HAIKARA

Haikara were a 70s Finnish prog rock band from Lahti, led by guitarist Vesa Lattunen. They were less known than their contemporary peers Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti but they were no less good. Haikara started as a trio but added two players to the roster after a while.

Haikara is their first eponymous album from 1972 and what I gather their most celebrated one as well. Anyway, this album is the only one I have. And what a great album it is! In parts their music reminds me of early King Crimson still not sounding a bit like them. Maybe it's the sax and the gloomy atmosphere.

I'm not going into song-by-song analysis except by saying that while Köyhän pojan kerjäys is a fun song, it sounds out of place on this album. I quite like it, but it breaks the flow of the otherwise very atmospheric album. The instrumentation and the arrangements are fantastic all around, and so are the vocals.

Another minor minus point must be given to the lyrics. While they are not cringeworthy, they are at parts quite bad with the "peace on earth, brotherhood and love to unite us all" kind of stuff. I do like the lyrics of Luoja kutsuu and Jälleen on meidän though. Especially the latter is kind of poetic.

So all in all, an excellent prog album from an obscure band, but definitely an excellent addition to anyone's music collection.