HARD N' HORNY

Some people might say Wigwam was a milestone in Finnish prog, but then the band is still in function after numerous and long lay-offs and umpteen changes in their line-up. Their first album in 1969 - Hard N'Horny - belonged to an era when adventurous rock was still a somewhat odd thing in Finland. Wigwam belonged to the pioneers of the movement, and in the early 70's they managed to do a couple of great albums that can be favourably compared with almost anything that the European prog scene could achieve.

Hard N'Horny was a kick-start to the band's career and showed the strong musicianship and composing ability within the band: the hammond wizard Jukka Gustavson came up with the first side, still writing his lyrics in Finnish at that time. Gustavson has always been more to the jazz-blues side of prog than Wigwam's other main composer, the British ex-pat, singer Jim Pembroke. The latter's composition Henry's (...nine parts describing a middle-aged bloke called Henry in his efforts and failures) took the whole B-side of the LP. This is a fine suite and connected Wigwam with the psychedelic rock movement that was the word of the day in UK and even elsewhere around that time.

The band was almost bursting with ideas from the beginning. Hard N'Horny is a very good start for the listener, too. Not turning the planet inside-out, but still intriguing listening. However, the line-up wouldn't last too long, and the follow-up was quite different.