ache) - 18:44
a) Overture
b) Soldier Theme
c) Ballerina Theme
d) Pas de Deux
e) Ogre Theme
f) Awakening
g) The Dance Of The Demons
h) Pas de Trojs
i) The Last Attempt
j) Finale
2. Little Things (Torsten Olafsson, Peter Metlin arr. Ache) - 19:11
3. Equatorial Rain (Torsten Olafsson) - 7:03
4. Sweet Jolly Joyce (Finn Olafsson) - 3:50
5. The Invasion - 6:01
a) Faniatonade (Peter Mellin)
b) Invasion (Torsten Olafsson)
c) Monologue (Torsten Olafsson)
d) Break Down (Glen Fischer)
6. Shadow Of A Gipsy (Peter Mellin) - 4:40
7. Green Man (Torsten Olafsson, Finn Olafsson) - 4:41
8. Acheron (Peter Mellin) - 4:49
9. We Can Work It Out/Workin' (John Lennon, Paul McCartney arr.Ache) - 8:42
Tracks 1-2 from "De Homine Urbano" 1970
Tracks 3-9 from "Green Man" 1971
Ache
*Torsten Olafsson - Bass, Vocals
*Finn Olafsson - Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Mellin - Organ, Keyboards
*Glen Fisher - Drums, Percussion
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