This was the third outing under his own steam from this one time leader of prog rockers Tasavallan Presidentti and unofficial guitarist for what was merely the greatest Finnish band of all time, namely Wigwam. With newly souped up production values and a four man horn section in tow, The Hook represents the moment when Tolonen really cemented his monster fusion guitarist status, his previous two outings (particularly the swooningly lovely Summer Games) having operated more in the folkloric-prog-with-jazz-trappings mode of Bo Hansson or Kebnekaise. With The Hook, it's clear that Tolonen had his sights set on the world stage and it's undeniably commanding work, with a fluid grandeur and air of mystery to it that suggests a mid-ground between Terje Rypdal, Placebo and Picchio Dal Pozzo.
Get it via Rapidshare here
hmmm...I like Tasavallan Presidentti (which I can never spell right to I cut'n'pasted it from your web page this time) so perhaps I should look into this...
ReplyDeleteTolonen recently got two years in jail for stabbing his girlfriend and giving her speed. Probably not in that order.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hs.fi/english/article/Guitarist+Jukka+Tolonen+gets+2-year+sentence+for+aggravated+assault+and+drug+offences/1135236127825
"The Sea" is a total homage to Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." Nice.
ReplyDeleteEasily the worst thing I've ever forced myself to sit through was "Tolonen!" "Summer Games" was at least bearable, but after hearing those plus a load of Wigwam today there's no way on god's green earth I'm going to subject myself to "The Hook".
ReplyDeleteHe's clearly talented, and can certainly crank out the notes, but still awful.
Ear of the beholder, eh? I can certainly see how a lot of people would eat this stuff up.
The Vagtazo Halottkemek, on the otherhand, is really good so far.
Thanks for *everything* -- I hear something different every time I visit.
thanx from urkenny
ReplyDeleteHave always loved the Tolonen! LP, especially the gorgeous soprano playing (Pekka Pohjola) on Elements. Jukka was about 16 when he recorded it, pretty amazing. Jukka played some killer piano on it too.
ReplyDeleteJukka Tolonen became a born again Christian whilst in prison, and gave up guitar due to osteoarthritis. After his release he still plays piano, having recorded "Juudan Leijona" (Lion of Judah, a reference to Jesus Christ) in 2011, and he performs Finnish hymns and contemporary Christian music with bands in northern Europe.
ReplyDeleteA Pressa fan.