Elonkorjuu-Harvest Time (1972)

This Finnish quintet, founded in the late 1960s, enjoyed brief and modest success with their debut album, released in 1972 under the EMI label and titled "Harvest Time". In the 1970s, they released two albums, of which "Harvest Time" is considered a collector's item among music lovers, fetching between 500 and 1000 € for an original vinyl copy. Their second album, "Flying High, Running Fast" (1978), was released under the English name HARVEST, perhaps in the hope of achieving better international exposure. During those years, Elonkorjuu toured Northern Europe and frequently participated in major Finnish and Scandinavian rock events, such as the Pori Jazz and Ruisrock festivals. Although they disbanded in 1978, the band reunited in 2003 and released a new album, "Scumbag", the following year. This marked a shift in their musical direction, leaning towards a heavier rock-blues sound. In 2010, the band released the double live album "Scumbag Goes To Theatre", and in 2012, the 4-CD compilation "Seasons", which includes almost everything the band had recorded. But focusing on their debut album, Elonkorjuu delivers an ambitious hard rock effort with an appealing fusion of different genres such as blues, jazz, touches of folk, and subtle progressive sounds. Despite its somewhat lack of cohesion, it's a commendable album, deeply rooted in the typical sound of the late sixties. Tracks like the galloping “Unfeeling” and the muscular “Swords” showcase the power of the Hammond organ and the penetrating guitar riffs, while psychedelia permeates “Captain” and “Praise To Our Basement”, or the sinuous sounds of jazzy guitars and frenetic percussion, as demonstrated in the magnificent instrumental “Future”. The fast-paced rocker “Hey Hunter” and the schizophrenic “Old Man’s Dream”, along with the captivating “Me and My Fiend”, are other highlights of this magnificent, eclectic, energetic album, a real treat for fans of early hard rock from the late sixties.