*******************************************************************************
KALEVALA - A Finnish Progressive Rock Epic (2003)
*******************************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type.................: Music
Platform.............: Windows 9x/ME/2000
Image type...........: CD Rip
Burn Tested..........: Yes
Special CDR..........: Requires 700 MB / 80 Min CDR
Audio Format.........: MP3
Ripper...............: Exact Audio Copy
Encoder..............: LAME 3.97 alpha-10
Bitrate..............: (VBR)
Hz...................: 44,100
Channels.............: Joint Stereo
Command Line.........: --preset fast extreme via RazorLame
Reader...............: NEC DVD_RW ND-3520A
Source...............: CD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by............: Duke Leto
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please post any requests for segment fills to the .prog group & I will attempt
to respond in a timely manner. Thank You...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From--->>> http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=986
Kalevala Project: Kalevala - A Finnish Progressive Rock Epic
This has to be the Most Ambitious Progressive Rock Project Ever (capitalized to
show respect). And if you think that’s a brash claim, consider the following
numbers:
It is a 3 CD box set.
The 30 tracks are played by 30 bands, and describe 50 classic poems.
The musicians are from 8 different countries.
It runs to almost 4 hours of music.
The music describes a story that has been published in 51 languages.
And it is 1 concept album.
Kalevala is Finnish folklore comprising old ballads and songs and a complex
series of legends. You see the Greeks have their mythology, and the Finns have
their Kalevala – with its full complement of magical god-like characters who
create the earth and get into feuds and fall in and out of love. The Kalevala is
Finland’s most-exported text and like the mythical Greek characters it is a
constant source of inspiration in art, writing, design, architecture, product
names, company names, street names, building names, newspaper names, and so on.
Sibelius and Tolkein took inspiration from the Kalevala, and it has been the
basis of countless modern musical works.
Now skip forward in time.
Colossus is the magazine of the Finnish Progressive Music Association. Their aim
is to spread knowledge of the progressive scene in Finland, and to promote
Finnish prog-rock abroad. Colossus editor Marco Bernard split the 50 poems of
the Kalevala into 30 chunks and recruited 30 progressive rock groups – mostly
Italian and Scandinavian – to write music around them.
There were a few stipulations: They were to use vintage 1970s progressive rock
instruments to get the dated feeling Bernard needed for the story, so they
rolled out their Hammonds and Mellotrons and Minimoogs and Clavinets and Fender
Rhoades. And there would be no programmed drums (bless him for that!) .
The bands were invited to sing in their native tongues and provide English
translations, and the liner notes include background on the Kalevala, a synopsis
of the storyline described in each section, English lyrics, and full details on
each of the groups involved.
Which explains the concept behind this progressive rock epic, how it came to
have 30 separate artists, and what sounds you can expect to hear. You would
expect reprisals of the symphonic sounds of the ‘70s and you would be right. The
music is generally very good, and there are some exceptional vocals. But there
is also some mediocre music and some terrible vocals! None of the bands are
particularly big names, but you’ll recognize most, and a few may be among your
favorites.
Thonk’s purely instrumental piece is a symphonic classic, and the Clearlight
piece (featuring the late lamented Shaun Guerin on drums & voice) is excellent.
Elegant Simplicity’s piece starts nicely, then seems to turn into elevator
music. Groovector’s piece may be the best track on the album – a bit funky, a
little old fashioned, but elegant and beautifully melodic. The track by Magenta
starts and ends very well with Christina Murphy’s wonderful vocals, and the
middle section is a 1970s keyboards fest – with Hammond, piano, ‘Tron, Moog, and
nice wailing guitars. Submarine Silence is almost pure jazz, and Overhead’s
vocals sound tentative and off pitch. Quadesh is an extended
Gilbert-And-Sullivan meets Broadway piece, not the strongest track on the album,
but admirably adventurous and to their credit they sing the whole of poem 38 –
verbatim. Moongarden and Grand Stand were pleasant discoveries.
The bold Kalevala Project must surely be rated as Finnish prog’s magnum opus. It
is an excellent piece of music, though not perfect: There is no common musical
theme. In a perfect world there would be one musician managing the project
musically, and providing a few themes that could tie it all together. (Okay, so
that’s really getting ambitious!) It would have been easier to follow had there
been one singer per character. Some of the bands did not come through, and their
music could frankly have been excluded or replaced.
Each band did its own recording and submitted it as a completed piece, resulting
in a musically loose concept album. So expect to be really confused during the
first listen. The vocals are sung in many languages, the music styles change
constantly, and the piece seems to meander for 4 solid hours. But if you work at
it you will come to appreciate the differences between each track, and the
extended story line will pull the whole suite together for you.
And that is the central point: This is a very grand epic, but it’s all too much
to absorb in one sitting and you really have to work to appreciate it.
Fortunately, as prog-rock fans, we’re up to that challenge!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From--->>> http://www.progressiveworld.net/var_kalevala.html
Reviewed by: John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, December 2003
The Finnish prog quarterly Colossus does its fair share to protect and promote
the heritage of Finnish culture. Kalevala is probably the country’s most
important epic made of old Finnish ballads and lyrical songs which inspired
Tolkien and Sibelius alike. To make sure Kalevala can live it’s own life in the
21st century, Colossus cut the entire Kalevala epic into thirty parts and asked
as many bands to deliver their musical view of these poems. All of the bands had
to agree only to use vintage instruments from the seventies in order to get as
close to the feel of the story as possible. In the end almost four hours of
brand new symphonic rock have been delivered, often taking the bands outisde of
their own creative territory and sometimes giving birth to their best
composition ever!
With thirty bands on offer, it is not my intention to dissect every single
second here, but I most certainly have to mention the opening track as created
by Finnish band Haikara. Especially the sound of the drums is magnificent, and I
advise everyone to listen to this track with headphones. It certainly is an
unforgettable experience with a major role reserved for the cello! This, by the
way, is the creation of the world, and boy what a power must have been involved!
By using the limited range of the authentic seventies instrumentation, of
course, you get pure symphonic rock, yet recorded in a fashion that was unheard
of during the seventies. So you get the feel of the heydays of prog yet with the
technical advantages of today. Sweden’s Simon Says fully explores the
possibilities as given by Colossus and decides to sing in Swedish, which extra
underlines the folky feel of the subject. This track also includes some stunning
Hammond organ as well as superb synthwork. No doubt Sinkadus delivers one of its
very best compositions ever, incorporating powerful sections and intimate folky
climates backed by seas of mellotron and flute.
Pity the contribution from Moongarden sounds a little overmodulated, as
especially in the vocal section there is a slight ressemblance to the band White
Buffalo, delivering a lot of originality. One of my current favourites is also
present here. It concerns Magenta whose lead singer Christina once again comes
ever so close to the feel and charm of the legendary Annie Haslam, whilst Rob
Reed proves to be one of the most underrated composers of the current prog
revival. For sure another highlight on this impressive 3CD set. The first disc
ends with what is probably the biggest Genesis clone of them all. Cyrille
Verdeaux leads his band Clearlight towards an atmosphere that is 200% Genesis,
including vocals which hold the middle between Gabriel and Collins. A perfect
ending to an otherwise entertaining and diverse album.
Flute plays a very important role in the driving track by the Norwegian band
Orchard and immediately puts the necessary energy back into this project. The
contribution by Greenwall is a rather complex piece containing various
atmospheres. Amongst others it contains some beautiful orchestral sections, but
I have to admit that I’m not very partial to the female singer’s voice, which is
more something for the San Remo festival. With the band Revelation it’s like
listening to early Marillion with all attention going towards the Italian Fish,
Pierfransesco Drago. Mad Crayon delivers kind of a South American flavour by
introducing a lot of flute into their composition. It’s a nice and joyful track
that forms a nice contrast to the more dramatic delivery of Museo Rosenbach who
deliver the typical Italian school. Also Italian, yet more contemporary, is
Leviathan, whose singer Paolo Antinori reaches rather high notes here. It’s
really a feast for Italian bands on this second disc as Malibran is also on the
cards. Their "Strani Colori" sounds a lot like the material on the first Camel
album with Jerry Litrico’s guitar getting rather close to the intimacy of Andy
Latimer. Following right behind all of these Italian prog icons, when you listen
to the instrumental track offered by Elegant Simplicity, one would immediately
say they are Italian, too. However this band hails from England and maybe the
dash of jazz towards the end slightly gives it away. Nice use of mellotron by
the way, and again a wonderful ending to yet another superb disc.
The final disc starts with a daring experiment by young British progsters
Qadesh. They deliver by far the longest vocal track containing tons of lyrics
and weird changes with certain passages reminding me of seventies band Khan
featuring Steve Hillage. Probably the strongest track on this 3CD set comes from
Grand Stand, and if this song is a taster of what to expect on their second
album, then no doubt it’s going to be a winner. The guitar contains a fair
amount of blues elements that makes it ever so original. Based around Hammond
organ and piano, the Swiss entry by Thonk also is a very promising result,
sounding like a cross between The Nice and Atomic Rooster with soft passages and
loud interventions alternating throughout. In its footsteps follows yet another
highlight made in Finland. This time the band is Groovector who already released
two full albums on the Italian Mellow label. "Tuletta" is a wonderful
composition if not the best they have ever written! Great to have such high
quality material from Finnish bands on this pure Finnish concept. The final
chapter has been composed by French band Cafeine who with "Way Is Open" kind of
mingle symphonic rock with fusion, resulting in a true masterpiece full of
emotion. In fact singer Cyril Grimaud’s input kind of swims between Placebo and
Ken’s Novel adding an extra touch to the otherwise magical music.
Thirty different bands. Thirty different kinds of emotions. Thirty poems from
the Kalevala epic. It’s a lot to digest but once you get your teeth into this
project you really enjoy it. Of course there are a couple of mediocre tracks on
display but let’s be honest and say that surely 80% what’s on offer here is an
absolute must for lovers of the seventies feel of prog. Some bands really shine
and deliver material that sounds better here than on their proper album(s). A
wonderful idea from the people at Colossus HQ and a big thumbs up to all the
bands involved. Colossus is already planning another extravaganza for which six
different bands will each deliver a 20-minute epic. More of that later after we
have digested Kalevala! Cheers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Track listing
* DISC 1 * (81:32)
1. HAIKARA (Finland) - The Creation / The Sowing (11:27)
2. OVERHEAD (Finland) - Wainamoinen and Youkahainen / The Fate of Aino (8:00)
3. SIMON SAYS (Sweden) - Som Floden Flyter (As the river runs) (7:00)
4. SINKADUS (Sweden) - Trubadurens kval (The Minstrel's Cry) (5:36)
5. MOONGARDEN (Italy) - Maiden of the Bow (10:18)
6. IL CASTELLO DI ATLANTE (Italy) - Ilmarinen Forges the Sampo (6:59)
7. MAGENTA (Uk) - Lemminkainen's Lament (6:53)
8. SUBMARINE SILENCE - (Italy) - The Three Battles (7:34)
9. METAPHOR (Usa) - Raking the Bones (7:45)
10. CLEARLIGHT (Usa-Fra) - The Boat Builder / Searching For the Lost Word
(10:00)
* DISC 2 * (71:00)
1. ORCHARD (Norway) - 3 (7:30)
2. GREENWALL (Italy) - The Wedding (14:27)
3. REVELATION (Italy) - Uninvited Guest (10:00)
4. SCARLET THREAD (Finland) - Pimeästa Pohjolasta (5:01)
5. MAD CRAYON (Italy) - Il Suono Dei Ricordi (The Sound of Memories) (6:19)
6. MUSEO ROSENBACH (Italy) - Fiore di Vendetta (The Flower of Revenge) (6:37)
7. LEVIATHAN (Italy) - Filo di Lama (Edge of a Blade) (10:32)
8. MALIBRAN (Italy)- Strani Colori (Strange Colors) (5:12)
9. SOFIA BACCINI (Italy) - Malvagio Per Le Stelle (Mean because of the stars)
(5:25)
10. ELEGANT SIMPLICITY (U.K.) - ilmarinen's bride of gold (5:00)
* DISC 3 * (76:19)
1. QADESH (Uk) - Ilmarinen's Fruitless Wooing (11:30)
2. CANTINA SOCIALE (Italy) - Kantele (6:00)
3. GRAND STAND (Sweden) - Stormen (Tempest) (7:07)
4. GERMINALE (Italy) - La Battaglia per il Sampo (The Battle for the Sampo)
(8:14)
5. AARDVARK (Finland) - Uusi Kantele (New Kantele) (5:57)
6. THONK (Switzerland) - Kapittu 45/46 (Chapter 45/46) (6:37)
7. GROOVECTOR (Finland) - Tuletta (Fireless) (5:29)
8. WHOBODIES (Finland) - Pine (5:41)
9. RANDONE & TEMPORE (Italy) - Runo 49 (9:00)
10. CAFEÏNE (France) - Way is open (11:44)
Total Time: 228:19
Line-up
* DISC 1 *
1. HAIKARA (Finland)
2. OVERHEAD (Finland)
3. SIMON SAYS (Sweden)
4. SINKADUS (Sweden)
5. MOONGARDEN (Italy)
6. IL CASTELLO DI ATLANTE (Italy)
7. MAGENTA (Uk)
8. A8SUBMARINE SILENCE - (Italy)
9. METAPHOR (Usa)
10. CLEARLIGHT (Usa-Fra)
* DISC 2 *
1. ORCHARD (Norway)
2. GREENWALL (Italy)
3. REVELATION (Italy)
4. SCARLET THREAD (Finland)
5. MAD CRAYON (Italy)
6. MUSEO ROSENBACH (Italy)
7. LEVIATHAN (Italy)
8. MALIBRAN (Italy)
9. SOFIA BACCINI (Italy)
10. ELEGANT SIMPLICITY (U.K.)
* DISC 3 *
1. QADESH (Uk)
2. CANTINA SOCIALE (Italy)
3. GRAND STAND (Sweden)
4. GERMINALE (Italy)
5. AARDVARK (Finland)
6. THONK (Switzerland)
7. GROOVECTOR (Finland)
8. WHOBODIES (Finland)
9. RANDONE & TEMPORE (Italy)
10. CAFEÏNE (France)
Releases informations
Musea Records FGBG 4463.AR
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generated with Cool NFO Creator - http://fly.to/coolbeans
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
