Pasi & Pekka - Etkö nää, muuttunut mä oon

PASI & PEKKA

Taakse katsonut en / Etkö nää, muuttunut mä oon

Parlophone 5E 006-34420
1971
7"






Pasi & Pekka was a duo consisting of brothers Pasi Saarnikko and Pekka Saarnikko. They released several singles and one album before moving along to other businesses. This single from 1971 has two nice cover songs. On side a is "Taakse katsonut en" which is a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Looking out my back door" from their Cosmo's factory album. Side b uptempo beat number "Etkö nää, muuttunut mä oon" is a cover of "There's been a change in me" written by Derek and Ray Shulman. It's arranged by Lars Samuelsson and backed by his orchestra.


Etkö nää, muuttunut mä oon

Irwin Goodman - Cha cha cha

IRWIN GOODMAN

Cha cha cha / Tää elämä on lyhyt

Finnlevy FS 38
1977
7"






Irwin Goodman was a Finnish singer-songwriter who became famous due his arrogant protest songs. Most of the over 300 songs he recorded were his own compositions and the style of the songs varied from folk to rock. However, in this single from 1977 Irwin showed also his latin influenced side. "Cha cha cha" is a groovy latin song with a percussion driven break in the middle and catchy vocals. "Tää elämä on lyhyt" on side b is a typical late 1970s Irwin track.


Cha cha cha

Reima Helminen - Hyvät Vuodet

REIMA HELMINEN

Hymyilevä tyttö / Hyvät vuodet

Finlandia P 413
1970
7"






"It was a very good year" was a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 and was originally recorded by The Kingston trio. It was later made famous by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's version even won the Grammy Award for the best male vocal performance in 1966. Reima Helminen's "Hyvät vuodet" is a cover of that song. It's a mellow percussion driven ballad that you can listen over and over again. A side track "Hymyilevä tyttö" is a basic schlager ballad.


Hyvät vuodet

Reijo Tani - Yli-ihminen

REIJO TANI

Kanarian Kalle / Yli-ihminen

Mellow-Musiikki S-117-10
1975
7"






Vocalist and drummer Reijo "Rempo" Tani was a long time musical partner of the late Juha "Watt" Vainio, one of the most productive lyricists in Finnish musical history. Tani did mostly humor and parody songs and so is the case in this single too. Vainio wrote most of the songs Tani recorded, but in this single only the side b song. "Yli-ihminen" ("Übermensch" or "Superhuman" as it's in English) despite it's Nietsche'ish name is a song about the dj - who is the übermensch of the clubs. Lyrics are kind of naiive and tacky but the song itself is one of the few really funky songs from the 1970s Finland. A side song "Kanarian Kalle" is a humor song that should be avoided at any cost.


Yli-ihminen

Muska - Kirjoita postikorttiin

MUSKA

Kirjoita postikorttiin / On meillä bailut

Scandia KS 846
1971
7"






As a sister of the Babitzins - Kirka, Sammy, Ykä and Anna, it was obvious that also Marija "Muska" Babitzin started a career in music business. Her first single "Kirjoita postikorttiin" was released in 1971. It's an uptempo fuzz guitar driven rock song with some percussion work and it's a cover of "Send me a postcard" by the Dutch group Shocking blue. Side b song, a latin influenced pop track "On meillä bailut" is a cover of "Te quiero ver bailar" written by Francis Smith. The backing band in this single is the always great Made in Finland.


Kirjoita postikorttiin


On meillä bailut

Haikara - Pilven poika

HAIKARA

Poika pilvellä / Jumbo

Hi-Hat HIS 1011
1976
7"






Haikara was a Finnish prog band from the city of Lahti that was founded by Vesa Lattunen and Markus Heikkerö in 1972. Soon after that Timo Vuorinen, Harri Pystynen and Vesa Lehtinen joined the band. Their first album was released later in 1972 and they released two more albums during the 1970s with a constantly changing line-up. After the third album in 1975 the band was disbanded but Lattunen reformed it again the next year. The new line-up was Eljas Holm, Jorma Nikulainen and Hannu Rontu along Lattunen. They were consentrating on more funky music than on the previous releases, but sadly they released only this one single in 1976. The name of the side a track is slightly confusing. On the cover it's "Poika pilvellä" ("A boy on a cloud" in English), but the labels says "Pilven poika" ("The boy of the cloud" in English). Anyways it's a nice midtempo track with opening drums that remind me distantly of Banbarra's "Shack up". The side b song "Jumbo" is a laid back funk song that starts with a break. This single is hard to find but "Poika pilvellä" was also released on Hi-Hat's Hat rock 1 compilation that's quite common.


Poika pilvellä


Jumbo

Jarmo Juhani - Mies joka tiesi liikaa

JARMO JUHANI

Hän on erilainen / Mies joka tiesi liikaa

Polydor 2055 003
1970
7"






Little is known of Jarmo Juhani although he has released a bunch of singles and albums in the 1970s and 1980s. This single is from 1970 and contains a cover of Tom Jones' "The man who knows too much". It's backed by Antti Hyvärinen's orchestra and it is a very groovy, orchestral vocal number. The a-side song "Hän on erilainen" is a cover of Herbert Pagani's "L'amicizia", a quite non-interesting pop ballad.


Mies joka tiesi liikaa

Lea Laven - Sinustakin apua ois

LEA LAVEN

On miten on / Sinustakin apua ois

Columbia 5E 006-34643
1972
7"






This single release from 1972 is backed by Made in Finland. It was a studio band consisting of Risto Oinaala (trumpet and flugelhorn), Pertti Fält (saxophone and flute), Seppo Alajoki (guitar), Veikko Samuli (organ), Matti Tyni (bass) and Paavo Rajala (percussion), that never had any own releases. Officially Made in Finland was Danny's backing band at the time, but they also backed other acts as well. Both songs on this one are covers of Shocking Blue originals. A-side track "On miten on" is a cover of "Shocking you" and "Sinustakin apua ois" is a cover of "California here I come". The latter one is clearly the better one, a little lazy but funky pop rock number.


Sinustakin apua ois

Sammy Babitzin - Kuin tuhka tuuleen

SAMMY BABITZIN

Kuin tuhka tuuleen / Paina puuta

Columbia SE 006-34592
1972
7"






Aleksandr "Sammy" Babitzin was the older brother of singers Kirka, Muska, Ykä and Anna Babitzin. He was considered to be even more talented than his more succesful brother Kirka, but a car accident on a way to a gig ended his life too soon. He was 25 when he died in 1973. During his life, he released several singles. He started his career in 1966 and released few singles under a pseudonym Sammy-boy, but they received very little attention. In 1972 he gained an overwhelming victory in the national Syksyn Sävel -competition with a song "Daa-da daa-da". This single, "Kuin tuhka tuuleen" / "Paina puuta" was released in 1972. "Kuin tuhka tuuleen" is a cover of "Don't pull your love", a billboard hit from 1971 performed by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds. It's a very powerful grooving mid-tempo song with a really cathy hook. The b-side song "Paina puuta" is a groovy cover of a Gerry Monroe ballad "It's raining roses" written by Les Reed. Both songs are backed by Nacke Johansson's orchestra and Finnish lyrics are by Chrisse Johansson.


Kuin tuhka tuuleen


Paina puuta

Cascade - Pigallelle jonoon vaan

CASCADE

Pigallelle jonoon vaan / Angie baby

Scandia KS 933
1975
7"






Cascade was a Finnish pop/soul group that was active in 1974-1977. It was founded by the members Ami Aspelund, Aimo Jaara, Marjo-Riitta Kervinen and Kari Kuusamo. They released four singles and one album before they disbanded due the other projects of the members. Their second single "Pigallelle jonoon vaan / Angie baby" was released in 1975. "Pigallelle jonoon vaan" (roughly translated "To the line for Pigalle") is a nice cover of Labelle hit "Lady marmalade" that was originally released in 1974 and spawned numerous covers all over the world. The b-side song "Angie baby" is a cover of the Helen Reddy song with the same name. It was originally released in 1974 aswell and it reached the Billboard top 100 number one position in December 1974. While "Pigallelle jonoon vaan" is a grooving party number, "Angie baby" follows the original pretty well being a slow and a little bit weird but at the same time very beautiful song. This 45 isn't too commonly seen but both songs were released on Scandia's Huipulla 7 compilation and "Pigallelle jonoon vaan" also on Sonet's Maailmalla Soi 1 compilation.

To all the people that wonder what Pigalle is, the Wikipedia gives an answer:

"Pigalle is famous for being a touristic district, with many sex shops on Place Pigalle and the main boulevards and prostitutes operating in the side streets. The neighborhood's raunchy reputation led to its World War II nickname of "Pig Alley" by Allied soldiers. The Divan du Monde and the Moulin Rouge, a world-famous cabaret, are both located in Pigalle."


Pigallelle jonoon vaan


Angie baby