Oi Dai

Varttina

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 17, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Xenophile Records
• ASIN: B000001L4U
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #155,367 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Indie Music > World Music > Europe > Scandinavia

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Oi Dai is the album that catapulted Värttinä to international fame, a meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy collection of Finnish folk tunes driven by the polyphonic Finno-Ugric harmonies of the female singers and the sprightly, acoustic picking of their backing band. The album kicks in with Marilaulu, a sprightly hoe-down driven by an effervescent pennywhistle, thumping bassline, and the charming, slightly dissonant vocals of the band's five frontwomen. If the Bulgarian Women's Choir was backed by Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, they might sound something like Värttinä. Several tunes here are based on bawdy folk tunes, which may partly explain the album's staggering popularity--within weeks of its release it became the biggest selling folk music album in the history of the Finnish music business. --j. poet

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is a fun album, but I'd like to hear more, July 29, 1998

By A Customer

You can't deny that the upbeat tempo and fascinating harmonies are a lot of fun to listen to, but let's face it: this music seems better in small doses than in full-length albums. For a small dose, check out Hector Zazou's _Songs from the Cold Seas_--an unbelievably transcendental collection of songs, one of which is Varttina's renamed version of song 6 (or is it 5?) on this album.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, December 6, 2003

By	P. Russo "flashman14" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a fine album - I've had it for ages and always liked it - and it doesn't stand out particularly as one of the poorest entries in Varttina's ouevre as I've heard it argued. It, at times, seems a lot simpler then the others but nonetheless it has all the qualities that make Seleniko a great album. In other words, everything you buy Varttina albums for is here - energy, tight harmonies, weird time signatures, and interwoven melody lines playing off each other. Great stuff - and highly recommended ...!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful peek at the Karelian tradition., December 4, 1998

By A Customer

One of the best-selling Finnish albums ever, and one of the most important albums in the geneology of the current Skandinavian world-music craze, Varttina's Oi Dai is an essential piece of work which (along with the follw-up album Seleniko) displays a more organic side of this world-renowned group. The production is in many places lacking, but the sheer UMPH of such tracks as Miinan Laula, Ukko Luomi (which is better originally, I think, than the Hector Zazou version), and Tupa Taynna Tuppasuita is undeniable. It may also be the only American release album (again, besides Seleniko) in which the band's tenet of singing lyrics in the line of Karelian folk tradition does not at any time seem...a bit out of place. Definitely something worth checking out.