Tasavallan Presidentl - Lambertland

[moecurlythanu]

Mine is the US release on Janus.

That's the one I have. It's much Jazzier than my tastes run, so I never sought out the title in this thread. I do have a couple solo Tolonens, though.

[Scrotum Scissor]

It's much Jazzier than my tastes run, so I never sought out the title in this thread.

Although Pekka Pöyri is safely in place with his saxappeal, Lambertland is far more of a 'prog rock' record than Milky Way Moses, coming across as a frenetic and hypercharged merger of Focus and early 70s Zappa with a snippet of instrumental Tull or Giant. The playing itself is beyond words...

[moecurlythanu]

Sounds like I should get it then. Thanks.

[Zappathustra]

a frenetic and hypercharged merger of Focus and early 70s Zappa...

Correct, as always. The guitar work at Dance, for example, is very close to the Little House I Used To Live in - the deliberate noisy rendering - and if there is a guitarist I would first associate with Tolonen!, it's Jan Akkerman, with his equally jazz/classical background, yet in-your-face virile rock approach. But only as a meeting of great spirits than any direct influence.

[Scrotum Scissor]

if there is a guitarist I would first associate with Tolonen!, it's Jan Akkerman, with his equally jazz/classical background, yet in-your-face virile rock approach. But only as a meeting of great spirits than any direct influence.

True. Whereas other would mend their spectacles while sitting intensely concentrated on their stools to perfect the impression of "the thinking man's guitar hero", players like Tolonen, Akkerman and Radim Hladek were actually trained axemen whose newfound heroes were Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Peter Green. And it ensurfaced in the very nerve and sting of tone, I think.

[Zappathustra]

True. Whereas other would mend their spectacles while sitting intensely concentrated on their stools to perfect the impression of "the thinking man's guitar hero", players like Tolonen, Akkerman and Radim Hladek were actually trained axemen whose newfound heroes were Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Peter Green. And it ensurfaced in the very nerve and sting of tone, I think.

Yes, boss. Radim is the exact other player that comes into the discussion.

[viukkis]

I understand that Eero Raittinen is actually very famous in Finland, something of a household name. I think it was in a Dave Bidini book that he was referred to as the ‘Elvis Presley’ of Finland (?!).

Eero and his brother Jussi were among the very first Finnish rock singers (they started out as a duo whose first single was released in 1960) and have been fairly well known ever since, but comparing Eero Raittinen to Elvis Presley would be somewhat exaggerated. The only really big hit he's ever had was this nice slice of baroque pop that topped the Finnish charts in 1968:



I do like his voice and think that it fits in with the music, but at times it's painfully obvious that the material on Lambertland wasn't written for his range. In particular, there's that one bit on The Bargain around the 5 1/2 minute mark where the music really starts to soar... and then his voice cracks on the highest note not just once but twice (although they do their best to hide it in the mix).

[bill g]

Yep, love this one.

[Trane]

Lamberland is from far my fave TP... and in my top 5 70's Finn prog.

Big fan, together with the early Wigwam records and the solo records of Pekka Pohjola Lambertland is one of my favourite Finnish prog records. I prefer Pembrokes singing with Wigwam so.

It's always been either TP or Wigwam, so I countered with Haikara

TBH, from Wigwam, I prefer the albums where Pohjola and Gustavsson have more to say than Pembroke, so Fairyport has clicked entirely for me... Much prefer Being.

^ For me it's a pretty close race between this one and Wigwam's Being. There are other utterly fab albums from Finland (by Pohjola, Gustavsson, Haikara, Kalevala, Nimbus, Finnforest, Fantasia and many more), but these two somehow stand out.

Raittinen's vox is somewhat less pronounced on the following Milky Way Moses, on which the material itself is generally a bit subdued in comparison with Lambertland. It's more squarely "jazz-rock", of course - but very good nonetheless.

MWM is also very OK...



But my top 3 would have Haikara's debut ahead of Lambertland and Being in third.

[yoyiceu]

True. Whereas other would mend their spectacles while sitting intensely concentrated on their stools to perfect the impression of "the thinking man's guitar hero", players like Tolonen, Akkerman and Radim Hladek were actually trained axemen whose newfound heroes were Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Peter Green. And it ensurfaced in the very nerve and sting of tone, I think.

Lots of great European classically trained guitar players in that era. To mention a few, Coste Apetrea (Swedish, Samla, frequent duet partner of Tolonen's); Vlatko Stefanoyski (Leb I Sol, Macedonia); Claus Bohling (Hurdy Gurdy, Secret Oyster, Danish)' Antymos Apostolis (SBB, Poland); Frantisek Grigglak (Fermata, Slovakia); John Teglgaard (Danish, Masala Dosa, Bifrost); Peer Frost (Danish, Young Flowers, Rainbow Band, Midnight Sun); Richard Rolf (Sweden, November); George Wadenius (Sweden, Made in Sweden, Blood Sweat and Tears).

[Scrotum Scissor]

Lots of great European classically trained guitar players in that era. To mention a few, Coste Apetrea (Swedish, Samla, frequent duet partner of Tolonen's); Vlatko Stefanoyski (Leb I Sol, Macedonia); Claus Bohling (Hurdy Gurdy, Secret Oyster, Danish)' Antymos Apostolis (SBB, Poland); Frantisek Grigglak (Fermata, Slovakia); John Teglgaard (Danish, Masala Dosa, Bifrost); Peer Frost (Danish, Young Flowers, Rainbow Band, Midnight Sun); Richard Rolf (Sweden, November); George Wadenius (Sweden, Made in Sweden, Blood Sweat and Tears).

Not to mention capacities like Francis Monkman and Max Sunyer (of Iceberg). But typically they only very rarely worked in the 'overblown' rocking-the-classics department.

[Trane]

Not to mention capacities like Francis Monkman and Max Sunyer (of Iceberg). But typically they only very rarely worked in the 'overblown' rocking-the-classics department.

To me, it seems that this "rocking the classics" was mainly a Dutch specialty: not only Trace & Ekseption, but Finch, Focus and Flairck (and others I forget as I write) were never far away from it either.

Sky (and Monkman) were the main non-Dutch example of this RtC thingie.

[Scrotum Scissor]

this "rocking the classics" was mainly a Dutch specialty: not only Trace & Ekseption, but Finch, Focus and Flairck

Well, to be honest there's a clear distance between the bigband/swinghall (but arguably intentional) kitsch of Ekseption's formula to the attack of Finch and Focus in their rawer gusto. Monkman, I think, wrote some of the more refined 'scholarly' works in rock outside of Tim Hodgkinson, Zappa, Lindsay Cooper, Robert John Godfrey, Richard Harvey, Zaboitzeff and Kerry Minnear. "Piece of Mind" and "Over and Above" are really advanced (and glorious!) for their day and age.