KINGSTON WALL

An album that perhaps should not work. Does mid-90's psych-prog really get anyone out of their seat? Coupled with the fact that it's partly influenced by psytrance? There were a few artists kicking around doing this sort of thing in the 90s, but not many that I can say do it as convincingly as Kingston Wall. And it's all because they write good songs first, before they go and drop acid and jam out the instrumental passages. If this was half the length and all the weird psych bits were removed, it would be a passable alt-rock album with strong melodies, good performances and memorable hooks. The psych doesn't necessarily detract from that - it's more the fact that all piled together there's 70+ minutes of stuff here. But when it's good, it's some of the best that 90's prog got to.

6.8 (5th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

1. "With My Mind" (4:39) nice wall of sound but the vocals feel lacking in authentic enthusiasm. Even some impressive lead guitar wah-pedal soloing can't really make up for the dullness of the rest of the song. (8.25/10)

2. "Used to Feel Before" (4:02) very bluesy, HENDRIX-like foundation for a rockin' song. Perhaps this is the song that planted the "the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix" seed in my brain--(though not the chorus). Definitely a late 60s blues-rock vibe going on here--Zeppelin or maybe even a little Black Sabbath; no, definitely Hendrix. (8.5/10)

3. "I'm Not the One" (3:43) another Hendrix-like tune with a BEASTIE BOYS-style choral vocal delivery. The guitar playing is smokin' hot but nothing really new or innovative--until the third minute when echo-guitar is accompanied by background crowd chatter noises. I wonder if Omar Rodriguez-Lopez ever heard Petri or the Wall's music before they formed The Mars Volta. (8.5/10)

4. "Fire" (2:58) an actual Hendrix cover! Petri does not (yet) have the vocal capacity to pull off a Hendrix song but in the guitar department he is making it his own! (8.5/10)

5. "Waste of Time" (6:26) again, the blues-rock bands of the 60s immediately come to mind--those bands who were exploring the loud, proto-"metal" sounds and styles at that time. Even the melodies feel and sound like that old era (Bowie, Spirit). The wild fourth and fifth minutes display the first exposition of the Wall's all-out, no-holds-barred excellence! This is rock excellent--the future of Kingston Wall! The band is playing so tight--as one! (8.75/10)

6. "Nepal" (8:37) a long intro of wah-pedal electric guitar soloing and crashing cymbals open the first 90 seconds of this before a structured song is actually established--one that is much more sedate and smooth that the opening would seem to indicate. Cool bird sounds coming from a second track of Petri's guitar. Again, the band feels pretty tight, pretty jazzed up--as if the album's first four songs were just warmups and now they're really fully engaged, fully entrained--though not quite as tight as the second half of that previous song. Petri is in the zone--going off into the cosmos--until surprisingly relinquishing the lead to the bass player. I love the psychedelia shouts and cryptic phrases in the background--and then he steps to the fore again--this time urging the bass and drum players to flash and shine at the same time. A little THIN LIZZY-like multi-instrumental regurgitation of the main melody before everybody crashes to the finish. (17.5/20)

7. "And I Hear You Call" (4:55) a decent song with an odd almost Caribbean feel to the rhythm tracks, yet the melodies feel almost Greek, while Petri's guitar showmanship pushes over the edge into new territories. (8.5/10)

8. "Tanya (3:51) slow-picked echoed and distorted electric guitar notes open this. Bass notes, drum hits, and background reverbed scream/wails join in. A very bluesy, JEFF BECK-like song--an instrumental with a BEATLES-like melody line--that seems to sing a tale of woe and tribulation. (8.25/10)

- "Mushrooms" (21:09) (34.5/40): 9. I - Prelude (1:18) - intentionally strummed guitar chords and cymbal play support Petri's wailing-echoed guitar play. (4.25/5) 10. II - On My Own (6:50) - steady rumba beat over which Petri sings in a URIAH HEEP-like melody about wasting time. Great chorus. Great song that could have been even better with better background vocals and more "in the pocket" drumming. I like the bass player exploring his own trajectory while Petri solos in the fourth minute. Then there is an odd shift into a space-dreamy sequence of effects and musical waves rising and falling (which feels as if it should have been designated with its own sub-title), but then we return to the "I wanna be" chorus for the final minute. (13.25/15) 11. III - The Weep (2:01) - gentle guitar and cymbal play over which two very odd vocal tracks compete for dominance: one that is wailing, almost crying, the other that is like an indecipherable squawk coming from a PA system voice. Interesting dichotomy. (8.25/5) 12. IV - Mushrooms (3:04) - a return to the Beastie Boys form of singing over staccato syncopated music eventually smooths and flattens out for the poppy chorus. There is absolutely no pop, no fluff, in Petri's ensuing guitar solo, though: this is all rock at it's Alvin Lee/Ronnie Montrose kickin' tops. (9/10) 13. V - Circumstances (2:18) - similar rhythm as the previous section with pseudo-Islamic chant-wailing over the top--accompanied by wild sax play (that sounds like it came from Vietnam or Mecca). Protends of Koenji Hyakkei? (4.5/5) 14. VI - Captain Relief (2:15) back to Western rock--Petri let's loose and he is on fire! Even when the band quiets down, Petri's solo is psychedelic majesty! (4.5/5) 15. VII - More Mushrooms (2:07) a conversation between two druggies gives way to the Beastie Boys theme and choral vocals of the previous "Mushrooms" section. Here Petri plays a bottleneck/slide for the lead, until ? (4.25/5) 16. VIII - The Answer (1:16) an awesome sonic landscape to finish with. (4.5/5)

Total Time: 60:20

Plenty of flashes of the rise to virtuosic levels of instrument mastery are on display here--but they aren't quite there yet--even Petri has some growing to do (unbelievably). But the power and walls of sound are there--definitely there. An excellent album of late-60s sounding psychedelic blues rock.

B/four stars; an very good addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you like A) Hendrix, B) hard driving psychedelic rock, and/or C) later Petri Walli/Kingston Wall albums.

1. "We Cannot Move" (4:39) let the Indian influences begin! (8.5/10)

2. "Istwan" (4:02) acoustic guitar picking with droning strings leads into a kind of BEATLES/BEACH BOYS C&W song style. Interesting! (8.5/10)

3. "Could It Be So?" (5:52) back to psychedelia: guitar drenched heavily in reverb leads of and solos from the get go. This is HENDRIX/Frank MARINO heaven! And the band does very well to keep up with Petri. (Maybe they've finally awakened.) And he's singing about reincarnation! A top three song for me. (9/10)

4. "And It's All Happening" (6:07) slowed down, spacious blues-rock instrumental. Pure Hendrix or maybe Gilmour amped up by ten. Masterful and emotional. (8.75/10)

5. "Love Tonight" (6:40) though the electric guitar is bleeding over from the previous song, strumming acoustic guitars, Indian-sounding percussion, and either bowed electric guitar or violin establish a TRAFFIC or Alvin Lee-like song structure before Petri begins singing and then turning full on LED ZEPPELIN. Amazingly piercing electric guitar playing during the solo section. And then he's holding back--turns to strumming for his lead work! Absolutely amazing! (8.5/10)

6. "Two Of a Kind" (6:23) returning to the Arabian deserts with acoustic guitar strumming, joined by odd synth-sounding bass before Petri starts singing and the rest of the band joins in. During the first instrumental section, Petri's solo is full-on HENDRIX. It's as if he's channeling the master! Drums get a chance to show off (nice job Sami!) before second verse of singing starts. Another blazing, faster-than-light guitar solo follows. Wow! (8.5/10)

7. "I Feel Love" (6:39) Yes! THE "I Feel Love"! Done Euro-Petri-style! It almost works! (8.25/10)

8. "Shine On Me" (7:05) introduced with a heavy, bluesy picked electric guitar chord progression accompanied by soloing saxophone, Petri's almost-whispered voice delivers the first verse as the band's rhythm track kicks in, before the first guitar solo. Sax does a great job of dancing around Petri's vocals--and the bass and drums intensify nicely after the second verse, encouraging Petri to amp it up for his second guitar solo. Unfortunately, it's rather blues-rock solo by the numbers--the sax is actually outshining the guitar! The music tones down significantly after the third verse, paving the way for a much more sensitive, bluesy GILMOUR-like solo. (13.25/15)

9. "You" (10:11) the opening feels like something from an AL DiMEOLA album. The Latin flavor soon diminishes (@1:15) as electrified guitar sound amplifies. Petri's vocalise and Jukka's bass play are strongly entrained. Then everything backs way down for a spacious, more RY COODER-like acoustic guitar section before electric guitar reenters in a dramatic fashion. Soft, spacious in the fifth minute as Petri finally starts to sing--in a soft, relaxed, Robert Plant-like way. Amped up drums in the sixth minute signal a shift in dynamics: bass and guitar take off, with Petri's wah-ed lead taking us through some Pete Townsend moves before settling on a more staccato approach. Around 7:40 it begins to sound as if there are multiple guitar tracks contributing. New Spanish chord structure at 8:00 leads to another round of Petri alternating between vocalise and lead guitar. Then, at 9:00, we switch back to the soft, spacious motif for Petri to finish the singing off. (17.5/20)

10. "Palékastro" (4:54) a fast paced instrumental rocker to finish off the album unfortunately showcases the discrepancy in skill level between Petri Walli and both of his band mates. (8.25/10)

Total Time: 76:36

B/four stars; an excellent step forward for this guitar god--the possible reincarnation of Master Jimi.

While not necessarily a themed or concept album based band, in essence, their third album 'Tri-Logy' did evolve into a concept album. One could go as far to say that there was a lot of deliberation put into the track order and feel on all 3 of their first albums.

Petri Walli had become more centered around mysticism and Scandinavian folk law, as well as far-eastern, and Hindu influences. When visiting India he had become friends with Ior Bock, a Finnish actor, mythologist and eccentric. It was this relationship that had some affect on the third album Tri-Logy and the concept related to it. The details of this relationship actually makes for a very good read and does for sure give some insight into some thoughts, perhaps, of Petri Walli.

It is a right of passage for some of the great musicians to either stay with us in this life or move to the next before their natural time. It is as though they know some secret or have witnessed the beginning of the universe, and wish to hurry and process the finalities of this life's formalities.

Petri Walli was one of those greats, and of course, like millions of undiscovered musicians, not well known in most popular musical spheres. Nevertheless, he is to many, a John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Marc Bolan, Janis Joplin, to name a few.

I am of course an avid fan, but also i feel the need to express certain things when it comes to releasing the 'Best of" kind of albums.

There has been 2 releases from Sony label. This one in 2011, The Essential Kingston Wall, and a in 2014 one called "The Goods'. Both the The Essential Kingston Wall and The Goods have the same tracks in the same order. The difference is that the first was more expensive and the art work was more subdued.

The thing with making a best of kind of compilation, it does miss the mark, and does leave out many songs that gave another the album it's purpose. It takes the poetry out of the atmosphere.

I started to write about each song as it appears on this album, but I felt that it took away from the 'feel' of each of the 3 albums they were taken from. Each song does feel out of context on it's own. It is like wearing different shoes, or mismatched clothing. I am certain there is no order these songs could have been listed that would feel like you are really getting into the nitty gritty of what Kingston Wall was about.

Yes, they are all great songs. The best of Some of the songs from a great band.

Would this album make someone who had no knowledge of KW go out and listen to the first 3 full albums?

I am not sure if it would. It feels like a homogenized/abridged 'Best of Pink Floyd' albums, which incidentally, I feel pretty much the same way about.

In short, the best way to understand Kingston Wall is to listen to their 3 albums, and in track order.

The Essential Kingston Wall is really for collectors, or perhaps those who wish to take some of the songs on this album and add them to a play list.

I would rate it an Excellent Addition, however the album 'The Essential Kingston Wall' is not necessarily Essential.

Side One (A continuous suite of songs)" 1. "Another Piece Of Cake" (3:48) amazing guitar and great drumming over a kind of standard song. (9/10) 2. "Welcome to the Mirrorland" (3:46) really an intro to "I'm the King, I'm the Sun", the song opens with a cymbal crash before didgeridoo, jews harp, bagpipes, hand percussion, and far background guitar soloing establish the HENDRIX-like before Petri's voice conspiratorially whispers his lyric to us. By the second half drums, synths, and strumming acoustic guitars have moved forward, forcing Petri to speak more openly, insistently. The song then bleeds directly in the next song. (8.75/10) 3. "I'm the King, I'm the Sun" (4:56) feels very PINK FAIRIES-like with vocals and synths. (8.667/10) 4. "The Key: Will" (1:07) coming out of the "King/Sun", the music reverts to digderidoo and jew's harp as Petri sings his final message in a low monotone. More of an interlude. 5. "Take You to Sweet Harmony" (3:24) opens with spacious spaceyness (coming from the didgeridoo and jew's harp of the previous three songs) like a PINK FLOYD song, but then with the mystical almost-spoken vocal it turns kind of Reggae ? except the guitar. Wow! Can Petri wail! I don't really like the song, but the guitar pyrotechnics are undeniable and so worth listening to! (8.75/10) 6. "Get Rid of Your Fears" (2:56) another song that bleeds over from its predecessor, the blues space wah-guitar solos Hendrix-style over a relatively slow, deep, semi-Reggae rhythm foundation. A bit CAN-like, the odd deep vocal that is spoken ominously over the second minute turns whispery-singing over the final guitar chord strums. I really like the drum/percussion work on this one. (8.667/10) 7. "When Something Old Dies" (1:21) the breakout rocker from the previous song. (4.25/5) 8. "Alt - land - is" (5:12) becomes a vehicle for a fast drive on a country road while Petri autodidacts a continuous story as if he's stream-of-consciousness talking. The drumming, bass playing, and synth work is quite active, quite propelling. In the fourth minute Petri finally breaks out of his conspiratorial whisper and sings Robert Plant-like as his guitar work becomes more filling and active. (8.75/10)

9. "Party Goes On" (4:25) another song that reminds me of PINK FAIRIES. Nice shift at 0:45. Petri's support crew is truly top notch--and so tight! (8.667/10)

10. "Stüldjt Håjt" (8:59) very cool psych rock. I hear nods to The Who, Led Zep, AC/DC, even some jazz fusion (in the bass). Petri's vocal performance is very entertaining--as is his searing lead guitar work and the crazed free-jazz bass and drum work. At the four minute mark we fall into another five-chord PINK FAIRIES motif while Petri "narrates" a newscast before falling back into his Hitler-esque repetition of the "Stüldjt håjt" march mantra. The message must be quite powerful as the music and performances all seem to be set to 11. The song's decay over the final 70 seconds is quite entertaining and ingenious--almost as if the world is exploding. (18/20)

11. "For All Mankind" (6:17) drone and didgeridoo open this one as amazing lead guitar riffing and Animal-like drumming slowly fade in as if coming from the Underworld or somewhere equally nefarious. (How else could a guitarist be this good, this dynamic, this confident?) Add to this a great vocal with amazing lyrics and you get my favorite song on the album and my favorite Kingston Wall song of all-time (this despite it being rumored to have been Petri's suicide note to the world). (10/10)

12. "Time" (7:07) slow Petri down and he could definitely be the reincarnation of one Jimi Hendrix. Jaw-dropping guitar play on this bluesy Band of Gypsies-like song. (13.25/15)

13. "The Real Thing" (18:02) (34/35) = 9.71

Total Time: 71:38

The Kingston Wall experience is all about hearing, trying to make sense of, the astonishing and mesmerizing guitar play of Petri Walli. Though he committed suicide shortly after the release of this album and the Petri-ordained breakup of the band, Petri is among the greatest guitarists I've ever had the privilege of hearing. Another reason that I am so grateful for the Internet/WorldWideWeb and the music database of ProgArchives: otherwise, I would have never heard of this band or this extraordinary artist.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of powerful, dextrous, well-composed and well-executed psych rock. What a finale to this short-lived, high-powered band! What a tragic loss!

It has all the right ingredients, from a wonderful opening track, 'With My Mind', to a wild and groovy 2nd track 'Used to Feel Before'.

The 3rd track 'I'm Not the One' is a classic rock riff which leads in to a great cover of Hendrix's 'Fire'.

The 5th track takes us up an emotional notch and we begin to see the inner workings of KW and Petri Walli, again, loud, and epic. A lot more to this song than meets the ear, as most of the songs on this album.

The 6th track Nepal leads us through a bazarre and into something special and deep and flowing and almost heart breaking.

The 7th track 'And I Hear You Call' remains on the same eastern theme with a complex turn-around and intricate drumming sequences.

The 8th track 'Tanya' explores the mind and soul and a small reprieve until we get to the 9th track "Prelude' which moves into one of the best songs on the album, 'On My Own'.

'On My Own' is the last regular track on the album, as if saying well ok you got the point now we're gonna do what we want for the remainder of the album.

The 11th track 'The Weep' is the end of the prelude portion and into the most psycadelic portions of the album followed by the aptly names "Mushrooms'.

The 13th track 'Circumstances' is fun track and has a nice grove going.

The 14th track "Captain Relief' continues the whacked out and the crazy, with superb use of the Wah and control of the flow and movement of the feel of the song.

Track 15 'More Mushrooms' is a a a flashback to the 12th track "Mushrooms.

The last track 'The Answer' sums up what is an exciting journey of an album and a wild experience.

What is so good about this album is that it gets better the more you listen to it. If you get a chance to drive for an hour on a long journey, turn up the volume, give up your preconceptions and enjoy the ride.

I highly recommend this album and for being a first album is extremely accomplished and well produced.

Disc 1 - if you pop it in the DVD player and just press INTRO when the menu system appears, it starts out very well with a live version of 'With My Mind' playing in the inset as you also get to read about the early days and early evolution of the band. This version of With My Mind is one of the best they played and really captures the bands very essence. At this point i was extremely excited for what the rest of disc 1 held in store.

I then went back to main menu, and pressed PLAY ALL. It started a little on the messy side, and if i have been new to Kingston Wall i would have been a little put off at this point as basically, they just split the play list of the band up into sections of live performances year by year and it felt like a little bit confusing.

After a couple of songs I eagerly ejected disc 1 and put in disc 2 and boy, was i glad i did !! (but i will come back to disc 1 in a moment ;-)

Disc 2 seemed to me like the obvious place to start IMO for a any newcomer or indeed longtime KW fan. I pressed the first item on the dvd menu - 'Petri Walli in Memoriam' and was immediately engaged by the way it was presented and edited. It gave me a sense of getting to know Petri and the band through footage from the band live and studio versions of songs. I even felt my eyes welling up when a segment played one of their best known songs, ISTWAN.

I then went back to the menu and watched some of the interview sections, which were very nice and made me feel closer to the band members.

I then watched the Freakout Club sections of KW and pre-KW- Basically what the band really were about, just playing music, and not caring what others thought. They were all musical technicians but had flaws, which made them special.

I then finished up the the EXTRAS section and felt in the mood to go back to disc 1.

Now i was prepared for disc 1 mentally, and watched the entire disc in one sitting. It was excellent and i thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

Overall, Kingtime is very well presented and a nice glossy feel to the presentation. The DVDs are well made and labels look as good as anything out there. It came with pull out insert/booklet and they threw in a few small KW mementos in the package.

The 2 DVDs are extensive and time consuming and that makes for a good re-visit from time to time wherein i always seem to find something new or enlightening.

5 stars from me, even though the flow of the content could have been reorganized - but the actual content was amazing. A fun DVD to watch all in all.

The big beat remix of "And I Hear You Call" is a bit lazy and does not bring much novelty to the original song. "We Cannot Move" is easily the worst passage of the record. It mainly consists in trance pulses over a speeded up version of the original track. The effect sounds quite ridiculous. "I'm Not the One" has an old-school breakdance beat. The song is just barely recognizable but the music itself is not too bad.

The ambient "With My Mind" is surprisingly nice. Its modern electro/hip-hop beat and hazy atmosphere results in a cool trip-hop remix. The best track of this compilation. On the contrary, "Used to Feel Before - Incoming" is just another irritating trance remix. "Palékastro" is a rather strange messy collage that goes in many directions. Some parts of the original song can be heard, but the overall is quite uneven.

As most people could have expected, "Freakout Remixes" won't please KINGSTON WALL lovers. However, a few remixes should be appreciated by 90's electronic music fans.

As its cover art suggests, "Tri-Logy" is less middle-eastern and more electronic oriented compared to KINGSTON WALL's previous albums. We can sense the band's will to modernize their sound and to be more on par with the mid-90's standards to reach a larger audience. The Finnishs incorporates new sound effects, techno beats, ambient passages and didgeridoo to reinforce the jungle spacey side of their music. As a result, the atmosphere has some OZRIC TENTACLES touches.

"Another Piece Of Cake" is a powerful space metal opener, and the only track to feature a slight Arabic ambiance. The ambient didgeridoo of "Welcome to the Mirrorland" introduces the pleasant pulsating "I'm the King, I'm the Sun". Again, "The Key: Will" is a short ambient didgeridoo track for the nice soft reggae of "Take You to Sweet Harmony". "Get Rid of Your Fears", "When Something Old Dies" and "Alt - land - is" form an unique song alternating electronic, ambient and rock passages. This composition can occasionally reminds the OZRICs. "Party Goes On" reuses some of previously developed musical themes and contains a very nice solo from Petri Walli.

"Stüldt Håjt" is clearly the weakest song of the record. Its techno beat typical of the mid-90's and lack of variations make this track a bit useless and out of place. On the contrary, "For All Mankind" is one of the best compositions from KINGSTON WALL. A catchy space rock tune and with an efficient sharp riff. The lyrics are sometimes interpreted as Petri Walli's testament, as he committed suicide one year later. The rock song "Time" has an average melody and fails to really lift off. A bit too conventional given the band's standards. The disc finishes with the 18 minutes epic "The Real Thing", the Finnishs' longest track. A hypnotic journey, containing synthesizers, excellent guitar play and saxophone solos.

"Tri-Logy" is an interesting mixture of ethic, ambient, electronics and rock, with top-notch guitar solos. Despite a few weaker moments and compositions maybe less remarkable than on the previous opus, this third and last studio album offers very good passages with a large panel of musical types, while preserving a proper identity. This time, the content is entirely coherent with the cover art: a strange trip into a mystical jungle.

Recommended if you're into psychedelic / space rock and OZRIC TENTACLES.