DEEDS AND TALKS

A Finnish band from Turku, found in 1973 by guitarist Peter Strohlman, bassist Eero Munter, drummer Eero Valkonen, organist Ilkka Poijarvi and American singer Jimmy Lewman.Surprisingly none of the original members made it to the band's debut in 1977.Valkonen, Poijarvi and Lewman all left at the fall of 1974, replaced by guitarist Ilpo Murtojarvi and singer/drummer Johnny Gustafsson.Summer 75' sees the departure of Strohlman, who joined the Army, and he was replaced by teenager keyboardist Kyosti Laihi, while Munter went on to focus on his music studies, leaving his place to Jarkko Leivo, formerly a member of Hector's crew.All members of Kaamos were also involved in the offshoot Combination project, where they collaborated with lyricist Jocke Sumelius.He also wrote most of the lyrics for Kaamos debut ''Deeds and talks'' with music arrangements provided by Ilpo Murtojarvi.The album was recorded during the summer of 1977 at Finnlevy Studios in Helsinki and released the same year on M&T Records.

For the most of its part ''Deeds and talks'' sounds like a pretty outdated album with an excellent production, impressive melodies, great English vocals and obvious psychedelic touches in mostly easy-going arrangements with sporadic rural vibes and a mood for tight songwriting with a few tricky moves.They sound like THE BEATLES meeting BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST meeting TRETIOARRIGA KRIGET with a certain tendency towards melodious themes, overpowered often by compact guitar moves and good organ/synth explorations.Moreover their style contains also bluesy and some funky/Fusion workouts on keyboards, presenting a band with a wide instrumental palette, struggling to find a sound of their own.Nevertheless the music is well-played, solid and quite artistic, leaving the listener with a desire for more demanding arrangements.These are not actually absent.Their most progressive side appears in the excellent, symphonic instrumental ''Barokki'', containing string hints from the music of TRACE, DICE and FOCUS, led by the jazzy guitar playing of Murtojarvi and the alternating, Classical-drenched organ and synth showering of Laihi.The closing ''Suit-case'', which is also the longest track at 8 minutes, sounds extremely close to LE ORME during the organ parts and KAIPA during the guitar moves with short breaks into more straight moments.The later synth-flavored part reminds me a bit of Swedish act HORIZONT with the group meeting some nice Jazz/Fusion expectations.

The band remained around for a few more years, playing often live, until they disbanded in 1980.By late-70's Jouko Kantola had joined them on keys, while last bassist of Kaamos during their farewell gigs was Pasi Lyysaari.Murtojarvi recorded a solo album in 1983, entitled ''Avaus'', while Laihi became a founding member of the Pop Rock combo Boulevard, which represented Finland in the 88' Eurovision Song Contest.

Varied Progressive Rock with poppy and psychedelic sensibilities.The more symphonic pieces are excellent, the rest of the album is a bit incosistent, but still deserves a stronger exposure.Recommended.