Cara Mia - Rakastua voisit aivan pikkuisen

Eini covered both sides of Baccara's first single. But they were released here as separate singles. The first one "Yes Sir, alkaa polttaa" was the bigger seller and Eini's breakthrough song. But this second one "Rakastua voisit aivan pikkuisen" (You could fall in love, just a little) climbed also to Top 10 in Finland in 1978. There were also three other covers made in Finland in the same year, to the same lyrics ,made by Pertsa Reponen. The original song "Cara Mia" was, as stated , the B-side of Baccara's first single "Yes Sir I Can Boogie". It was composed, as always, by Ralf Soja. This happens to me my personal favourite of Baccara songs. You can see them perform it live, here.

Here's the pair:

Moscow Nights - Moscow Night

Eini (see earlier entry) recorded several disco (or 'synth pop', if you like) tunes in the 80's . One of those was this "Moscow Night" that appeared on her "Eini" album in 1985. Despite the title, the lyrics (by Juha Vainio) were in Finnish. The title of the original song was just a little bit different "Moscow Nights" and was performed by a singer called Anya. She was born Anya Major, and was a British gymnast and model. Her first claim to fame was appearing as "Nikita" in the video to Elton John's song of the same name. Anya's first (and only) single, this "Moscow Nights", had moderate success in Western Europe, but she didn't continue in the music business afterwards.

Here's the pair:

Manuel Goodbye - Tavataanko taas

This time we present a piece of music that recent years has been labeled as 'Eurotrash'. This is from the 80's, a decade of pre-Eurotrash. Well, trash or not, hugely popular this kind of music was. Eini recorded "Tavataanko taas" (Should we meet again) in 1983 for her album "Aika pakkaus". It was not released a single, but it has some staying power anyway. The original song was of German production and was performed by US actress and singer Audrey Landers (b. Audrey Hamburg). This ong was her first big hit and she has earned 10 gold singles, 4 gold albums and 2 platinum albums (mainly in Europe) since. However, Audrey is probably best known for playing the role of Afton Cooper in the television soap opera 'Dallas' from 1981 to 1984.

Here's the pair:

Holnap Hajnalig - Kellot käy

Eini (see earlier entry) recorded "Kellot käy" (Clocks are ticking) in 1985 on her album "Eini". (She released two albums with the name "Eini", this is the latter one). It was released also as a single, but didn't actually raise commotion. Anyway, a decent rock-ish disco-pop tune it is. The original was a Hungarian song, which are rarely covered in Finland (see one earlier example here). The song "Holnap Hajnalig" (Tomorrow sunrise) was performed by popular Hungarian pop-rock group Neoton Familia (a.k.a Newton Family), and co-written by group's frontman György Jakab. The goup was the one of the most successful Hungarian pop-bands, during several decades, with various line-ups. It was most active from 1977 to 1989, releasing albums and touring in several countries. You can see the band performing "Holnap Hajnalig" live, here.

Here's the pair:

Meet Me In Stockholm - Me kaksi matkalla Tukholmaan

Yesterday's country cover was almost, but not quite, Tex-Mex. Today's song is definetely Tex-Mex even if it has been made in (and the lyrics tell about) Scandinavia. This song has always been my personal favourite, and I was pleasently surprised to find out that there were two Finnish covers (with different lyrics) made of it. And neither of these I had heard at the time of their releases! The first one "Me kaksi matkalla Tuktholmaan" (We two on our way to Stockholm) was done in 1983 by Eini (see previous entry), who was known as a disco queen, but succeeds very well in her interpretation of this country ballad. The second cover "Luoksesi Tukholmaan" (To meet you in Stockholm) was performed by the 'usual suspect' Kari Tapio (see previous entry) in 1991. This also is a very good version of the original song that was written and performed by Tex-Mex legend Doug Sahm (b. Douglas Wayne Sahm) He signed in 1983 with the Swedish label Sonet and recorded some singles and albums for it, and toured extensively in Europe. In my opinion this is one of the best songs Doug ever did. BTW, 'the slow boat to Helsinki town' mentioned in the lyrics, refers to the car ferries traveling on the route Stockholm-Helsinki and standing for the luxury liners that Finnish everyman can afford.

Here's the triple:

Comment ça va - Je t'aime je t'aime

Eini (see previous entry) recorded "Je t'aime je t'aime" (I love you, I love you) on her album "Aika Pakkaus" in 1983. It is one of those 'should-have-been-hit' songs, but what can you do... The title of the song was somewhat peculiar, becouse the original French title was "Comment ça va" (meaning something like 'how are you doin’). Perhaps the lyricist Vexi Salmi thought that the Finns don't know more about French than "je t'aime". The original version was made by Dutch teenage boy group The Shorts. Organiser/producer/composer Eddy de Heer scouted new talents and he discovered the band that first appeared as 'De Bliksemafleiders'. In 1982 De Heer wrote "Comment ça va" , which became an international hit in 1983 thanks to the boys, who had by then changed their name to The Shorts. Later it was released in German, French, Spanish and English. A total of four million copies of the song were sold. It was later also translated by foreign (adult) artists and released in Scandinavia, Japan and other countries. The follow-up singles did not match the success of "Comment ça va" and The Shorts stopped playing in 1986,

Here's the pair:

Halayla - Liian pian ilta päättyy

Tonight is the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Final. We end the Finnpicks ESC week with "Halayla" (Tonight), which was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 in Dublin. It was performed in Hebrew by group called Hakol Over Habibi. The song is a dramatic ballad, with the singer describing what will happen between herself and a lover "tonight". It received 56 points, placing 7th. Finland's Riki Sorsa with "Reggae OK" placed 16th, Hakol Over Habibi had originally been offered the song "Hallelujah" as a potential Eurovision entry in 1978 but turned it down. The song went on to represent Israel in 1979 and won (!) but was performed by Gali Atari & Milk & Honey. The Finnish version of was done by Eini (see previous entry), who recorded it as "Liian pian ilta päättyy" (The night ends too soon). This song is more or less forgotten, which is sad becouse it is a very good song (one of my ESC favourtites) and one of Eini's better peformances.


Here's the pair:

When The Rain Begins To Fall - Nousen kanssas aurinkoon

We end our Finnpicks Disco Week series with the artist that we started with. Eini joined forces with another popular singer Markku Aro (see previous entry) and recoded "Nousen kanssas aurinkoon" (I'll raise into the sun with you) in 1985. It was on her album "Eini" and was not released as a single. The original song "When The Rain Begins To Fall" was recorded by the singers Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora, and released as a single at the end of 1984. Jermaine was of course once in Jackson 5 and he had numerous solo hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Pia Zadora (b. Pia Alfreda Schipani) is an American actress and singer. After work as a child actress on Broadway, Zadora starred with Stacy Keach and Orson Welles in the 1982 film Butterfly, with a plot around father-daughter incest. She won that year's Golden Globe Award as "Best New Star of the Year". She gained success in Europe as a singer, and had several hit singles. This song was one of those and was included in the sci-fi comedy movie Voyage Of the Rock Aliens in which Zadora played a lead role.

Here's the pair:

You're The Greatest Lover - Vetonaula

It's a time for another Finnpicks Disco Week. We start with "Vetonaula" (Attraction) which was a hit single for Eini (real name Eini Orajärvi) in 1979. Eini was herself an attraction with not-so-typically-Finnish looks - raven dark hair and voluptuos body. She was acting Finnish Disco Queen in the end of 70's and beginning of the 80's. Eini made her breakthrough with Baccara's "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" -cover in 1977. This "Vetonaula" single was culled from second album "Laululintunen" (songbird). The original was a big disco hit for Dutch girl group Luv (Marga Scheide, José Hoebee and Patty Brard) and called "You're The Greatest Lover". The group was formed in 1976 by Dutch music producers Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer and manager Han Meijer, inspired by the German disco trio Silver Convention. This song was the fourth single of the group, released in the summer of 1978. It was Luv's international breakthrough and is often considered as their signature song.

Here's the pair: