Comment: You can hear glimpses of later classics in the Leevi and the Leavings documentary

December in the middle of the year, a new documentary about the band Leevi and the Leavings appeared in Yle Areena.

Songwriter Gösta Sundqvist led by the band is remembered for its numerous hits, but also for the fact that it never performed in front of an audience. It feels special because the Leavings worked and recorded regularly for 25 years.

Jussi Eskola document Dreams and band work however, it contained a never-before-seen short film clip in which Leevi and the Leavings perform at a small-scale Äimä-rock festival in Iittala in the summer of 1978.

The gig itself had already been reported to the public years ago, but for a reason Yle highlighted the film recording as news from the documentary. The band appearing in the film did not use the name Leevi and the Leavings, but it featured the same players who also played on the band’s first single.

Documentary the central theme is to describe not only the early stages of Leavings but also the birth of Sundqvist’s songs.

The group’s founding members include Reijo Inna and Juha Partanen are rewinding old c-cassettes on a holiday of reminiscence, from which you can already hear small suggestive glimpses of songs recorded later.

That girl is not coming back -the first line of the song “I think I was fifteen” is sung by the teenage Sundqvist from a cracked recording, as well The way of life The catchy “up, down” hook of the chorus.

1963 – Fifteen years later – the demo version of the song is already almost ready, as well as the one released as the first single What about Marja-Leena?.

Some of the ideas that were humorously recorded on old tapes ended up on the record only later. Such is the line of the song “Ljeni, Saraseni” sung in pseudo-Russian, which was finally heard only in 1993 Turkmen girlfriend -in the chorus of the album’s title track.

Leevi and the Leavingsin the cornerstone of popularity has been Sundqvist’s lyrical style, which combines roughness and sensitivity in a unique way. It has been overshadowed by his tonal language, which was born Dreams and band work – you can follow the sound samples of the documentary.

One songwriter of the later generation who grew up with the compositions of Leevi and the Leavings is Jori Roosberg (formerly Sjöroos), who has composed songs for PMMP. Traces can be heard in many PMMP hits, not least from 2009 Couples therapy– in the song, the song melody of which already follows the aforementioned Turkmen girlfriend instrumental pattern.

If Sundqvist has been borrowed, so he himself had time to borrow from others. Published in 1998 Elisenda was fine similar tune like a Russian Maxim Leonidovin previously recorded Vision.

This way, at Christmas, it is also appropriate to play our own Christmas songs recorded by Leevi and the Leavings. The one I’ve listened to the most is the alcoholic one about Christmas On Christmas Evebut almost as popular has been much brighter I guess it’s still Christmas somewhere.

Its catchy pedaling and the beginning of the verse vividly reminds me Darlene Loven a classic Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) from 1963.

Both songs deserve their place on the Christmas playlist year after year.

Correction 25.12. 4:56 p.m.: Corrected in the caption that Risto Paananen was involved in Leevi and the Leavings since its founding, i.e. since 1978, Juha Karastie officially joined the band in 1980. Previously, the caption read that Karastie and Paananen had joined the band in 1979.

Correction 26.12. at 11:18 p.m.: Corrected the point where it was mentioned that the band had worked and recorded regularly for 15 years. In fact, the band worked and recorded for 25 years.