{mosimage}25 years as a band deserves a celebration. Värttinä was created in 1983, and now SonyBMG thought that there could be no better moment to offer a compilation to the fans.
Obviously, after 25 years, Värttinä does not need to show anything new to the public. The ones who like the bands peculiar style, rooted in Finnish folk traditions, know perfectly what to expect. The album is offered in digipack version, and acquires the status of a big celebration. 22 tracks extracted from their 11 albums and an unreleased song as an extra: Vipinäveet. 24 page-booklet with pictures of all the band’s career and a tour of their evolution, from those pre-teen female voices of the beginning to the more mature ones of Susan Aho, Mari Kaasinen and Johanna Virtanen, the remaining and present singers. Good time to take advantage of the opportunity that the album represents, since you must know that 25 has only been released so far in Finland, so if you don’t live in this Nordic country, do not expect to find it in the music shops.
At the same time of the appearance of this compilation, Värttinä is offering several shows in central Europe, around Germany and Switzerland, and it was recently announced as well the departure of their drummer “Jaska” Lukkarinen.
Värttinä will not leave you indifferent. If you want to discover something unique in Finnish music scene, a band that adds to their vocal harmonies old Finnish poems (runo poetry) and takes influence from the Finno-Ugric tribes tradition, this is your album. But if you prefer other kind of music and get annoyed by the constant repetitiveness in the lyrics, maybe this album is not for you. Mostly recommended for those who want to explore one step farther on Finnish music than only HIM, The Rasmus or Lordi.
Rating: 3/5