ATLANTIS

I was positively surprised by this album, which hasn't got much attention anywhere I have managed to poke my nose in. A jazzy piano sounding a bit Keith Jarrett and Patrick Moraz opens " Se vuosi" (That Year), which is a pretty & slow keyboard driven ballad, resembling quite much both Greenslade's first album and "Bedside Manners are Extra", and it's actually very pleasing. There's room for solos in the middle sections of long verses, and also there's a faster movement in the end, with different rhythmic ideas. "Kaupungin naiset" (The Women of The City) is a slow blues rock filler, a small disappointment after the wonderful opener. But luckily it's short, and the rest of the tracks continue the good style of the first long track. "Atlantis" starts with some soundscapes, which present again very interesting sounding keyboard driven song. These compositions are carefully constructed, having also some thoughtful arrangements and some free solos over predetermined scale progressions. In the famous Scandinavian melancholic way there are lots of minor key melodies and catchy verses to be heard here. The last song "Vanha surullinen laulu" (Sad Old Song) is truly the most depressing number here, and the lyrics are about the political violence of the 1970's in excess of other terrible things. As a counterforce there are the only major key melodies of the album in a short middle section.

As a conclusion I would say that in addition of Greenslade, this music resembles Haikara's first record, if that masterpiece's wind sections would be changed as to old keyboards. The result is not still as great as the Finnish band's debut I mentioned. Also as this was done in 1976, this wasn't a pioneer band, but rather a record done inspired by the artistic style of the English art rock acts from the beginning of that decade. Nothing new under the sun, but a very pretty flower still. I believe that punk along rockabilly culture were quite strong movements in Finland already that time, and probably the vinyl versions of this album didn't sell very well. Thus this sympathetic album was maybe forgotten, sharing the demise of Flemish band Dragon. Now it's luckily back as a well manufactured CD reissue, and all of those who are interested of rarer symphonic progressive rock releases or history of Finnish alternative rock might like this album. I'm still not suggesting of paying ridiculous sums of money of the original, unless the record is surely known to you. Singing is done here in Finnish, so majority of the world's population possibly escape the lyrics, which are not critical for the listening I think, but being very warm and thoughtful poems still.