KINGSTON WALL I

This debut album of legendary Kingston Wall brought attention for both progressive and psychedelic music in Finnish media, as the band was quite successful and popular here. Though the main drive is on quite basic vintage hard rock orientation, the referred more underground tones are also certainly present, thus giving a pleasant surprise for band of such characteristics gaining fame in a land dominated by playlists and pop. Gigs on big rock festivals are possibly one promoting factor, but the fine quality of songs like "With My Mind", "Used to Feel Before" and "Waste of Time" redeem the expectations even without promotions with psych oriented guitar solos and catchy verses. "Nepal" dives further to surreal spheres reaching over eight minutes duration, its main rock passage rising from an Indian-oriented walls of sound, and then diving to waves of laid back parts with Hawkind reminding tones coloring the background.

I'm bit troubled by the cover version of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire", I guess the original version from The Experience is bit too sacred for me. This version is still quite good, being very similar to the original song, except that there is a small reggae arrangement at the end of it, which works well. The band also played this on their gigs along with the other tunes of the innovating guitar master. The biggest entity on the disc is "Mushrooms", which is over 21 min long epic. This fungus composition is built up from separate tracks, so the listener could navigate the different parts easily. There are some tighter rockier parts with singing, and long psychedelic instrumental jams. The beginning is promising, but I got bit bored during the fourth and fifth parts.

The Zen Garden re-issue of this album has a small bonus CD on it, which has a live recording from their gig at Marathon, Helsinki 1991. The sound quality is decent, but the singing isn't very audible. I also fear there are some edits (in and out fades) in it; For example the shift from the ethnic sound wall of "Freak-Out Intro" and the following Hendrix cover "Purple Haze" sounds unnatural. Other covers here are J.J.Cale's "Call Me The Breeze", Lennon/McCartney composition "Rocky Raccoon" and "Western Plain. To be frank, I felt these sounded quite repulsive redneck songs, and the good players didn't save them. Possibly the experience of these performings might have felt different from the audience, these expressions limited now only to their documents heard from the home stereo. And it is of course interesting to hear this band's live performances, as in my opinion they did their stuff more successfully on stage than at the studio. But I wouldn't recommend hunting the re-issue CDs just because of these bonus tracks.

I think there is much potential on this album, and I do not object it's meaning as an historical record for Finnish music scene. But to be honest, this album never grew very important for myself, and I never got much inspiration for listening to it. Most of the fine songs on this album worked better on their triple live CD in my opinion.

This is a good debut and shows lots of Petri Walli's potential. There are interesting songs here, like Waste of Time and Nepal. But not all the songs are that great. Anyway this is an album worth buying. 3,5 stars.

Kinston Wall's debut is one of the finest debuts I've heard. It contains wonderful material and a little weaker material.

With the best songs "With My Mind", "Waste Of Time", "Fire", "Nepal", and some parts of the epic "Mushrooms"; you can't go wrong. The rest of the songs are bit acquired taste. "Used To Feel Before is a nice rocker but nothing really ultraspecial.

This is still a must have If you have II or Tri-Logy, OR you can start with this one, since this contains fulltime KW sound with the best songs! An excellent addition to any prog collection!

Now, Kingston wall deput. I must say that i really dig this stuff. It just Grooves so Well!! Well ok number 8. track Tanya is little bit slow and depressive. But that brings nicely some caracter. This album is kind of that I found myself listening to it very intensively at time to time. And then on the other hand it can be hidden underneeth dust for months and months, go figure. But as a hole there are so few things in this album wich I don't like.

So I recomend this to anybody who is interested at good psykedelic rock wich grooves!!

KW's debut album is their most accessible one. It is very easy to get into and understand, not to take anything away from the music itself. Here the Led Zeppelin/Jimi Hendrix influences are most visible (especially since there is a cover of 'Fire' included) but the playing stays progressive throughout. The album opener "With My Mind" has become a personal favorite of mine, accompanied by such tracks as "Used To Feel Before" and the beautifully moody "Waste Of Time". The rest of the album is evenly good as well, capped off by the 20+ minute "Mushrooms" epic which is split into 8 parts. The whole album has a light 'feel good'-vibe from start to finish, occasionally dipping into the deep and spiritual side.

There is something very mystical about the whole being of Kingston Wall. I believe this can be life changing music, all you really have to do is pay attention. The lyrics seem to have something infinitely wise in them and the playing is top-notch or dare I say, awe- inspiring. All 3 of Kingston Wall's albums are essential but their sound and music would soar to even greater heights later on.

The adventure begins.

Sinkadotentree, one of my many prog gurus at this site, turned me on to KW's buzz a while back, wisely guiding me towards the excellent 2nd album first. Now I think I know why. The first KW album is an exercise in patience, often boring, long-winded, sometimes like nails-on-a-chalkboard frustration to this listener.

First up, the difference in the songwriting quality between KW1 and KW2 is striking. Whereas 2 had some elegant, haunting, perfectly crafted pieces of jamming bliss, KW1 lacks maturity and quite often any discernible focus. To make a comparison to Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band not so far from the KW universe: If KW2 is spiritually comparable to Blood Sugar Sex Magic, then KW1 would probably be The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. I'm not saying I mind craziness, youthful exuberance, or even all out musical debauchery.hell, I love it.if it works. On Kingston Wall-1 it doesn't work for the most part. There are flashes of the juicy steak that will follow on the next album but expect to have your endurance tested to find them. My favorite part of this album is listening to the gonzo-ass skins beating of Sami Kuoppamaki, one of thee finest jam-band drummers you will ever hear. But the songs aren't there and frankly it is Petri who has not caught up with Sami and Jukka at this point. "With My Mind" starts the album in hangover mode as the band sounds a bit lethargic and bleak. Even bassist Jukka complains about lame cover of Hendrix's Fire. Petri was sadly wasting no time dropping the lyrical hints this early of the state of his mind, which would eventually cost him his life. Here he sings "I've got this bad taste in my mouth and in my soul.some kind of tribulation strangles my mind.it makes me wonder do I have much more time." By the time we get to "Waste of Time" and "Nepal" the band has woken up and peaked. Expect some breathtaking fills from Sami and occasional flashes of soul from Petri, but if you compare the best moments here side by side with the next album I think you'll see my point. And that leads us to the 21 minute 8-part super epic "Mushrooms." Close to the Edge it is not. If you can make it through part 7 "More Mushrooms" and get to part 8 "The Answer" you will enjoy one of the album's finer moments, a heavy yet peaceful climax before the fade-out again hinting at better things to come.

I strongly, I repeat, strongly suggest you begin your Kingston Wall adventure with their 2nd album. Depending on the degree of your appreciation for that one, you will know if you need to backtrack to their garage days for KW1, proceed to the "Maharishi moment" of their final album, or stop altogether. Two stars isn't meant as disrespect for the late Mr. Walli, but as my sincere feeling that despite good moments this is not a good album and that it is mostly "for the fans." 2 1/2 stars.

Back in the early 90's it was hard to keep track of all the bands that tried to find rock stardom by following in Jane's Addiction's footsteps. That band had paved the way towards a renewed interest in 70's heavy psych progressive jamming and they inspired many bands to rock out again and fire up the old psych vibe with flashy funky playing and heavy bouncing rock beats.

While pleasant, Kingston Wall's debut lacks the songwriting necessary to make things memorable. In fact, the adoration of Led Zeppelin is so high that they almost sound like a tribute band, not dissimilar from those German heavy rockers of Kingdome Come, be it with a more psychedelic edge.

And when that psychedelic elements take the fore, we're facing quite an enjoyable band that welcomes more influences then just Led Zeppelin. Standout tracks would be Waste of Time, Nepal and I Hear You Call, which was my introduction to the band back in 92. Also Tanya maintains the Eastern-tinged mood nicely, but then the overambitious Mushroom destroys the momentum of the album.

A worthy debut but with too few outstanding moments to keep my interest going. In fact, before SinkaMellotronDotenStormTree reminded me about this band's second album, I hadn't listened to this since 93.

As the cover art expresses the Eastern influence is very strong on this album (and other Kingston Wall albums as well). The music can be categorized as psychedelic progressive rock and has influences from Zeppelin, Hawkwind, Hendrix, and some Pink Floyd can be heard as well. Still I think the overall sound and atmosphere is very unique, created mostly by shamanic and intense guitarwork of Petri Walli and decorative, improvisational drumming of Sami Kuoppamäki. The actual songs are not as interesting, they're more like frames for the exceptional playing and psychedelia. Which doesn't mean that the album would be only to show off their skills - it is a very good psychedelic rock album to dive into.

The best songs of the album are "With My Mind", Hendrix-cover "Fire", "Waste of Time" and "Nepal". Also the trippy and a bit silly Mushrooms-suite is worth mentioning, though it's not very strong as a whole. It seems that Kingston Wall is at their best in long, epic songs with much room to improvise. The vocal melodies are not particularly good, maybe due to Petri Walli's limited singing skills. Still they work well enough at least in the aforementioned four songs.

A very promising debut album and is not much weaker than their best work, (the next album: "II").

This band cannot be ignored when dealing with the history of Finnish prog, as they were very popular and also some kind of pioneers in the early nineties, after the entire extremely anti- prog decade (if you thought prog was a rude word in Britain in the 80's, you should have seen what was it like in Finland!). After releasing a trilogy of albums the band came to a tragic end as their leader Petri Walli committed suicide by jumping down from a church tower (BTW, his biography was released this spring, only in Finnish, of course).

Anyway, this debut is quite single-mindedly considered as their least important album by prog listeners. There's an unquestionable psychedelic vibe especially in the 8-part suite 'Mushrooms', but this music is primarily HARD rock with a breathtaking drive and virtuotic intensity. KW were a power trio of guitarist-vocalist Walli, bassist Jukka Jylli and drummer Sami Kuoppamäki. The guitar style is fierce, descending from Jimi Hendrix and heavy rock legends and soaked in trippy psychedelia, and the rhythm section is equally sharp and powerful.

The world of hard rock - especially the Finnish one - has never been close to me. So it's no surprise that I am left mostly untouched by this album. But I really can't deny the extreme power in it. Approximately after the four earliest tracks, which are fast and rather similar to each other ('Fire' being a Hendrix cover), the psychedelic flavour starts to affect the listener. Nearly 9- minute 'Nepal' is effective, clearly one of the highlights. 'And I Hear You Call' has some Oriental (Turkish/Arabian) kind of melodies at first, like occasionally throughout the album, but hardly as much as the cover art would suggest.

It's the 21-minute 'Mushrooms' suite that crowns this hour-long album. What is perhaps lost in the adrenalin power, is gained in the depth of a proggier, epic-like songwriting. But don't expect too much of it, in fact here and there it feels a bit lost and pointlessly stretched. Speaking of the whole album, if this site was about hard rock instead of prog rock, I might give one star more.

3.5 stars

KINGSTON WALL's debut album shows a band in search of its identity. On the basis of 70's hard rock, like LED ZEPPELIN, the music incorporates middle-eastern and psychedelic / space rock touches. This first opus is the least progressive of the finnishs. It already contains some original elements, but they still need to be matured.

The seventies' hard rock "With My Mind" is an efficient opener. It has a cool psychedelic guitar solo but you can also hear grunge touches in it, proving that the finnishs brought something new to scene. "Used to Feel Before" is a direct poppy rocky song, while "I'm Not the One" is rather average and loud. The cover of JIMI HENDRIX's "Fire" is not bad but does not bring much novelty. It just makes you want to listen to the original version. The proggy "Waste of Time" is a varied but unequal song, with a chaotic psychedelic guitar solo.

The middle-eastern-ish melodies are more present on the second half of the disc. God examples are the nice and energic "And I Hear You Call" and "Nepal", they sometimes remind late 70's HAWKWIND, whereas the instrumental "Tanya" is slower. The 21 minutes "Mushrooms" is the most progressive passage of the record. Not very structured, this composition is rather a collage of various songs with different ambiances: mysterious, grunge, psychedelic rock in the style of GONG or freak 'n'roll jam. Lacking consistency, this suite is a bit odd and too long.

The middle-eastern theme suggested by the cover art is only half-respected (or maybe it's fully respected after all, because it pictures musicians just arriving to an unknown land on a magic carpet). However, despite a musical identity not enough matured, this first effort is refreshing and very promising. Needless to say that, during the early 90's and the explosion of grunge, rap and techno, it was not an easy task for a young band playing this type of music to emerge. That's a pity, because KINGSTON WALL is an underrated and lesser-known formation.

This album is definitely not the one to start with, but is nonetheless recommended to space and 70's hard rock fans.

I personally rate Kingston Wall I as a momentous debut album, with its simplicity, raw energy, and naivety.

It has all the right ingredients, from a wonderful opening track, 'With My Mind', to a wild and groovy 2nd track 'Used to Feel Before'.

The 3rd track 'I'm Not the One' is a classic rock riff which leads in to a great cover of Hendrix's 'Fire'.

The 5th track takes us up an emotional notch and we begin to see the inner workings of KW and Petri Walli, again, loud, and epic. A lot more to this song than meets the ear, as most of the songs on this album.

The 6th track Nepal leads us through a bazarre and into something special and deep and flowing and almost heart breaking.

The 7th track 'And I Hear You Call' remains on the same eastern theme with a complex turn-around and intricate drumming sequences.

The 8th track 'Tanya' explores the mind and soul and a small reprieve until we get to the 9th track "Prelude' which moves into one of the best songs on the album, 'On My Own'.

'On My Own' is the last regular track on the album, as if saying well ok you got the point now we're gonna do what we want for the remainder of the album.

The 11th track 'The Weep' is the end of the prelude portion and into the most psycadelic portions of the album followed by the aptly names "Mushrooms'.

The 13th track 'Circumstances' is fun track and has a nice grove going.

The 14th track "Captain Relief' continues the whacked out and the crazy, with superb use of the Wah and control of the flow and movement of the feel of the song.

Track 15 'More Mushrooms' is a a a flashback to the 12th track "Mushrooms.

The last track 'The Answer' sums up what is an exciting journey of an album and a wild experience.

What is so good about this album is that it gets better the more you listen to it. If you get a chance to drive for an hour on a long journey, turn up the volume, give up your preconceptions and enjoy the ride.

I highly recommend this album and for being a first album is extremely accomplished and well produced.

The debut album one of Finland's major gifts to rock music: guitarist extraordinaire Petri Walli (the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix!) and his band KINSTON WALL.

1. "With My Mind" (4:39) nice wall of sound but the vocals feel lacking in authentic enthusiasm. Even some impressive lead guitar wah-pedal soloing can't really make up for the dullness of the rest of the song. (8.25/10)

2. "Used to Feel Before" (4:02) very bluesy, HENDRIX-like foundation for a rockin' song. Perhaps this is the song that planted the "the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix" seed in my brain--(though not the chorus). Definitely a late 60s blues-rock vibe going on here--Zeppelin or maybe even a little Black Sabbath; no, definitely Hendrix. (8.5/10)

3. "I'm Not the One" (3:43) another Hendrix-like tune with a BEASTIE BOYS-style choral vocal delivery. The guitar playing is smokin' hot but nothing really new or innovative--until the third minute when echo-guitar is accompanied by background crowd chatter noises. I wonder if Omar Rodriguez-Lopez ever heard Petri or the Wall's music before they formed The Mars Volta. (8.5/10)

4. "Fire" (2:58) an actual Hendrix cover! Petri does not (yet) have the vocal capacity to pull off a Hendrix song but in the guitar department he is making it his own! (8.5/10)

5. "Waste of Time" (6:26) again, the blues-rock bands of the 60s immediately come to mind--those bands who were exploring the loud, proto-"metal" sounds and styles at that time. Even the melodies feel and sound like that old era (Bowie, Spirit). The wild fourth and fifth minutes display the first exposition of the Wall's all-out, no-holds-barred excellence! This is rock excellent--the future of Kingston Wall! The band is playing so tight--as one! (8.75/10)

6. "Nepal" (8:37) a long intro of wah-pedal electric guitar soloing and crashing cymbals open the first 90 seconds of this before a structured song is actually established--one that is much more sedate and smooth that the opening would seem to indicate. Cool bird sounds coming from a second track of Petri's guitar. Again, the band feels pretty tight, pretty jazzed up--as if the album's first four songs were just warmups and now they're really fully engaged, fully entrained--though not quite as tight as the second half of that previous song. Petri is in the zone--going off into the cosmos--until surprisingly relinquishing the lead to the bass player. I love the psychedelia shouts and cryptic phrases in the background--and then he steps to the fore again--this time urging the bass and drum players to flash and shine at the same time. A little THIN LIZZY-like multi-instrumental regurgitation of the main melody before everybody crashes to the finish. (17.5/20)

7. "And I Hear You Call" (4:55) a decent song with an odd almost Caribbean feel to the rhythm tracks, yet the melodies feel almost Greek, while Petri's guitar showmanship pushes over the edge into new territories. (8.5/10)

8. "Tanya (3:51) slow-picked echoed and distorted electric guitar notes open this. Bass notes, drum hits, and background reverbed scream/wails join in. A very bluesy, JEFF BECK-like song--an instrumental with a BEATLES-like melody line--that seems to sing a tale of woe and tribulation. (8.25/10)

- "Mushrooms" (21:09) (34.5/40): 9. I - Prelude (1:18) - intentionally strummed guitar chords and cymbal play support Petri's wailing-echoed guitar play. (4.25/5) 10. II - On My Own (6:50) - steady rumba beat over which Petri sings in a URIAH HEEP-like melody about wasting time. Great chorus. Great song that could have been even better with better background vocals and more "in the pocket" drumming. I like the bass player exploring his own trajectory while Petri solos in the fourth minute. Then there is an odd shift into a space-dreamy sequence of effects and musical waves rising and falling (which feels as if it should have been designated with its own sub-title), but then we return to the "I wanna be" chorus for the final minute. (13.25/15) 11. III - The Weep (2:01) - gentle guitar and cymbal play over which two very odd vocal tracks compete for dominance: one that is wailing, almost crying, the other that is like an indecipherable squawk coming from a PA system voice. Interesting dichotomy. (8.25/5) 12. IV - Mushrooms (3:04) - a return to the Beastie Boys form of singing over staccato syncopated music eventually smooths and flattens out for the poppy chorus. There is absolutely no pop, no fluff, in Petri's ensuing guitar solo, though: this is all rock at it's Alvin Lee/Ronnie Montrose kickin' tops. (9/10) 13. V - Circumstances (2:18) - similar rhythm as the previous section with pseudo-Islamic chant-wailing over the top--accompanied by wild sax play (that sounds like it came from Vietnam or Mecca). Protends of Koenji Hyakkei? (4.5/5) 14. VI - Captain Relief (2:15) back to Western rock--Petri let's loose and he is on fire! Even when the band quiets down, Petri's solo is psychedelic majesty! (4.5/5) 15. VII - More Mushrooms (2:07) a conversation between two druggies gives way to the Beastie Boys theme and choral vocals of the previous "Mushrooms" section. Here Petri plays a bottleneck/slide for the lead, until ? (4.25/5) 16. VIII - The Answer (1:16) an awesome sonic landscape to finish with. (4.5/5)

Total Time: 60:20

Plenty of flashes of the rise to virtuosic levels of instrument mastery are on display here--but they aren't quite there yet--even Petri has some growing to do (unbelievably). But the power and walls of sound are there--definitely there. An excellent album of late-60s sounding psychedelic blues rock.

B/four stars; an very good addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you like A) Hendrix, B) hard driving psychedelic rock, and/or C) later Petri Walli/Kingston Wall albums.

Kingston Wall's debut one of my all-time favourite prog albums ever made, and since I am still young I will no doubt look back on it as a huge part of my teenage years, singing the guitar solos to Nepal in the shower or giving myself head pain for days after headbanging to And I Hear You Call. There is an identifying sound to the whole album (like Walli's guitar tones, the echoes often heard on the drums, and the loose, jamming feel to most of the songs) which is unlike anything I've heard on any other albums. The first time I listened to it, I was so enthralled that I listened to their other two excellent albums in a row right after. The band had already existed in some form for 5 years before the album was made and bassist Jukka Jylli said in an interview that this album was more like a collection of material they had made during that time because of the huge differences in "newness" of some of the songs.

With My Mind - Has the highest quality lyrical content on the album. Opens with a fantastic, slow riff before launching into some very psychedelic verses and slightly poignant choruses. Pete creates quite a catchy riff in the second half of his solo. Perfect song for an opener.

Used To Feel Before - The energy picks up in track 2. An short upbeat rocker with catchy chord progressions that almost disguise themselves as riffs. Walli cries about his love gone wrong in the verses but becomes a lot happier in the much catchier choruses. This song *was* my favourite on the album after the first few listens, so it's probably the most accessible number. The second half of the instrumental section has Pete really going for it on the wah pedal.

I'm Not The One - This song really is the first introduction to Pete's excellent guitar solo writing skills and the album's psychedelia. The lyrics are minimal and shouted, sandwiched between blocks of the song's main riff. Then, once the riff has been played enough times, Walli's solo begins only 1/3rd of the way through the runtime. The first section of it remains faithful to the groove they had in the first part of the song, but once they slow down at 2:10 it turns into one of this album's best moments. Indesipherable chatter occurs in the background while Pete plays a little trippy melody, and then they launch into an interstellar riff section lasting only 15 seconds.

Fire - Not much to say for this cover, but the reggae breakdown that introduces the 3rd verse is very well arranged. Jylli said in an interview that he hated this song. Walli's solos feel more like noodling on a couple of notes rather than well written melodies.

Waste Of Time - Another piece with some nice lyrics, in the same vein as With My Mind. It's not amazing; the choruses drag on a bit and are quite slow. Also, once the verses and first two choruses are over, the bulk of the 2 and a half minute instrumental section is awful. It's just alternating between whispers of "it's just a waste of time" and some unimaginitive wah-ing on the guitar. The drumming is intense though. I guess this is the "immaturity" that many other reviews say is too frequent on the album. The very loud ending is great though, and works as a segue to the infinetely better track 6.

Nepal - My top song on the album. Opens with a key change, signalling a departure from WOT's dragginess. The first minute and a half is a noisy psychedelic jam, almost like a warm up for the musicians. The song's main riff is beautiful. The lyrics are few and don't really make any sense, but I enjoy that. The guitar-made bird noises Walli dubbed over the song give it an even more interesting texture. Walli's solos last upwards of 3 minutes. His first one introduces the Eastern themes he picked up on trips to India, and they are incredibly well written and make use of effect pedals excellently rather than just stepping on it on every note. After a good amount of listens, they become catchy and singable. Solo duties are passed over to Jylli during a break, which Walli starts quietly riffing over. Some chatter similar to that in I'm Not The One begins, which gives me goosebumps, preceding the intense second half of the guitar solo, which is just as well put together as the first. The song crashes down into another chorus and then ends with yet another new riff. Nepal is a phenomenal composition. According to Bassist Jylli in an interview, the band had already finished this song in 1989, three years before its release. This may be why it's so good as they had so much time to make improvements to it. The song title is probably an attempt to be like Led Zeppelin (with their song Kashmir, which is geographically close to Nepal).

And I Hear You Call - This one adds to the eastern themes and psychedelia; the lyrics tell a story of someone who presumably experiences auditory hallucinations after taking psychedelics. This is another favourite and is very danceable especially during the chorus. It's interesting how they don't go back into it after the solo. There's a very tight breakdown at 3:24.

Tanya - A instrumental for Pete's girlfriend at the time. It's pretty, but I don't listen to it unless I'm listening to the whole album.

Now, that's about 40 minutes! Now would be a nice time to end the album since there won't be any space left on the record. Nuh uh. This is the 90s and CDs have been invented, so such barriers are things of the past.

Mushrooms - A monster phenomenal suite of 8 extremely trippy pieces. I love spacing out to this one. Prelude - is exactly what the title says. Interestingly, I was watching a KW concert on youtube from a few years before 1992 and found out this song used to have lyrics that went like "Mushrooms! It makes you feel good!". They were very cringy and I'm glad they didn't keep using them. On My Own - is the only one that is a full song. I really like the way the pleasant riffs are written around the chords, which are really interesting. Also, during the verses, the song is in C# major, while Walli sings in the minor of the key. Something makes me wonder how they knew it would work. The instrumental that follows the second chorus is unique in that the drums slowly increase in volume so by the end its really quite intense but when it begins it's rather ambient. The live version on Real Live Thing introduces more phrases to the solo parts, and vastly overhauls the other instrumental section afterwards. Oh, also, the drum fill that introduces the final chorus is weirdly catchy for something that isn't even a melody. The Weep - Very strange vocals. There's a guy who sounds like he's mumbling in a huge hall through a loudspeaker and Walli weeps melodically over it. It's nice. Mushrooms - A song about drugs. I love the "da da ba ba" parts; they are very catchy and the bassline creates a really neat countermelody. The guitar solo at the end is insane! Especially the short riff at 2:25. Almost works as its own song. Circumstances - I [%*!#]in love this one. Walli repeats some groovy riffs while a backing track full of screaming and shouting plays in the foreground, with some hilarious lines that take close listening to decipher (for example, "WHAT does it all MEAN?", some vomiting noises and what sounds like a shopkeeper shouting anger while pursuing a thief!). The wind instrument in the second half makes it incredibly trippy. (This song is my alarm clock). Captain Relief - The first 45 seconds is my favourite moment on the Mushrooms suite. A very groovy chord progression opens it after a minute of bonkersness from the previous track and the funny instrument from Circumstances hangs around for a bit too. The solo is like a reprise of one of the ones on I'm Not The One. The second half slows down, and honestly I think it should've been separated in the middle (conceived as a different section). It's fun and trippy. More Mushrooms - A funny sketch between two gasping stoners. I love how Walli, who is the band's lead singer, admits to not being able to sing. Then it's an explosive reprise of Mushrooms. The Answer - A deceptively simple melody. Wish it had a proper ending instead of just fading out. But it's a good way to end the suite. 4.5 - Waste of Time sadly brings it down from being a perfect album for me.

One of Finland's most enduring psychedelic acid rock revivalists surely has to be the Helsinki spawned KINGSTON WALL which never really made an impact outside of its homeland during its seven year existence but has become somewhat of a cult legend since the advent of the internet which has brought posthumous fame and glory to many once occulted acts in the murky shadows of the musical underground. This band was formed as far back as 1987 by vocalist / guitarist Petri Walli and bassist Jukka Jylli with drummer Petteri Ståhl soon joining but while the two original members were firmly committed to their new band project that was originally named Moonshine Makers, they had a hard time keeping the drummer engaged.

After Ståhl jumped ship and a short stint with Timo Joutsimäki, the band would finally find resolution with drummer Sami Kuoppamäki who would play on all three of the band's album before the unfortunate suicide of Petri Walli abruptly ended the band. While supposedly named after a mental hospital in England, KINGSTON WALL started playing live in 1988 and became an immediate hit with its acid rock intensity that mixed its 60s heavy psych nostalgia with a hard rock intensity and a modern psychedelic infusion of trippy sound effects delivered by the guitar. After an extensive touring schedule and a relentless pursuit to find an album label, the band eventually recorded its first self-titled release (later known as KINGSTON WALL I) on its own Trinity label but soon found a new home on the Zero label.

The heaviest and most raw of the band's three albums, this debut featured heavy hitting tracks with energetic guitar riffing, Hendrix inspired soloing and even offered a feisty punkish version of "Fire" that displayed Walli's over-the-top vocal wallop that fits more into the camp of Midwest Emo than it does anything in the world of psychedelic rock. KINGSTON WALL sort of straddled that line between the psychedelic revival scene in the heavier arenas of acid rock but also offered a taste of early indie rock in its DIY garage rock nonchalantness of delivering tight yet raw tracks that eschewed any keyboards or other sampled effects. All the trippy effects are performed on the guitar. The band also added an exotic flair with Middle Eastern musical scales and the Egyptian horn used most prominently on tracks like "And I Hear You Call" and Mushrooms." And with "Tanya" actually slows things down to deliver something that could qualify as Pink Floyd influenced.

While considered a progressive rock band, KINGSTON WALL's debut doesn't feel as such for the most part as it mostly comes off as an above average garage band with lots of youthful pent up angst oozing from its feisty guitar, bass and drum combo assault but the album shifts gears on the closing "Mushrooms" which is basically a suite of eight movements although they are separated into individual tracks and finally delivers what many would call progressive rock. With all lyrics sung in English, KINGSTON WALL's cult appeal isn't surprising as the band's hard driving instrumental approach that mixed Hendrix and Zeppelin along with Floydian space rock moments coupled with the themes of mysticism and concepts from Eastern religions is a rather unique approach considering this band started in the 80s and recorded all its albums in the early 1990s. This last multi-suite track displays all these attributes coming together at the band's finest.

This was really the only hard rockin' album from KINGSTON WALL as the second album simply titled "II" incorporated Walli's newfound interest in tech music and rave electronica and therefore dropped the heavier acid rock abrasiveness for a smoother psychedelic space rock sound. This is an album i can understand the appeal but it's not one that has won me over to a great degree. For some reason heavy psych and acid rock outside the context of the late 60s and early 70s just doesn't resonate with me as it seems more like a period sound than one that can be revived decades later. Likewise Walli's vocal brashness is a bit of a hard pill to swallow but not a total deal breaker especially in the less vocal oriented moments. The album does evoke a unique take on psychedelic rock where it takes on a punkish approach of how the music is delivered. Not a bad album but i wish there were more psychedelic touches that anchored it more in that arena.

3.5 rounded down