Apollo was
formed in 1969 by three ex-Topmost members (Harri Saksala, Eero Lupari,
Heimo Holopainen) and one Edward Vesala. Topmost was a very popular
group in Finland in the late 60's, so when Apollo was formed, they were
considered somewhat of a "supergroup". LED ZEPPELIN had just released
their debut, and they were apparently a huge influence for the band,
which is a bit strange as those influences are not that clear when
listening to their only, self-titled album. The debut was released in
1970, when progressive rock (in Finland at least) was still in its
babyshoes, and that does show. It's very much a mixed bag, blending
(possibly too) many ideas together, but it's nevertheless a quite
charming album. The album consists of a few rough rock tracks ("Red" era
KING CRIMSON meets LED ZEPPELIN), and a couple of interesting "ballads"
in the vein of PROCOL HARUM. The most progressive ones are definitely
Edward Vesala's experimentations in Labyrintti and Trimalcion, which
don't seem to have any clear structure, blending together different
percussions, flutes and what not.The album was reasonably succesful in Finland, but soon after releasing the album, Apollo was already disbanded. Line-up / Musicians Edward Vesala/drums,percussion,flute,vocals Harri Saksala/vocals,accordion,harmonica Eero Lupari/guitar,vocals Heimo Holopainen/bass,vocals Discography Apollo 1970
1.Symboli 2.Lohduton Uni 3.Hyvä Ihminen 4.Ajatuksia 5.Trimalcion 6.Hideki Tojo 1884-1948 7.Laulu Ystävälle Varjojen Maassa 8.Valolta Suojattu Sydän 9.Labyrintti 10.Pakoon Maailmaa
