Being

Hailing from the Finland, Blues Section was (you guessed it) a blues-inspired band fronted by British expatriate Jim Pembroke, drummer Ronnie Österberg, bassist Måns Groundstroem and others. They released an eponymous album in 1967, on the Finnish Love Records. But soon after Pembroke and Österberg left, and after a few more singles, the band broke up. Österberg then set out to form Wigwam, drafting Pembroke and organist Jukka Gustavson, with bassist Pekka Pohjola arriving in 1968 for their second album, Tombstone Valentine. It featured Kim Fowley in the producer's chair, and even managed to secure a US release on MGM's Verve Forecast. The band's music (roughly a cross between Traffic and The Band) matured into a more progressive sound for 1971's double-album Fairyport. By all accounts the sprawling jam, "Rave-Up for the Roadies," with guest Jukka Tolonen on guitar, was more indicative of their live set: nothing like their records! Both Pembroke and Pohjola then cut solo albums (the former, as Hot Thumbs O'Riley, released the whacked-out Wicked Ivories for Charisma in 1972), leaving Gustavson to mostly pen the epic 1974 release, Being. His "Proletarian" kicks off, rolling straight into the short "Inspired Machine;" immediately, it's evident that the band has refined their music to the point of being immaculate, while Gustavson's grasp of the English language is second to none. The more playful melody of Pembroke's "Petty-Bourgeois" follows; the contrast between the two composers is pronounced, but the band performs both with equanimity. "Pride of the Biosphere" gets heavy into the album's concept (life, death, religion and the meaning of it all), while the musicality of "Pedagogue," including the wonderfully resplendent horn arrangement, reveals the enormous technical talent contained within the band. "Crisader" continues the story, with Pohjola's brief "Planetist" swinging with abandon. Pembroke offers another of his lush melodies on "Maestro Mercy" and the following "Prophet" offers Gustavson a chance to show his considerable keyboard talents again. Finally, Pembroke's transcendent "Marvelry Skimmer" concludes the story. All told, the album is one of the most unique and perfectly crafted albums in the timeline. Yet perfection pays a price, and the band would barely weather the tumultuous sessions recording the masterpiece.