Overview Lagerberg and Henriksson wrote and rehearsed the majority of their contributions to
Studio in the late summer of 1967. Henriksson's home in
Tureberg, in
Sollentuna, was initially used as a base for the duo's songwriting. Lagerberg would "crash on a horrible couch" which would keep him up at night, allowing him to focus on songwriting for
Studio. Henriksson had lived in the Swedish province of
Dalarna during his first few years and took great inspiration from staying there. He and Lagerberg spent an increasing amount of time in Henriksson's parents' summer cottage, located in the small village of
Tällberg by the lake
Siljan, all of which came to influence several songs on the album. inspired the theme of the album. According to vocalist Blom, tracks on
Studio use instruments present in "ancient Swedish history", and generally used in genres not connected to pop music. Henriksson saw it as a tribute to the
spelmän of Dalarna. Svensson ways the usage of Swedish folk music was a "
gimmick which was the present [1967] trend", and that Tages refrained from using influences from India because of the Beatles doing it. Folk instruments are present on about half of
Studio's tracks. The other material on the album, mostly the tracks not composed by Lagerberg and Henriksson, seek influences elsewhere which with the inclusion of
brass and
string instruments. As with their previous two albums,
Extra Extra and
Contrast,
Studio showcases Tages experimenting with psychedelic sounds, including techniques such as
backmasked electric guitar, a
Leslie speaker used by lead guitarist
Anders Töpel,
reverberation and
feedback. As was common in Swedish pop music at the time, Tages viewed lyrics as an afterthought to the music, because most Swedish teenagers buying the records had a limited grasp of English.
Side one Studio opens with the song "Have You Seen Your Brother Lately". The name of the song came as an accident after Lagerberg misread the title of
the Rolling Stones' song "
Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (1966). Henriksson found Lagerberg's error amusing enough to compose a melody around it.The song, which opens with a
fade and folk instruments before Tages' members enter with their instruments, was meant to set the tone for the rest of the album. "It's My Life", which follows, bases its sound on a
hard rock riff which complements the somewhat introspective lyrics by Lagerberg. The track has prominent vocal harmonies and a chorus where the backing vocalists sing in a
counter-melody to Lagerberg's lead vocals. On the track Henriksson plays an
accordion in the style of French
bal-musette. "Like a Woman" was composed by Lagerberg, Henriksson and rhythm guitarist
Danne Larsson. The song was allegedly written during the night before the recording session as Tages did not have any other songs ready. Wiremark states that "Like a Woman" lyrically features Lagerberg singing about how a sixteen year old moves and
loves like a woman. The midpoint of side one provides a change as the focus switches from songs written and sung by Lagerberg to songs written and sung by Blom. The first of these is "People Without Faces", which is mixed low and has a melody accompanied by a
string quartet from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The lyrics were personal for Blom, who was tired of his grandparents. The song makes references to an older generation with nothing better to do than "complaining on a television show". "I Left My Shoes at Home" was written by Blom and Larsson. The song is about Blom as he sits in a park without shoes, because he had forgot his shoes under the table in his living room. It features a moody and abrasive piano opening line performed by Larsson. The band is accompanied on brass by
Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra during the choruses, after which a "battle between strings and guitars", as Wiremark describes it, occurs during an
instrumental break. Side one's closer, "She Is a Man", is the first song on
Studio without the involvement of any band members, as it was written by Henriksson and the 19-year-old producer Bengt Palmers. Wiremark calls it the album's most "conventionally psychedelic song" due to the usage of backmasked guitar by Töpel. The song features two lead vocalists: Blom sings during the verses and Henriksson provides the
falsetto lead during the chorus. "She Is a Man" is lyrically about a
transvestite or a
trans woman.
Side two Side two opens with the song "Seeing with Love". It was largely written by Lagerberg but credited to the entire band because he thought the creative process in the studio made it a group composition. The song features some of
Studio's more complex arrangements regarding both the brass performances and vocal harmonies, the latter of which have echo applied through a mechanical process. The song features session musician Janne Kling, who contributes the
cornett,
crumhorn and the Swedish folk instrument
spilåpipa through multitracking. The song's ending features a performance on the
fiddle mirroring the melody line. The following track, "Created by You", is the first and only composition not related to the band, having been written by
Claes Dieden, guitarist of the band Science Poption, who gave Tages the song on 4 October 1967 during the recording of the programme
Julgransplundring med Tages, a Christmas special on
Sveriges Television (SVT). The ballad features sporadic appearances of a flute and Henriksson on celesta. The following song, "What's the Time", was written by Blom and Larsson but sung by Lagerberg. The song deviates the most from the rest of
Studio, as it is an upbeat
soul-pop song which heavily features Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra playing brass instruments. The flute which persists during the instrumental break keeps it connected with the album's folk sound. The lyrics are about love from the perspective of a longing narrator. "It's in a Dream" was written by Lagerberg and Henriksson. The song is characterized by a piano riff performed by Henriksson, which repeats after the verses and choruses, and Töpel's lead guitar recorded through a Leslie speaker. Lyrically, the song tackles peace through metaphors involving
Robin Hood, while alluding to
child soldiers and war. "She's Having a Baby Now" revolves around
out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancy. Lead vocalist Blom describes the lyrics as "socially pornographic" and as criticism of
family separations. Musically, the song was a group composition. It is largely fuelled by vocal harmonies and interchanging lead vocals by Lagerberg and Blom. The album closes with "The Old Man Wafwer", which is the only instrumental track Tages ever recorded. The composition is split into two section, one which uses an arrangement of brass instruments played by Lasse Samuelson's Orchestra which leads into a riff on the accordion played by Henriksson. The second part is based on
musical improvisation and features Kling's flute playing throughout, while Svensson's drums have a major part in the arrangement. The title was taken from a man who lived on Vaverön, an island in the lake
Siljan in Dalarna. == Artwork and title ==