Coma are not merely an obscurity of European Prog, they represent a sonic identity born inside a “musical glass bell,” forged in Frederikshavn, far removed from Denmark’s cultural centres. The album, though released in 1977, was the result of years of fermentation begun in the early 1970s at the Frederikshavn Gymnasium. PQR Disques plusqueréel‘s recovery work brings this one-off gem back to light in a version remastered by the band themselves. The title “Financial Tycoon” is a sarcastic commentary on the capitalist system — a theme the band deliberately left open to the listener’s interpretation. The name Coma itself derives from a Frank Zappa lyric, and their approach is steeped in Dadaistic humour and irony, deployed as structural principles rather than mere decoration. Throughout the album, a particular cohesion between the musicians is evident: the tracks were born from fragments brought in by individual members and collectively reshaped through radical improvisation. The album opens with “Up From The Sump…” a brief prelude that unlocks the group’s sonic universe, ushering the listener toward the first of the album’s defining pieces. “Financial Tycoon 1” is a perfect example of how musical themes, tonalities and time signatures — often contributed by different members — merge into a single complex track. The band’s lyrics immediately immerse us in those sarcastic yet critically charged atmospheres directed at capitalism: dynamic, compelling, and immediately iconic for anyone already familiar with the band’s musical universe. The horns deliver technically accomplished, virtuosic Jazz solo passages, underpinned by a collective musical architecture built on time changes and finely crafted Jazz Prog textures that bring out the very best of the band’s character. The band explores more distinctly Progressive territory in “Peer Grynt,” a piece that finds the perfect balance between Jazz-Rock and Progressive textures. Groove-heavy accelerations sustain the track’s evolution, with driving bass lines and drumming dense with groove, leaving the other instruments free to weave refined, intertwining solo passages, with the horns consistently prominent. In “One Of Them Crazy Gurues In Love,” the Jazz influence asserts itself fully through the contributions of guests Bent Klausen on vibraphone and Skak Snitker on trumpet. The track’s title is characteristically bizarre, in keeping with the band’s sarcastic sensibility, while the music within is a studied and sophisticated Jazz Rock, with extended instrumental sections where the horns take centre stage. A saxophone solo carries through the first half of the piece before weaving into the vibraphone — resulting in a track of more expansive, less aggressive sonority, yet rich in refined passages and textures that showcase and celebrate both the band’s and the guests’ Jazz sensibility. The first side closes with “Fulton,” another piece enriched by Snitker‘s trumpet, recorded during the intensive Ringsted sessions of 1976, continuing to explore Jazzy sonorities infused here with ethereal, psychedelic guitar textures. The interplay between trumpet and guitar elevates the track, developed through continuous time changes where Jazz-Rock textures intertwine with the piece’s Psych Prog traits, closing the album’s first side in exemplary fashion. Intense electric guitar solo passages define the central section before yielding space to the horns, returning to more Jazz Prog-oriented terrain — with continuous trumpet and electric guitar phrasing sublimating this first arc of listening. Side B opens with “Financial Tycoon 2“: the band does not merely reprise the opening piece but extends its narrative, maintaining the same executive precision and inventiveness. The lyrics and music are genuinely unpredictable, and together they encapsulate the band’s hallmark — a blend of jazz technique woven into progressive textures, with vocals that are critical and sarcastic in equal measure. The vocal passages of the first section, concluding with epic rhymes that unite English and Spanish, yield to an intense instrumental section that closes this memorable two-part epic track, one of the album’s cornerstones. The shorter “A Hard Banana” — its title purely Dadaistic — plunges us into the second half of the vinyl. Brief in duration but concentrated in technique and incisiveness, it masterfully unites the band’s progressive and jazz instrumental sonorities, not as a mere stylistic exercise but as a delivery of complex textures that keep the listener engaged and attentive through every change. “Frank Fedling” is a technically accomplished piece featuring Klaus Thrane on piano and Bent Klausen again on vibraphone. The track opens with Jazzy sonorities permeated by electronic sounds and a stratospheric rhythm section that alternates more aggressive, groove-dense passages with Jazz openings, showcasing in both cases the technical command and cohesion between bass and drums. Horns guide the sound alongside the guitar in this instrumental piece — with references to oriental melodic sensibilities in the horn solos, which do not merely intervene on the theme but actively shape its sound through the central section. In the second part, a shift brings the band back to a collective sound in which keyboards, vibraphone, guitar and horns move in unison through continuous interweaving lines that elevate the piece. “…Down From The Trees” stands apart through the use of Ernst Thomsen‘s violin — one of the many carefully chosen guest contributions during the recording sessions. A brief piece, with acoustic guitar and violin creating melancholic melodies and atmospheres that guide the listener toward the closing track. Side B, and the album itself, concludes with “Tumbling’ Shadows” — the longest track, an epic closure in which Klausen‘s vibraphone sustains a sonic architecture that encapsulates the entire Coma experience. It is the second vocal piece on side two, where the band delivers vocal parts that evoke the Canterbury scene in style while maintaining their own distinct character. The instrumental textures reach peaks of technical brilliance and intensity: eight minutes of pure Jazz Prog in which every member of the lineup brings their personal technique to bear in the service of a collective sound, with cohesion and interplay of an entirely singular kind. The solo passages follow in succession yet move in unison, giving life to a piece that reads as nothing less than a treatise on Jazzed-up Progressive Rock.
This edition — the first vinyl reissue curated by PQR Disques, in a Black On Yellow Splatter pressing limited to 100 numbered copies — is not a simple reissue but a genuine genre cornerstone to be rediscovered and, in the case of the live bonus material, discovered for the first time. Beyond the coloured vinyl editions and meticulous attention to the inner booklet, this release contains a DVD with over five hours of archival live material from the band: four concerts that document the essence of Coma live, from the near-hostility of the Folk audience at Ranum to the ovations at Roskilde 1976/77. The band regarded live performance as an opportunity to continuously evolve existing compositions and write new ones, making this DVD an essential historical document for understanding their free-form nature. The recording quality is optimal — particularly remarkable given the sheer quantity of material offered — and constitutes an essential archive for every enthusiast and lover of the genre. It is rare for bands of the era to have left behind such a rich body of live material at this level of quality, both in terms of musical execution and audio fidelity. A genuine database to immerse oneself in, reliving the emotions the band knew how to transmit live — while the album itself addresses themes that could not be more current, demonstrating both musical and thematic depth, the band’s vision, and its evolution over time. And what better document than four concerts and over five hours of pure Jazz Prog.
This edition of “Financial Tycoon,” reissued on vinyl with bonus DVD by PQR Disques in a Black On Yellow Splatter pressing limited to 100 numbered copies and its color variants, is not a simple reissue but a genuine genre cornerstone — one to be rediscovered, and in the case of the live material, discovered outright. Coma offered their members — several of whom went on to disparate projects such as the Jungle Orchestra or sound design work — an unparalleled arena of expressive freedom. “Financial Tycoon” is not merely a reissue, it is proof that the Danish Progressive and Jazz Rock underground still harbours gems capable of defying time. A release that presents the masterwork in a highly considered aesthetic package, and through the addition of the archival live material elevates its historical significance — capturing the band’s musical evolution in its most exploratory dimension: the live one. A record that genuinely challenges the passage of time, not only for the continued relevance of its themes, but for a compositional and executive quality that remains truly worthy of note. Essential listening for all devotees of the Jazzier side of Prog, dominated by expressive freedom yet maintaining a collective structure that defines its style.
Tracklist
A1 – Up From The Sump…
A2 – Financial Tycoon 1
A3 – Peer Grynt
A4 – One Of Them Crazy Gurues In Love
A5 – Fulton
B1 – Financial Tycoon 2
B2 – A Hard Banana
B3 – Frank Fedling
B4 – …Down From The Trees
B5 – Tumbling’ Shadows
Lineup
Flemming Friberg / Voice and Guitar
Viggo Bertelsen / Guitar
Jakob Mygind / Saxophone (Tnor, Alto, and Soprano)
Leif (Guru) Christensen / Bass
Klaus Thrane / Drums and Percussion (also plays the piano on the track “Frank Fedling“)
In the 1976 Ringsted recording sessions, several guest musicians also took part, whose contributions had been carefully planned in advance:
Skak Snitker / Trumpet (on the tracks “One Of Them Crazy Gurues In Love” and “Fulton“)
Bent Klausen / Vibraphone (on the tracks “One Of Them Crazy Gurues In Love,” “Frank Fedling,” and “Tumbling’ Shadows“)
Ernst Thomsen / Violin (on the track “…Down From The Trees“)
Read our Exclusive Interview with the band here: [Exclusive Interview] Coma: “Financial Tycoon” and the Art of Disappearing