News: Rocket Records to reissue Sepi Kuu in April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my heart be still! We had Avalanche on Christmas Eve, and now while "doing the rounds" as it were, I've discovered Rocket Records will reissue this 1980 masterpiece on April 3rd!! I first heard this record in 1993 on a backpacking trip which included Helsinki. I was absolutely blown away on first listen. I'm somewhat in the minority on this one I think. Which is puzzling to my little peanut brain at least. But for me, this is a Priority 1 - as intense an album as one can find from the time and place. And they'll be prying the original from my cold dead fingers. It was, in fact, a gift from one of the gentleman I met that day. And he sadly passed near 20 years ago. So perhaps there is a ray of light coming from him today.

March 1 update: We also recently learned that Shadoks will be reissuing this on LP  as well.

News: Rocket Records to reissue Nimbus, TT Oksala, and 3rd Haikara album

Thanks to a tip from our friend Progvarius, we learned this morning that Rocket Records will be reissuing the excellent Nimbus "Obus" album. I've been waiting for this announcement for some time, hoping that Rocket would eventually reissue it. Here's our original entry. Another Priority 2 (borderline 1) reissued! And Rocket always does a first class job.

In addition to the Nimbus album, Rocket will be reissuing T.T. Oksala's "Radio Storm", an album I haven't personally heard but one that Provarius says is quite good. And, finally, look for the reissue of Haikara's 3rd album "Iso Lintu". It's a far cry from their classic first 2 albums "Haikara" and "Geafar", but I'm sure there are many who will be glad to complete the collection. This will be its first ever reissue.

News: Rocket to reissue Farout "Further Out"

The always interesting Rocket Records of Finland has a new reissue that is relevant to CDRWL fans. Rocket is a Finnish-only specialist label, and progressive rock is but one of many styles they reissue. They probably reissue 20 to 25 albums a year, in a variety of different indigenous musical forms. So it's always fun when they cover off on some of the classic Finnish progressive rock scene. I keep hoping they'll take on Nimbus and Sepi Kuu one day!

I haven't heard this Farout album, though it's on the same label (Kompass) as Scapa Flow, that  Rocket incidentally reissued a couple of years back.

There's one review on RYM from Tiliar where he states: "It's a Finnish Jazz-Rock band but their sound is a bit different from the other Finnish Jazz-Rock bands which we maybe know them. this album is completely instrumental and full of Moog and Hammond playing with a hint of progressive nuances. although I'm not the great fan of Jazz-Rock but it's really great and pleasant."

Sounds good to me!

News: Rocket Records reissues Woodoo and Lemon

As always, Rocket Records continues to reissue some of the most obscure records from Finland (I keep hoping for Nimbus and Sepi Kuu). Today's announcement are two albums that were originally on the UFO label.

For Woodoo, which we featured in December of 2009, my review stated: "Terribly rare album from Finnish rock-jazz-vocal group. Lots of hand percussion drives the rhythms while sax takes the lead lines. Vocals in Finnish dominate. This one has a nice groove to it, despite the heavy reliance on vocals. Can be trance inducing. Short album, well under 30 minutes. Worth seeking out for a few listens."

Apparently this was reissued about a week ago, so you should be able to order it direct from Finland now.

As well, Rocket also plans on reissuing the Lemon "Vanha Vakaa" record in September. Now here's a band that lives up to its name! I compared them to The Partridge Family - but that's coming from my preference for underground progressive rock music. I'm sure the album has many fans back at home.

In any case, it's just great to see Rocket Records cruising along!

News: Session to be reissued by Rocket Records in ONE WEEK!

Ay-yeee-yooo-yeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

You read it right boys and girls. The super rare Finnish album is coming out on CD from Rocket Records scheduled to be reissued August 18th!! And it's not just rare - but very good. We featured them here.

We're getting word that one US vendor might be able to carry these! Can't say who, but it does offer hope for us folks in the US.

More info here (in Finnish).

News: Rocket Records to reissue Paroni Paakkunainen and Kaamos

It wasn't long ago we mentioned there didn't appear to be any active label in Finland interested in reissuing classic Finnish progressive rock. I wasn't familiar with Rocket Records prior, but they're based in Finland and have reissued many albums already (outside of our scope here).

Today we learned on Progressive Ears, two albums from our wishlist are coming out on CD for the first time from Rocket Records:

Paroni Paakkunainen: Plastic Maailma (1971)
Kaamos - Deeds and Talks (1977)

Excellent news!