In April 2007 the 6th album, Reizegger Blues was released. Jore was busy on this album - most of the album's 19 tracks are by Heikkilä/McGowan. But the traditional Irish connection is still there on The Barnyards Of Delgaty, The Bold Tenant Farmer and Johnny McEldoo Guest vocalist Tarja Niittumäki sings one song, The Child.

Reizegger Blues review by Kristi (also by Greg and Michelle)

01. The Rhythm Of Life (Heikkilä/McGowan)

This deceptively simple song carries a much deeper spiritual message. There is a rhythm to all of life, like the syncopated jazz in New Orleans. It's in the country and in the town; in both birth and death; in the seasons, and in the wind. There's not just one place where it can be found, but it's the spirit of life, and it's in both you and me. As the Bible says, we're all dust. And only God knows what it means. The best we can do is try to live our lives in tune with this mysterious plan. Davy comes close here to capturing that universal oneness I call God. Said like a true poet. Very thoughtful, Davy!

02. Once A Lady (McGowan)

A pretty and appealing song, featuring Jore on the double bass. She was just a dream in his memory with the wind in her hair, smiling bright in the sunshine.

03. Breakwater Bay (McGowan)

Even the crying gulls seem to sense the pain in his heart as this poor Scottish man leaves love and home to fight a war. Fain that wars were all done. He wishes he could rest in the peace of the bay. A nice and different banjo interlude in this traditonal song. A universal feeling well-said.

04. A Wisdom Came Upon Me (Heikkilä/McGowan)

An old poem of Davy's that Jore put music to. Jore sets a relective mood with the melody. Once he is away from everything, becoming one with nature causes him to reflect upon the wonder of life, and an insight comes to him. 'I wept for what I've done' - a feeling we have all experienced, at one time or another. Maybe we should all take time to 'commune with God' more often.

05. Paris 1938 (McGowan)

Different; complex; keeps your attention throughout. Tries to capture that 'Django Reinhardt' feel - and succeeds beautifully!

06. Johnny McEldoo (Traditional)

Davy first heard this playful traditional song on an old Clancy Brothers LP. Featuring Jore and Davy on guitar with Jore on the mandolin, this one is quite a mouthful! Cute, fun, a lively Irish drinking song. I loved it - Hey!

07. If I Should Bring You Roses (Heikkilä/McGowan)

They've slowed down the pace from the last one to a nice soft melody that's easy to listen to. The music meshes well with the poem. Come now, Davy - I don't think you were drunk when you wrote this at all. And Jore's melody really stays with you!

08. William J. Reizegger (Heikkilä/McGowan)

A witty way with words and a nice strong beat in this rhythm and blues number. Catchy!

09. Disappointment (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Some fancy picking here as Jore takes us up and down the scale.

11. The Hill (Heikkilä/McGowan)

A slow 'southern drawl' kind of song featuring Jore's 'spaced out' blues guitar. I like the imagery of the church bells and the wind in his hair as the gulls circle above; the morning mist, and the rest beneath a green tree.

12. One Firefly Summer (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Again capturing a relaxed mood, another luscious 'one with nature' kind of song. The base beat really stands out here, as the imaginative words conjure up visions of early morning mist and songbirds high in the skies.

13. The Banks O' Clyde (McGowan)

You can't stay sad while listening to this happy Irish-sounding song - it makes you want to join right in! Here we have Davy on the guitar, whistle, and bodhran, while Jore plays the mandolin, accordian, bass, and another guitar. That interlude in the middle is nice. I loved this one! Our boys know how to do 'Celtic' right!

14. The Barnyards Of Delgaty (Traditional)

Definitely upbeat with a strong 'Irish' flavor, Davy's accent really stands out in this Clancy Brothers song. Loved this one also! Both songs appeal to my Scotch/Irish roots, but an 'honorary' Celt would like them too. They should have a beer in their hands while singing this one! Once again, our boys give 'The Irish Rovers' a run for their money!

15. If I Should Sleep (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Legend has it that Davy wrote this song just to hear Jore sing the word 'bastard' on a CD! Did you say... 'bastard'? Well yes, I've known a couple - but don't get me started! 'Never stuck to any rules, and they were fools'. LOL!

16. The Farmyard Ball (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Very cute original - one of the first lyrics Davy ever wrote to go with Jore's music back in 2003. This one took an imagination, and is especially cute as sung by Jore. This song calls for a malt whiskey.

17. The Bold Tenant Farmer (Traditional)

Another adorable Clancy Brothers song, this 'Irish lilt' cheers you up like the lark in the morning. To grab your attention, they stop the music for a bit and just have the singing. Whistle with the chorus and shout out to this beer hall drinking song. Love it yet again. The Irish Rovers got nothing on them!

18. The Snare (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Yes, Jore's tune really does capture the sense of mystery Davy is trying to convey in this poem. As a Christian, I was deeply touched by this song. Only one intimately familiar with Jesus could have written it. This song demonstrates the innate spirituality of a gifted mystic. 'His melancholy eyes aglow with secrets of the past, present, and future, known only to him.' They both knew each other long ago - and wiped each other's tears. It doesn't take a psychoanalyst to see that our Davy does tend to mention God quite a bit in his music! Very impressive, Davy.

19. Wishes (McGowan)

Gentle, relaxing, like flowing waters, a constant melody flows through this song. A lushly romantic and spiritual work of poetry. I'd ride the night wind to give my dreams to you.

Once again, a really good variety of moods and styles - all done equally well - along with rare gems of insight and inspiration. I will treasure this album. Thank you both, Jore and Davy!

Kristi

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Reizegger Blues review by Greg

I should say right at the beginning, that I liked Take 'Em Off better than Reizegger Blues, by a small margin. Perhaps it is the absence of Tuomas and his great piano and vocals, or perhaps it is because the Mescaline Smugglers CD has more blues based songs. However, Reizegger Blues is a fantastic CD, is packed with great music and has a lot of gems. It is wonderfully good, honest music, something which the world is lacking, the music, the vocals, the lyrics, the arrangements and the mixing is so well done, that the CD sounds better than just about any "professional" music coming out these days. I'm of the opinion that much of the best music today is being produced just like this, by self producers. The whole album has a pensive, contemplative feel to it that sometimes slips into melancholy that delights me. Perhaps at a certain age, we all get reflective about the times we have had and the things that we have missed and look at the world no longer with a wolf-like hunger, but in a bemused satisfaction.

After re-listening to each CD, still not sure why I like Take 'Em Off better, but it's really like the difference between two really excellent beers, you may have a favorite one night and another the next night. I really like the pensive mood of this album and the playfulness that shows up throughout as well as the really beautiful music, lyrics and vocals.

01. The Rhythm Of Life (Heikkilä/McGowan)

This is the first song I listened to from the current Kvester Melkk Quintet or Mescaline Smugglers. A perfect song to start the CD with. It swings along with a great jolly tune and a wonderful lyric. I was sure at first, that this was a poem by Davy and was sure that at last Davy believed in some sort of Universal Principle, until I found out the lyrics are by that wonderful poet, Eero's mom. But then, I found out that Davy put the English words to it, and so we get the great line "there's bugger all else that we can do" that is resigned, but playful. The lyric is great; the music is sublime on this one, the use of the mandolin (mandolin banjo?) for the bridge is inspired. The arrangement with Jore playing all of the instruments and Davy singing is a combination that should be tried more often. Only complaint is the song is too short by at least one minute.

02. Once A Lady (McGowan)

A wistfully lovely song about the paths that we take and the observer in us all. With sweet music that keeps your foot tapping, the lyric explores what all men and women think about when they sit in a place where people pass by and reflect on the world of "might have beens". The song is especially poignant to any of us who have watched someone from afar and then taken the chance to meet a stranger and been delighted when that stranger becomes an intimate friend.

03. Breakwater Bay (McGowan)

I should excuse myself right away, because I'm a sucker for anything that sounds like a sea chantey or tells a soldier's story. This starts like a sea chantey and then evolves into a soldier's story, maybe in the 1790's when Britain fought wars all over the world for the riches of the India tea Company and young men ran off for glory and ended up enduring the hardships and life on foreign soil and the horrors of combat. The guitar and other string accompaniments are spare, but beautiful, and the (bouzouki?) at the instrumental break is really wonderful.

04. A Wisdom Came Upon Me (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Jore up front with great vocals and the music is sad and beautiful. Another thoughtful, reflective lyric put wonderfully to music, the tune perhaps making it more pensive and sad than was originally intended in the poem... are those minor chords?

05. Paris 1938 (McGowan)

Great little instrumental with a kind of merry go round feel, or perhaps a music box from long ago expressing maybe all of the beauty and fragility of innocence before the great storm. I don't get the Django Reinhardt feel, but the guitar work is really wonderful; several lead parts played against the melody are really extraordinary. Nice to hear something that is just a guitar instrumental.

06. Johnny McEldoo (Traditional)

A great drinking and dancing song! At least as a traditional song, I was able to google the lyrics. I thought I was amazed listening to Davy sing it, and then I looked at the lyrics and wondered how someone could even sing all the tongue twisting lyrics. Nice, steady guitar work and the mandolin, which I keep confusing for a banjo, accompanying the guitars, really makes the song.

07. If I Should Bring You Roses (Heikkilä/McGowan)

I really like this one because it scares me. The keyboards and the bass and ethereal vocals by Jore have a slight funeral feel that I find really charming. The musical arrangement and the way each instrument is introduced one by one is quite masterful. It seems like a Victorian gothic novel put to music, but with an underlying feel of dread for me. The music and words are beautiful but I sense an Edgar Allen Poe type character waiting to bury his sweetheart alive and keep a beautiful walnut box lined with purple satin in which he keeps her tongue (maybe it's just me?). My only complaint is the lyric is too short.

08. William J. Reizegger (Heikkilä/McGowan)

This is a great little independent movie in a 3 minute song, where there are little sinister things happening beneath the surface shine of the white picket fences and green grass lawns in the little American Midwestern town. Kinda creepy, a little cynical and a whole lot of fun. The arch sound of the keyboards is enhanced nicely by the spacey wail of guitars, playing white collar, mid-western blues. LOL! Makes me wonder why David Lynch loves Donovan so much and if Donovan should be creeped out by it.

09. Disappointment (Heikkilä/McGowan)

A very interesting tune. The fast paced melody stepping up and down the scale is really enjoyable, but I had to listen to the song 15 times to get all of the lyrics (I think). Good thing is the song is so short, it's easy to do.

10. The Child (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Jeez, I love this song. Tarja's voice is perfect for this, lovely and sad. I think this one song could launch a career for Tarja. The music is beautiful, guitars and bass give it a slight gypsy feel and a slight rolling gait. I am haunted by this song and listen to it over and over, enjoying the softness, the sadness and the subtly, perfectly ended with that midi accordion, walking us slowly away from the scene. Jeez, did I say this is excellent?

11. The Hill (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Another great vocal by Jore, don't let McGowan hog all the glory!! Wonderful laid back bluesy guitar. Thoughtful, impressionistic lyric, seems to me that this would have fit very well onto HMS Donovan, like a child's growing up poem, with a painterly expression of one fine day atop a hill. Nicely done!

12. One Firefly Summer (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Beatnik back beat and chant, love that walking bass and spare guitar feel... I feel like I'm in a smoky jazz club, wonder how Davy would look in a black beret?

13. The Banks O' Clyde (McGowan)

Maybe this'll drive Tom crazy, but I was sure this was another version of a Clancy Brother's traditional song. This is my probably my favorite song on the CD and another one I can't get out of my mind. Just a lovely, perfect little gem. Again, the masterful way that the guitar and mandolin starts and vocals and the rest of the instruments are added is just really inspired. When the whistle and bodhran are added who the hell is still sitting down? I'm dancing around the room, whoops, who left the blinds up, confirming my neighbor's worst fears?

14. The Barnyards Of Delgaty (Traditional)

A gem of a song, possibly should have been placed a little differently so as not to be so closely compared with the previous song. But a wonderful rendition, with whistle and mandolin banjo encouraging us to get up and dance again. I would love to get a CD of just traditional songs played by Jore and Davy. Excellent.

15. If I Should Sleep (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Great lyrics, great vocals by Jore and beautiful banjo accompanied by guitar. More banjo songs!! The "strolling along" almost cakewalk feeling I get from the music works really well with the lyrics' walk through life and reflection. The inflection is just right on "bastard" and confirms my thoughts about the economical use of swear words for emphasis in songs.

16. The Farmyard Ball (Heikkilä/McGowan)

The beginning accordion sets up this really cute song. Great fun and reminiscent to me of the Disney black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons of the late 1920's where all the barnyard animals played musical instruments and everything came to life in a surrealistic manner. Although, in this one, all the animals are drinking!! Great barnyard orchestration by Jore, especially the instrumental break and the vocals have that slightly excited sound of someone telling a fantastical tale that fits just right with the lyrics and instruments. One I usually play twice.

17. The Bold Tenant Farmer (Traditional)

I'm gonna have to get that Clancy Brother's CD. This is a wonderful rendition, I especially like the "and I sang like the lark in morning!" Full of brashness and swagger, it'd be a great drinking song. Great chorus singing and whistle as well.

18. The Snare (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Excellent! Another gem. Very beautiful and moody piece; a nice turnaround from the less serious songs. This feels like a real Celtic folk tale full of mystery and enchantment, with a little darkness and brooding thrown in. I hope I can find the lyrics for this; it gives me goose bumps when I listen to it.

19. Wishes (McGowan)

Fantastic, what a great love song. Beautiful simple guitar playing, an excellent accompaniment that doesn't overshadow the brilliant lyric. I can almost see Davy playing this on the edge of a cliff looking over a fog bound town in very early morning. What a beautiful way to end the CD. The lyrics make me wish I could write something so nice for someone.

Great CD, Davy makes the vocals seem so easy and natural, glad to hear Jore doing more vocals, would also love to hear more vocals from Tarja... great instrumentation and arrangements. Serendipitously, as I finish this, I'm just listening to Jean Sibelius' Karelia Suite and reminded that it is about Finland.

Greg

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Reizegger Blues review by Michelle

01. The Rhythm Of Life (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Great harmonies and I always love how the bass carries the beat with no other percussion needed.

02. Once A Lady (McGowan)

Excellent finger picking off of each other... so soft and sweet.

03. Breakwater Bay (McGowan)

Lovely mandolin carrying the tune over the guitar and then the ukulele (is that what I hear?) solo gives me chills... great lyrics as well.

04. A Wisdom Came Upon Me (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Again... the way you two play off each other with Davy and his guitar and you and taking the melody to a place where feeling is evoked into the song... he is your musical soul mate.

05. Paris 1938 (McGowan)

I'm tapping my foot as I eat alfresco in gay pari... beautiful dancing strings on your fingers with Davy.

06. Johnny McEldoo (Traditional)

A traditional song... always interesting to hear the roots of a different place... it puts a picture in your head of a pub song or something you would sing as you work... I need to listen more to understand fast lyrics in this one.

07. If I Should Bring You Roses (Heikkilä/McGowan)

This has a traditional feel and a nice addition of soft percussion... you guys amaze me with the variety of types of music you play... it is easy to recognize that is it you two... but yet no two songs sound alike... and that's great.

08. William J. Reizegger (Heikkilä/McGowan)

I love this... lol... piano/synthesizer is awesome and so is percussion addition... and such a great story to tell... Davy's voice sells it... the music matches the story... I love blood marys as much as this song!.. .great guitar play... sounds a bit like steel guitar... the lyric is brilliant... my favorite song on the CD!!!!

09. Disappointment (Heikkilä/McGowan)

You guys don't miss a step on this quick paced lovely show of talent.

10. The Child (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Tarja sound soft and sweet... and you and Davy let her shine with soft bass and guitar... accordion is great... if that is what that was at the end... my mother plays accordion and piano.

11. The Hill (Heikkilä/McGowan)

A soft journey to a pleasant place... great string play and perfect bass accompaniment.

12. One Firefly Summer (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Great beat with that bass again... laying the groundwork for some soft guitar brilliance... lyric is awesome.

13. The Banks O' Clyde (McGowan)

Perfect harmonies and mandolin excellence... very uplifting with bass and voice... flute is a perfect accent to this song... accordion is so pleasant as well.

14. The Barnyards Of Delgaty (Traditional)

A traditional feel again... is this Davy playing the flute or the tin whistle? ...it has perfect placement in this song... I love the bass and harmonies... you two could be at any pub back in the day making the whole joint jump and sing along... very enjoyable!

15. If I Should Sleep (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Banjo is soothing like Davy's voice and lyric is funny... nice to hear whistle with mouth.

16. The Farmyard Ball (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Accordion or piano synthesizer intro with percussion is nice... the bass keeps great time... I'm picturing the animals dancing and drinking... banjo brilliance... and lyric is a great story!

17. The Bold Tenant Farmer (Traditional)

I knew it was traditional just from the title of the song... Davy has an old soul as well as you when you sing this together... tin flute takes you dancing along with your energetic voices together... love hearing the traditional tunes.

18. The Snare (Heikkilä/McGowan)

Beautiful picking... what a talent to sing a perfect melody with a guitar going in its own melody... it fuses as one.

19. Wishes (McGowan)

The lyric is so sweet... compliments a simple guitar dance but Davy's voice is enchanting in this beautiful lyrical love song... any woman would swoon.

I don't know why you like my reviews Jore... as I look at what I just wrote it says nothing compared to what each song and the music makes me feel... maybe I'm not good at putting these things into words or identifying some of the string instruments that are being used... I just know how well they sound together... but you do know that you guys should have a record label and be heard around the world... and I mean that sincerely...

Michelle

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