Those Jap..inavians... part 1

Hi again. A quick and a bit different blog this time. Different in not being from the 70's or 80's, different in NOT including any artist from Canada, and a bit different in blogging bands I really have no knowledge of. Just happen to find some not much played CD's lying around. And instead of burrying them further down in the piles of music, I wanted to share them with you. Playing them while ripping, I sometimes thought 'this is really good!'. All I can say that one of them had a singer I didn't like at all, and another one, no singer at all. So, enjoy these japanese releases of scandinavians. If there's any interest, I got more of this stuff, some by the same bands, and other similiar releases by other. Have fun.

RENEGADE

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A Jönköping, Sweden, AOR act that scored a deal in Japan.

Magnus Tallåker - Vocals
Mats Ottosson - Guitar
Thomas Kullman - Guitar
Håakan Jardmo - Bass
Per Billengren - Keyboards
Fredrik Grahn - Drums

Renegade - Ravages Of Time. 1994.
Produced by Renegade.

1. Intro
2. Billion Dollar Brain
3. Get The Hell Out Of Here
4. Why Baby Why
5. Scrambled
6. Ravages Of Time
7. Homeland
8. Crazy
9. When I Call Out Your Name
10. Sourcream n' Onions
11. Bye Bye Girl
12. Don't Drive Drunk


Link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/54966083/Renegade-RavagesOfTime.rar

VITALIJ KUPRIJ

My first Ukrainian blog. And last? Who knows... (later he worked with some swedes, so I'm not totally out of focus here, lol) Keyboard virtuosity with good helpers, and if you're into this kinda stuff, I think you won't get disappointed. Have a try, anyway.

Vitalij Kuprij - All keyboards and Acoustic Piano
Greg Howe - Guitars and Bass
Jon Doman - Drums



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Vitalij Kuprij - High Definition. 1997.
Produced by Greg Howe

1. Beyond Infinity
2. High Definition
3. Symphony V
4. Divided World
5. Excerpt From Sonata In A Minor (Mozart)
6. Opus 1 (Paganini)
7. Why?
8. Parallel In Time
9. Silent Destiny
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Link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/54955735/VitalijKuprij-HighDefinition.rar
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TAKARA

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Jeff Scott Soto - All vocals, Keyboards, Percussion and additional Acoustic Guitar (Too Late For Love, Lonely Shade Of Blue)
Neal M. Grusky - Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Robert A. Duda - Drums
Carl DeMarco - Bass Guitar

Guest musicians:
Bob Daisley - Bass ( Days Of Dawn, Your Love)
Julie Greaux - All keyboards on Lonely Shade Of Blue, solos on Sacred Pleasure, Save Me.



Takara - Taste Of Heaven. 1995.
Produced, engineered & mixed by Jeff Scott Soto.

1. When Darkness Falls
2. Days Of Dawn
3. Your Love
4. December
5. Last Mistake
6. Taste Of Heaven
7. Sacred Pleasure
8. 2 Late
9. Save Me
10. Lonely Shade Of Blue
11. Again Your Love Is Mine (Acoustic version)
12. Restless Heart (Acoustic version)
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Link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/54949906/Takara-TasteOfHeaven.rar
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Why there's no pic of the singer Jeff Scott Soto, Maybe he was occupied with photoshoots with three other bands & projects or in the studio with another four, I really don't know. Great singer, anyway :)

KINGSTON WALL

A quick check on the net brought me this: 'Kingston Wall's music is quite popular in Finland, particularly among users of psychedelic drugs, but relatively unknown elsewhere.'
And: 'Finland's Kingston Wall were an outstanding power-trio who made camp in musical territory where eastern mysticism, trippy psychedelia and heavy-guitar workouts all converged'.

Couldn't agree more, and it's actually both original & worth a listen!

wikipedia:
Kingston Wall was a psychedelic/progressive rock group from Helsinki, Finland. They were formed in 1987. Influenced by such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, the group combined eastern themes, mysticism and vivid psychedelia with their unique, hard-edged acid-rock. Group members were Petri Walli (guitars, lead vocals, b. 1969, d.1995), Jukka Jylli (bass, backing vocals) and Sami Kuoppamäki (drums, percussion). Walli was clearly the leader of the band - he formed the group, composed most of the songs and wrote all the lyrics. He was also Kingston Wall's producer and manager and even ran the band's own Trinity record label (under a pseudonym Pedro Cucaracha, an alias of a villain in an old Lucky Luke comic book). Perhaps even the band name was partially formed out of Walli's surname.
Kingston Wall released their first album, Kingston Wall (later referenced and re-released as I) in 1992 under the Trinity label. Their debut album consisted mainly of psychedelic hard rock along with a cover of Jimi Hendrix' song "Fire", which gained the group instant popularity among the Finnish radio stations. The album culminated in the heavily progressive, 21-minute track, "Mushrooms".'

Jukka Jylli - Bass & Backing Vocals
Petri Walli - Guitars, Lead & Backing Vocals (R.I.P.)
Sami Kuoppamäki - Drums & Percussion


Kingston Wall - Kingston Wall. 1992.

1. With My Mind
2. Used to Feel Before
3. I'm Not the One
4. Fire
5. Waste of Time
6. Nepal
7. And I Hear You Call
8. Tanya
9 - 16. Mushrooms:
9. I Prelude
10. II on My Own
11. III the Weep
12. IV Mushrooms
13. V Circumstances
14. VI Captain Relief
15. VII More Mushrooms
16. VIII the Answer

Link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/54974551/KingstonWall-KingstonWall.rar

TAROT

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To finnish it all of (sic), here's the debut album by Tarot.

Marco Hietala - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Sakari Hietala - Guitar
Janne Tolsa - Keyboards
Pecu Cinnari - Drums


Tarot - Spell Of Iron. 1986.
Produced by Kassu Halonen

1. Midwinter Nights
2. Dancing On The Wire
3. Back In The Fire
4. Love's Not For My Kind
5. Never Forever
6. The Spell Of Iron
7. De Mortui Nil Nisi Bene
8. Pharao
9. Wings Of Darkness
10. Things That Crawl In The Night

Link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/54981274/Tarot-SpellofIron.rar



Well, that's all for now. A small side-step, and my next blog will be rare oldies & own vinyl rippings. Until then, take care, rock on! And don't forget to leave a comment.

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