It took a Finnish exchange student at my high school in northern California in 1975 to introduce me to the wealth of Finnish prog of the era. I became an instant fan and consumed all of it I could get my hands on. Thank you for featuring some of it here!
i have loved Jukka my entire adult life (71) years old now) i bought this very album when I was young because I liked the cover! Typical guitar playing kid. Anyway I still have the vinyl and no, you can't have it. Another Jukka song I like is "Last Quarter" It is on "Crossection" album and is strangely haunting.
Jukka Tolonnen is a giant. Perhaps one of the most unknown and underrated musician. Getting deeper and deeper into his sound, you will be addicted. Heavy rotation danger😄
Wigwam’s singer was British. The great Jim Pembroke. An album of theirs you need to check out is Nuclear Nightclub. Fab stuff Not forgetting another great Finnish band Tasavallen Presidentti (i may have spelled that wrong 😬) 👍
@@JimNewstead Doh! Please call me Mick! Well i’ve been doing Rock & Prog shows for years (played both Wigwam and Jukka in my Lamb Lies Down on Herne Bay show fairly recently) and i’m old enough to have been buying albums in the 70s. Btw, you need to check out Pekka Pohjola, who played with both Wigwam and Mr Tolonen, made some nice solo records and also recorded with Mike Oldfield.
Thank you Jim for playing both these songs. I hope this will get new friends to Finnish prog. And I totally agree with you that there is a similarity between Wigwam and Caravan.
And thank you John for picking them! I'm glad you enjoyed this - it was completely new for me, which I guess was the whole point! Fabulous picks, and it's piqued my interest into both of these bands.
Jukka was one of the best players around in his years of health & as underrated as they come . He has overcome his demons & though he doesn't play much anymore from bad health issues he left one hell of a legacy for us players that know of him . Wigwam , well there's another fine band from across the pond & any time Jukka played with them it was magic & Pekka Rechardt is an amazing guitar player as well. Anyone that listens to Jukka & Wigwam have much in the way of class & very good ears. I play guitar & found Jukkas first LP back in 72 in the import bin at our local record store & just from the cover i had that feeling this will be good , that is was & i still have it plus thanks to the net all these years later i found access to all those albums i never got to hear back then . Not a lot of folks fooled with imports back then as they didn't know who the players are so you have take that chance & 9 out of ten it will be good. As a guitarist i would like to share one of my own compositions if anyone cares to listen. Just an audio track i did with old friends . If you wish to leave a comment on my page that's fine & much appreciated. Please use the link or the green icon button to find my page & the song is called Lost Time . Thanks to Mr. Tolonen i found more inspiration to learn to play . Thank you Jim for doing something on Jukka & Wigwam as that's rare at least here in the States. ROCK !!! ua-cam.com/video/RHj04fFTrZI/v-deo.html One last thing ,have you ever heard the band Finch from the Netherlands' back in the 70s , i don't believe they are still together & there are a handful of bands with that name but none play progressive rock in the the style of Jukka bands. They were also an instrumentals band & had much influence from Jan Akkerman & Focus . Worth checking into if you like instrumental music & great playing. If you can find them on YT you will know which is the right band as the rest are junk rock. Their guitarist name is Joop van Nimwegen. I don't think they still play as this was around 75 or 76. Awesome stuff !!! One album i found first was i think their 2nd called Glory of the Inner Force & it's definitely got that old Focus sound but no yodeling LOL ... Shame that song was the only one folks recall & certainly not the best Focus played.
I’m an avid fan of Wigwam. Their best albums being Nuclear Nightclub and The Dark Album. It’s amusing to hear the comment about no guitar but then this was an early album. The other major Finnish band from that era was Tasavallan Presedentti.
Hey 👋 ! When you say feeling better, then yes, I can't deny an improvement. I couldn't walk on Saturday! Sunday was a little better, an this morning was better than yesterday. I'm feeling it now though! Still, heading in the right direction at least! 👍🏻
Backing up Michael’s suggestion on Nuclear Nightclub and another Wigman album from 76, Lucky golden Stripes and Starpose. Great music and have both copies on original vinyl. Another off the wall suggestion is a little band from Fort Worth, Tx, Space Opera. Combo of Byrds and the Beatles. You would be the first to react to this. I think Rolling Stone mag listed the album in their top 100. A great listen. A lot of 12 string. Keep up the good work. Lots of good music out there.
Jukka Gustavson organ and vocals,great! Pekka Pohjola bass. Ronnie Österberg drums! Jim Pembroke vocals & piano. You should check more Wigwam & Pekka Pohjola records.
Hi Jim, Good to see you. Felling better again or is this for some distraction. I know from decades of experience that being busy with something you like, you will feel less pain. I’ve heard about Wigwam but that’s it. King Crimson and Gentle Giant kind of music at the start and a bit of Jethro Tull. Organ sounds a bit muddy; I would prefer a bit clearer sound. Not bad at all. Yes indeed, Caravan too. Never heard about Jukka. This is more interesting music. I like this. Much more variety within a song. Nice musical ideas. It’s on iTunes for €6,45. You must have had Finnish Nightwish on your channel. If not Ghost love score, live at Wacken. Riverside cd and Transatlantic cd you reviewed recently are arriving tomorrow (I hope). Thanks for the suggestions. Hope you get well soon. See ya next time.
@@JimNewstead I did that long ago and it gave me a lot of pain afterwards. I do my (almost) daily walk for at least 30 minutes. And when the temperatures are above 17°C, I do regularly bicycle rides of 25-50 km. And some light exercises to strengthen the muscles. Heavy exercises are not needed.
Also, back at the time I discovered these guys (early 70’s) I also discovered Janne Schaffer (Swedish) his album The Chinese is enjoyable. I first was turned on to him from a comment by Eric Clapton who was responding to a question about who he was listening to - Janne and Roy Buchanan.
Finland is a much overlooked music capitol, so it's just nice to hear some other acts from there.....Amorphis must be done Jim..... probably THE great Finnish band...though Nightwish get the headlines usually......so many albums over so many eras...probably the Maiden of Finland! Last year's Halo after all their years recording, was simply excellent....I've got about 6 or so of their albums since getting into them in 2021....
I bet every country has a tonne of music that is overlooked and plain unheard. I need to maybe make some videos highlighting bands from various countries with suggestions from the audience... hmmm, not there's an idea!
@@JimNewstead yes! My vote goes to Japan! I'm pretty sure the two acts I do love from there are the tip of the iceberg....also Poland! Im really digging Riverside now. ID. Entity has done what Wasteland did not....unlocked my urge to buy all their records!!
I was in Finland on 9th Sep2023 and visited a record fair where I bought their 5th album (Wigwam). Fancy a record fair in mostly silence with no posters or art and only one corner playing music very quietly. Once I bought the album I pretty much received a word like 'Dismissed'. What a strange way to celebrate music.
@JimNewstead , I stumbled upon this Wigwam live studio recording on youtube. I think you would really enjoy it and make a great reaction video to it - Wigwam - Grass for Blades
Thank you Jim, I really love your channel, no digitalized or autotuned music. Your audio tracks do have more soul in the music that you can ever produce with digital sounds. PS. You mentioned that you've never heard of Wigwam. The thing is that the singer Jim Pembroke was English and therefore Wigwam was - so I've been told - quite popular in the UK. Your prog piece is very good but in the 70's Wigwam made also a few more relaxed songs, that were very popular in Finland, for example these 2 songs that they've probably recorded in Sweden because our neighbors had enough money to have good studios. The videos cannot be real, it's playback probably. ua-cam.com/video/OR2rtqiQS0g/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/XxsYq1E4wfI/v-deo.html
If you like Jukka [ yukka ], give the following albums a listen... Both of 'em are very good fusion jazz almost 45 years ago. JTB * JUKKA TOLONEN BAND: - JTB (1979) - Just Those Boys (1980) And here's a beautiful song from Wigwam with a killer guitar solo... ua-cam.com/video/OR2rtqiQS0g/v-deo.html
Tolonen later played with Mike Oldfield and Pierre Moerlen of Gong. Frank Zappa wanted to recruit him, calling him several times when Tolonen was part of the Swedish band Made in Sweden. Tolonen rejected Zappa commenting to his bandmates:"No, too much bullshit". 😂
No, it was the bassist Pekka Pohjola from Wigwam not Jukka Tolonen. Tolonen had a long international career with his own jazz-fusion band and was the lead guitarist of another good Finnish band Tasavallan Presidentti.
@@ithaliem Yes, you are correct. I was thinking of Pohjola. But, Tolonen did also have a Swedish connwctiin, he did play with the Swedish guitarist Coste Apetrea of Samla Mammas Manna.
The B-side of Wigwam's Hard n Horny in my opinion is better than that of Abbey Road (both are a set of short, whimsical tunes that segue into each other).
this is a very good concept, if one desires to hear a song very badly "right now", one can pay for it ! I like the idea but not the exchange rate of canadian dollars vs pounds
It took a Finnish exchange student at my high school in northern California in 1975 to introduce me to the wealth of Finnish prog of the era. I became an instant fan and consumed all of it I could get my hands on. Thank you for featuring some of it here!
i have loved Jukka my entire adult life (71) years old now) i bought this very album when I was young because I liked the cover! Typical guitar playing kid. Anyway I still have the vinyl and no, you can't have it. Another Jukka song I like is "Last Quarter" It is on "Crossection" album and is strangely haunting.
Jukka Tolonnen is a giant. Perhaps one of the most unknown and underrated musician. Getting deeper and deeper into his sound, you will be addicted. Heavy rotation danger😄
ua-cam.com/video/oFLWb4XXoCY/v-deo.html
Jukka Tolonen certainly is a giant and neither unknown nor underrated, he’s very well recognised and appreciated
ua-cam.com/video/n1zlO-LD4zU/v-deo.html
Wigwam’s singer was British. The great Jim Pembroke. An album of theirs you need to check out is Nuclear Nightclub. Fab stuff Not forgetting another great Finnish band Tasavallen Presidentti (i may have spelled that wrong 😬) 👍
*Tasavallan :)
@@brandbird close enough for Rock n Roll. 🤣
Jukka Gustavson did the vocals in this song and played the organ. Jim Pembroke was on piano. He also sang most of the songs.
You sure know your stuff Michael!
@@JimNewstead Doh! Please call me Mick! Well i’ve been doing Rock & Prog shows for years (played both Wigwam and Jukka in my Lamb Lies Down on Herne Bay show fairly recently) and i’m old enough to have been buying albums in the 70s.
Btw, you need to check out Pekka Pohjola, who played with both Wigwam and Mr Tolonen, made some nice solo records and also recorded with Mike Oldfield.
Thank you Jim for playing both these songs. I hope this will get new friends to Finnish prog. And I totally agree with you that there is a similarity between Wigwam and Caravan.
And thank you John for picking them! I'm glad you enjoyed this - it was completely new for me, which I guess was the whole point! Fabulous picks, and it's piqued my interest into both of these bands.
Jukka was one of the best players around in his years of health & as underrated as they come . He has overcome his demons & though he doesn't play much anymore from bad health issues he left one hell of a legacy for us players that know of him . Wigwam , well there's another fine band from across the pond & any time Jukka played with them it was magic & Pekka Rechardt is an amazing guitar player as well. Anyone that listens to Jukka & Wigwam have much in the way of class & very good ears. I play guitar & found Jukkas first LP back in 72 in the import bin at our local record store & just from the cover i had that feeling this will be good , that is was & i still have it plus thanks to the net all these years later i found access to all those albums i never got to hear back then . Not a lot of folks fooled with imports back then as they didn't know who the players are so you have take that chance & 9 out of ten it will be good. As a guitarist i would like to share one of my own compositions if anyone cares to listen. Just an audio track i did with old friends . If you wish to leave a comment on my page that's fine & much appreciated. Please use the link or the green icon button to find my page & the song is called Lost Time . Thanks to Mr. Tolonen i found more inspiration to learn to play . Thank you Jim for doing something on Jukka & Wigwam as that's rare at least here in the States. ROCK !!! ua-cam.com/video/RHj04fFTrZI/v-deo.html One last thing ,have you ever heard the band Finch from the Netherlands' back in the 70s , i don't believe they are still together & there are a handful of bands with that name but none play progressive rock in the the style of Jukka bands. They were also an instrumentals band & had much influence from Jan Akkerman & Focus . Worth checking into if you like instrumental music & great playing. If you can find them on YT you will know which is the right band as the rest are junk rock. Their guitarist name is Joop van Nimwegen. I don't think they still play as this was around 75 or 76. Awesome stuff !!! One album i found first was i think their 2nd called Glory of the Inner Force & it's definitely got that old Focus sound but no yodeling LOL ... Shame that song was the only one folks recall & certainly not the best Focus played.
Lovely reaction! Also have in mind that Tolonen was 19!!! 1971... 19 yrs and this was his debute album. Cheers
Wigwam's best tune for me. Amazingly skilled playing but the tune remains accessible. The intro is just super! And it has Pohjola on bass❤
Pekka Pohjola! Really! The bass sounds really clean and precise, like you could expect from Pekka Pohjola.
That was fun!
It was 👍🏼
I’m an avid fan of Wigwam. Their best albums being Nuclear Nightclub and The Dark Album. It’s amusing to hear the comment about no guitar but then this was an early album.
The other major Finnish band from that era was Tasavallan Presedentti.
Great picks!
Nice to see you back, Jim. I hope your back is feeling better!
Hey 👋 ! When you say feeling better, then yes, I can't deny an improvement. I couldn't walk on Saturday! Sunday was a little better, an this morning was better than yesterday. I'm feeling it now though! Still, heading in the right direction at least! 👍🏻
Bass player Pekka Pohjola played on Mike Oldfield tour lineup. He turned down Frank Zappas's invitation to his band.
Cool!
I've got one of his albums from the mid 70's called B the Magpie, a really nice quirky, jazz influenced set of tunes
Nuclear Nightclub by Wigwam, that is the album you should hear :o)
In the first few moments I was almost waiting for Annie Haslam to start singing.
Backing up Michael’s suggestion on Nuclear Nightclub and another Wigman album from 76, Lucky golden Stripes and Starpose. Great music and have both copies on original vinyl.
Another off the wall suggestion is a little band from Fort Worth, Tx, Space Opera. Combo of Byrds and the Beatles. You would be the first to react to this. I think Rolling Stone mag listed the album in their top 100. A great listen. A lot of 12 string. Keep up the good work. Lots of good music out there.
I'll just act like I didn't hear the first tune. Very enjoyable element
Check out Tasavallan Presidentti’s Lambertland 1972 (Especially the track The Bargan)
Very cool
JTB.
just those boys..1980
Jukka Tolonen
Norman Fart-ington
Coste Apetrea
Pepa Päivinen
Harri Merilahti..
Those were the days...
Ooo, new intro.
A play on the MCU beginnings?
Oh yeah.... fancy, eh?
Finland has always punched way above its weight class!!!
I think Scandinavia is very rich with it's music. Norway and Sweden along with Denmark and now Finland. Interesting stuff!
Jukka Gustavson organ and vocals,great! Pekka Pohjola bass. Ronnie Österberg drums! Jim Pembroke vocals & piano. You should check more Wigwam & Pekka Pohjola records.
Tolonen, Pohjola and Pembroke are the brightest stars in Finnish prog.
Hi Jim,
Good to see you.
Felling better again or is this for some distraction. I know from decades of experience that being busy with something you like, you will feel less pain.
I’ve heard about Wigwam but that’s it.
King Crimson and Gentle Giant kind of music at the start and a bit of Jethro Tull.
Organ sounds a bit muddy; I would prefer a bit clearer sound.
Not bad at all.
Yes indeed, Caravan too.
Never heard about Jukka.
This is more interesting music. I like this.
Much more variety within a song. Nice musical ideas. It’s on iTunes for €6,45.
You must have had Finnish Nightwish on your channel. If not Ghost love score, live at Wacken.
Riverside cd and Transatlantic cd you reviewed recently are arriving tomorrow (I hope).
Thanks for the suggestions.
Hope you get well soon. See ya next time.
On the mend, albeit very slowly. Stupid exercise. No good can come from going to the gym!
@@JimNewstead
I did that long ago and it gave me a lot of pain afterwards.
I do my (almost) daily walk for at least 30 minutes. And when the temperatures are above 17°C, I do regularly bicycle rides of 25-50 km.
And some light exercises to strengthen the muscles. Heavy exercises are not needed.
Also, back at the time I discovered these guys (early 70’s) I also discovered Janne Schaffer (Swedish) his album The Chinese is enjoyable. I first was turned on to him from a comment by Eric Clapton who was responding to a question about who he was listening to - Janne and Roy Buchanan.
I am with you, Elements was the more interesting track and I quite enjoyed it.
Jukka plays the piano
The same drummer and bass player on these two. 👌👌
Finland is a much overlooked music capitol, so it's just nice to hear some other acts from there.....Amorphis must be done Jim..... probably THE great Finnish band...though Nightwish get the headlines usually......so many albums over so many eras...probably the Maiden of Finland! Last year's Halo after all their years recording, was simply excellent....I've got about 6 or so of their albums since getting into them in 2021....
I bet every country has a tonne of music that is overlooked and plain unheard. I need to maybe make some videos highlighting bands from various countries with suggestions from the audience... hmmm, not there's an idea!
@@JimNewstead yes! My vote goes to Japan! I'm pretty sure the two acts I do love from there are the tip of the iceberg....also Poland! Im really digging Riverside now. ID. Entity has done what Wasteland did not....unlocked my urge to buy all their records!!
I was in Finland on 9th Sep2023 and visited a record fair where I bought their 5th album (Wigwam). Fancy a record fair in mostly silence with no posters or art and only one corner playing music very quietly. Once I bought the album I pretty much received a word like 'Dismissed'. What a strange way to celebrate music.
@JimNewstead , I stumbled upon this Wigwam live studio recording on youtube. I think you would really enjoy it and make a great reaction video to it
- Wigwam - Grass for Blades
Jukka Tolonen is an ancient finnish guitar god.
How the back sir?
Sore :(
@@JimNewstead KBO sir.
Thank you Jim, I really love your channel, no digitalized or autotuned music. Your audio tracks do have more soul in the music that you can ever produce with digital sounds. PS. You mentioned that you've never heard of Wigwam. The thing is that the singer Jim Pembroke was English and therefore Wigwam was - so I've been told - quite popular in the UK. Your prog piece is very good but in the 70's Wigwam made also a few more relaxed songs, that were very popular in Finland, for example these 2 songs that they've probably recorded in Sweden because our neighbors had enough money to have good studios. The videos cannot be real, it's playback probably. ua-cam.com/video/OR2rtqiQS0g/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/XxsYq1E4wfI/v-deo.html
❤
As for Jukka Tolonen, please react to his perhaps best known piece, "Windermere Avenue".
Nice video, Jim! You pronounced Tolonen correctly, and Jukka was close. The Finnish "J" is always pronounced as "Y" is in English, not "Z". :D
Hi, I've been trying to explain this time Jim many times, he doesn't remember, I guess
Got it! I'll forget again by the time I make an other vid!
@Gabie - yes... my memory is rubbish!
@@JimNewstead yes you old man, what's your name again? LOL
If you like Jukka [ yukka ], give the following albums a listen...
Both of 'em are very good fusion jazz almost 45 years ago.
JTB * JUKKA TOLONEN BAND:
- JTB (1979)
- Just Those Boys (1980)
And here's a beautiful song from Wigwam with a killer guitar solo...
ua-cam.com/video/OR2rtqiQS0g/v-deo.html
Tolonen later played with Mike Oldfield and Pierre Moerlen of Gong. Frank Zappa wanted to recruit him, calling him several times when Tolonen was part of the Swedish band Made in Sweden.
Tolonen rejected Zappa commenting to his bandmates:"No, too much bullshit". 😂
No, it was the bassist Pekka Pohjola from Wigwam not Jukka Tolonen. Tolonen had a long international career with his own jazz-fusion band and was the lead guitarist of another good Finnish band Tasavallan Presidentti.
@@ithaliem Yes, you are correct. I was thinking of Pohjola. But, Tolonen did also have a Swedish connwctiin, he did play with the Swedish guitarist Coste Apetrea of Samla Mammas Manna.
@@mvjonsson As did also Pohjola 🙂.
Pekka Pohjola and Vesa Aaltonen were at Made In Sweden. Superb band!
The B-side of Wigwam's Hard n Horny in my opinion is better than that of Abbey Road (both are a set of short, whimsical tunes that segue into each other).
Although I like "Fairyport" quite a lot, "Being" is a better album in my opinion.
this is a very good concept, if one desires to hear a song very badly "right now", one can pay for it ! I like the idea but not the exchange rate of canadian dollars vs pounds
I'm glad they haven't all sold out at once!
@@JimNewstead LOL ! we are saving for a special special request
wigwams more normal songs like Let the world ramble on, grass for blades and lost without a trace are better…