MOUNTAIN STREAM

The sixth solo album of the ex- TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI guitarist & composer JUKKA TOLONEN is a solo work in every sense of the word, and an acoustic one. To the dedicated listeners of acoustic guitar soloing this naturally might be his most rewarding album, but I, and probably the majority of us, clearly prefer the preceding five albums performed by a varying bunch of musicians, especially both the more acoustic and serene "Summer Games" and the more electrified and lively fusion album "The Hook". I do appreciate good music for solo guitar (I have an LP by john Williams playing J. S. Bach, which I like a lot, and I enjoy e.g. STEVE HACKETT's acoustic works), I'm just not very deeply into music for solo instruments in general.

The two longish opening tracks are quite introvert, classically oriented compositions with some Ethnic nuances, and the brief and relatively sentimental 'A Little Love Song' brings a lovely, lighter, brighter moment. 'Life on Pluto?' sounds a bit too sketch-like for its repetitive melody line. The shortest tune 'Dimitri's Lullaby' is credited to Jukka's wife Tanja. Nice in its simplicity.

'Spring Is Coming' (14:43) is exceptionally a composition for solo piano, not guitar. No less brilliant technically, as piano was in fact Tolonen's first instrument, studied already at the age of seven. To me this is perhaps the most beautiful track of the album; I'm not sure how much the instrument itself affects to that opinion... Oh, did I just hear a tiny melodic similarity to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'? Yes, and I believe it's an intented little citation, just few notes long. This hurriless composition is full of warmth and happy emotions. Maybe he should have done a solo piano album as well?!

The final piece is aptly titled as 'Sunrise Samba'. Recommended album if you enjoy intimate and classically oriented music for solo instruments in general and acoustic guitar especially.