Songs In The Key Of… Finnish Rock

Teo Hirvonen: “Dave Lindholm is one of the greatest songwriters and many of his bands have acted as a big influence on Us.” Photo: Lisa Hirvonen

Us frontman Teo Hirvonen curates a playlist paying homage to his rock heroes Albert Järvinen, Dave Lindholm, and Jim Pembroke

Finnish rock as a genre is a very broad one. It could include anything from a schlager sang in Finnish (still the most popular genre) to heavy metal in English. For me personally, and to our band, Us, one could name three artists that have acted as the main Finnish influence on the music that we make. Through these artists and their various bands, one gets quite a good introduction to what I consider the best of Finnish rock.

The first of these artists is a guitar player Albert Järvinen, still considered the greatest guitar hero this country has produced. The next one’s Dave Lindholm – a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has recorded a massive number of albums both in Finnish and English as a solo artist and with different bands. For me, Lindholm is one of the greatest songwriters and many of his bands have acted as a big influence on Us.

The last artist on the playlist is Jim Pembroke, an English singer-songwriter who moved to Finland in the sixties and stayed here for a couple of decades. As a songwriter, I’d put Pembroke in the same class as Ray Davis and Pete Townshend. All the songs Pembroke recorded, either as a solo artist or part of the bands, Wigwam and Blues Section, are brilliant, in my opinion.

ALBERT JÄRVINEN

TRUE FINE MAMA BY HURRIGANES

Hurriganes is without a doubt the most important rock’n’roll band in Finnish history. The first four albums by the group, recorded in the mid-seventies, are still a huge source of inspiration for lots of upcoming rock bands in Finland. Regrettably, the first two albums by the trio aren’t up on any streaming services, which is a shame as, for me (and lots of others), those albums are the best works the group ever did. Also, those two albums are the ones done with Järvinen.

When Remu Aaltonen, the leader/drummer/vocalist of the group, had to go to prison for a short period of time between the band’s first two albums, they decided to cut a few sides so their audience wouldn’t notice anything. Luckil,y these singles are available on the streaming platforms.

BLUE SUEDE SHOES BY HURRIGANES

Here’s another cover single by the group and, like on the previous one, the guitar solo really makes it to stand out.

HIGH BY ROYALS 
The next band Järvinen joined after Hurriganes was a Cream-influenced trio Royals.

YOU CAN’T BE MY MAMA BY PEN LEE
After Royals, Järvinen joined Dave Lindholm’s Pen Lee. The whole album is among the best works of both of their careers.

JUST FOR YOU BY HURRIGANES

Järvinen joined Hurriganes later in the 80s and although the albums done then don’t match the earlier work this instrumental stands as one Albert’s greatest recorded works.

Us’ Teo Hirvonen: “Obviously there must be a song sung in Finnish as well.” Photo: Lisa Hirvonen

DAVE LINDHOLM

ROCK-KUKKO BY ISOKYNÄ LINDHOLM
Obviously there must be a song sung in Finnish as well and here’s what I consider the best rock’n’roll single done in this language.

CATFISH BLUES BY ROCK’N’ROLL BAND

Although Lindholm is best known for his own songs in Finland, this cover of the blues classic is one of his best recordings. Most listeners will know this song as Rollin’ Stone, the Muddy Waters track that gave The Rolling Stones their name.

GOTTA GO DOWNTOWN BY ROCK’N’ROLL BAND
B-side of Rock’n’Roll Band’s last single and a very underrated song. It also features brilliant drumming by Affe Forsman who later played in Pen Lee as well. We have also been playing this one from time to time with Us.

YOU KNOW ME BY PEN LEE 

An example of Lindholm’s acoustic solo work and one of my personal favourites.

WAVES BY BLUESOUNDS
Bluesounds is probably the group I listen to most. Unfortunately, their first two albums aren’t on Spotify so nothing from those can be included here. This one is from the band’s third album which is another underrated gem.

SININEN TARINA BY MUSKA

Lindholm also wrote a few tracks for other artists during the 70s and this is one of my absolute favourites. Again, the song’s in Finnish but with a Google translator one might be able to make sense of the lyrics…

Us frontman Teo Hirvonen: “As a Finnish band making music in Britain we wanted to honour a Brit making music in Finland.” Photo: Lisa Hirvonen

JIM PEMBROKE

SEMI-CIRCLE SOLITUDE BY BLUES SECTION
Pembroke’s first group to record an album in Finland was Blues Section. The drummer Ronnie Österberg would play on all of Pembroke’s albums until his untimely death in 1980. Österberg is one of my favourite drummers and I think this, along with the next numbers, explain why.

HENRY’S HIGHWAY CODE BY WIGWAM
Wigwam is definitely the best-known band Pembroke had. This one’s from their debut album.

JUST MY SITUATION BY US
As a Finnish band making music in Britain we wanted to honour a Brit making music in Finland and covered this song on our debut album Underground Renaissance.

SWEET REVELATION BY JIM PEMBROKE
From the same album as Just My Situation. One can really enjoy Pekka Pohjola’s magnificent bass playing on this one.

A BETTER HOLD (AND A LITTLE VIEW) BY JIM PEMBROKE
One of my absolute favourites from Pembroke that could/should have been a hit.

Underground Renaissance, the debut album from Us, is out now and the band will be touring the UK this month. For dates and tickets head to usbandofficial.com

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