Fredi – Avaa sydämesi mulle (1974)

The cover art on this album is quite something. That moustache, that suit and the way he's holding the microphone are all phenomenal. Fredi is a Finnish singer, who has recorded lots of foreign songs translated into Finnish. He has also represented Finland in the Eurovision song contest with a song called Pump-pump, where the lyrics, loosely translated, go 'bum against bum, bump bump'. Fredi is a really good singer, but the music is mainly just translations of well-known songs and the production is often quite cheesy. Anyway, I kind of like the sound of the album. The musicians are talented and Fredi's voice really gets to show its best sides. I ended up owning this album, because my mother owned it and I got it from her when my parents didn't buy a new record player to replace their old turntable that broke.


The album starts with a great melancholic song Avaa sydämesi mulle. This song is actually composed by Fredi himself. There's a kind of Finnish melancholy that you'll find in many Finnish folk songs. The production is a bit cheesy, but the composition is really great. This song is followed by an incredibly cheesy version of Let It Be Me, called Se oli silloin and a country track Tänään huipulla, a version of Top of the World. This is followed by a beautiful original Fredi song called Elämäni nainen. Again, the theatrical composition works really well. One of the best songs on the album is Uneen aika vaipuu, a version of Charley. The guitars are quite beautifully played in this song. Niin käy haaveiden is also a great song with some excellent bass lines. This song could just as easily be written by some world class international songwriter, but it's an original creation. Vain sinusta elän is a version of Forever and Ever by Demis Roussos. The rest of the album is just filled with translated versions of well-known hit songs, but the very last song is the bouncy song called Rakkaus Syttyy, which in my opinion is one of the best songs on the album.

There's also an amazing black and white music video of the title track Avaa sydämesi mulle. Fredi is basically just standing still in a tuxedo holding a huge bouquet of flowers. The moustache really is amazing.

I think it's interesting how Finnish music industry was pretty much just about singing translated cover versions of international hits until the late 70's when the phenomenon called Suomirock (Finland rock) started and many bands started writing their own material. At least Fredi already in 1974 composed many songs himself. Most of the lyrics are made by a legendary musical lyricist Vexi Salmi.

I haven't listened to this album that much and to begin with I wanted to take it into my collection for the pure camp value, but then again, when I'm listening to these songs now, I can safely say that I actually really like some of the songs on this album. There are similar sounds to world-class artists such as Elton John. Fredi really is a great composer and a great vocalist.

Listen to the album on Spotify.