Baby Grandmothers: Being Is More Than Life
[purchase]
In 1967 Swedish rockers T-Boones left their beat/r'n'b origins behind and moved into looser, more psychedelic territories to keep up with the times. The newly opened rock club Filips in Stockholm needed a house band, so co-owner Bill Öhrström signed them on and re-named them Baby Grandmothers.
During their brief existence from September 1967 to July 1968 they managed to squeeze in one recording session and a quick tour with Jimi Hendrix, during which Hendrix cut his hand on a mirror while smashing a hotel room in Gothenburg and bled all over Öhrström's expensive Afghan coat.
Their only official release as Baby Grandmothers was the single Somebody Keeps Calling My Name/Being Is More Than Life, recorded in March of 1968 while on tour in Finland. Nobody took any notice as only 300 copies were pressed and it was only released in Finland. Legend has it the reason they only recorded a single and not a full LP was because guitarist Kenny Håkansson's amp couldn't take the pressure and broke down during the second song, bringing the session to an unexpected halt.
In 2007 Subliminal Records did the world a huge favor and re-released the now impossible to find 1968 single (to be honest it was probably impossible to find in 1968 too) along with four live cuts recorded at Filips, and one from the Finnish tour. The highlight of this release, in yours truly's humble opinion, is the slow-burning live rendition of Being Is More Than Life, a full 14 minutes longer than the studio cut. It will melt your brain.
