Harvest Time

This album, the sole release by Finnish progressive blues-rock band Elonkorjuu, isn't much different from a zillion or so psych-boogie records by other late-'60s/early-'70s bands from across the planet. They sing in English, their songs chug along, periodically erupting into fumble-fingered guitar solos; if you're a fan of psychedelic and proto-metal hard rock, you know the drill. Some of their songs are particularly aggressive: "Future" and "A Little Rocket Song" venture into the same territory explored (better) by Black Sabbath on their debut CD, and "Me and My Friend" demonstrates some quality guitar work in its opening moments. But overall, this CD isn't any kind of landmark, and it's not heavy enough to draw anyone's attention away from the work of more inspired Scandinavian groups of the period like November or Trad, Gras och Stenar. This is strictly for die-hard genre enthusiasts, who are really more like amateur archivists. Not everything forgotten is a lost treasure. ~ Phil Freeman