HAURU, JUKKA - Information (Sealed) (LP)

Black vinyl, limited to 300 copies. Before Jukka Hauru became one of the country's best known music critics, he was an aspiring musician and a guitar virtuoso. His first album Information was released on Finnlevy in 1972. Although it sounds like an oxymoron: the best features of Information are its diversity and coherence. The schizophrenic cover art where Hauru first asks himself in the front cover "Am I splitting?" and on the back cover "Excuse me but are you me or am I you?" sums the album theme. The variety of styles in the album might seem schizophrenic as well: progressive rock, jazz rock, classical, folk, waltz. This represents well the experimental and enthusiastic nature of an artist in his early 20s. Hauru had just dived into jazz after his blues phase. There is even a track called No More Blues that can be seen as his artistic testimony of the time. A standout track that indeed doesn't have much blues left - It's a killer fast-paced jazz prog jam. The pun towards blues is intended: Information pokes fun and alters strong structures (which was usual for his idols like Zappa) but it is also very serious at the same time. The Svart reissue is the first time Information has been available since its original release in 1972.