Wigwam "Grass for Blades"

[bfd]

Stumbled across this excellent early to mid 70's TV performance by (mostly) Finnish prog band Wigwam....worth giving a look.

[Bruno Sampaio Barbosa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3TdTsZ3yVI

[IncogNeato]

This band is a fairly recent discovery for me. Cool to see this footage.

[Progbear]

Stumbled across this excellent early to mid 70's TV performance by (mostly) Finnish prog band Wigwam....worth giving a look.

From the brief window where Hessu "Pedro" Hietanen was the band's keyboardist.

This was from the test pressing version of Dark Album which was entitled Daemon Duncetan's Request, which was rejected by Virgin. It's come to be considered a classic, understandably so.

[mozo-pg]

Thanks for posting the first video. It's really nice.

[yesstiles]

I consider their 1973 album Being to be the best prog album ever from a non-English speaking country. It’s sublime.

[Kai]

From the brief window where Hessu "Pedro" Hietanen was the band's keyboardist.

This was from the test pressing version of Dark Album which was entitled Daemon Duncetan's Request, which was rejected by Virgin. It's come to be considered a classic, understandably so.

Not that brief, actually. He joined in May 1975, after Esa Kotilainen, who had played keyboards on Nuclear Nightclub, didn't care for the touring band life. He was in the band until October 1977, by which time they were already starting to fall apart, and played on both Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose and the original tracks for Daemon Duncetan's Request.

"Grass for Blades" had already been recorded in studio for Pembroke's solo album Wicked Ivory, but it was a much shorter version with none of the solos (actually, the tape ran out, which is why that version ends really abrubtly). It was a live favourite and a version had already been released Live Music from the Twilight Zone. I think they wanted a definitive band studio version with the later, "deep pop" lineup, or they were short of material.

Anyway, that live in the studio video is well-known in Finland. An excerpt from it is usually featured in any programme or documentary about Wigwam or 70s progressive rock.