Korroosio - Kosmos - Eri Esittäjiä: Kotimaisia rock-hittejä 1 & 2

KORROOSIO

Kyllä tytöt ymmärtää (1982)

FinnArctic-esittely:

Let's stay in Raisio for a while longer to take a look at the hardest punk band that ever graced that small town: Korroosio.

It all started when a bunch of schoolboys, who had listened to records and the radio together became interested in playing music, and formed a string of basement bands. One band played heavy rock, but Korroosio's actual preliminary phase was a rock band named Red Labels - name taken from a brand of liquor. Eventually they hit upon the name Korroosio (Corrosion) when they got bored with the old one. Their first gigs were in small local happenings. The first gig became a fiasco when the primitive gear they had bought for themselves refused to work properly, and the fuses burned out. Eventually they got a gig as far away as Sweden, in a small town where local hooligans had just made a huge hole in the wall of a wooden church. After seeing that sight, the Korroosio boys chickened out and never dared to enter the stage.

Originally the band had four musicians, a bunch of friends and some roadies. Sometimes the roadies played and the musicians moved the gear, until the lineup found its final form.

Korroosio managed to have a couple of recordings out in 1980, on a compilation called "Asfalttidisco", which the Kräk! label put out. Korroosio's songs were "TV:n uhri" and "Kuka myi kapinan". These songs epitomized the band's loud punk rock style. They had a wild stage show which involved vandalistic acts like demolishing TV sets or firing off a sea rescue flair which emitted so much orange-coloured smoke that the audience almost choked in it. It wasn't even unusual for the guys to appear drunk on stage. Small wonder that the already scarce gigs became even scarcer when Korroosio got banned from most venues. Maybe the lack of a manager and a gig booker also was one cause to this problem.

Korroosio's best-known song is without a doubt "Hei hei hei", a moving punk pop song about a punk rocker, who finds a love note from a girl next to the microphone stand after a gig. The love story ends with tragic separation. The music was written by early member Joel Hallikainen, who used the brilliant stage name Jesus Caesar before leaving the group in 1979. To children, Hallikainen is nowadays famous as the magician Telmus, well-known for his TV appearances and as a touring performer. Older people know him as a crooner of light schlager pop ("Kuurankukka" was a big hit for him in 1992, and his first solo album was the fifth-best selling record in Finland ever) and sometime co-worker with then-TV performer Timo Koivusalo on weekly TV shows and other projects.

"Hei hei hei" debuted on Selecta Records' "Vaahtopäät" compilation, but it was re-recorded with much better results for the 7" release in 1981 - the original version is shakily played to say the least. Still, it's the first version that you can find on just about any punk rock compilation you can lay your hands on, it's become a real staple. The more sure-handed second version is found on the vinyl single and a compilation called "Kotimaisia rockhittejä 1 & 2" (1982), but both are truly hard to find.

Korroosio started recording material for an LP in spring 1981, in Studio 55 based in Turku. Army service unfortunately interrupted the project, and it wasn't until spring 1982 that the LP "Kyllä tytöt ymmärtää" (The Girls Will Understand) was finished, this time in the Finnvox Studio in Helsinki. The original version of "Hei hei hei" naturally couldn't be left out of the LP despite sticking out almost embarrassingly because of the poor playing. But hey, that's part of the song's charm! Besides, the 1981 and 1982 recordings also differ from each other in some ways.

The songs are all about boy-girl relationships except "Siunaa ja varjele", which comes closer to the boys' original punker attitude by being about drinking beer, and shocking attendants of a religious meeting.

All members had their daily jobs, which provided difficulties in getting enough time to practice and gig. The band was, after all, very important to all the guys. In 1983 Korroosio quit existing. A comeback was attempted in 1988, but only some demos were recorded before the project fizzled out. Jarmo Hauhtonen, Juha Vuorijärvi and Timo Kilpinen formed a group named Rundi, which put out some recordings in 1998.

I added the two songs from "Asfalttidisco" - "TV:n uhri" and "Kuka myi kapinan" as well as the second version of "Hei hei hei", the one that was put on the single. Unfortunately "Hei hei hei" Mk II was recorded on tape in 1994 from a poor radio channel, so the sound is quite horrible. The rarity of the recording should, however, justify its inclusion.

KOSMOS

Kosmos (1974)

Ami Jaara (Marjo-Riitta & Savannah, Cascade), Aarne Vesterinen, Vesa "Nuori rytmi" Enne (Karma), Kaj Grönholm ja Topmostissa vaikuttanut Arto "Poku" Tarkkonen muodostivat tämän yhden LP:n tehneen ryhmän. Jos tykkää Karmasta, niin kyllä Kosmoksestakin, siksi samantyylistä poppia tässä tarjottiin. Kaiken muistan ja Valokuva ovat kivoja, Mies-ei-minkään-maan on onnistunut Beatles-cover ja Uriah Heepin Easy Livin'istakin paiskotaan parempi käännösversio kuin oli lupa odottaakaan. Ei siis mitään lahjattomia poikia asialla.

Eri Esittäjiä: KOTIMAISIA ROCK-HITTEJÄ 1 & 2

Various Artists: Kotimaisia rock-hittejä 1 (1982)

Kotimaisia rock-hittejä 2 (1982)

Hectoria Eurooppa-albumilta, Juicen vuoden 1982 sinkku "Ollaan ihmisiksi / Munasillaan", Sigiä Vuosisadan rakkaustarina -albumilta, Hanoi Rocksia, Leevi and the Leavingsia, Tumppi Varosta ja Problemsia, J. Karjalaista, Liisa Tavia ja Bluesoundsia. Tuttua kamaa. Ostin nämä levyt, koska Korroosion Hei hei heistä on se harvinainen, paremmin soitettu versio, Riipiseltä on harvinainen sinkkubiisi ja Kumman Hepun Minä ja hän on ihana eikä sitä löydy miltään albumilta. Niin, ja Matti Inkisen nimikkobiisi oli myös ihan hyvä saada.