Nuggets II: My Life by Thor’s Hammer

The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA.

Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001. It features music from countries such as Iceland, Uruguay, and Japan. I’m profiling and rating each of the 109 tracks, working backwards.

Track 92 – My Life by Thor’s Hammer

From: Keflavik, Iceland

10

Credits

4/12. MY LIFE – Thor’s Hammer (Iceland)
(Gunnar Thordarson/Petur Ostlund)

PERSONNEL/GUNNAR THORDARSON: vocals, lead guitar * ERLINGUR BJORNSSON: rhythm guitar, vocals * RUNAR JULIUSSON: bass, vocals * PETUR OSTLUND: drums
Producer(s) unknown
Recorded in London, England
From the EP Umbarumbamba, Parlophone #CGEP-62 (1966) [U.K. export for Iceland]

Thor’s Hammer

Hlijomar (in English, the Sounds or the Chords) formed in Keflavik, Iceland, in 1963. They quickly became Iceland’s biggest band, supporting some visiting British acts on their Icelandic tours.

They named themselves Thor’s Hammer for English-language recordings made in London. Thor’s Hammer recorded the 1966 EP, Umbarumbamba, for Parlophone. It’s now a collector’s item. There’s an online auction from 2007 where a copy sold for US $1775.

Formed in 1964 in the city of Keflavik, Hljólmar began their recording career early the following year and quickly became popular with Icelandic teens. Their initial releases were sung in their native tongue, but the group and their record company quickly realized that to export the group’s popularity, they would need to sing in English and adjust the band’s name accordingly.

In late 1965 Thor’s Hammer traveled to England for recording sessions, which included ones for tracks that were to be used in an upcoming movie starring the band, called Umbarumbamba. Among the songs recorded was “My Life,” a wild yet melodic rocker, bursting with harmonies and some crackling fuzz guitar work. The song was released on an EP, issued in conjunction with the movie in the fall of 1966. The film was something of a flop, however, and the record consequently sold poorly.

Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes

My Life

‘My Life’ is one of the strongest songs on Nuggets II. It combines the pop sense of The Beatles with the aggression of The Who. Drummer Peter Ostlund has a similar free-flowing style to Keith Moon. It should be on oldies stations everywhere.

The Aftermath

Bassist Rúnar Júlíusson also played football for Iceland.

The members later formed Trúbrot, a progressive rock band. The 2001 compilation From Keflavik With Love, collects all of the band’s English-language output, as well as some of their Icelandic tracks.

Read More

8 Comments

  1. My Life… it’s like bottled chaos with those drums…I like it because it’s like a burst of adrenaline. They probably mixed those drums a little too loud for radio….but I love it….that fuzz guitar in the background has a great tone.

    • I like how they mixed the drums loud because the drumming is the best bit – whole band’s cool though.

Leave a Reply

Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:

More review pages

Tom Waits Album Reviews

In New Zealand we have a sporting cliche, “a game...

Rage Against the Machine Album Reviews

Introduction Rage Against the Machine were surprisingly successful in the...

Wilco Album Reviews

Jeff Tweedy was always the junior partner in the pioneering...
Wilco Being There

The Soft Boys Album Reviews

Robyn Hitchcock started his recording career with the psychedelic new...

HAIM Album Reviews

A trio of sisters from California, HAIM take their name...

Rich Mullins Album Reviews

Richard Wayne Mullins was one of the most beloved figures...

I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:

More blog posts

I’m Not Like Everybody Else by The Kinks: Great B-Sides

The Kinks formed in Muswell Hill, London, in 1964. They...

Dire Straits Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best

One glance at Mark Knopfler’s bandana will tell you that...
Dire Straits Money for Nothing

Red House Painters Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best

The Red House Painters took their name from a Tennessee...
Red House Painters Ocean Beach

10 Best Karla Bonoff Songs

Karla Bonoff emerged from the same LA scene as musicians...

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive new posts from Aphoristic Album Reviews.