Consolation

"Consolation" is a song written by Swedish keyboardist Benny Andersson, first recorded as the Hep Stars thirteenth single in October 1966. The single largely left the baroque pop style sound which had dominated both their previous singles "Sunny Girl" and "Wedding", but continues the soft rock style of "I Natt Jag Drömde" and also ventures into the territory of psychedelic rock, a genre that would become prevalent the following year. The single continued the Hep Stars chart success in Sweden, reaching number 2 on Tio i Topp. On Kvällstoppen, the song peaked at number 1 for ten unconsecutive weeks, and as a result became the Hep Stars biggest hit on that chart. Andersson would later state dismay with the single. It was included on their second studio album The Hep Stars. Background By October, the Hep Stars had released three singles in 1966, two of which were original compositions. These were "Sunny Girl" and "Wedding", both of which reached number 1 on Tio i Topp and Kvällstoppen. These two singles brought them great critical acclaim by critics as well, and were a radical departure from their previously raunchy, rhythm and blues influenced sound which had dominated most of their 1965 output. The Hep Stars also founded Hep House in June of that year. Hep House was an organization comparable to the Beatles Apple Corps which they had founded two years later. Hep House had the responsibility of handling the band's business ventures, as well as publishing songs written by Benny Andersson and the other band members. In September 1966, the Hep Stars released their twelfth single, "I Natt Jag Drömde". This was the first Hep Stars single in the Swedish language, reaching number 2 on Kvällstoppen. And due to this it divided the Hep Stars, along with their fans to a certain extent because of its softer approach. Due to it reaching number 1 on Svensktoppen, it brought the Hep Stars an entire new generation of fans, predominantly older people. It was due to this that they tasked Benny Andersson to write a new song, to compete with "I Natt Jag Drömde" on the charts. Andersson wrote "Consolation", which also became their first song to be published by Hep House. "Consolation", along with its B-Side were recorded in October 1966 at Europafilm Studios in Stockholm. The intro of the song largely revolves around Andersson's Vox Continental organ.