Threshold - Paradise Now

Threshold was not an organic band, but the brainchild of one Ari Taskinen, who had played for several years with punk king Pelle Miljoona. So how can a punk rocker create an album of experimental neo-progressive rock? In 1981?



"Paradise Now" is a theme album about the metamorphosis of a growing human personality. We all have moments when we feel our life is frustrating, we feel stuck in a rut, everything seems indifferent. We're uncertain about things we thought we were sure about - things that had helped us build our own identity and keep it. When seeking their identity, some people retort to pills, alcohol, or psychiatric ward. Some get locked in mental hospitals, but most of us manage to find our identity in this chaotic and stressing world, and learn to relate to life and the obstacles we face. The metamorphosis is complete.



Side A of this record is at times laid-back, at other times desperate and full of suffering. The latter half of the album starts with very effective, striking songs, and finishes with two peaceful tracks that indicate the finding of an identity.



Ari Taskinen has composed a bunch of tunes that seem to cover nearly every musical genre. I won't describe them any further, because "Paradise Now" is a record that constantly surprises. You never know what the next song will be like the first time you hear it. Ari Taskinen himself plays synthesizers, mellotron, piano and guitar, other musicians include singing drummer Vando Suvanto, Yari Knuutinen (piano) from art punk band Se, keyboard wiz Esa Kotilainen (on mellotron), and Jone Takamäki on saxophone.



1. Moon

2. They Call Me Crazy

3. Real Me

4. Memories

5. Empty Like Space

6. Sun

7. After the Hospital

8. Desert

9. Light of Silence, Part I-III

10. Aloha



http://finnishrock.blogspot.com/2008/06/threshold-paradise-now-1981.html