PIIRPAUKE LIVE

The most mature and beautiful effort of Piirpauke was about to come.But this wouldn't meant to include Antti Hytti as a member, as by 1978 he had left the band with Olli-Pekka Wasama handling now the bass and Jukka Wasama jumping over for percussion duties.The fresh Piirpauke quartet would display its abilities on a 78' live album, simply entitled ''Live''.As with the second album this would be released in Finland and Sweden on Love Records.

Piirpauke worked well within the adaptions of traditional songs and their transformation into Folk/Fusion pieces and this was another case of their inventive spirit.The Moldavian-oriented ''Moldavialainen laulu'' with its lovely, delicate, mournful flute lines sets the tone for an impressive orgasm between Ethnic and Jazz Music, kicking off actually with the fantastic ''Makedonialainen laulu'', a 13-min. journey through the Balkans with marvelous sax and guitar solos and a psychedelic rhythm section in a style very reminiscent of KRAAN, which develops eventually into a chaotic mix of piano, electric guitar and sax jams.Stunning.''Rypistys'' is propably a Nordic-influenced piece, the more jazziest part of the album, with contrabass and piano in the forefront, offered in a rather improvised mood.'' Tizeta'' is a track based on Ethopian traditional music, another monumental performance by the band, swirling around the happy, smooth guitar acoustics and the African soundscapes created by Sakari Kukko and his flute, while yet another highlight is delivered through Walli's impressive guitar soloing.The Greek-based ''Fyssouni'' was already presented by the band in the previous album, but its live execution is simply outstanding with a superb performance on clarinet by Kukko, supported by an evergrowing trio of bass/guitar/drums, outstanding instrumental magic to say the least.''Syssymmalla'' is closer to the more classic lines of Scandinavian Psych/Prog with great piano and guitar work in a jazzy enviroment, offering nice rhythmic lines and sharp solo parts.

A complete, almost classic work of Folk-Fusion.Traditional tunes mixed with electric, instrumental madness, creating a charming amalgam of sights and sounds.Highly recommended.