AJATUKSIA MAAILMAN LAIDALTA

From the land of a thousand lakes and forests comes this preciously sober, simple and enchanting prog folk album, not pretentious for a second and a definite dose of soothing aural medicine after a heavy day of Anekdoten pounding your senses into oblivion. What makes this such an attractive package is the constant progressive touches to the folk concept (which alone can be a little wimpy) , so we have a smorgasbord chock full of whopping lead guitar solos in a very clean and fluid style , keyboards that mesh organ, piano, harpsichord and some nice fat synth solos and an efficient rythm section that reminds us this is not a two acoustic guitars and one singer folkie cafe ensemble. It is also an experience to witness all the vocals sung in Finnish, a surprisingly fluid language that is more pleasant than their scandinavian and germanic neighbours , expertly delivered by a female singer with a most unique inflection to her voice, simply pure yet with a steady set of pipes , without overdoing it or hogging the spotlight. Lots of little touches, a hint of flute, a blast of sax, always exciting and surprising, making this a thorough listening experience. All the tracks are in the 7 minute range with "Ilmalaiva Italia" standing slightly ahead of the pack, but this is a consistent ride , though a tad too short ( I hate short prog albums, Le Orme's biggest caveat....) but this will undoubtedly please fans of Shine Dion, early White Willow, Faveravola, Gian Castello and even Blackmore's Knight. Hey! 4 nordic lakes .