Wounded Bird [CD]

Wounded Bird by Flying Norwegians is best Norwegian country rock album to ever have been made. An album that is so convincingly good, in every conceivable way, that it was almost released by A&M Records. But it’s also an album that serves as a classic example in which everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. And at the worst possible time. The album was released in early 1976. The rest of the year should have been one long victory parade for Flying Norwegians, culminating in a release of the album overseas in the United States. Instead, the band and its fans were witness to a series of “almost” events. Almost a breakthrough, almost record-breaking sales, almost released in the USA and almost nominated for a Spellemann. That last one was a mistake—no one remembered to send the record in for an evaluation, so the best Norwegian rock album of 1976 was not even considered for the award. It’s a sad ending, but in some ways, it turned out good for one member of the band: Rune Walle.