Aunt Mary -

Aunt Mary was a Norwegian post-psych band that debuted with a 1970 self-titled album on Polydor, followed by the hard-rocking 1972 Philips release Loaded and the ambitious 1973 Vertigo opus Janus.

Members: Bjørn Christiansen (guitar), Jan Groth (vocals, organ, 1969-72, 1982-2013), Svein Gundersen (bass, 1969-2012), Ivar Lauritzen (drums, 1969-70), Per Ivar Fure (flute, saxophone, 1969-71), Ketil Stensvik (drums, 1970-2015), Bengt Jenssen (organ, 1972-73), Bernt Bodal (bass, 2014-present), Glenn Lyse (vocals, 2014-present), Ole Tom Torjussen (drums, 2015-present), Ola Aanje (organ, 2015-present)

Background

Aunt Mary assembled in 1969 when guitarist Bjørn Kristiansen (b. July 8, 1950) and bassist Svein Gundersen (b. May 15, 1949, Fredrikstad) teamed with three graduates of Dr. Henderson’s Blues Caravane: organist Jan Leonard Groth (b. February 25, 1946), drummer Ivar Lauritzen, and saxophonist Per Ivar Fure, who played earlier in Moss beatsters Green Onions. Gundersen earned a prior songwriting credit on Phnooole, the 1967 second album by beatsters The Vanguards. Lauritzen soon cleared for drummer Ketil Stensvik, who completed the first-recorded Aunt Mary lineup.

Aunt Mary

Aunt Mary released their self-titled debut album in July 1970 on Polydor.

The album moves in short, quick turns, with most tracks built for compact contrasts and abrupt shifts. “Whispering Farewell” opens on a cool, restrained pulse, then breaks into a quieter flute-acoustic passage before the band drives into a louder stretch where electric guitar, organ, and drums push against each other at higher intensity.

“Did You Notice?” starts with a bright, brisk swing, then pivots mid-track when fuzz guitar thickens the texture and the closing sax line cuts through the organ. “I Do and I Did” slows the pace and leans on a lounge-toned arrangement with soft orchestral color, while “47 Steps” rides a firmer rhythm with active bass, clipped organ accents, and horn punches.

“Rome Wasn’t Built in One Day” keeps a tense, creeping pace through low bass movement and rattling fills, and “Come In” begins as a vocal-harmony ballad before a mid-song piano-and-strings passage resets the mood. On the looser side, “Why Don’t You Try Yourself” and “The Ball” both open into rougher, less settled exchanges, with organ and guitar stretching the form into brief, unruly jams, and “Yes, By Now I’ve Reached the End” closes the album in a short, darker organ-led frame with a heavier vocal tone. Aunt Mary group-wrote all eleven tracks.

A1. “Whispering Farewell” (4:00)
A2. “Did You Notice?” (3:16)
A3. “There’s a Lot of Fish in the Sea” (3:51)
A4. “I Do and I Did” (4:52)
A5. “47 Steps” (4:39)

B1. “Rome Wasn’t Built in One Day” (2:59)
B2. “Come In” (3:29)
B3. “Why Don’t You Try Yourself” (2:28)
B4. “The Ball” (3:33)
B5. “All My Sympathy for Lily” (3:21)
B6. “Yes, By Now I’ve Reached the End” (2:51)

Aunt Mary recorded the album with producer Johnny Reimar and engineers Bent Hulsrøj and Birger Svan. Polydor lifted “Did You Notice” as a single with “The Ball.”

The album features cover art by Birgit Schmidt, whose image employs a stark red, black, and white palette with a split-face portrait divided into light and dark halves with red hair and mask-like symmetry. Surreal linework fills the left side with flowers, a small Viking ship, and patterned textures, while the right side stays darker and more open with coral-like forms near the bottom.

1971–72 Singles

Between August 1971 and early 1972, Aunt Mary cut two standalone singles: “Jimi, Janis and Brian,” a Dion appropriation (b/w “Stop Your Wishful Thinking”) and “Rosalind”

A. “Jimi, Janis and Brian” – originated as “Abraham, Martin and John,” the 1968 comeback hit Dion, written by Dick Holler as a tribute to three martyred political leaders. Aunt Mary modified the lyrics as an ode to three recently deceased rock icons: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and former Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones.
B. “Stop Your Wishful Thinking”

A. “Rosalind”
B. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” – one of multiple rock adaptations of the 1875 orchestral piece by Norwegian Romantic composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907).

Before Aunt Mary cut their second album, Per Ivar Fure exited the band, which absconded reeds and hired Bengt Jenssen as a second organist.

Loaded

Aunt Mary released their second album, Loaded, in November 1972 on Philips.

The album presents nine tracks with two-part sequencing on “Farewell My Friend,” and the band splits songwriting across its core writers. The album features bassist/keyboardist Svein Gundersen, guitarist Bjørn Christiansen, and percussionist Ketil Stensvik, joined in the credits by Jenssen on select titles, with Johnny Sareussen producing the sessions.

Loaded tightens the band’s attack and leans on riff-led writing, with the keyboard work carrying much of the motion across both sides. “Joinin’ the Crowd” runs on a firm, upfront pace with a denser guitar figure at the center, while “Playthings of the Wind” opens the album in a compact, direct frame that sets the same clipped song-length pattern. “Delight” shifts the texture: soft acoustic guitar supports stacked high vocal lines, and the keyboard line cuts through with a sharper, nasal tone.

“Upside Down” hues mid-tempo before the two-part “Farewell My Friend” declares an open arrangement, where the bass-line underpins fast organ runs and crowded keyboard passages. Side B stretches form: “Blowin’ Tiffany” expands into the album’s longest track, using extended organ sections and longer instrumental spacing, “Fire of My Lifetime” distinguishes itself with varied changes, and “G Flat Road” closes with a heavier organ presence over a steady, driving pulse.

A1. “Playthings of the Wind” (3:03) – Christiansen
A2. “Joinin’ the Crowd” (3:42) – Christiansen, Gundersen
A3. “Delight” (2:44) – Christiansen, Stensvik, Gundersen
A4. “Upside Down” (4:15) – Christiansen, Gundersen
A5. “Farewell My Friend Pt. 1” (3:21) – Christiansen, Gundersen
A6. “Farewell My Friend Pt. 2” (3:21) – Jenssen, Stensvik, Gundersen

B1. “Blowin’ Tiffany” (7:23) – Jenssen, Christiansen, Gundersen
B2. “Fire of My Lifetime” (5:11) – Gundersen
B3. “G Flat Road” (5:43) – Christiansen, Gundersen

Sessions took place in October 1972 at Rosenborg Studio with engineer Inge Holst Jacobsen. Philips lifted “G Flat Road” as a single backed with “Joinin’ the Crowd.”

Loaded appeared in a die-cut cover that exposes part of the inner sleeve, with an additional poster included. Audun Tylden oversaw the visuals, which features design by Dag Wærner and photography by Scott Anthony Remborg. The front-cover poster sticker appears in three variants released in sequence: octagonal, then round sticker, then a round “sticker” printed on the cover.

Janus

Aunt Mary released their third album, Janus, in September 1973 on Vertigo.

The album runs as an eight-track set credited largely to bassist-singer Svein Gundersen and guitarist-singer Bjørn Christiansen, with additional authorship by keyboardist Bengt Jenssen, who plays piano, organ, and Mini-moog.

Janus moves with longer forms and clearer internal transitions than the earlier albums, especially in the stitched opening and closing sequences. “Path of Your Dream” starts with a hard, fast riff and busy organ, then drops into a lighter vocal section before handing off to “Mr. Kaye,” which trims the arrangement to a bright, compact pop-leaning interlude with a playful center break. “Nocturnal Voice” expands the pace again with a steadier mid-tempo frame, strummed guitar and organ support, then opens for a longer electric-guitar passage before the album recalls the opening motif. “For All Eternity” pushes the tempo with quick organ runs, stacked vocal lines, and thick bass movement, then loosens into a more off-center instrumental stretch with swirling keyboard color and sharper guitar bursts.

Side B opens with “Stumblin’ Stone,” which builds slowly from bass-and-organ weight into a darker, heavier section and finishes with a more forceful guitar close. “All We’ve Got To Do Is Dream” resets the album with acoustic guitar and a quieter vocal blend, then “Candles of Heaven” centers the organ and drums, using clipped chord attacks, high choral inserts, and a final-minute instrumental surge that carries straight into “What a Lovely Day,” where an acoustic opening gives way to a heavier second half and a long, expressive guitar solo over harmonized backing voices.

A1. “Path of Your Dream” (12:15) – Christiansen, Gundersen
A2. “Mr. Kaye” – Christiansen, Gundersen
A3. “Nocturnal Voice” – Christiansen, Gundersen
A4. “For All Eternity” (6:54) – Christiansen, Gundersen

B1. “Stumblin’ Stone” (6:10) – Christiansen, Gundersen
B2. “All We’ve Got to Do Is Dream” (2:53) – Christiansen, Gundersen
B3. “Candles of Heaven” (10:42) – Jenssen, Christiansen, Gundersen
B4. “What a Lovely Day” – Gundersen

Sessions occurred at Roger Arnhoff Studio with producer Stein Robert Ludvigsen and engineer Ingar Helgesen. They credit the Arnhoff Girls with handclaps. Vertigo lifted “Nocturnal Voice” as a single backed with “Mr. Kaye.”

Janus appeared on Vertigo’s “spaceship” label in a fold-out cover with cover art by Tore Bernitz Pedersen and photography by Scott Anthony Remborg. The LP appears with unbanded indexing for the combined A1–A3 sequence (12:15) and the combined B3–B4 sequence (10:42).

The front cover centers two mirrored red faces in profile, pressed nose-to-nose with bared fangs, forming a symmetrical mask-like image. A blue sky-and-water landscape fills the space between and above them, with green cloud bands curving across the top. Thick black vertical borders frame the composition, and the overall effect is bright, surreal, and confrontational. The back cover keeps the same mirrored layout and palette but shifts to a calmer, more human face. Two red-orange profiles merge into a single frontal figure with green eyes and green lips, while a blue vertical shape runs from the top cloud-and-sky form down through the nose and mouth into the torso.

Discography: