........... : ____ : _/ /____: \______ / SER STRiKES BACK WiTH ANOTHER NEW RELEASE :/ / /: <-+--- /________\_ ----------------------------------------------------+-> : / / / ....... . :/ / /: : : : / / / : .... : : : ____\_______\_:_____________ _____ : : : : : _\_ \ __\_ \ _ /__ \__\__ \ . :: :..: :.....: : / / // / // /_\ / /_ _/ _/__ / /___/ / / // // /___/ / \ //\ \_______/__/____\:____\\_______/___/____//__\ : __\_ \ ______ _____ . . ____ _____ ____ : / / / _\_ \_\__ \: :/ /______\_ \/ /_____ :/ / /: ____ / / / _/ _/:_ \_____ / / /______ / /___/____\_ \ // /____/ \ / :/ / / /___/ // / / : / / / \//_____\ /____/____/ /________\_______//_______\ :/ / /: /_____ / : : /____\ : >>> Kip Peltoniemi: Minnesota Tango <<< :.........: ____ ____ _ __\/\ _ __ ___ _ ___ __\_ / \ _/__ ___ _ ___ __ _ /\/__ _ _ _\/\\ /_//-//__((_))__\\ X/ RELEASE INFO \X //__((_))__\\-\\_\ //\/_ _ .. \/ \/ \/ \/ . : : : : :..:... Supplier : SER 2005 Release Date : 05/09/2005 ...:..: : : Ripper : SER 2005 Street Date : 00/00/2001 :..:... ...:..: Genre : Folk Source : CD : : : : Label : Texicalli Records Tracks : 14 Tracks ...:..: : : Quality : VBR/APS/44.1kHz Channels : Joint Stereo : : :..:... Language : English Size : 69,4 MB :..:... : : Software : EAC v0.95 Prebeta 5 Encoder : LAME v3.90.3 : : : . : .: ____ ____ _ __\/\ _ __ ___ _ ___ __\_ / \ _/__ ___ _ ___ __ _ /\/__ _ _ _\/\\ /_//-//__((_))__\\ X/ DESCRiPTiON \X //__((_))__\\-\\_\ //\/_ _ \/ \/ \/ \/ Carl "Kip" Peltoniemi is an accordionist and singer-songwriter of Finnish-American stock from Minnesota. On his debut CD, Minnesota Tango, he presents seven songs and seven instrumental tunes or suites. He wrote or co-wrote half of the tracks, both tunes and songs, and covers a variety of traditional and contemporary works, mostly in a Finnish vein. He is backed by an all-star cast of excellent Finnish musicians, including members of well known groups such as Varttinaand Maria Kalaniemi's band Aldargaz. As you might guess from the title, Peltoniemi is also known as a humorist, and most of the songs here are in that vein. Peltoniemi delivers them in a dry, pleasant mid-range voice that isn't particularly strong but is warm and engaging. His lyrics tend to odd puns and internal rhymes rather in the manner of Garrison Keillor, with less irony and, thankfully, less sentimentalism. The title track is a showpiece that I initially found annoying but that grew on me with repeated playing. It doesn't hurt that it starts off with the soaring violin playing of Arto Jarvela, and has an angular accordion break in the middle -- this one played by Kimmo Pohjonen on a five-row chromatic with all the power required for a tango. (Apparently Kip doesn't like to mix singing and playing, since he doesn't play accordion on any of the tracks where he sings.) But it's the instrumental tracks that make Minnesota Tango such a winning disc. I can't even pick a favorite from among them. The opening track, a pair of Peltoniemi-penned polkas, is energetic and melodic, showcasing Kip's nimble playing and the tight and driving accompaniment of the band. Three of the tunes are by Otto Hotakainen, and all are winners, particularly the lovely "Teardrop Waltz." His "Kantele Schottische" is played here with an electric guitar in place of the kantele, and sounds like a Nordic version of Fairport Convention's electric folk music. Kip's splendid "My Little Petunia," written for his daughter, has a ragtime lilt and features tuba and accordion; "Nicollet Island Waltz" has a French musette sound; and the catchy "Bluff Creek" could have come from Scotland or Cape Breton Island instead of Minnesota. The better of the remaining songs are "The Popular Wobbly," a humorous labor song from about 1920 done here as western swing; and Kip's "The Baseball Song," a funny account of an early 20th-century Minnesota amateur game that sounds bilingual because of the names of all the Finnish (and one Norwegian) players. "The Great Elusive Metaphor of Love," a John Hartford-style banjo-driven ballad, doesn't live up to the promise of its title, nor does the love song "When I Knew (That You Knew I Knew)." "The Strawberry Roan" has a lovely arrangement, including a 36-string kantele (a Baltic zither) that's buried in the corn of the lyrics and delivery; and "Accordions from Hell" is a belabored ghost story. Kip's humor extends from the songs to the liner notes, in which he attempts to define what he calls the "Finnish Triangle," "an agricultural area in the central part of the eastern portion of the western section of the southern half of northern Minnesota." Some of the individual track notes are clearly fiction, and I was peeved at that until I reached the end and a note explaining which were true and which lies. Thanks, Kip! The disc was recorded at Helsinki's prestigious Sibelius Academy, and very beautifully done. The sound is very immediate and intimate, down to the clicking of the buttons on Kip's accordion. Tracks: 01. Two Polkas Julius Ja Jussi And Susij?rven Polkka (2:55) 02. Minnesota Tango (3:39) 03. Quiet Polska (3:26) 04. The Popular Wobbly (3:08) 05. Bluff Creek (3:21) 06. Accordians From Hell (3:54) 07. Teardrop Waltz (4:01) 08. The Great, Elusive Metaphor Of Love (3:31) 09. Kan-"Tele" Schottische (2:44) 10. When I Knew (That You Knew I Knew) (4:22) 11. My Little Petunia (3:36) 12. The Strawberry Roan (3:26) 13. The Baseball Song (3:40) 14. Nicollet Island Waltz (3:58) ____ ____ _ __\/\ _ __ ___ _ ___ __\_ / \ _/__ ___ _ ___ __ _ /\/__ _ _ _\/\\ /_//-//__((_))__\\ X/ GREETiNGS \X //__((_))__\\-\\_\ //\/_ _ \/ \/ \/ \/ 1way - AMOK - BOS - CMG - cnmc - ESC - FuFFENS - FWYH - HiT2000 iPC - JUST - MGC - pyt - radial - RNS - RTB - ss - UBE - ViC <-+--------------------------------------------------------------------+-> If you like this CD, BUY IT! Artists deserve your support.