Track listing
- A1 633 Jesu Fåglar 0:08
- A2 Pidän sinusta 5:38
- A3 En aio paeta 3:00
- A4 Neron muistolle; hyvää yötä 3:07
- A5 Guardian Angel, The Future 4:56
- A6 No Pens, ei karsinoita 4:51
- B1 Henry's ...Mountain Range or Thereabouts 3:11
- B2 ...Geographical and Astronomical Mistakes 2:02
- B3 ...Highway Code 2:53
- B4 ...Ghastly and Diabolical Mistakes 1:17
- B5 ...Cancelled Holiday Plans 1:39
- B6 ...Concentration Camp Brochure 2:58
- B7 ...Ears, Eyes, Girlfriend and Feet 1:34
- B8 ...Hard and Horny All-Niter 1:12
- B9 ...Milk Round in the Morning 2:29
- Total length: 40:55
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6 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Hard n' Horny [p]
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Hard N' Horny Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Hard N' Horny CD Sized Album Replica, SHM
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Hard n' Horny [clear vinyl] Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition
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Hard n' Horny [red vinyl] Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition
9 Reviews
Not a very good start for this important but frustrating band. Side A, given over to keyboardist Jukka Gustavson, is a bluesy snooze-fest, redeemed slightly by one memorable track, "Guardian Angel, The Future" which does indeed point to the future Wigwam sound, in which pop, progressive, and jazz are seamlessly weaved. Side B, under Jim Pembroke's direction, is a Beatles-inspired suite about the mundane problems facing "Henry," an every-man to which we can all relate. And while it's better than the underwhelming A-Side, it's also clearly inferior than "A Day in the Life," which dealt with the same existential issues much more effectively. Maybe if Gustavson had written a few more decent tracks for his half, Hard n' Honey would have been passable. But as it is, Wigwam's debut shows a band hoping to copy their British heroes, and failing.
Published
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The Finnish band WIGWAM was formed in 1968 by drummer Ronnie Österberg after his split from the band Blues Section. Immediately he recruited another member Jim Pembroke (a Brit) from the same band and formed a new musical entity that took their name from the famous Native American domed dwelling. The two would be the only constant members for the band’s entire first formation from 1968 to 1980. WIGWAM has become famous in jazz-fusion circles for their albums with the adroit bassist Pekka Pohjola on board for his short stint of three albums (“Tombstone Valentine”, “Fairyport", “Being”) but don’t expect any of that on their debut release HARD N’ HORNY which sounds more like an album title that would grace an 80s glam metal band. This is a unique beast in the band’s discography which displays an album’s worth of well-crafted psychedelic and art rock tracks sung in both English and their native Finnish. The album was released in 1969 both with a bland yellowed piece of paper sleeve with the band name and album title sloppily scribbled with an giant exclamation point as well as with the much more appropriate and beautiful crimson based cover with a beautiful maiden depicted in an undefiled pose.
HARD N’ HORNY is a testament to just how brilliant the band was before Pekka Pohjola joined the group and quite the surprise for the listener as one track after another is top notch late 60s psychedelic pop rock that delivers strong hooks, heavy doses of groovy freakiness and stellar musical and vocal performances. In fact, at this point WIGWAM was certainly Finland’s answer to The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper” days excellently heard on the second side of the album that incorporates a stream of tracks that connect musically and lyrically beginning with “Henry’s… Mountain Range Or Thereabouts.” The album is a bit strange and not exactly uniform in theme although quite consistent in quality. It begins with the Finnish lyric tracks in a clearly psychedelic and jam band mode with a lazy and chilled bass and drum groove with some swinging 60s organ runs and becomes trapper on the next couple of tracks reminding me a bit of Procol Harum only with a different vocal delivery which in my favorite Finno-Ugric language makes it sound even trippier as the Finnish language has a strange rhythmic flow i’m not accustomed to.
The fourth track “ Neron Muistolle; Hyvää Yötä“ is the peak of the trippiness on the album as it contains a spoken dialogue of some sort between Marjoritta Gustavson and Jukka Gustavson in Finnish while strange piano rolls create a highly surreal background along with accompanying guitar squeals and slides. As strange as this track is, it does display the strong piano playing skills of Jukka Gustavson as the backbone of the song structures on board. The next few tracks are well-crafted psychedelic pop rock tunes that offer strong melodies, pseudo-classical keyboard parts and mid tempo 60s feeling songwriting with slight touches of progressive behavior meaning a few time sig changes here and there and some slight syncopation and jazzy type of structures. Beginning with “Henry’s… Mountain Range Or Thereabouts” it begins to feel like a totally different album which takes on a Beatelesque “Sgt Pepper’s” flair although more rooted in a psychedelic Pink Floydian type of space rock. The lyrics are surprisingly very good and one could hardly detect that these guys were Finnish although that may have something to do with Jim Pembroke being an English speaker from the UK. The remainder of the album goes through a few short movements that allow the band to exercise their psychedelic and pop hook chops with slight jazz and prog influences.
I was quite taken back by this debut as it is completely different from what came after and more often than not debut releases by 70s prog bands that debuted in the 60s are steeped in amateurism and banality but WIGWAM hits the ground running having developed a highly satisfying musical interactive experience that shows off their brilliant Finnish take on the British psychedelic and pop rock of the latter half of the 60s. The mix of the Finnish and British influences from the band members blends quite well together and it’s no surprise that with the magical ingredient of Pekka Pohjola jumping on board that the band would go on to become one of Finland’s greatest prog exports. I find this an excellent listen from beginning to end which more than holds up on repeated listens although it does feel like it is two different EPs strewn together as each half of the album is distinct from the other. Despite the album being slightly disjointed in theme and structure along with a rather misfitting title, i find HARD N’ HORNY to be a brilliantly constructed album that with a little help from a musical director in a more connected country could have propelled these guys into the international pop rock scene. That was not to be but on this one we have one of those glimpses of what could have been.
HARD N’ HORNY is a testament to just how brilliant the band was before Pekka Pohjola joined the group and quite the surprise for the listener as one track after another is top notch late 60s psychedelic pop rock that delivers strong hooks, heavy doses of groovy freakiness and stellar musical and vocal performances. In fact, at this point WIGWAM was certainly Finland’s answer to The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper” days excellently heard on the second side of the album that incorporates a stream of tracks that connect musically and lyrically beginning with “Henry’s… Mountain Range Or Thereabouts.” The album is a bit strange and not exactly uniform in theme although quite consistent in quality. It begins with the Finnish lyric tracks in a clearly psychedelic and jam band mode with a lazy and chilled bass and drum groove with some swinging 60s organ runs and becomes trapper on the next couple of tracks reminding me a bit of Procol Harum only with a different vocal delivery which in my favorite Finno-Ugric language makes it sound even trippier as the Finnish language has a strange rhythmic flow i’m not accustomed to.
The fourth track “ Neron Muistolle; Hyvää Yötä“ is the peak of the trippiness on the album as it contains a spoken dialogue of some sort between Marjoritta Gustavson and Jukka Gustavson in Finnish while strange piano rolls create a highly surreal background along with accompanying guitar squeals and slides. As strange as this track is, it does display the strong piano playing skills of Jukka Gustavson as the backbone of the song structures on board. The next few tracks are well-crafted psychedelic pop rock tunes that offer strong melodies, pseudo-classical keyboard parts and mid tempo 60s feeling songwriting with slight touches of progressive behavior meaning a few time sig changes here and there and some slight syncopation and jazzy type of structures. Beginning with “Henry’s… Mountain Range Or Thereabouts” it begins to feel like a totally different album which takes on a Beatelesque “Sgt Pepper’s” flair although more rooted in a psychedelic Pink Floydian type of space rock. The lyrics are surprisingly very good and one could hardly detect that these guys were Finnish although that may have something to do with Jim Pembroke being an English speaker from the UK. The remainder of the album goes through a few short movements that allow the band to exercise their psychedelic and pop hook chops with slight jazz and prog influences.
I was quite taken back by this debut as it is completely different from what came after and more often than not debut releases by 70s prog bands that debuted in the 60s are steeped in amateurism and banality but WIGWAM hits the ground running having developed a highly satisfying musical interactive experience that shows off their brilliant Finnish take on the British psychedelic and pop rock of the latter half of the 60s. The mix of the Finnish and British influences from the band members blends quite well together and it’s no surprise that with the magical ingredient of Pekka Pohjola jumping on board that the band would go on to become one of Finland’s greatest prog exports. I find this an excellent listen from beginning to end which more than holds up on repeated listens although it does feel like it is two different EPs strewn together as each half of the album is distinct from the other. Despite the album being slightly disjointed in theme and structure along with a rather misfitting title, i find HARD N’ HORNY to be a brilliantly constructed album that with a little help from a musical director in a more connected country could have propelled these guys into the international pop rock scene. That was not to be but on this one we have one of those glimpses of what could have been.
Published
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I listened to Hard n' Horny for the first time back in the 1990s. I thought that it was relatively pleasing, because of the jazzy prog elements. Those were the days when I had discovered Being, so I liked what reminded me of Being, but this album was clearly not worth that one. When I explored Wigwam further in the late 00s, for some reason I didn't listen to this one at all. Now I can only say that I am pleasantly surprised – Hard n' Horny still isn't worth Being or Nuclear Nightclub, but it is fine in an appealing late 1960s way.
Side A, which mostly consists of either instrumentals or songs in Finnish, is OK. All songs (excluding the brief intro "633 Jesu fåglar") are written by Jukka Gustavson, who was going to be the songwriting hero of Being. Instead, here it is Jim Pembroke who does the greatest job. Side B, which consists of a nine-part song cycle called "Henry's..." (yes, this is progressive rock!), is close to the best thing that Pembroke ever delivered. Especially the "Concentration Camp Brochure" part is excellent. The music here may be influenced by The Beatles, Pink Floyd and other Brit heroes of the day, but more than once I also notice that it is reminiscent of Aphrodite's Child. Yes, I am not extremely fond of the structure of Side B, but still it is the stronger side here, even though Side A is better than decent as well.
Despite Side B appearing tightly as a whole, or possibly because of Side B appearing tightly as a whole, Hard n' Horny isn't the most coherent or cohesive album on earth. Thus, I am not ready to declare that it is a classic (let alone masterpiece...) but somehow it is still very... valid.
Side A, which mostly consists of either instrumentals or songs in Finnish, is OK. All songs (excluding the brief intro "633 Jesu fåglar") are written by Jukka Gustavson, who was going to be the songwriting hero of Being. Instead, here it is Jim Pembroke who does the greatest job. Side B, which consists of a nine-part song cycle called "Henry's..." (yes, this is progressive rock!), is close to the best thing that Pembroke ever delivered. Especially the "Concentration Camp Brochure" part is excellent. The music here may be influenced by The Beatles, Pink Floyd and other Brit heroes of the day, but more than once I also notice that it is reminiscent of Aphrodite's Child. Yes, I am not extremely fond of the structure of Side B, but still it is the stronger side here, even though Side A is better than decent as well.
Despite Side B appearing tightly as a whole, or possibly because of Side B appearing tightly as a whole, Hard n' Horny isn't the most coherent or cohesive album on earth. Thus, I am not ready to declare that it is a classic (let alone masterpiece...) but somehow it is still very... valid.
Published
LRLP 9 Vinyl LP (1969)
I agree with most reviewers here, a senseless mixture of styles with no cohesion available and far from better things to come ("Being", "Fairyport", even the later tamed version in Virgin records are much better...). Two versions available: first pressing with home-made, hand-written cover (almost imposible to find); and second, slightly later press with factory cover, the one with the long haired girl on red cover.
Published
LRLP 9 Vinyl LP (1969)
A-side: Mediocre organ wankery and bluesy-jazzy pop.
B-side: I had total blackout out of boredom, but it started with some annoyingly soft progressive pop stuff common of the time. I should take precautions the next time when i'll be venturing into the sixties.
B-side: I had total blackout out of boredom, but it started with some annoyingly soft progressive pop stuff common of the time. I should take precautions the next time when i'll be venturing into the sixties.
Published
Truth in packaging... is relative.
In this case it depends on how much you actually pay attention to a derivative, mediocre, inoffensively dull snoozefest like this 1969 Finnish mishmash of various styles popular at the time. Things are so much better if you basically ignore it. The songs on side B are kinda okay, but basically just plodding soft blues pop tedium. You can probably find some nice melodies if you actually care enough to listen for them.
In this case it depends on how much you actually pay attention to a derivative, mediocre, inoffensively dull snoozefest like this 1969 Finnish mishmash of various styles popular at the time. Things are so much better if you basically ignore it. The songs on side B are kinda okay, but basically just plodding soft blues pop tedium. You can probably find some nice melodies if you actually care enough to listen for them.
Published
The debut album by Wigwam is really a record of two sides:
The A-side consists of compositions by the organ virtuoso Jukka Gustavson, the style of which is proto-prog of some sort, with jazzy and bluesy influences. Particularly good is the album opener Pidän sinusta(I like you), a jazzy instrumental in the time signature of 6/8. On the B-side is the wonderful "Henry's" -suite composed by the pop genius Jim Pembroke. His compositions lean towards _Abbey Road_ and suchlike pop-rock landmarks and along with the 1975 album _Nuclear Nightclub_, the B-side of this record must be the best pop ever made in Finland.
The A-side consists of compositions by the organ virtuoso Jukka Gustavson, the style of which is proto-prog of some sort, with jazzy and bluesy influences. Particularly good is the album opener Pidän sinusta(I like you), a jazzy instrumental in the time signature of 6/8. On the B-side is the wonderful "Henry's" -suite composed by the pop genius Jim Pembroke. His compositions lean towards _Abbey Road_ and suchlike pop-rock landmarks and along with the 1975 album _Nuclear Nightclub_, the B-side of this record must be the best pop ever made in Finland.
Published
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Catalog
12 Mar 2024
-
A1
633 Jesu Fåglar
-
A2
Pidän sinusta
-
A3
En aio paeta
-
A4
Neron muistolle; hyvää yötä
-
A5
Guardian Angel, The Future
-
A6
No Pens, ei karsinoita
-
B1
Henry's ...Mountain Range or Thereabouts
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B2
...Geographical and Astronomical Mistakes
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B3
...Highway Code
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B4
...Ghastly and Diabolical Mistakes
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B5
...Cancelled Holiday Plans
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B6
...Concentration Camp Brochure
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B7
...Ears, Eyes, Girlfriend and Feet
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B8
...Hard and Horny All-Niter
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B9
...Milk Round in the Morning
19 Feb 2024
9 Jan 2024
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A1 633 Jesu Fåglar
-
A2
Pidän sinusta
-
A3
En aio paeta
-
A4
Neron muistolle; hyvää yötä
-
A5
Guardian Angel, The Future
-
A6
No Pens, ei karsinoita
-
B1
Henry's ...Mountain Range or Thereabouts
-
B2
...Geographical and Astronomical Mistakes
-
B3
...Highway Code
-
B4
...Ghastly and Diabolical Mistakes
-
B5
...Cancelled Holiday Plans
-
B6
...Concentration Camp Brochure
-
B7
...Ears, Eyes, Girlfriend and Feet
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B8
...Hard and Horny All-Niter
-
B9
...Milk Round in the Morning
7 Jan 2024
5 Dec 2023
3 Dec 2023
15 Nov 2023
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1 633 Jesu fåglar
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2
Pidän sinusta
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3
En aio paeta
-
4
Neron muistolle; hyvää yötä
-
5
Guardian Angel, The Future
-
6
No Pens, ei karsinoita
-
7
Henry's ...Mountain Range or Thereabouts
-
8
...Geographical and Astronomical Mistakes
-
9
...Highway Code
-
10
...Ghastly and Diabolical Mistakes
-
11
...Cancelled Holiday Plans
-
12
...Concentration Camp Brochure
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13
...Ears, Eyes, Girlfriend and Feet
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14
...Hard and Horny All-Niter
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15
...Milk Round in the Morning
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16
Luulosairas
18 Sep 2023
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A1 633 Jesu Fåglar
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A2
Pidän sinusta
-
A3
En aio paeta
-
A4
Neron muistolle; hyvää yötä
-
A5
Guardian Angel, The Future
-
A6
No Pens, ei karsinoita
-
B1
Henry's ...Mountain Range or Thereabouts
-
B2
...Geographical and Astronomical Mistakes
-
B3
...Highway Code
-
B4
...Ghastly and Diabolical Mistakes
-
B5
...Cancelled Holiday Plans
-
B6
...Concentration Camp Brochure
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B7
...Ears, Eyes, Girlfriend and Feet
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B8
...Hard and Horny All-Niter
-
B9
...Milk Round in the Morning
17 Sep 2023
2 Sep 2023
27 Aug 2023
4 Aug 2023
28 Jul 2023
22 Jun 2023
20 Jun 2023
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