Some moody Finnish music for the winter.

Lovely new version of the first ever Finnish entry, still a classic at home.
And a new classic in the making: a Finnish version of Dutch 2014 entry Calm After The Storm

Die Autobahn To Düsseldorf: Milana Misic

Eurovision 2011. Pre-selections are in full swing (well, almost) and it’s time to check out if the zillions of national hopefuls are Eurocovers worthy.

First up is Eurocovers repeat offender Milana Misic from Finland.
Milana Misic will be in the Finnish preselection with Sydämeni Kaksi Maata (listen to the song here at YLE). It’s bit of an odd mix of a song. It starts as a sort of gipsy tango, then segues into heavy oriental mode to be followed by a bit of loveboat style tv glam disco.

You’ll probably already know that Milana Misic is the daughter of Finnish Eurovision legend Laila Kinnunen and Kroatian musician Milan Mišić so below is just a discography to freshen up. And some links.

Update: Hurray! Milana Misic has qualified for the Finnish final.
She has also recorded an English version of Sydämeni Kaksi Maata titled The Two Lands Of My Heart.
Finnish and English are available through various download shops like Meteli, Playcom and Music Me. (English version available from januari 24 on Columbia)



Albums 
Milana Misic has released six albums since 1991 and the last three include some Eurocovers of interest.

Laulumme (2008)
This includes 14 coverversions of songs made popular by Laila Kinnunen.
- Kaikkialla (Al di la, Italy 1961 - Betty Curtis)
- Tanssilaulu (Dansevise, Denmark 1963 - Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann)

Valoa Ikkunassa (2009)
This includes 12 coverversions of Laila Kinnunen songs including her own entry Valoa Ikkunassa.
- Valoa Ikkunassa (Finland 1961)

Jos Itken, Jos Nauran (2010)
- Jos Itken, Jos Nauran (Se Piangi, Se Ridi, Italy 1965 - Bobby Solo)
- I don’t think this was ever released on record by Mama Laila, but there’s a lovely clip to be found on Youtube. (thanks Juha)
- Muistojeni Laulu (Finland 1963 - Laila Halme)

There's also a compilation album Käy Tanssimaan (2010) with 17 songs including Valoa Ikkunassa and Kaikkialla.

Milana Misic Homepage
Milana Misic at Eurocovers (here and here)
Laila Kinnunen Eurocovers discography and songs
Laila Kinnunen Boxset info.
Milana's cds are available at shops like CDON or digitally at Playcom and other sources.

Eurovision 2011
The Düsseldorf Collection blog with all info on 2011 Eurovision releases is already slowly materialising here. Bookmark now.

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Release news: A La Laila - The collected works of Laila Kinnunen

A LA LAILA - ALKUPERÄISET 1957-1980
Legendary Finnish Songstress Laila Kinnunen's collected work finally gets the long awaited release it deserves. This project has been on the shelves for many years, already before her death in 2000.
Several different compilations, most with rare and previously unreleased tracks, have been released in the past few years, so I didn't expect the boxset to materialize anymore.
But at the end of this month an 8CD box is released by Warner Music Finland with (almost) all the Laila Kinnunen tracks you need.

Laila Kinnunen (Laura Annikki Kinnunen) was one of the great singers of Finnish popular music in the 50's and 60's.
To most Eurovision fans Eurovision fans she is probably best known for Valoa Ikkunassa, the first ever Finnish entry from 1961 which ended 10th. Eurocovers readers know her from her many versions of 60's Eurovision classics.

Her work in Finnish is collected on the first six cds of the boxset including:
1-19. Lemmenaika koittaa - Dags igen att vara kär (Sweden pre 1959)*
2-11. Kaikki saavat toisensa - Alla andra får varann (Sweden 1960)
2-12. Romantica (Italy 1960)
2-13. Yö jo on cherie - Bonne nuit ma cherie (Germany 1960)
2-14. Tom Pillibi (France 1960)
3-8. Valoa ikkunassa (Her own Finnish entry, 1961)
3-9. Pikku ikkuna - cover preselection 1961
3-10. Kaikkialla - Al di la (Italy 1961)
3-11. Kesäyö Palmassa - Sommer i Palma (Norway 1961)
4-1. Tipi-tii (Finland 1962)
4-3. Kevätauer - Sol och vår (Sweden 1962)
5-4. Tanssilaulu - Dansevise (Denmark 1963)
6-3. Muistojen Bulevardi - (Finland) preselection 1966)
Other tracks include Finnish originals but also covers of standards like The Girl From Ipanema, From Russia With Love, Fever, Walk On By, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön and many others.
The set opens with her great cover of one of my favorite Modugno songs Lazzarella from 1957.

CD 7 is a collection of songs in Swedish
7-1. Tom Pillibi
7-2. Romantica
7-3. Bonne nuit, ma chérie
7-8. Ett ljus i ett fönster (Valoa Ikkunassa)
7-9. Sommar i Palma
7-13. Ti-Pi-Ti
If I'm not mistaken it's the first CD release of rare single Ett Ljus I Ett Fönster. Which is great.

CD 8 has rarities in several languages like German, Russian, Hungarian, English and even Afrikaans (Saries Mareis)
This cd also includes Vårvalsen and Ding Dong Ding, two songs she recorded with the Nordic singers of the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest (Dario Campeotto, Nora Brockstedt and Lill Babs).
The CD closes with a previously unreleased version of Tipi Tii.

What's missing?
I'm no one to complain of course as this collection is nothing short of fabulous.
But you won't find Unohdusta Ei Ole (preselection 1967) on this box set.
Absent Eurocovers are Merci Cherie, Malloryn Laulu (Le chant de Mallory) & Odotin Sinua (Ce Soir Je T'attendais). But these have been released on other cds.

There's a full Laila Kinnunen Eurocovers discography with picture sleeves in the 2007 Finweeks post about Laila Kinnunen.
Here are all Laila Kinnunen related Eurocovers items.

The 8CD box A La Laila is released by Warner Music Finland (release date 26-08-09) and has 160 tracks plus a 168 page booklet. The retail price is around 70 euros at various webshops.
* Thanks Mikael, see comments

Milana Misic
Milana Misic is the daughter of Laila Kinnunen. Her 2008 CD release Laulumme, with two Eurocovers (Al Di La & Dansevise), was already featured in this Eurocovers post.

Earlier this year (april) she released another album with songs made popular by her mom.
The album is Valoa Ikkunassa - 12 Laila Kinnusen Ikimuistoista Laulua (Columbia 74912323) and the first Finnish Eurovision song is one of the tracks. And it also has Modugno's Lazzarella.

http://www.milanamisic.com/

CD tip - Milana Misic - Laulumme

This week Bonnier Finland release a new CD by Milana Misic.
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Milana is the daughter of Laila Kinnunen, celebrated Finnish legend and the singer of the first Finnish Eurovision song Valoa Ikkunassa(1961) and many Eurocovers.
Two of those Eurocovers can also be found on Milana's new CD Laulumme, which features 14 songs made famous in Finland by Laila Kinnunen.
- Kaikialla (Al Di Lá, Italy 1961)
- Tanssilaulu (Dansevise, Denmarks winner from 1963)
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You can find more details an excerpts here at Playcom and the CD is available from various webshops (CDON for EU).

Special thanks to Jukka!
Milana homepage (in Finnish) and more on Milana's Bonnier page (also in Finnish)
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For more about Laila Kinnunen and her Eurocovers check this Finweeks Eurocovers post, with some great picture sleeves.

FINWEEKS: Laila Kinnunen Eurocovers discography

The Finweeks continue with a Eurocovers discography of Laila Kinnunen. Below is all the information I have collected over the years, If I missed something, please let me know.

Laila Kinnunen (Laura Annikki Kinnunen) was one of the greatest singers of Finnish popular music in the 50's and 60's.
She earned her legendary status with her smooth voice that made the sometimes harsh Finnish language sound like velvet. Her body of work is impressive and many of her recordings have been released on CD.
She sang many Italian classics but also other European and American standards, Russian songs and of course Finnish originals. She recorded in several languages including Finnish, Swedish, Hungarian, German, English, Italian and Spanish.
To most Eurovision fans Eurovision fans she is probably best known for Valoa Ikkunassa, the first ever Finnish entry from 1961 which ended only 10th.
Laila Kinnunen died in december 2000.
(Picture: Laila Kinnunen features on a Finnish postal stamp, along with Katri Helena, Marion Rung and Kirka. Of course Lordi have their own stamps in the set.)
LAILA KINNUNEN - EUROVISION & EUROCOVERS DISCOGRAPHY

Finland 1961 - Valoa Ikkunassa - Laila Kinnunen
- Valoa ikkunassa (Scandia KS 388 & EP Laila Cannes'issa)
- Ett ljus I ett fönster (Swedish) - Laila (Sonet T 7503, on 7" with a Swedish version of Sommar I Palma, red vinyl)
The Swedish records all appeared under the name Laila, without Kinnunen.

Finland 1962 - Tipi-tii - original by Marion Rung
- Tipi-tii (7" Scandia KS 423 & EP Scandia SEP 159)
- Ti-pi-ti (Swedish) - Laila (7" Sonet T 7523, red vinyl)

France 1960 - Tom Pillibi - Jacqueline Boyer
- Tom Pillibi (7" Scandia KS 358* & EP Eurovision Laulukilpailut)
- Tom Pillibi (Swedish) - Laila (EP, Sonet SXP 4023)
Germany 1960 - Bonne nuit, ma cherie - Wyn Hoop
- Yö jo on cherie (EP Scandia KS 358* & EP Eurovision Laulukilpailut)
- Bonne nuit, ma cherie (Swedish) (EP Sonet SXP 4028, blue vinyl, pictured and EP Sonet SXP 4023)
Italy 1960 - Romantica - Renato Rascel
- Romantica (7" Scandia KS 355** & EP Eurovision Laulukilpailut)
- Romantica (Swedish) - Laila (EP, Sonet SXP 4023)
Sweden 1960 - Alla andra får varann - Siw Malmkvist
- Kaiki muut saavat toisensa (7" Scandia KS 355** & EP Eurovision Laulukilpailut) (picture: The lyrics to Tipi-tii, click the pic for larger version)


1960: The EP Eurovision Laulukilpailut (Scandia SEP 120) features above 4 Finnish coverversions from 1960 by Laila Kinnunen.
The Swedish versions of Tom Pillibi, Bonne nuit and Romantica can also be found on a Swedish EP (Sonet SXP 4023)













Thanks Klaus!Thanks Erik !


Italy 1961 - Al di lá - Betty Curtis
- Kaikkialla (7" Scandia KS 390*** & EP Laila Cannes'issa)
- Al di lá (Swedish) - Laila (EP Sonet SXP 4023)
Norway 1961 - Sommer i palma - Nora Brockstedt
- Käsa Palmassa (7" Scandia KS 390 & EP Laila Cannes'issa)
- Sommar i palma (Swedish) - Laila (7" Sonet T 7503, see Valoa ikkunassa) 1961: The EP Laila Cannes'issa (The contest was in Cannes that year) features The Finnish 1961 entry, coverversions of the Italian and Swedish entries and a version of Pikku ikkuna, the song that was 4th in the 1961 Finnish National Final by Kai Lind.

Sweden 1962 - Sol och vår - Inger Berggren
- Kevätauer (7" Scandia KS 425 & EP Laila, Scandia SEP 164)
Denmark 1963 - Dansevise - Grethe & Jörgen Ingmann
- Tanssilaulu (7" Scandia KS 474)
France 1964 - Le chant de Mallory - Rachel
- Malloryn laulu (CD Muistojen kyyneleet)
Austria 1966 - Merci Cherie - Udo Jürgens
- Mercie Chérie (German) (CD Muistojen kyyneleet)
Luxembourg 1966 - Ce soir je t'attendais - Michèle Torr
- Odotin sinua (CD Kadonneet helmet)

2001 CD Muistojen kyyneleet and 2002 CD Kadonneet helmet are collections of rare recordings and previously unreleased material including several songs in English and Italian


A recommended compilation is the Finnish 2CD Kaikki kauneimmat from 2004 which features many of the Eurovision covers, her greatest hits and versions of songs like Marina, Lazzarella and Brigitte Bardot.





Source: Finnish recordings are probably the best archived in the world. If you visit Database of The Finnish Institute of Recorded Sound you can find all documented records that were ever released in Finland from 1901 to 1999.Not just Eurovision, but anything you need to find out. If anyone in Finland ever recorded a cover of your favorite song, it's there.

FINWEEKS: Eurocovers covers the classics in Finnish

Eurovision Week in Helsinki.
It's been said before, despite the lack of success Finland is a Eurovision Nation Extraordinaire. In no other country have so many Eurovision songs been covered and most of them were recorded in Finnish. Popular singers like Laila Kinnunen, Katri Helena and Marion Rung each have recorded 10 or more songs in Finnish.
In the 80's there were LP's featuring all songs of the yearly event getting the Finn-over and even in modern times, when not many coverversions are recorded, there's the odd Finnish version.

Here's some Finnish coverversions of the ancient Eurovision winners.
I don't know of any Finnish cover of the first Eurovision (Refrain by Lys Assia, 1956) but for almost every year after some Finnish artist has covered the Eurovision winner, and often several other entries too.
Netherlands 1957 - Net als toen - Corry Brokken
- Kalevi Tauru - Oispa unta se vain (7" Triola ts 356 & 78 RPM Triola t 4356, 1958)
France 1958 - Dors Mon Amour - André Claveau
- Leif Wager - Nukkuos rakas (EP Blu Master blu 122 & 78 RPM Blue Master blu 550) (Leif Wager pictured right)Netherlands 1959 - 'n Beetje - Teddy Scholten
- Seija Karpiomaa - Vain hiukan (Various artists EP Scandia SEP 99)


France 1960 - Tom Pillibi - Jacqueline Boyer
- Laila Kinnunen - Tom Pillibi (7" Scandia KS 358 & EP Eurovision Laulukilpailut, Scandia SEP 120)
Laila Kinnunen (1939-2000) is one of the great legendary singers in the history of Finnish popular music.
I'm working on a Eurocovers post detailing all her Eurovision covers to be featured here soon.

Luxembourg 1961 - Nous les amoureux - Jean Claude Pascal
- Leif Wager - Me rakastavaiset (7" Decca SD 5528)
France 1962 - Un premier amour - Isabelle Aubret
- Vieno Kekkonen - Ensimäinen rakkaus (7" Scandia KS 428 & EP Scandia SEP 162)

Finnish recordings are probably the best archived in the world. If you visit Database of The Finnish Institute of Recorded Sound you can find all documented records that were ever released in Finland from 1901 to 1999.
Not just Eurovision, but anything you need to find out. If anyone in Finland ever recorded a cover of your favorite song, it's there.



Above are featured vinyl recordings that mostly haven't been issued on CD.
A must have 2CD with Eurocovers from 1958 to the late 90's in Finnish is available in Finnish shops and at BeaRecords. You can find details in this Eurocovers post.