Hullujussi

HULLUJUSSI

Bulvania (1974)

Olympia (1976)

Hullujussin ensimmäisen LP:n kuuntelin joskus muinoin Kauniaisten kirjastossa kuulokkeet korvilla. Sen koommin en ole tuon livelevyn ääreen palannut. Syy on, että minusta se levy ei toimi. Hullujussi oli livebändinä liian visuaalinen, hauskuus ei välity vinyylin kautta. Liian monta kertaa huomasin ihmetteleväni mille yleisö oikein nauraa. Tämän takia en ole halunnut levyä hankkia.

Bulvania-LP on sen sijaan nököttänyt hyllyssäni iät ja ajat. Se on bändin mestariteos. On aika kulunut jo kansistaan, pitäisikö vaihtaa vähemmän kauhtuneeseen?

Olympia-levystä kertokoon mielipiteeni englanninkielinen RateYourMusic-arvosteluni:

"Hullujussi's flame burned bright but very fast - they debuted on vinyl in 1974 with massive success, one and a half year later they were exhausted and burned out. Frantic touring with no vacation took its toll on this foursome. Their glory days were over when they recorded this final LP, which nevertheless was a rather ambitious effort. Here they tried to show the music critics who put them down that they sure knew how to play their instruments. They weren't just a clown band.

"Olympia" must truly be the best-produced Finnish album of the 1970's - rarely have I heard such great-sounding piano as in "Niin se käy" (Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell"), such a nice ragtime section as in the end of "Koko kansan Jussi", and such a successful bluesy Uriah Heep pastiche as "Deep Heep" (written by Hullujussi's bluesman, keyboardist Tapio Niemelä).

"Helsinki City" is a too-short but fun novelty rocker, an ode to our capital written in Helsinki slang. It's followed by three more wild rock songs which give the listener the false impression that this record is going to beat Hurriganes 10-0. Not so, as pretty much every imaginable genre is touched upon during the following 30 minutes. Besides the styles already mentioned, we get country music in "Fat Man Goes to Memphis" and "Polta tupakkaa" (Tex Williams' "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette"), schlager in "Aika kyynelten", horror pop in "Pajamäen Columbo", and novelty music in "Teinikäinen aivokirurgi" (Teenage Brain Surgeon) and "Kotona taas".

"Teinikäinen aivokirurgi" is credited to guitarist Eeki Mantere and bassist Heimo Holopainen, but since Spike Jones had a song titled "Teenage Brain Surgeon" (which I haven't heard), I wonder... "Kotona taas" is inspired by Buchanan and Goodman's classic pieces of cut-and-paste lunacy. Here, reporter Amos E. Ollonqvist (played by the band's close associate K.W. Blomqvist) interviews Hullujussi, who reply with funny snippets from their previous recordings.

All this doesn't mean that "Olympia" is a flawless album, as there is quite a bit of filler material and ideas that seem so odd they were probably conceived at the last minute. "Aika kyynelten" is dull, the Chuck Berry cover doesn't add anything except that piano, the lyrics of "Koko kansan Jussi" and "Nuo mainiot miehet" seem somewhat pointless, lacking a rewarding finale or explanation. "Fat Man..." is just a slightly weaker sequel to "Heaven Help the Fat Man" on the "Bulvania" LP.

"Olympia" was the least-selling, rarest and perhaps most underrated record Hullujussi produced, but thanks to Warner Music Finland, who put it out on CD in 2002, we all have a chance to realize it was an undeserved fate. While not a superb album, it certainly deserves more appreciation than it has received. And the same can be said about the whole band."

Olympian kuulin ensimmäistä kertaa Karjaan-opiskeluni aikana 1995, kun lainasin LP:n Leppävaaran kirjastosta käydessäni viikonloppua viettämässä Mäkkylässä äidin ja isäpuolen jaloissa. Nauhoitin koko albumin kasetille, ja että sitä tulikin kuunneltua... vaikkakin varautunein mielipitein. Ei se todellakaan ole läheskään täysosuma.

Olen tuon arvostelun kirjoittamisen jälkeen onnistunut kuulemaan Spike Jonesin Teenage Brain Surgeonin, ja ihan sama biisihän se on kuin Teinikäinen aivokirurgi. Hyi hyi, Mantere ja Holopainen.


Artikkeliskannaukset:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XXCLhEqdw9mVQ890tKjzq_eZ8ml2Cik8