V?rttin? - Live in Helsinki
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Free Music Notes for Live in Helsinki
Free Music Review: A Decent First Live Album
Hit: 3 Stars
I agree with others that this is not the greatest of live albums. Part of the problem is the four songs from Ilmatar, their most recent album at that time (2000). It may be their most powerful album to date, but its dark, atmospheric qualities do not transfer well to the stage, except for the volcanic "Aijo". It is also dependent on subtle and well tuned vocals, which do not seem to have been a high priority. Not helping either is a mix which places the instrumentals too far in the background, and makes the vocals shrill on too many occasions.
On the other hand, the material from earlier albums is, generally, quite good. It is fascinating to hear earlier material re-worked-- The radical re-arranging of "Viikon Vaivane" and "Ukko Lumi", from Oi Dai, is almost worth the price of the CD. There are some mis-steps (the new acappella intro to "Pihi Neito" comes to mind) but generally the old material is improved.
If one wants to hear (and see) a live Varttina concert that is absolutely wonderful from beginning to end, check out the DVD entitled "Varttina Archive Live" (available on the Varttina website). Included is a 49 minute concert from 2003 which is a joy to hear-- Vocals from Susan Aho, Mari Kaasinen and Johanna Virtanen are impeccable and gorgeous, and the band sounds better than ever. Every single song is wonderful, but especially the five songs from Iki, perhaps their most gorgeous album to date.
Also included is an extensive "Video Archive" which traces the band from a "county fair" appearance in 1985 (two years before their first album) until 2005. It's a fascinating historical record, and there are many superb performances as well. Amazon should really offer this DVD-- It certainly supplants the live album from 2000, in spite of its good qualities.
Scott Tisdel
P.S. Be warned-- The Varttina DVD uses the European "PAL" coding, which makes it unplayable on most DVD players in the USA. However, it does work on my laptop (Mac IBook), and it is fairly easy to plug a laptop into a TV, if you so choose.
Free Music Review: Some bands are better live. Some aren't.
Hit: 3 Stars
Most of this album is the revisioned folk I know and love from Varttina; those parts of the album are excellent songs that, unfortunately, just don't live up to their potential in these live versions.
A few songs on here, though, are material that hasn't appeared on their albums and is stylistically very different; to be blunt, it sounds more like generic European dance/pop. Mie Tahon Tannsia and Laulutytto are the examples that come to mind. Maybe you'll like them. I don't.
Free Music Review: girls from the big forest
Hit: 4 Stars
V?rttin? first became popular in our country in the 80's as part of the new folk movement and quickly established themselves as spokesgirls for roots music. this album captures their in their prime. Outstanding tracks are "Kyl? vuotti uutta kuuta" (The village was waitin for the new moon") and "Ukko lumi" (Snow man). These girls had a way of putting you under their spell - maybe it was the Eastern-Karelian mysticism that's so hard to resist for a Finnish audience. As a time piece this album is essential - a reminder to us Finns that V?rttin? could really touch our hearts and make us cry (and a moment later laugh through the tears).Free Music Review: A taste of the Valhalla!
Hit: 5 Stars
I love Varttina, I love the vocals. Having said that I would say this group is one of the reasons why I started studying Finnish (after all, I wanted to understand what was sung :).
"Kyla vuotti uutta kuuta" is the best traditional song I have ever heard. The strength with which Varttina vocalists sing this song is touching. If you close your eyes, you can almost see valkyries taking you from the ground and sending you to paradise.
The first time I heard this song I thought to myself: "This is the song I want someone to sing for me in my funeral and send me strait to paradise!"
The live presentation has its pros and cons but the overall result is really impressive. I would love to have the tape or better a DVD of this show in Helsinki.
Free Music Review: A good live effort
Hit: 4 Stars
This is a good live effort from V?rttin?'s tour supporting the "Ilmatar" album. V?rttin?'s strengths are captured well on this album, and the harmonies, as usual, are top notch on their live renditions of "K?ppee", "Liigua" and their perennial classic "Kyl? Vuotti Uutta Kuuta". These renditions are almost all shifted up a notch in tempo from the original recordings, which adds some energy (which is good and bad in some cases here) to the festivities.Outside the core of vocalists Mari Kaasinen, Susan Aho, Johanna Virtanen and (the recently departed from V?rttin?) Kirsi K?hk?nen, the band is spry and energetic, although not all of the arrangements work well, and some of the playing is sloppy, notably the bizarrely reworked version of "Vihma" (renamed "Ukko Lumi" here) and a rendition of "Seelinnikoi" which is rearranged into a pale imitator of the studio version.
Still, it's all good fun, and the energy is infectious. This is a good first live album from V?rttin?, and could be a sign of more to come.