GIUSTO PIO "NOTE" (1987)

«One day, coming back from school in Castelfranco when I was about eight or nine, I met a person who was playing violin under the arcades, in front of a small shop: that frail sound came over me, it made me vibrate and echoed inside of me for many days.»

[Giusto Pio, translated from the book "Dedicato a Giusto Pio"]



Giusto Pio was born in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, in 1926. He inherited a passion for music from his father, who played several instruments without ever having attended regular schools.

At 13 he began to study violin in Marghera and three years later he was accepted at the Liceo Musicale Cesare Pollini of Padua. In 1941 he moved to Venice, where he studied composition and violin under Luigi Enrico Ferro, the last great violinist of the "Venetian School", at the Benedetto Marcelli Conservatory.

Pio graduated in violin in 1947, a few years later he got married and moved to Milan. During the '50s he received important national and international awards and entered the RAI orchestra of Milan (Italian television orchestra) as Concertino violin, a role that enabled him to acquire, in about thirty years of activity in close contact with the best directors and performers of the world, a wide experience in the field of orchestral-symphonic and operatic music.

During the '60s and the '70s, he also carried out an intense didactic activity with the best Milanese and Italian chamber music ensembles, contemplating a vast repertoire of music that, starting from the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Letitiae Musicae, the pioneer group in Italy for Medieval and Renaissance music), went through the Italian Baroque (Complesso Strumentale Italiano, Symposium Musicum Milano, Giovane Quartetto di Milano, Complesso Barocco di Milano, etc.), and then reached the contemporary music of today with many premières of the greatest Italian living composers.

Over the years Giusto Pio has participated in several recordings for the major record companies of the time (Ricordi, Angelicum, Vox, Decca). These musical performances were always philologically attentive, thanks to the help of musicologists such as Francesco Degrada and Raffaello Monterosso of the Musical Paleography School of Cremona.

At the same time, his expertise was also in demand in the field of Popular Music, and Pio has worked as a session musician adding his instrument to the recordings of many famous Italian singers of the '50s and '60s, including Claudio Villa, Luciano Tajoli, Nilla Pizzi, Tony Dallara, Betty Curtis, Domenico Modugno, Adriano Celentano and Mina.

In the late '70s Pio was hired by Franco Battiato as violin teacher and they soon became friends. Later on, almost for amusement and curiosity, Pio began to play improvised concerts with him and vocalist Juri Camisasca.

In 1978 he worked as musician on "Juke Box" by Battiato and during the same year he released his first album of experimental music entitled "Motore immobile" (...you can listen to the whole album here...) on Cramps Records.

The long collaboration with Battiato was one of the most prolific and interesting during the '80s and '90s in Italy; this partnership took Pio to new heights in the fields of commercial and avantgarde music, with a great success in terms of popularity and discography.



Most of the albums by Franco Battiato, from "L'era del cinghiale bianco" (1979) to "Unprotected" (1994), depending on the case, included Giusto Pio as co-author of the music or of the arrangements, as violinist or as conductor. All the tours performed by Battiato during those years always included Giusto Pio among the essential lineup of musicians.

In those years, always with Battiato, he wrote the music and arrangements of many hit songs for Italian singers Alice, Giuni Russo and Sibilla ("Per Elisa" by Alice won the Sanremo Festival in 1981, you can watch the original performance here), produced two albums for Milva and various songs for other artists.

In 1984 Pio, Battiato and lyricist Rosario 'Saro' Cosentino penned the Eurovision Song Contest entry "I treni di Tozeur", performed by Alice and Battiato, which finished 5th in the contest and became a considerable commercial success in Continental Europe and Scandinavia. A video of the original performance, which briefly shows Giusto Pio as orchestra conductor, is available here.

Between 1982 and 1987 he released three lovely albums of Pop music: "Legione straniera", "Restoration" - I already remastered both of them some time ago along with the "Auto-Motion (Otomoscion)" single - and "Note", the subject of this post. In particular, "Legione straniera" and "Restoration", both written along with Battiato, sold very well and Pio became a well-known name among the younger audiences, as evidenced by the musical chronicles of those years on many magazines and newspapers.

In 1988 he published "Alla corte di Nefertiti", an album that marked the passage to a music style which was very different from his previous output and had far less commercial appeal. His association with Pop music definively waned after the end of his artistic fellowship with Battiato.

Over the past decade, Pio increasingly approached acoustic and electronic research, and produced music for theater (for example the play "Medea", for the Florentine group Krypton, which won first prize for music at the Massa Carrara Festival, or his collaboration on Battiato's operas performed in the major Italian theaters), music for movies and interactive musical comments with other art forms such as painting, sculpture and poetry.

Among his most recent music releases we remember "Utopie" (1990), "Missa Populi" (dedicated to His Holiness John Paul II, 1995), and "Le vie dell'oro" (2000).

The book "Dedicato a Giusto Pio", which includes a companion CD entitled "Dolomiti Suite", was published in 2010 to celebrate Pio's 85th birthday.

Giusto Pio has turned 90 on 11 January 2016.

"Note" contains the following tracks:

01. Capriccio (3:38)
02. Halley (4:20)
03. Concerto (4:01)
04. Capitano Nemo (4:18)
05. Ninna nanna per Andrea (3:22)
06. Inno (3:06)
07. Angeli? (3:32)
08. Sagra (3:11)
09. Ultimo Lied (3:18)

Although the artwork was scanned and restored from the vinyl album in my possession, the music was sourced and remastered from an original copy of the rare CD version which was kindly supplied by Stefano AbulQasim, thank you so much Stefano!

All tracks were remastered in September 2016 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with complete artwork reconstruction and printable PDF files.

Please have a look at the comments for the download link.



«After the moderate success of "Legione straniera" and "Restoration" I had decided to be the Cincinnatus of the day, cultivating a small piece of land in my neck of the woods. However, the lure of music was too strong. After all, I still used to perform each now and then with some 'ensemble' of acoustic music, be it Baroque or other styles, so I hadn't completely quit the stage. Then, some old friends (starting from producer Angelo Carrara and the CBS press office) convinced me to work on a new record. The album, informal in style and presentation, was born almost like a 'divertissement'. I bought a mixer and a twelve-track tape recorder, and I brought them to my country house. There, from February onwards, I focused on the compositions. I also resumed old ideas that I had never developed; some of them date back to the days when I used to work with Battiato.» [1]

«"Note" is my latest album of Pop music; it includes instrumental compositions for violin and strings. Two tracks, namely "Halley" and "Capitano Nemo", were retrieved from some improvisations related to "Cigarettes", an unreleased work made in 1978-79. Other compositions are more recent, for example the lullaby that I composed for my nephew Andrea.» [2]

"Note" (Notes) was released by CBS with catalogue number 460063.1 sometimes in late 1987, probably in October or early November, both on LP and cassette tape. The album was also issued on CD format in a limited run, hence its rareness today.

Just like the two previous Pio's Instrumental Pop efforts, the album was produced by Angelo Carrara. However, the album doesn't feature the same team of musicians that enriched those records; guitar and bass are completely absent in favour of a more electronic / programmed / midi sound that unfortunately, in certain passages, appears a little bit dated today.

Franco Battiato, who had co-written all the tracks on "Legione straniera" and "Restoration" - the touchstones with whom "Note" should be compared - was not involved in the making of this album and his contribution is limited to the short endorsement that those of you who are lucky enough to read Italian can enjoy here below.

All tracks are therefore signed by Pio alone and, as a matter of fact, the usual extra-European suggestions which are ascribable to Battiato are not part of this work. Unlike in the two previous albums, quotes from famous pieces of Classical Music are nowhere to be found on "Note".

I may be wrong, but I guess that on this album Pio received some help by young pianist Roberto Rossi: he is credited for playing various sinthesizers and samplers, but also for some kind of 'artistic collaboration'. In the meantime, after years spent playing keyboards for many Italian artists, Rossi is now Head of the A&R department of Sony Music Italy...

An endorsement about "Note" written by Franco Battiato

The album opens with "Capriccio", an uptempo number which probably would have been the perfect choice for a single or for radio promotion, but as far as I know no single was released, not even a promo.

"Halley" is a superb composition, probably the best on the record, and deserves a special mention; it brings up images of deep space and oceans. How this piece can be born from an improvisation completely eludes me...

The piano + midi keyboards introduction of "Concerto" doesn't sit among my favourite moments of this record; luckily enough the track evolves with a sax + violin refrain that elevate the mood. I can't help to think about how this piece would have benefited from a real bass instead of the thin sequenced line that we are offered.

Side One ends with "Capitano Nemo" (Captain Nemo), another of those tracks whose origin Pio traces back to the late 70s. Once again, this is a strong piece that offers a well-balanced fusion of sequenced elements and violin, with an apt organ outburst in the closing section.

Side Two starts with the sweet "Ninna nanna per Andrea" (Lullaby for Andrea). In his short review of the album, Battiato describes it as «a kind of symphonic poem chamber, a "program music" intimate story».

"Inno" (Hymn) may not be as effective as Vangelis' "Hymne" but its progressions highlight the more playful side of the Maestro, while "Angeli?" (Angels?) offers a serene reflection on faith, a theme which is very close to his heart.

With "Sagra" (Festival / Celebration) the album returns to a lively mixture of synthesizers, with different melodies chasing each other until the violin bursts onto the scene.

"Note" closes with "Ultimo Lied" (The Last Lied), a romantic «twilight poem», where violin and piano have prominent roles.



Sources:

[1] translated from this interview;

[2] translated from the book "Dedicato a Giusto Pio".

Here's the complete credits and personnel list as translated from the back cover of "Note":

Music by Giusto Pio.
Artistic collaboration by Roberto Rossi.
Produced by Angelo Carrara.

Violin and strings: Giusto Pio
Synthesizers and samplers (Fairlight, Yamaha, Akai, Oberheim): Roberto Rossi
Piano on "Concerto": Roberto Rossi
Drums: Alfredo Golino
Drum machines and programming (Yamaha, D.Drum): Alfredo Golino
Sax: Amedeo Bianchi

Recorded at "Cetra Art Recording Studio" by Ezio De Rosa.
Mixed at "Psycho Studio" by Marti Robertson.

Photography by Giorgio Ciprandi.
Still life by Mario Tedeschi.
Cover by Studio Vertigo.

Giusto Pio as he appears on the back cover of "Note"

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered album, please enjoy "Capriccio", "Halley", "Capitano Nemo", "Inno" and "Ultimo Lied"!

More information about Giusto Pio and "Note" is available here:

http://digilander.libero.it/giustopio

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giusto_Pio

http://digilander.libero.it/gianni61dgl/giustopio.htm

http://www.stefanomeneghetti.it/2010/04/giusto-pio/

http://www.frontiereprogetti.com/index.php?startpage=eventi&id=127

http://www.discogs.com/artist/369428-Giusto-Pio

https://www.debaser.it/giusto-pio

http://digilander.libero.it/giustopio/intervista.htm

http://dentroisecondi.blogspot.it/2013/07/giusto-pio-se-ne-consiglia-la-lettura.html

http://www.musicletter.it/?x=entry:entry111208-130248

http://aliceedintorni.blogspot.com/2010/12/dedicato-giusto-pio-11-gennaio-2011.html

http://www.arte.go.it/2015/01/18/video-latelier-di-giusto-pio-1/

If you have any other useful information about this post or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS "X-RAYS / STILL IN LOVE" (1987)

Jimi Tenor was born in 1965 as Lassi O. T. Lehto in Lahti, Finland. The resemblance to the youngest member of The Osmonds, Little Jimmy Osmond, earned him his nickname of Jimi in the early '70s.

Just like his older brother Marko, Jimi had a passion for music. He studied for many years at a music institute and can play flute, piano and saxophone; his skills were further implemented by his work experience as the saxophone player for various bands.

At 16 he was the youngest member of Pallosalama (Thunderball), an orchestra which used to tour Finland with a sort of Saturday night dance shows for older people. This act was very popular then and also appeared on the Syksyn Sävel (Melody of Autumn), a song contest on Finnish Television.

Later on he was part of the Pop-Rock group Himo (Lust) as a saxophone and keyboards player. In 1986 the band gained some success in the Finnish Rock Championships and released a self-titled album along with a few singles on the Amulet and Cityboy labels. Tenor was also responsible for the music and lyrics of a couple of the band's songs.

Other groups in which Jimi was involved in the mid-80s include The Cherry Pickers, Iloinen Poika Milloin (Happy Boy When) - a band founded by his brother - and... Shaman!

Jimi Tenor, circa 1987

Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were founded during 1986; this new project was an experimental evolution of the more ordinary Rock band Shaman. At the time, Tenor had recently discovered the Industrial sound of Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept., and - as a twist of fate - had accepted a new job in a mayonnaise factory.

Other members of the group were Ilkka Mattila (guitar), Toni Kuusisto (bass) Niklas Häggblom (trumpet), and Enver Hoxha (real name Hannu Mäkelä, atonal alt bass), with Tero Kling playing drums as an added member. Jimi was the lead singer, played tenor saxophone and - just like all the other members of the band - banged on empty oil barrels, a trademark of their sound both in studio and live.

Matti Knaapi, a graphic designer and inventor, allowed the band to embrace a more experimental sound helping Jimi to create special equipment in the form of self-built musical instruments bearing names like Vera (an automatic trombone), Sirkka (a man-sized mechanical drum machine), Melukone (a noise machine) and The Liberace (a peculiar-looking stainless steel object which is hard to describe).

In late 1987, after a series of concerts in Finland, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were ready to debut with their first single "X-Rays / Still In Love", the subject of this post.

...no image adorns the back of the photocopied insert used as cover of this single...

Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. X-Rays (2:58)
02. Still In Love (3:28)

Both tracks were remastered in October 2014 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files; both formats include scans of the complete original artwork.

Please have a look at the comments for the download links.





"X-Rays / Still In Love" was released by the band on their own JTS / Shamans label in December 1987 with catalogue number JTS 2001, probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odissey" since the catalogue numbers of the other releases of their label hint at various science fiction movies and books.

The single is housed in a transparent plastic sleeve, with a photocopied insert available in at least two different background colours: my copy is red, the copy pictured on Jimi Tenor's own website is grey. Both the tracks were later re-released on the band's debut album "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres".

"X-Rays" is an aggressive track that showcases assorted metal percussions, obsessive lyrics, funky guitar and horns, and a determined bassline. This piece aptly depicts the band's ability at combining Industrial paraphernalia with more accessible elements.

With its walking bass, Jazzier feeling and overall more relaxed atmosphere, "Still In Love" wouldn't make a poor showing in one of the albums that Jimi Tenor released on Warp Records in the mid-90s, although something sinister is still floating around in the form of repeated background creakings... Cooool song!

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered single, enjoy "X-Rays" and "Still In Love"!

More information about Jimi Tenor is available here:

http://www.jimitenor.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/952-Jimi-Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/136250-Jimi-Tenor-And-His-Shamans

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/history.html

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/discography/shamans.html

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/jimi_tenor_and_his_shamans

http://creativegames.org.uk/modules/Art_Technology/Futurism/Tenorvision_gear.htm

If you have any other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JIMI TENOR - FEATURE/REVIEW FROM "RUMBA" MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 1987

These days I'm working on the material for some upcoming posts which will cover Jimi Tenor and His Shamans vinyl releases.

Since I need to have the following feature/review translated in English, I would like to ask for help to our Finnish friends out there: I know there's plenty of you visiting the blog, your kind help would be very much appreciated.

This is probably one of the earliest features dedicated to the great Jimi Tenor and I would really be glad to include an English translation here on the blog, so that a wider public can enjoy it.

An high resolution scan and a .txt transcription of the feature/review are available for download here, if you can translate from Finnish to English and are willing to help, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!!!

Jimi Tenor, circa 1987

RYTMIHOTTIA JA MÄISKETTÄ

PROLOGI

Olen tullut monesti ajatelleeksi, että vaikka suomalainen rock onkin monipuolistunut, niin jotain puuttuu. Varteenotettavia ryhmiä löytyy, niin kansallisesti, kuin kansainvälisestikin. Ja se, mikä puuttuu, on tämän vuosikymmenen suomalainen rock-levy.

JIMI TENOR & HIS SHAMANS

- Kyliähän suomalaisen musiikin linja on ihan soittajista lähhtenyt, ei se pelkästään kuluttajista johdu.

- Suomalaisella yleisöllä on sellaiset suosikit, mitä se ansaitsee ja toisaalta - ei ole mitään tarvetta pakottaa sitä tykkäämään esimerkiksi meidän biiseistä, jos se mieluummin kuuntelee jotain boogieta.

Näin puhuvat Jimi ja llkka, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans -bändin laulaja-saksofonisti ja kitaristi.

Kuulin tätä bändiä ensi kerran puolisentoista vuotta sitten heidän demoltaan ja jäin korviani uskomatta ihmettelemään mistä oikein on kyse: tiukkoja saksofoniriffejä, teollista hälyä, teräviä kitaran iskuja ja kaiken yllä vähän bowiemaista, jopa melodista laulua. Pari kuunkiertoa tuon jälkeen hintelä, maolakkiin ja violetteihin silmälaseihin sonnustautunut kloppi tuli ja sanoi nykien: "Moi, mä oon Jimi Tenor. Mitä kuuluu?"

Tänä päivänä Jimi Tenor shamaaneineen on kerännyt EteläSuomen klubeista kulttimainetta,omakustanteena tehty single on ilmestynyt ja ensi-LP julkaistaan ensivuoden alkupuolella Euros-levy-yhtiön toimesta.

- On ihan ufoa tehdä mite tahansa musiikkia täällä Suomessa, paitsi jos lähtee jollekin popedalinjalle, levymyynti ei kuitenkaan nouse sen kummemmaksi. Ja se taas ei kiinnosta meitä. Jonkinlaiselta harrastuspohjalta pitää lähteä joka tapauksessa.

- Kuitenkin voisi kuvitella, että meidänkin levy sattaisi mennä ihan kohtuullisesti läpi, koska kuunnellaanhan täällä vähän vaikeampaa ulkolaistakin musiikkia. Esimerkiksi Princeä, eikä meidän musiikki sen ihmeellisempää ole omituisuudessaan... ainakaan kaikki biisit...

Täytyy sanoa, että jossain Princen suosiossa on aika paljon, että sitä työnnetään niin voimakkaasti ulkoapäin tänne: kaikki tietävät, että se on erittäin suosittu Yhdysvalloissa ja Englannissa... Ei uskalleta olla diggaamatta.

- Hämmästyttävää on vain se, että suuri osa suomalaisista bändeistä menee sellaiselle rapalinjalle... "Jumalauta, hyvä meininki". Se kai johtuu sitten näistä keikkapaikoista.

- Suomalainen perusluonne tykkää junttalipoo-meiningistä. Suurin osa Suomea nostaa suosikikseen juicet ja popedat ja muut vastaavat. Mutta jos ottaa asian positiiviselta kannalta, niin joku sveitsäleinen rock on kolmannen luokan kopio brittiläisestä videopopista, se on imenyt köyhimmistä köyhimmät vaikutteet mite
vaan voi.

- - - - -

Jimi Tenor & His Shamans ei kuulosta suomalaiselta bändiltä, eikä se kuulosta samalla inhottavalla tavalla "kansainväliselta", kuin joku Bogart, ej todellakaan. Shamaanien kokoonpano antaa viitteensä: kitara, basso, saksofoni, trumpetti, Enver (= tynnyrit sekä muut esineet ja rojut, joista voi saada irti rytmisiä tai rytmittömiä ääniä) ja erilaiset taustanauhat sekä rumpukoneet. Tärkeintä tälle bändille on kuitankin se musiikillis-taiteellinen omaparäisyys, joka kuuluu estottomana tapana tehdä tätä länsimaisen rappiokulttuurin shamaanimusiikkia.

- Meidän musiikki ei ole mitenkään leimaliisesti konemusiikkia, suurin osa tulevan levyn äänistä on soieattuja juttuja. Kun jotkut ihmiset ovat kuulleet meidän nauhaa, niin ne ovat luulleet, että sieltä tulee jotain sämplättyjä puhallinjuttuja, koska na aivät vaan muista meidän bändissä olevan kahta torvansoittajaa.

- Äänityshommat ovat tosin menneet vähän oudoiksi nykyään, sillä kun kuuntelee esimerkiksi Radio Cityn mainoksia, toivoo, ettei mitään sämpläystä olisi ikinä keksittykään: joka paikassa on joku helvetin sämpleri. Enää ei voi kitaraakaan soittaa kitarana, kun senkin soundi pitää olla sämplättynä jollakin disketillä...

- Me ollaan parissa biisissä käytetty sitä tekniikkaa, en tosin tiedä minkä takia. Oli ehkä kivaa vaan vähän leikkiä... Mutta ei ne ole mitenkään korostuneesti esillä siellä. Ma käytettiin paljon enemmän kaikkia luonnollisia ääniä, mitä saatiin aikaan tiiliskivillä, metallikiskoilla ja tynnyreillä.

Tämä tuleva Shamansien levy on tehty hyvin pienellä budjetilia, miitei omakustanneperiaatteella, eli bändi teki itsenäisesti ensin nauhoitukset tietämättä kuka levyn lopulta julkaisee. Äänityksissä ei ollut mukana varsinaista tuottajaa, miksauspöydän takana Shamaanien lisäksi ihmetteli äänittäjäna Ari Vaahtera.

Yksinkertaisista olosuhteista huolimatta Shamaanien jo julkaistu single on niin soundimaailmaltaan kuin musiikillisesti täysin niiden levytysten veroinen, joista Jimi Tenor on muissa yhteyksissä kertonut pitävänsä. Väljiä innoittajia tai esikuvia ovat käsittääakseni James White tai Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel.

- - - - -

- Ammattitaito soittamisessa, kuten kaikissa taiteissa on vähän kaksipiippuinen juttu, mutta ainakin muilla aloilla kuin rockmusiikissa tehdään töitä paljon pyyteettömammin. Soittaja ajattelee, että tonniviisisataa on tultava keikalta liksaa, kun taas muut taiteilijat tekee vaan... tuli mitä tuli.

- Jos aiattelee levyn tuottamista, minä en ole kuullut vielä yhtään meidän kannaltamme hyvin tuotettua suomalaista levyä - ikinä. Mina ajattelen tuottamista ja äänittämistä siten, että tuodaan myös kaikkia lisäjuttuja mukaan musiikkiin ja levylle. Ja noilla asioilla ei taas keikkatilanteessa ole mitään tekemistä.

- No, eihän sellaisia tuottajia ole maailmassa kuin pari. Joku Brian Eno on minulle idoli noissa äänitys- ja tuottamiskuvioissa: se on helvetin hyvä tuottaja. Jossain Hefty Loadin biiseissä oli sellaisia efektejä ja juttuja, jotka on tässä mielessä kiinnostavia.

Jimi Tenorin ja Shamaaneiden suurin ongelma onkin itse esiintymistilanteet. Vaikka bändi onkin tavattoman visuaalinen ja lavalla taustadioineen, niin PA:sta tuleva lopputulos on keikoilla kiusallisen epätasainen: taustanauhat eivät aina ole synkassa soitetun materiaalin kanssa ja samoin miksaajilla voi ella enemmän hankaluuksia saada Shamaaneiden epätavalliset rytmit ja tynnyrit kuulostamaan edes siedettäviltä.

Kohtaako siis keikoilla kuulijoita epämieluisa pettymys?

- Oletettavasti paremminkin hämmästys. Levyllä saatamme nimittäin kuulostaa siltä, että taitavat muusikot soittavat rytmihottia, mutta keikalla lavalta löytyykin kaikkea metallikamaa ja biisit loppuu miten sattuu ja niin edelleen... Mutta keikka toimiikin niin eri tasolla: sillä mäiskeellä ja sillä, minkä näköinen Enver on, kun se hakkaa näitä kolistimiaan.

EPILOGI

Suhtaudun luottavaisesti siihen, että vielä tällä vuosikymmenellä saan kuunnella sitä tämä vuosikymmenen suomalaista rocklevya - sillä joku sen vielä tekee.

Teksti: Kimmo Helistö
Kuva: Jouko Lehtola

JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS:
X-Rays (Jimi Tenor)

Jo pidemmän aikaa on harmittanut suomalaisessa rockissa yksisilmäinen tuijottelu kitaran kaikkivoipaan autuuteen. Jimi Tenor ja Shamaanit avaavat uudenlaista näkökulmaa musiikkiin kokeilemalla funkkia metallitynnyrien paukkeella höystettynä. X-rays biisissä bändi löytää todella hyvän svengin, jossa on potkua. Shamanismia on ripaus mukana, koska jännite ei putoa. Still ln Love avautuu myös pikkuhiljaa liikkuen aivan toisenlaisissa tunnelrnissa. Shamaaneissa on hyvin paljon eurooppalaisia piirteitä, joiden luulisi heräittävän mielenkiintoa muuallakin.

The following clip offers a preview of the remastered version of "X-Rays", a track taken from the debut single by Jimi Tenor and His Shamans, enjoy!

Once again, if you can translate from Finnish to English and are willing to help, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

LOLITAS "SÉRIES AMÉRICAINES" (1987)

Ton visage d'ange est sexy sexy
ta voix est sexy sexy sex
ta bouche aux larges lèvres en forme de coeur
oh toutes mouillées à l'interieur
de tous les garçons de toute la terre
c'est toi qui as le plus de sex-appeal
et dans mes rêves des nuits entières
je t'appelle

Tes jambes sont sexy sexy sexy
tes hanches sont sexy sexy sex
quand tu te balances quand tu te déhanches
quand tu déambules dans le vestibule
je n'entends plus rien quand tu me parles
mon désir est trop fort il me fait mal
je ne vois que ta bouches que ta bouche que ta bouche que ta bouche
je veux que tu me touches yeah yeah yeah

Oh sexy sexy, sexy sex
sexy animal
quand tu le fais mal
tes yeux sont sexy
dans ton miroir
tes mains sont sexy
sur ton sexy sex

[from the lyrics of "Sexy Sex"]

Cover of the German edition of "Séries Américaines" released by What's So Funny About.. in 1987

Lolitas were a French-German rock band influenced by Punk, Rockabilly, U.S. Garage, French 60s Ye-Ye Music and Pop. Founded by Françoise Cactus and Coco Neubauer, they were active since the mid 80s for about eight years.

Their name was inspired by the famous Stanley Kubrick's movie "Lolita". The group mainly used the French language in their own music, reserving English mostly for covers of famous songs they regularly included on their albums.

Françoise Van Hove was born in Villeneuve-l'Archevêque, a small village in Burgundy, France. She earned the nickname "Cactus" for her habit of spending her spare time hanging around in the greenhouse behind her parents' house.

During the first half of the 80s she started writing songs and moved to West Berlin; here she joined the Geniale Dilettanten (Ingenious Dilettantes) movement, a merger of the New Wave and Post-Punk scene. During those days she used to make a living by giving French lessons.

Guitarist Coco Neubauer, also known as Coco Nut, was born in southwest France and then used to live in Paris for many years. At age 9 he was fascinated by an early Rolling Stones record played for him by his cousin and fell in love with the Rhythm & Blues genre.

Cover of the French edition of "Séries Américaines" released by New Rose in 1988

Françoise and Coco met in Berlin, they soon became friends and decided to form a band. Their common interest were focused on American music, from Gospel to Hardcore via Rock'nRoll, Country, etc. Morevoer, having spent her youth listening to the radio, Françoise has always had a soft spot for la Chanson Française, some of her idols were Sylvie Vartan, Christophe, Antoine, Françoise Hardy, Jacques Dutronc, Johnny Halliday...

In early 1986, with the complicity of an unnamed Irish girl on the bass, they founded Lolitas and began to play live in Berlin. Since the original bassist soon returned to Ireland, Italian guitarist/bassist Michele "Tutti Frutti" Bordini (...described as "a mixture of Adriano Celentano and Sid Vicious"...) was chosen as a replacement.

With this new and more stable line-up, Lolitas expanded their sphere of activity playing in other venues across Germany. Despite their French lyrics (...or perhaps exactly because of them...)  the band fascinated the audience exuding a naïve atmosphere, sexy, kitsch and slightly perverse.

In October 1986, What's So Funny About.. - an independent label from Hamburg - released their homonymus first album which was highly welcomed by the German press. "Lolitas" catched the attention of New Rose who re-released it with a completely different cover in early 1987 for the French market: althought they have never played live in France, the band has made a mark with the Rock'n'Roll aficionados.

New Rose was THE french indie label of the 80s. Created by Patrick Mathé and Louis Thevenon, the label knew ten years (1981/1992) of magnificence and fame; during its existence it was one of the most important independent labels worldwide.

At that point the trio expanded with bassist Olga La Basse - a German girl from the Black Forest region - allowing Tutti Frutti to dedicate himself to the guitar, his preferred instrument.

Back cover of the German edition of "Séries Américaines" released by What's So Funny About.. in 1987

"Séries Américaines", the second Lolitas album, was mostly recorded during Summer 1987 at Vielklang Studio in Berlin with the help of acclaimed Australian record producer and sound engineer Tony Cohen, best known for his work with The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was released later the same year by What's So Funny About.. in Germany and in 1988 by New Rose in France, once again with two completely different sleeves.

As their relation with New Rose intensified, Alex Chilton - who was already collaborating with the label and was a fan of the band - accepted to produce their third album. Chilton was a famous American songwriter, guitarist and singer known for his work with the Box Tops in the late 60s.

"Fusée d'amour" was recorded in Memphis in August 1988. Lolitas discovered the U.S. and had a very good time: not only they lived the big adventure of recording with the legendary Chilton (...who also produced The Cramps and Tav Falco's Panther Burns...) in the city of Sun Studios and Stax, and with the participation of Jim Dickinson at the piano in a few songs, but also made the most of their trip playing some shows in New York, Baltimore, Memphis and down to New Orleans.

The album was released in early 1989 by Vielklang in Germany and by New Rose in France and... Can you guess it? Yes, the two editions featured a completely different artwork! This was also the first Lolitas release available in CD format. Once, again, the album was well received by the press.

Back cover of the French edition of "Séries Américaines" released by New Rose in 1988

New songs were recorded under the supervision of German producer Andy Young in May 1989, and five of them appeared later the same year on a 12" EP entitled "Hara Kiri" released by Vielklang in Germany and by New Rose in France and... Can you guess it again? No, you're wrong, this time the cover artwork was exactly the same...

Compared to the band's previous output, the five cuts on the EP were unusually melancholic... What could be the reason for this? Maybe it is just pure coincidence, but exactly at this time Tutti Frutti decided to quit the band and returned in Italy to devote himself to a more traditional form of Rockabilly music with his new band, the A-Bombers; sadly I wasn't able to find traces of these activity of him.

Tex Morton - born Peter Hajunga - former guitarist of the German Psychobilly band Mad Sin and the Hard-Rockers Lüde & Die Astros, joined Lolitas in late 1989. According to Coco, he was the only one who could replace Tutti Frutti.

During the previous years Lolitas had already released a few singles, but most of them contained tracks from the albums with no exclusive material. In 1990 Vielklang published a very special item: a gatefold 7" double single which, althought credited to Lolitas, featured four tracks by the individual members (...plus guests...) recorded in late 1988 (Tutti Frutti) and 1989 (all the others).

But let's go back to 1989: in October Lolitas shared the stage with Chris Spedding at a New Rose party during the Berlin Independent Days festival. Spedding is one of the UK's most versatile session guitarists, and has had a long career that saw him tackle nearly every style of Rock'n'Roll as well as sporadically attempting a solo career. Charmed by the freshness of their Rock sung in French, which for once didn't sound at all like a bad copy of American Rock, Chris confirmed he was ready to produce their fourth album in his adopted new hometown of New York.

Lyrics sheet included in the German edition of "Séries Américaines" released by What's So Funny About.. in 1987

In April 1990 Lolitas made their second trip to the USA, excited by the collaboration with Spedding, who gifted them with his warmth, charisma and immense creativity producing the songs and also playing piano, organ, cello, squeeze box (accordion) and backing vocals for them. In May the group toured across the U.S. for the second - and last - time.

"Bouche-baiser", the result of the sessions at Baby Monster Studio in N.Y.C., was released in September by Vielklang in Germany and New Rose in France, it was highly praised by the French and German rock medias.

During Autumn 1990 Lolitas extensively toured across Europe and recorded their performances directly to DAT; the best of these recordings were released in 1991 by Vielklang on "La fiancée du pirate", a sort of official bootleg whose audio quality sits somewhere in between an audience tape and a soundboard recording.

A new album was recorded in July 1991 at the group's rehearsal room in Berlin. "My English Sucks" was released by Vielklang in 1992. All the songs on this release are sung in English, it includes brand new songs and new versions of old songs that already apparead on Lolitas' previous albums.

In 1992 New Rose was sold to Fnac and quickly disappeared. Coco moved away to Guadeloupe to start a new life and the group disbanded. In 1995 Françoise Cactus met Brezel Göring at a local supermarket and founded Stereo Total, but this is a completely different story...

A selection of tracks taken from "Fusée d'amour" and "Bouche-baiser" was released in 1998 as "New York - Memphis" by Last Call Records, a label created in 1994 by Patrick Mathé, one of the original founders of New Rose.

"Séries Américaines" contains the following tracks:

01. Toute la nuit (1:39)
02. Sexy Sex (3:37)
03. Avec ma valise (3:00)
04. J'ai tué tout ce que j'amais (2:44)
05. La chatte de gouttière (5:04)
06. Le malheur c'est moi (1:04)
07. Séries Américaines (3:20)
08. Fantômes (3:30)
09. Coup de fil (1:20)
10. Canelle (2:29)
11. Jolly Jumper (3:05)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in March 2013, they are available as a single FLAC lossless format file or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 file. Both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files.

Before you burn this album on CD-R using the provided CUE file you will need to convert the original files to WAV format using an appropriate software. Here's an option for FLAC to WAV conversion and one for MP3 to WAV conversion.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download links.

Labels of the German edition of "Séries Américaines" released by What's So Funny About.. in 1987

Muffled street sounds and a police siren introduce the Rock'n'Roll riff of "Toute la nuit"; in this short but effective track chosen to open the first side of "Séries Américaines", Françoise tells the joys and pleasures of a one-night stand with a cute boy... And again she celebrates her object of desire in the following "Sexy Sex", a slower number that was also included as the flip side of the "Canelle" single released the next year by New Rose; this song features a nice harmonica solo by Tutti Frutti.

"Avec ma valise" is a calm piece that slowly builds from a simple guitar riff and features a carefully engineered drums sound which, along with a fat bass, support the sad lyrics: Françoise has packed her bags and she's leaving to start a new life.

"J'ai tué tout ce que j'amais" is the only song on the album that wasn't produced by Tony Cohen, it was recorded in a a basement in Berlin, probably in the band's own rehearsal room. It is a welcome comeback to a more immediate and urgent sound that expresses well the vitality of the band.

With its five minutes, "La chatte de gouttière" is the longest track on the album and, despite maintaining a certain linearity throughout its duration, it shows a more complex interaction between the various instruments and a richer arrangement. In the lyrics Françoise clearly identifies herself in an alley cat as she warns a rich suitor against her free behaviour and the risks he's taking.

Side 2 opens with the very short "Le malheur c'est moi", a simple song where Françoise's voice act the part of a problematic dark lady and is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, with an electric guitar tiny reinforcement towards the end... The title-track follows and is one of the best and more energetic songs on the album, a little modern rock anthem about winter depression and the passivity and inactiveness that goes with it.

Once again, "Fantômes" deals with the night - a recurring topic on many songs of the album - and offers a melodic reconnaissance through the city's lights and shadows... "Coup de fil" is another very short acoustic number coupled with sad lyrics about a lost love.

Cactus' infatuation for la Chanson Française returns in "Canelle", a cover of "Je l'appelle canelle" a track originally performed by Antoine in 1967. This song was chosen and released as a single by New Rose in 1988; with the help of friends John Boy at the piano and Frank Mandolino on drums, it shows Lolitas' most funny side.

The album closes with "Jolly Jumper", a top instrumental number entitled after the horse character in the Franco-Belgian comics series Lucky Luke. With its twangy guitars, tribal drums and American indian war cries, this song is clearly inspired by the myth of the Far West, one of the many influences in tha band's rich palette.

Labels of the French edition of "Séries Américaines" released by New Rose in 1988

Here's the credits list of "Séries Américaines":

Françoise Cactus: vocals, drums, guitar
Coco: guitar, vocals, piano
Tutti Frutti: guitar, harmonica, bass
Olga: bass

All songs written by Lolitas except "Cannelle" by Antoine.

Frank Mandolino: drums on "Cannelle"
John Boy: piano on "Toute la nuit" and "Cannelle"
Claudia Carey: tambourine on "Coup de fil", backing vocals on "La chatte de gouttière" and "Jolly Jumper"
Michael Scarati and Matzke: voices on "Jolly Jumper"

Photos: Michael Scarati and Tomas Rusch [What's So Funny About.. edition]

Video: Max Müller [What's So Funny About.. edition]

Photos: Françoise Cactus and Michael Scarati [New Rose edition]

Cover idea: Coco [New Rose edition]

Drawings: Coco [What's So Funny About.. edition]

Recorded at Vielklang Studio Berlin, except "J'ai tué tout ce que j'amais", recorded in a Berlin basement.

Mixed at Tritonus Studio Berlin.

Engineered by Tony Cohen.

Produced by Tony Cohen and Lolitas.

Lolitas in 1987 as pictured on the back cover of the French edition of "Séries Américaines"

The following videos offer a preview of the remastered album; here's my favourite tracks: "Sexy Sex", "Avec ma valise", "Séries Américaines", and "Jolly Jumper", enjoy them along with the original version of "Canelle" by Antoine!

A few more information about Lolitas is available here:

http://www.lastcallrecords.com/frenchbiogs/lolitaf.html

http://pirate.family.free.fr/pages/Lolitas.html

http://www.myspace.com/leslolitas/

http://www.45toursderockfrancais.net/rockfrancais/lolitas45t.htm

http://www.rockmadeinfrance.com/encyclo/lolitas/

http://euthanasie.records.free.fr/discographie/Zgroupe-L/Lolitas.htm

http://namaste-baba.blogspot.com/2011/04/des-lolitas-stereo-total-mettez-une.html

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Lolitas

If you have any other useful information about Lolitas and "Séries Américaines" - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!