Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
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“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
I agree. Lucky Golden Stripes is darker and more cumbersome and was also much harder to make than the venerated hit album Nuclear Nightclub, but it has always appealed to me more. Dark Album has some of the pop-Wigwam's best tunes. It is patchier partly because the group had to rework it heavily, after the original version Daemon Duncetan's Request was not deemed up to scratch.
If you track down the remainder of "Daemon Duncetan"s Request" (various bonus tracks and sources) and put it back together, you realize what a shame it wasn't released... solid LP with a nice flowing feel rather than the patchyness of the "Dark Album"
Tracklist "Daemon Duncetan"s Request"
A1 The Big Farewell *
A2 Horace's Aborted Rip-Off Scheme *
A3 Cheap Evening Return *
B1 The Vegetable Rumble *
B2 Grass For Blades
B3 Turn Stone To Bread aka Daemon Duncetan"s Request
* all these tracks were moved to the Dark Album and were remixed and/or rerecorded
tracks added to "Dark Album"
Oh Marlene!
The Item Is The Totem
The Silver Jubilee
Helsinki Nights
Last edited by Kanukisbrave; 02-10-2016 at 12:34 PM.
"Angels die, redemption rages
The age of man on an empty page
And chances are
This will save your soul or break it forever "
Have fun with genre semantics.
The important distinction is that, after Pembroke became the leader, the band changed direction quite a bit. Calling it "Pop Rock" works for me. I'd probably call ABBA just "Pop." But, tbh, I don't really give a fuck. If there is a "vocally fusion" genre that some feel better describes this period, then alright.
For me they were prog...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBRssEnlOEk
with a bit a funk...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc8Y0mbvdUk
and beatlesque touch...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZnwHeSnOJc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iGP5bIjyIc
with a healthy dose of brass rock inspired by Spencer Davis Group...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKR8nmp1d0k
and hard-rock guitar riffing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA_1BA2MrBI
I never liked that version of "Grass For Blades", mainly because of Pedro Hietanen's ugly Odyssey sound.
The original version was accidentally released when "Dark Album was reissued on vinyl in the mid-eighties. When the error was noticed it was withdrawn but there's about 200 copies on circulation.
I also vote for Pekka Rechardt as one of my favorite guitarists: his cool arpeggiated chording practically defines the later Wigwam sound and his soloing is always measured and elegant, but full of feeling, as if he's composing it on the spot, not just playing scales. Reminds me of what Steve Vai once said about Zappa: he's still as musical and composed at the end of an eight minute solo as he is at the beginning, while most rock guitarists would be jumping and playing faster and louder, aiming for a big climax. Pekka's playing in the video of Grass for Blades live in the studio is astounding.
^ ^
As Ben Monder said when I finally saw him play and I said 'hi' to him afterwards and told him that I was a bit fan of his work,
"Oh! So you're the guy..."
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/w...#ixzz3zp8PGBX9
Grass For Blades
Atomic man, embossed on hues of
Money greens that swell and ooze, will
Scratch his chin as if to muse that
All this winning meant to lose
Though he slaved and hate his dues
Here he was, no time to choose
A way to change and try to fuse him-
self into the waiting queues of
those still hoping for some news
about anything
"Attack you fools!" the captain bawls
"I will have your heads upon my walls!" so
Rows of heroes crouch to crawls, bomb
Bamboo huts and village halls, smash
Ping-pong bats with cannon balls, as
Ali-Baba's sheiks and sauls
they Debag Goliath as he falls
and the Statue Of Liberty climbs and mauls
everything
"Champagne for the heroe whore
And watch your step man in all that gore
But not too much, he'll scream for more"
El pres. advices from the door
"For though he's filled from skin to core
It's not enough he'll whine for sure, so
Say it's we who keep the score, and
nail him back upon the floor, yeh"
So there he works, still at large
Behind his smiles and his camouflage
Of nice white coats and college grades that
Hide blue suits with golden braids
And though I hope that smell just fades
It does not go but leads to raids on
Bamboo huts in the country glades
Where the people use the grass for blades, ain't that something
Stuff touched on or hinted at in this thread that I second, or agree with or whatever:
Pembroke's last album (If the Rain Comes) is really good. Surprisingly so, once you get past the first, rather low-key track. On the whole, it has more of Pembroke's quirky, edgy side and less of his straight-ahead, rootsy tendencies. And that is a good thing. IMO it's comfortably better than Wigwam's Light Ages, way, way better than Titan's Wheel, and probably a shade better than Some Several Moons too.
Rechardt's Snakecharm from 2007 was also quite nice. His guitar work had been a bit too muted on the reformed Wigwam albums, but that wasn't a problem on Snakecharm.
And Pembroke is sorely undervalued as a lyricist.
I also like the darker, more cynical LGS&S just as much (and sometimes a bit more) than the lighter Nuclear Nightclub. The two are yin and yang. Both excellent.
Dark Album is very different but also really good and it sucked that Wigwam essentially faded away afterwards.
I'm glad that they re-formed in the 90s and 2000s and would love to see them make another rekkid. Not holding my breath though.
Jukka Tolonen is wonderful. So was Tasavallan Presidentti.
What I have from Pohola and Gustavson is, on the whole, excellent and sometimes fantastic. ...jaloa ylpeyttä yletän... ylevää nöyryyttä nousen is great but I really love Valon Vuoski. Wonderful, meditative and indulgent, like only good progressive music can be.
Pohola's music was consistent and often brilliant, from Pihkasilmä kaarnakorva up through Views. It's also really funny how many different ways Keesojen lehto was released. Was it a Pohola album, or a Mike Oldfield album? Depends on the version you have, I guess. But if I had to cite a gun-to-my-head favorite Pohola rekkid I just might say Space Waltz.
It's sad that Ronnie Osterberg died, especially so young. He went virtually unnoticed, but how many drummers could have so successfully navigated as many distinctively talented composers and strong musical personalities?
Hired on to work for Mr. Bill Cox, a-fixin' lawn mowers and what-not, since 1964.
"Arguing with an idiot is like playing chess with a pigeon. It'll just knock over all the pieces, shit on the board, and strut about like it's won anyway." Anonymous
“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” George Carlin
Yes, I would concur. But that's what you get with music academy buffs who fall to the temptations of 60s Dionysian values and simply freak out accordingly. I think one of the basic reasons why Tasavallan and Wigwam became so remarkably distinctive was that they essentially worked out from a 'first principle'; rather than wanting to "sound like" any given other artist, they built on ground influences to carve out their very own - thus landing on the same Level as some of the names they are usually compared with.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Although I'm familiar with many of Tolonen's solo records, I still need to buy most of them. Maybe in my next trip to Scandinavia I'm able to find them somewhere. I remember buying Pohjola's second and third records on Digelius in Helsinki, I wonder if they are still in the business.
Regarding Tasavallan, I only own Lambertland, which is great. Do they have anything as strong as this?
Based on the recommendations on this thread, I've just ordered Dark Album. Thanks.
Not really, although their second album (simply called Tasavallan Presidentti from late 1970) and Milky Way Moses (1974) are both solid. The former is more of a brassy yet guitar-heavy 'proto-prog' kind of affair, while Moses follows on the heels of Lambert Land but lacks the possessed energy and blunt display of virtuosity found there. I don't think the melodic material is quite as strong either. But still worth hearing!
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Digelius is still going strong. There's also Record Shop X that ships worldwide and has loads of Finnish prog CDs available in mid-price.
IMO Lambertland is easily the best Tasavallan Presidentti album, but the follow-up album Milky Way Moses is quite good too, although a bit patchier and feels a little padded out at times. The title track is nevertheless as good as anything on Lambertland. The first two albums are more proto-proggy with a different singer and obvious blues influence, a bit in the vein of Traffic or early Jethro Tull. I like them too, but not for the same reasons as Lambertland.
^ what he says.
Tolonens soloalbums - the first is my favorite, later on he gets more and more jazzfusionmainstream and the Finnish folk elements disappears.
There is some good acoustic albums later on.
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