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FAIRYPORT

Wigwam

Jazz Rock/Fusion


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Wigwam Fairyport album cover
4.12 | 243 ratings | 22 reviews | 32% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1971

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Losing Hold (7:06)
2. Lost Without A Trace (2:29)
3. Fairyport (6:53)
4. Gray Traitors (2:48)
5. Caffkaff, The Country Psychologist (5:22)
6. May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord (5:28)
7. How To Make It Big In Hospital (3:01)
8. Hot Mice (3:19)
9. P.K.'s Supermarket (2:20)
10. One More Try (3:26)
11. Rockin' Ol' Galway (2:27)
12. Every Fold (3:07)
13. Rave-Up For The Roadies (17:20) *

* Recorded Live at Hämis Club, Helsinki, 6th June 1971

Total Time: 65:35

Bonus Track on 2003 remaster:
14. Losing Hold / Finlandia (10:56) #

# Recorded Live for YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company), Kappelikonsertti, August 2nd 1972

Line-up / Musicians

- Jukka Gustavson / vocals, acoustic & electric pianos, organ
- Jim Pembroke / vocals, harmonica, piano (2,12), electric piano (14)
- Pekka Pohjola / bass, violins, acoustic guitar (10), piano (8-9), celeste & harpsichord (9), backing vocals (3)
- Ronnie Österberg / drums, congas, percussion, backing vocals (3)

With:
- Jukka Tolonen / guitar (2,7,13)
- Eero Koivistoinen / soprano saxophone
- Pekka Pöyry / soprano saxophone
- Tapio Louhensalo / bassoon
- Risto Pensola / clarinet
- Hannu Sexelin / clarinet
- Unto Haapa-aho / bass clarinet
- Ilmari Varila / oboe

Releases information

Artwork: Jorma Auersalo with Jukka Gustavson (design)

2xLP Love Records - LRLP 44/45 (1971, Finland)
2xLP Svart Records - SVR 274 (2014, Finland) 24-bit remastered by Joona Lukala

CD Love/Siboney - LRCD 44/45 (1990, Finland)
CD Love/Siboney - LRCD 44/45 (2003, Finland) Remastered by Pauli Saastamoinen w/ bonus track
CD Esoteric Recordings - ECLEC 2182 (2010, UK)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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WIGWAM Fairyport ratings distribution


4.12
(243 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(32%)
32%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(45%)
45%
Good, but non-essential (16%)
16%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
1%

WIGWAM Fairyport reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by loserboy
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars "Fairyport" was the 3rd album released by Finlands WIGWAM which also featured the introduction of another cast member with the entrance of the outstandingly talented composer/musician/bassist Pekka Pohjola. The end result was WIGWAM's first real stab at pure progressive rock and INMO is one of my more favoured albums of the 70's prog era. On "Fairyport", WIGWAM mix jazz, rock, pop all in one exploratory album with a nice wide range of themes and moods. Generally the songs are pretty organ drenched with lots of rhythmic syncopation. With "Fairyport" the threesome of Gustavson, Pembroke and Pohjola was completed. Jukka Gustavson (keyboards) wrote the most progressive pieces, with Jim Pembroke (vocals, piano) wrote the lighter and shorter songs and Pekka Pohjola's (bass) focus on the instrumental aspects. The bottomline is a very well balanced album with lots of progressive tendencies, instrumental prowess and instrumental mastery. There are several magical moments on this album including "Losing Hold" , "Cafffkaff, The Country Psychologist" and Pohjols's ZAPPA-esque instrumental tribute "Hot Mice". Band membership was Ronnie Österberg (drums, congas, percussion, backing vocals), Jukka Gustavson, (vocals, piano, organ, electric piano), Jim Pembroke (vocals, harmonica, piano, electric piano), Pekka Pohjola (bass, violins, acoustic guitar, piano, celeste and harpsichord). I guess every diamond has one rough cut and so too does "Fairyport" with the last track being a 17 minute live epic recording circa 1971 and sounds even with the re-mastered CD version like something off a bootleg. Having said that the studio material is to kill for and I would heavily recommend this album to all lovers of progressive rock.
Review by Prognut
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars A mix of Rock-Jazz basically synth driven. Poor production and quality of sound not the best, most noticeable on the big jam "Rave - up for the Roadies"..In spite of all this this is a gem out from Scandinavian prog scene from the 70's. I would recommend this one mainly to proghead hunters like myself...:-)
Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
4 stars (third in a series of seven)

With this double album , Wigwam goes into the big leagues and come out with a relatively successful effort both artistically and comercially drawing international critical attention. The fragile balance between Pembroke and Gustavson is tipped heavily in favor of the latter, as Pohjola is now fully integrated into the group and his style is much closer to Gustavson. People have been talking of a concept album but IMo , this is thematic (the fourth side of the double album is nothing to do with the rest but shows an exciting live side) and somehow would not convince me if it was a concept. this has more to do with the schizophrenic nature of Wigwam (two different musical personalities) and the still Winwood- like vocals but also much Gabriel-alike are a bit at odds with he jazz-rock develpped in most tracks. The first two tracks always makes me think of a jazzier version of Genesis's Lamb album and Caffkaff being my personal fave along with the title track.

As I said above and in other reviews , I am not entirely convinced by the double personality of Wigwam's music and would've prefered Pembroke and Gustavson to find a common sound halfway between their influences instead of placing their styles strongly on their respective compositions and interveine in their own styles on eachother's compos. Wigwam might have gained much more artistically speaking. This "rift" would eventually become irreconciliable after Being (the following concept album to come and much alike this album) leading to rupture with Pohjola and Gustavson leaving Pembroke alone at the Helm.

Superb sleeve artwork is also likely to please most progheads but symphonic progheads might want to stay clear of Wigwam if they dislike jazz influences.

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Though there are three poorer songs in this double album, I'll still gave the five stars for it, because the remaining good material is so fine, that it balances the situation. Also these three not-so-good songs take only 9 minutes of total 65 minutes long album, so there's an exceptional ratio of good material versus the bad material here. The vinyl version (and I believe the remastered CD versions too) have a great booklet with fine, thoughtful lyrics and funny photographs.

For me, the ultimate highlight is the 4th side's live improvisation featuring JUKKA TOLONEN on guitar (from TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI). I also like JUKKA GUSTAVSON's four-piece religious themed song entity, which gives it's name to the album and also a theme to the gatefold covers. Starting track "Losing Hold" is also an extremely powerful song. The band used to mix it with Finnish national hymn "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius on their live gigs, and there seems to be a mp3 stream of such recording present on this page! "Lost Without a Trace" and "Every Fold" are very beautiful songs, and PEKKA POHJOLA's "Hot Mice" is a funny homage to FRANK ZAPPA's musical style on "Hot Rats" album. "How to Make it Big in Hospital" has also some nice guitar licks from Tolonen. The best album of this band in my opinion!

Review by Carl floyd fan
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars This album has really grown on me. As much as I like Fusion, sometimes I need something a little less complex. There isn't as much going on as a Zappa or Mahavishnu Orchestra album so it's a nice break if you want to take it easy but still listen to some good fusion. I like the vocals and the 17 minute jam at the end is very catchy! Be sure to check out wigwam ASAP!
Review by lor68
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Such a sophisticated rock of the early seventies, sometimes structured according a pure progressive style,however always enriched with some jazz-rock cues and a few "Canterburian" hints as well...ok, but what a pity for the weak production!! In particular Risto Pensola (clarinet) and - Pekka Pöyry (soprano saxophone) give a touch of their own, while Jim Pembroke and Jukka Gustavson create the main themes around a piano and an organ sound, closer to a certain Scandinavian mood, even though their interplay is a bit strident in some circumstances..well "Rave-Up For The Roadies" is the best jam-session of the album, but please don't regard this 70's album as a concept-work!!

The fourth section of such work is probably the best one, despite of containing a different stuff in comparison to their standard, which sometimes seems it's not well fitted into the whole project, but it's a question of personal tastes and impressions...at the end the collection of the "proto-prog" works can be enriched by means of this "Fairyport", so make your own choice!

Review by belz
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars 4.6/5.0

This album is a gem, really! It is somehow a strange gem, unpolished, raw, wild.. But what a beauty with its brute force and emotional melodies! After the first listening, I just wanted to listen to it again. The music is special, somekind of a mix of Gentle Giant and jazz-fusion with lot of piano and counter-tempi. The music is complex yet it does not lack direction and the musicians do not try to impress to much with their technical talents... The music is fluid, enjoyable, with great climax!

Review by fuxi
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Blimey, this is one remarkable album! I had never even heard of Wigwam until I discovered Prog Archives, but surely they're one of the most remarkable prog bands of the early 1970s. Their similarity to Traffic and Soft Machine has been pointed out before (to my relief, it's mainly Soft Machine's VOLUME TWO they remind me of) but it really, really struck me what exhilerating musicians they were. Was there any keyboards-dominated band in Britain which recorded SUCH sophisticated and exciting music anno 1971? Wigwam's ensemble playing certainly seems ten times more refined than what Genesis were doing at this time - how come they're not better known? And the most surprising thing of all is that this keyboards- dominated album ends on a 17 minute live jam, during which guest guitarist Jukka Tolonen improvises the solo of all solos: somewhat similar in style to Richie Blackmore, but without vulgarity, without cheap tricks, sheer inspiration from beginning to end! The live jam is inadequately recorded (in contrast to the remainder of the album, which sounds pristine) but with musicianship of this order, who cares?
Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars This is WIGWAM's third album but really their first Progressive one. Not surprisingly this is also where Pekka Pohjola, their legenday bassist comes on board. As Tommy from the "Vintageprog" site notes "Jukka Gustavson (keyboards) usually wrote the most Progressive and complex pieces, while Jim Pembroke (vocalist) wrote the lighter and shorter songs". Pekka also was involved in writing songs for this album and his talent leaned heavily on the more complex style just like Jukka. In fact he had his hand in writing both of the compositions that are far and away my favourites ("Losing Hold" & "Hot Mice"). Interesting that there was no lead guitarist as part of the band on this double album, but legendary guitarist Jukka Tolonen does guest on three tracks.You can hear why I call him legendary if you listen to the over 17 minute "live" closing track where he steals the show and then some. A real mixed bag of styles on this double album as well. Probably more Symphonic music than anything while Jazz and Folk are also prominant. While listening to this recording I kept thinking "This is 1971 ?". I'll quickly go through the songs.

"Losing Hold" was a shared composition by all three of the writers.This for me is the best track on here and one I wish everyone on this site could hear. It has a good uptempo intro and check out Pekka on the bass ! It changes as the organ comes in taking the lead. A drum flury then back to the organ.Themes are repeated. Vocals don't come in until after 3 minutes. Jim sounds a lot like Steve Winwood. This is such a moving section for me. Bass, organ and drums are outstanding 5 minutes in. Fantastic track ! "Lost Without A Trace" is a ballad of acoustic guitar, piano and reserved vocals. "Fairyport" is melancholic to start, then vocals and piano take over with drums and bass following. Organ arrives. It turns jazzy before 2 1/2 minutes and the bass and piano sound great. Aboe and clarinet (I think) before 5 1/2 minutes are a nice touch as vocals return. Cool song. "Gray Traitors" sounds like a continuation of "Fairyport", both were written by Gustavson.This song blends into "Caffkaff,The Country Psychologist" another Gustavson tune. Later the piano gets a little dissonant followed by prominant bass before 3 1/2 minutes. Piano dominates again as bass and drums support. Incredible !

"May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord" features light drums, piano and bass. Some aboe early and the vocals are very Winwood-like here. "How To Make It Big In Hospital" features humerous lyrics with vocals to match.Tolonen makes lots of noise on his guitar here. Organ after a minute and percussion joins the drums before 2 minutes. "Hot Mice" is a Pohjola song and my second most favourite.This is an instrumental and a sign of what was to come on Pekka's future solo albums. This is beautiful to start with piano. Throbbing bass as organ joins in and the tempo picks up. Pure magic as the contrast continues. "P.K.'s Super Market" is another Pekka instrumental with a good beat and lots of piano. "One More Try" is led by piano,vocals and drums. A jazzy interlude 1 1/2 minutes in. Check out the organ. "Rockin' Ol' Galway" is a catchy tune with some harmonica. "Every Fold" is laid back with reserved vocals and piano early. "Rave-Up For The Roadies" is the only track where the drummer and guest guitarist (Tolenen) are involved in composing a song. This is the over 17 minute "live" tune and Tolenen is flat out incredible on this one. While this song doesn't fit in with the rest of the album, I love it. The guitar and bass are wild !

An solid 4 star recording with some good variety and better playing. A must for Prog fans out there.

Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Speaking about early 70-s, there was only leading prog band from Nordic countries - and it was Finnish Wigwam. Fairyport is their best album, so if you still din't listen them and are interested in North European prog history, there is a place you must to start.

Band's sound is based on keyboards, but differently from many UK bands of that time, band's music is airy, never over-produced, even ascetic (in Northern manner). There are melodies in the songs, and there are that tasteful beauty, when you can hear pure song tune and musicianship didn't covered by tons of (often bombastic) arrangements. Shortly speaking, this is early prog rock as it was before producers invented multi layered studio tricks for making not very good (or not very well played ) music more attractive to sell.

Besides of some bluesy jazz-rock another important component of this album's music is neo- classics (this tradition is still alive in music of many modern Finnish prog bands). But again, classical influences there could be found in a form of some piano arrangements more then any form of orchestration.

Many Finnish best rock musicians play on this album: keyboardist Jukka Gustavson , one of the best known Finnish multi instrumentalist Pekka Pohjola, guitarist Jukka Tolonen, well- known in jazz circles sax player Eero Koivistoinen.

Just to imagine the music think about ascetic pre-Third Soft Machine combined with bluesy jazz-rock of some early Zappa's works. Absolute classic, and must have release for every serious jazz-rock collection.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Wigwam's Fairyport is the band's magnum opus, a double album of eccentric fusion with strong influences from Zappa and the Canterbury scene, with just enough mainstream rock left in the mix to keep things accessible without compromising on innovation and complexity. At the same time, it isn't quite consistent enough to convince me that it was really worth making this a double album; a few songs or parts of songs could have been trimmed or tightened up to yield an absolutely five star single album, but as with so many other double albums Fairyport sprawls and doesn't quite manage to hold the listener's attention. (In particular, I could have done without the live improvisation Rave-Up For the Roadies, whose recording quality is a bit too rough to do the material in question justice - why they thought it was worth dedicating an entire side of the album to is beyond me.)
Review by Guldbamsen
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Retired Admin
4 stars Saucy Canterburian White-boy Stevie Wonder out of Finland

Finland. Yes Finland. The outsider country that lies on the eastern tip of Scandinavia mostly known for Nokia and it's involvement in the second world war. Personally I have a long withstanding relationship to the country due to a brand of vodka named Finlandia, and most importantly: the music.

I've been thinking about a series of reviews opening up the gates to Finland's progressive music scene, and where else to start than the magnificent and probably most recognised of bands: Wigwam. First of all I really have to thank John(Mellotron Storm) for pointing me in the right direction, and for that I am forever grateful of. Thanks buddy! This album is a jewel in the rough, and even if it, at times, shows signs of overindulgence and the odd track that doesn't quite fit in with the rest, the remaining material is up there with the best of it's time. This is melodic fusion at its most intricate and endearing, and to yours truly it actually feels much more like a Scandinavian Canterbury release. It's got those angular shifts - the jumpy pianos and organs that sound incredibly powerful and meaty - like fluctuating fat chords being stomped upon by a great big melody smith of jazz rock. Swish! From one end to the other, these massive chords act as a delightful foundation for everything else to flourish on. Saxophones, guitars, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and warm vibrating congas fluently running alongside the engaging melodies like a sprinting sonic gazelle.

The trademark of Wigwam, at least to this slightly crazy Dane, is the wonderful mix of the aforementioned Scandinavian Canterbury warmth coupled together with what can only be described as the white-boy rendition of Stevie Wonder on vocals. In fact most of this album wouldn't sound out of place on Wonder's fantastic Innervisions - had he opted for a decisively more jazzy and playful expression. But don't take my word for it though, get your own copy, and tell me you don't hear the distinct similar feel in both piano and organ melodies as well as those bitter-sweet charismatic vocals. What this effectively does, is making Fairyport astonishingly accessible, even for those of you who normally despise the fusion genre. This is just such a welcoming and lovable album, that I have serious trouble imagining anybody into progressive music not liking it.

For anybody who's interested in music from Finland, this is da shizzle right here! Even if many of the Finnish bands were into gang-banging back in those days - trading members all over the place - I think that essentially was part of the reason as to why the scene became such a thriving and blooming place for music. There was a common feel, and although most of the groups had created a sound for themselves, you still hear that endemic and Canterburian sound prevailing. It's playful and well-thought out - likening to the sort of song-writing you'd encounter in British groups like Caravan and Hatfield and the North - be that with the unique Finnish stamp. A sense of melody and a way with brass instruments that I personally feel exceed any of the acts from the cradle of the Canterbury sound.

Fairyport is recommended to everybody. Hah! Sounds ridiculous, but I mean that. Most of this album is masterpiece material - it rides a musical high that is as seldom and beautiful like a lost rainbow in a closet, and even if those mundane and bewildering sections knock it down to a 4.5 star rating, the remainder of this album is like exploding chocolate ice cream in your tummy.

Review by octopus-4
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
4 stars Days ago I was reading some reviews of "Yessongs". Many reviewers were complaining about the sound quality. Alsome everybody admits that it's the "best of the best YES", but it's jeopardized by the bad quality.

Well, this third (and double) album of Wigwam suffers for the same reason, but as for Yessongs I quite disagree about "jeopardizing". That's the sound quality available at the beginning of the 70s and for one like me who was listening to them on a "Readers Digest" turntable, that's the quality I was used to.

On a live like yessongs and on a studio album like Fairyport, including the last long track that's live, what is called a "bad sound quality" is part of the album, like it or not it's so.

The very good thing is how the things are mixed together. The first very jazz moment arrives with the title track, that's the third of the album, but the whole thing is permeated by Pekka Pohjola's bass. It's effectively on the title track that the bad recording quality can be more disturbing, but t gives me the same sensations of when I listen to Tommy Dorsey on a 78 RPM (believe me or not, I have a 78RPM compilation of big bands at home).

Now let's speak of the album instead of the production. After the first two releases this seems to be the album on which the band has found a direction. With Canterbury and Zappa as principal influences there's also a good bunch of classical music, some humor and some very prog moments. The second part of Caffkaff is one of the best examples including almost all the mentioned elements.

It's a long album so it can even have some weaker episodes, but the overall quality of the compositions is very above the standards. It's a pity that the sound quality of "Rave-up For The Roadies" is so bad. Effectively on this one I can't say that it doesn't disturb, and the music is quite different from Dorsey's orchestra. In this jazz-rock epic there are so many things to catch that effectively it's quite too bad, but the music is so good that I can forgive the producer.

So how to rate it?

Let's say that even with the bad production it's an excellent addition to any prog collection. I can't rate it as a masterpiece because an album is made also of production but there are surely masterpiece tracks. As we all know 4.5 is not allowed....

Review by Matti
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars The following album Being (1973) is considered Wigwam's ultimate masterpiece, but the group found their strength (which mostly was on the shoulders of Jukka Gustavson) on this one. Fairyport was released as a double vinyl - albeit a short one, approximately 66 minutes - and now we really can say that by leaving the worst parts aside and using further thinking in the running order this would have been so much better and more coherent.

The second vinyl side ends with a lousy - frankly, very irritating - Jim Pembroke song 'How to Make It Big in a Hospital'. What a striking contrast to the wonderful suite by Jukka Gustavson that starts with the title track on the first side. I'm not fond of the cacthy and rollicking 'Rockin' Ol' Galway' with its harmonica playing either, but Pempbroke wrote also two beautiful songs, the acoustic and moody 'Lost Without a Trace' (backed up by piano and Jukka Tolonen's guitar) and emotionally powerful 'Every Fold', which is an uplifting finale to the main album. Pembroke also wrote and sung nice lyrics for Pekka Pohjola's composition 'One More Try'.

Wigwam didn't too often succeed in team writing. The finest fruit of team work comes as the album opener 'Losing Hold'. WOW! One of the best tracks in the entire Finnish prog history. 'Fairyport' is another masterpiece. Notice those wonderful reed arrangements and the harmony vocals in the soft sections. Jukka's own vocal parts are very much in the style of his two Stevie heroes, Winwood and Wonder.Thankfully he was not the only vocalist in the group because it could easily became a tiresome factor. The three Gutsi songs in the second side are good vocal jazz-rock but less memorable. By the way, Jukka's original words in Finnish were translated by Mats Huldén. The wordplay (ie. intended "misspelling" of words) sometimes went a bit too cryptic, especially on Being album.

The master bassist Pekka Pohjola offers two instrumentals in his own unique style. 'Hot Mice' is naturally a nod to Zappa's album Hot Rats which he admired like crazy. 'PK's Supermarket' features a wide use of instruments played by Pekka, the brief composition being a bit silly fusion of jazz, rock and Baroque.

Some listeners like the forth vinyl side's 17-minute edition of live jamming titled 'Rave-Up for the Roadies' (starring Tolonen's electric guitar and Gutsi's organ) but I don't. I wonder how would I have felt in the concert, listening to the endless showing off of the technical skill, probably I'd be bored to death after half an hour, sorry. Those who despise prog as endless soloing are for once absolutely right.

Fairyport comes very close being a masterpiece but the faults are too serious to be totally forgiven. The great cover art was drawn after Gustavson's concept. On Being he took the leading role further; that album would ALMOST pass as his solo work, but thankfully he ordered compositions from Pembroke and Pohjola too. Both albums represent the very best of the Finnish classic prog.

Review by BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars The the this is the founding quartet's third album since forming in 1968, it is their first to fully satisfy all of the requirements of inclusion into the Jazz-Rock Fusion and/or Progressive Rock music categories. Their version of jazz-rock fusion is far simpler, far more melody-driven and even pop-friendly than the stuff coming out of Herbie Hancock or the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

1. "Losing Hold" (7:06) though the whole band plays tight, cohesive music throughout this song, it is the Canterbury-like keyboards of Jukka Gustavson that lead and draw the most notice. The lead vocals (assuming they're by Jim Pembroke due to their being English) are quite similar to those early vocals of prog icons Peter Gabriel and Roye Albrighton. I love the melodies of this song if not-so-much the bluesy-organ-rock style. Prog Hall-of-Famer Pekka Pohjola's bass prowess really shines in the instrumental second half. (14.25/15)

2. "Lost Without A Trace" (2:29) delicate vocal with piano accompaniment--all by Jim Pembroke. (8.75/10)

3. "Fairyport" (6:53) theatric Elvis Costello-like vocals over piano with the combo in relatively sedate attendance; this is truly a pop song. It's not until the 2:20 mark when a lounge-jazz piano style takes the band into a lounge jazz style not unlike that of Vince Guaraldi. When the lead instrument becomes a dirty organ at 3:25 the music turns full blues-rock--old blues rock. Too bad. Luckily it turns another corner at 5:05 into a. chamber/folk type of music with oboe and clarinet before reverting to the Elvis Costello motif for the final minute. (13.5/15)

4. "Gray Traitors" (2:48) a song that starts out sounding very much like a vehicle for one of PeterGabriel's weird little stories, eventually turns symphonic instrumental for the next song to continue. (8.875/10)

5. "Caffkaff, The Country Psychologist" (5:22) piano and voice, with the piano chords following the vocal melody almost note for note--at least for the first 90 seconds. Then organ joins in but can't quite extricate the main melody/motif from those note-for-note piano chords. It feels more like a bare-bones practice for a song intended for a stage musical. At 2:39 the percussion and electric piano, then organ, try to hijack the music over to a jazz idiom--unsuccessfully for the first 45 seconds but then accomplished, moving the mood into a more DAVE BRUBECK "Take Five" like motif. Pekka's bass playing finally gets to shine a little bit despite the three keyboards maintaining dominance over the solos. (8.75/10)

6. "May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord" (5:28) this one seems to be based over a CAROLE KING-like piano chord progression. Organ, flute, bass and drums are not, however, being forced to follow along--are given freedom to fill space with their own melodious lines. The vocal is more plaintive, less confident and theatric. The sax and other wind instruments' contribution in the fifth minute is awesome! A very engaging song that ends up being a bit too loose and unpolished for high marks. (8.875/10)

7. "How To Make It Big In Hospital" (3:01) The band's attempt at either the Rolling Stones or Velvet Underground?! Nice bass work from Pekka. (8.6666667/10)

8. "Hot Mice" (3:19) a very nice, melodic lounge music that has the trademark changes of late 1960s Broadway musical--like Steven Schwartz or Burt Bacharach. (9/10)

9. "P.K.'s Supermarket" (2:20) polka style rhythm tracks over which barrel-hall piano plays. Sounds very French--though it's also very light and happy-go-lucky. I really like this! (4.75/5)

10. "One More Try" (3:26) more music theatre storytelling with voice paired up with piano, chord for chord. It's engaging and intimate, but then after the 1:30 mark the music takes a turn into post-Beat jazz with congas and Hammond organ being accompanied by drums and Pekka's great bass play. At the end of the third minute the music switches back to the opening motif but stays instrumental--never returns to vocal message-carrying. (8.875/10)

11. "Rockin' Ol' Galway" (2:27) sounds like something from Dr. John or the quirkier side of Peter Gabriel ("Counting out Time," "La Dolce Vita," or excuse me) as well as something like but too melodic and pretty for Frank Zappa. Once again Pekka Pohjola's bass play is quite remarkable. (8.875/10)

12. "Every Fold" (3:07) multiple voice vocals carry this tune over piano, bass, and drums. Distant organ and heavily-effected NEKTAR-like voice join in the background during the second minute. It ends up sounding almost like a BEATLES song. (8.75/10)

13. "Rave-Up For The Roadies" (17:20) * now this is different: the band really jamming like a JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE song--for seventeen long guitar-dominated minutes (raunchy electric guitar play courtesy of guest Jukka Tolonen). Though multi-themed and not too far off from the sound and musical style of the PINK FAIRIES, this is really not my cup of tea. (30.33333/35)

* Recorded Live at Hämis Club, Helsinki, 6th June 1971

Total Time: 65:35

B/four stars; an excellent progressive rock album; I'm not going to be able to include this in my Jazz-Rock Fusion lists due to its much greater pop-orientation. This is more like a cross between lounge jazz, 1960s Off-Broadway Music Theater, and Canterbury Style: playful, melodic music for the masses.

Latest members reviews

4 stars This is good. It's really good. Almost perfect. Or wait, the first disc is close to perfection. Well, at least the first song "Losing Hold" is their best song. I love it so much. It has always been my favorite song from them and will probably always be. And then there's the title track. It's jus ... (read more)

Report this review (#423570) | Posted by Talybont | Sunday, March 27, 2011 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Bass and keyboards, bass and keyboards. Wow! And what a great job with it. The first song on this album, "Losing Hold", catches your attention quickly with, like I said, the bass and keyboards. Pekka Pohjola does an amazing job on the bass while Jukka Gustavson works the keyboards. Of the whole albu ... (read more)

Report this review (#350071) | Posted by let prog reign | Saturday, December 11, 2010 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Pembroke, Gustavson and Pohjola wrote around a third of the material each. Pembroke's stuff is the same sort of pop that dominated the previous album, including the beautiful ballad "Lost Without A Trace". Gustavson's material is more jazzy and prog-influenced, and the individual songs together f ... (read more)

Report this review (#219768) | Posted by Progeaster | Thursday, June 4, 2009 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Although Wigwam's first two albums were decent, "Fairyport" was the first expression of classic Finnish prog rock along with Tasavallan Presidentti's 2nd. Partly due Jim Pembroke's vocals and songwriting, the album had a very English sound to it, although it wasn't simply following trends as it wa ... (read more)

Report this review (#132598) | Posted by Salviaal | Friday, August 10, 2007 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Beautiful. Excellent music from my fellow men =) The first moment my bro swang this to his cd player and said "check this out" I was sold. I just love the sounds of the funky bass. I love the vocals and the drums. Excellent! These melodies will just go straight to your head. At first I couldn' ... (read more)

Report this review (#68602) | Posted by | Monday, February 6, 2006 | Review Permanlink

5 stars This is my favorite Wigwam Album. If you like your pop- rock mixed with Canterbury styled writing then you might fall in love with Wigwam's music just as i have. To be totally honest i find ALL of the writing by Jim Pembroke catchy (but not really 'progressive' as most think of that term) ...h ... (read more)

Report this review (#35184) | Posted by | Friday, June 3, 2005 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Fairyport was the first album with which Wigwam realised their potential to create a truly INSANE progressive album. The organ of Gustavson is heavily to the front, especially on tracks like Losing Hold and Fairyport which are veritable orgies of destruction, matched all the way by Pohjola's h ... (read more)

Report this review (#22779) | Posted by | Saturday, December 4, 2004 | Review Permanlink

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