01	633 Jesu Faglar						00:07
	02	Pidan Sinusta						05:38
	03	En Aio Paeta						03:02
	04	Neron Muistolle, Hyvaa Yota						03:10
	05	Guardian Angel, The Future						04:58
	06	No Pens, Ei Karsinoita						04:53
	07	Henry's... Mountain Range Or Thereabouts						03:11
	08	...Geographical And Astronomical Mistakes						02:01
	09	...Highway Code						02:53
	10	...Ghastly And Diabolical Mistakes						01:17
	11	...Cancelled Holiday Plans						01:38
	12	...Concentration Camp Brochure						02:57
	13	...Ears, Eyes, Girlfriend And Feet						01:34
	14	...Hard And Horny All-Niter						01:11
	15	...Milk Round In The Morning						02:32
	16	Tombstone Valentine						03:07
	17	In Gratitude!						03:49
	18	Dance Of The Anthropoids						01:07
	19	Frederick & Bill						04:27
	20	Wishful Thinker						03:46
	21	Autograph						02:40
	22	1936 Lost In The Snow						02:13
	23	Let The World Ramble On						03:21
	24	For America						04:23
	25	Capitain Supernatural						03:02
	26	End						03:36

http://members.surfeu.fi/mmerilai/wigwam/

http://www.dprp.vuurwerk.nl/forgotten/wigwam/index.html


Wigwam - Hard 'N' Horny

Release Date: 1969

Member: monkzek

It will be impossible for me to do even a partially impartial review for Wigwam.

In the last year or so this band has swept me away emotionally like no other before, except Yes and possibly Zappa, Tangerine Dream and Genesis. Lofty company for sure, but I sincerely think that highly of Wigwam, apparently well-known within their native Finland, but criminally ignored by both the prog and larger rock communities outside that country.

Perhaps Wigwam has never been "sufficiently progressive" for serious consideration by many prog aficionados. Several non-prog influences (here I would cite The Band, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones as well as the Beatles) are apparent in the singularly quirky songwriting of vocalist/lyricist/pianist Jim Pembroke (a British expatriate), and his tendency toward what their unofficial website refers to as "deep pop" might turn prospective proggers away.

Then again, others might not care for the heavily jazz-and-blues influenced art rock compositions/meditations of keyboardist/vocalist Jukka Gustavson. It could be argued that sometimes he went over the top in his politically/religiously-inspired vocal ebullience.

Nonetheless, Wigwam were unique from the beginning, precisely because of the apparently peaceful dichotomy which existed in the band between Pembroke's songwriting and Gustavson's composing. This dichotomy was evident, both musically and in the sequencing of the material, on the band's first offering Hard 'N' Horny.

The album's first side belongs to Gustavson, and he immediately established the pattern that his work would take over the course of his tenure with the band. After a brief experimental blurb to begin the album, Gustavson takes the helm with "Pidдn sinusta", an easily swinging, blues-soaked organ workout reminiscent of Jimmy Smith. The remainder of the first side is similarly dominated by Gustavson, with his keyboards guiding the listener through the disparate realms of psych/jazz/avant art rock with equal facility.

In total contrast, side two belongs to Pembroke in a sadly forgotten, side-long, conceptual psych piece concerning a character simply named Henry. The songs are segued together in a fashion similar to that of the Moody Blues albums of the same period, although the production is not nearly as lush. Still, there is an ethereal quality to the suite (as well as the entire album) which becomes more apparent after repeated listenings.

Hard 'N' Horny is unique also in the sense that it was the only Wigwam album featuring the guitar of Nikke Nikamo and the bass work of Mats Huldйn; both were gone by the recording of the band's second album, Tombstone Valentine. Nikamo would be replaced by Jukka Tolonen (who never officially joined Wigwam), and Huldйn was replaced by the brilliant Pekka Pohjola.

From there, the early 70's incarnation of Wigwam commenced producing some of progressive rock's finest (and again, mysteriously unacknowledged) albums, culminating in 1974's Being. However, Hard 'N' Horny stands on its own quite well and deserves much better than to be drowned out and forgotten in the ever-expanding ocean of progressive music.




Wigwam - Tombstone Valentine

Release Date: 1970

Member: monkzek

Released in 1970, Wigwam's second album Tombstone Valentine stands apart from the rest of the group's output. Featuring contributions from several individuals, it comes off as more of a "mixed bag" than their other albums, with the focus primarily in favor of shorter, blues-rock or folk influenced songs.

While containing numerous impressive displays from guitarist and unofficial "member" Jukka Tolonen, Tombstone Valentine also introduced to the world the prodigious talents of bassist/composer Pekka Pohjola. It should also be noted that Tombstone Valentine contains no side-long or suite-like progressive "meditations" from keyboard virtuoso Jukka Gustavson, although he did contribute three excellent cuts. Gustavson's complex, religious and politically oriented musical ideas would wield a much greater influence on the bands next album, 1971's Fairyport. Consequently, Tombstone Valentine is less of an all-around prog extravaganza than its successors, but it is overflowing with excellent material that showed a band searching for a chemistry to adequately support the vast talents of the individual members.

To lead the album off, vocalist/songwriter Jim Pembroke contributed the bittersweet folk/prog title cut, which ambles along with a rhythm reminiscent of The Band's "The Weight". Augmented by accordion and banjo (from Kalevi Nyqvist and Heikki Laurila, respectively), it sets an adequate tone for the rest of the album. The second cut "In Gratitude" was written and sung by keyboardist/vocalist Jukka Gustavson, but it features some bluesy fret-burning from Tolonen and startlingly nimble bass by Pohjola. It almost reminds me of the Allman Brothers, but Gustavson's ascending-descending chord progressions keep the tune from being rooted too firmly in simple blues-based rock.

"Dance Of The Anthropoids", contributed not by any Wigwam member but by electronic musician Erkki Kurenniemen, served as an effectively schizoid intro to one of the band's most memorable and unique pieces, the Pembroke-Pohjola collaboration "Frederick And Bill". Again, Tolonen and Pohjola spar with each other in a delicious display of virtuosic fretplay. Pembroke's melancholy "Wishful Thinker" concludes the album's first side at the pace of a slow waltz; it reminds this reviewer of some of the more languid moments from the classic Rolling Stones albums of the late 60's.

Side two begins with another quirky folk-prog workout, the moderately paced "Autograph"; it gives way to one of the album's more unique cuts, Pohjola's instrumental "1936 Lost In The Snow". An elegant and succinct melodic statement, it stands apart from the rest of the album and teases the listener with a taste of what was to come in Pohjola's long, prolific solo career.

Another wistful Pembroke cut, "Let The World Ramble On", is followed by Gustavson's progressive avant/jazz rock instrumental "For America". Starting out in a swinging 7/8 time signature, the piece soon takes on a more straightforward rhythmic approach. Aside from Gustavson's chordal excursions, Tolonen reappears for a brief solo, and Pohjola takes an extended stroll throughout.

Complete with partially veiled references to (I presume) the Vietnam conflict, "Captain Supernatural" is probably this album's closest thing to a true psych piece, containing a shadowy quote from "Ghost Riders In The Sky". It is followed by Gustavson's haunting and simply titled "End", and together the two fashion an appropriate conclusion to the music.

Tombstone Valentine is another curiously under-appreciated album from one of progressive rock's greatest treasures. The uninitiated would be doing themselves a great musical favor to seek this one out.