Svart Records proudly present Tasavallan Presidentti live at the Ruisrock festival in 1971!

Tasavallan Presidentti’s annual performances at Ruisrock in Turku, Finland during the festival’s early years were proof of the band’s rapid ascent from a local band to an internationally renowned group of top musicians. “Pressa” left a lasting mark on many a festivalgoer, and the most optimistic ones were hoping to get these performances on a live album, if recordings existed. They do exist, and what remains on tape of the first ever Ruisrock performance was released on Changing Times and Movements (Svart Records), and the show at Ruisrock 1971 is now coming out on this album. 

Arriving in Turku 1971 “Pressa” had completely shed their skin and revamped their set list from the previous year. The group had evolved into something entirely new musically. The festival had a more progressive lineup this year, and Pressa got the chance to prove themselves as part of a well respected international lineup. Some of Ruisrock’s international talent in 1971 included  The Jeff Beck Group, The Kinks, Fairport Convention, Canned Heat, Juicy Lucy, Hardin & York, Pete Brown & Piblokto!, Pink Fairies, Stefan Grossman, Niemen Enigmatic, Culpeper's Orchard, Fläsket Brinner and Fruit.

Another proof of the rapid renewal of Pressa’s set list is how they would perform songs under different names, until the final name was chosen when releasing the song on an album. Jukka Tolonen’s composition The Bargain is included twice on this live album. The earlier version is from Ruisrock 1971 and the latter from the Finlandia house in December the same year. 

The Bargain was first performed as Better Move On with lyrics by Frank Robson. In the autumn of 1971 the piece was re-christened as Falling Deeper, and this unreleased studio version was discovered and released on The Lost 1971 Studio Session (Svart Records). This was the name the song got for a few months, and was registered with Teosto, the Finnish music copyright association with this title. For whatever reason the song was performed using its older name at the Finlandia house in December 1971. Then, when Eero Raittinen sang the song when Lambertland was recorded, Mats Huldén provided new lyrics and the song got its final name The Bargain. Ramblin’, a familiar tune from Tolonen’s solo career, was at first performed as Feel My Way Through with vocals by Robson. This early version is featured on this live album.

There’s been a lot of talk among fans about a certain cover tune by Tasavallan Presidentti and its discovery and release are long overdue. Well, here it is, King Kong by Frank Zappa, performed by Tasavallan Presidentti at Ruisrock 1971!