What would a good progressive rock boxed set be without a disc of rarities that's hard to classify? Well, that's what disc five, or "unknown Ruja" is all about. Music from this disc spans nearly the entire run of the band, and it brings in the bits that are lost among the recognised four eras of the band, such as the post-Nõgisto blip and the fabulous "Johnny" rock opera spearheaded by keyboardist Olav Ehala. Some amazing stuff here on this disc, lots of it thought lost even by historians and collectors. An amazing collection, so without further ado...

We start off in 1986 with "Avamäng karjega," which is a fabulous progressive rock instrumental piece. Excellent guitar playing by Jaanus Nõgisto and keyboard work (including piano) by Igor Garshnek. One of the best instrumental segments done by the band in its "fourth era," though it is rather short. Then a year before gave us "Ärka otsiv vaim," one of the earliest tracks of the "fourth era." It's a good AOR song with prog elements, excellent instrumentals in the background. A cool bit.

Then we have the musical version of probably the most revered poem in Estonian history, Lydia Koidula's "Mu Isamaa on minu arm" (My Homeland is my love). Written by Rein Rannap, the recording of this song came from 1982. It's an upbeat take to this much-revered piece. It's not quite the same version as the oft-sung version, which was sung in unison by hundreds of thousands in the late 1980s during the singing revolution... From 1984 we have another Koidula-inspired song, "Laulu sisu." A folky-ballad, low key with excellent vocals by Urmas Alender. It is a rare track that features another guitarist -- Ain Varts (also of Kaseke fame). It captures the flavour quite well, as the solo is very much in his style. However, it does fade out quite weird at the end... Following that is "Raske aeg," a ride back into the "third era" of the band -- hard rock this time. The piano solo by Rein Rannap is pretty cool though.

One of the most anticipated (for me at least) was the following, "Ma mustas öös näen..." from the "Johnny" rock-opera, recorded back in 1980 -- the original version. It was re-recorded a decade later and released on the 1982 Olav Ehala solo LP with the fabulous Tõnis Mägi on vocals. I have to say this version is absolutely excellent -- the drums of Ivo Varts makes this song work better this way. The vocals of Alender on this also brings it out well. Both versions are absolute classics, but this one was well worth the boxed set price! An adventurous, piano driven piece written by Olav Ehala, gives the band a chance to stretch out a bit.

Then we have "Tööaskeldus" from 1979, which starts off reminiscent of something like the opening of "Riding the Scree" by Genesis. A really cool and shifting prog piece, with lots of cool prog lines all over. Vocals are a bit weird, with some choral formation. The instrumental is top-notch, quite convoluted and complex at times. The rhythm section of bassist Priit Kuulberg and drummer Ivo Varts has to be commended. Not sure if this is a part of "Johnny" or another rock opera, but it has that flavour. Following that is the short "Meediaaskeldus," which is a short little fun song -- which is probably linked to the previous. Has a reggae-style sound to it, with a choral background as well. Good snappy solo by Nõgisto.

Another part of "Johnny" is "Rahvalaulufraas," which though recorded during the "second era" with Margus Kappel on keys, it has a feel of the "third era" -- that is, old-style rock. It starts out quite slow, then goes ballistic in speed, though still very much in the old rock sense. It flips back and forth, with "do-wap" things by the backing vocalists -- something you never thought you'd hear from Ruja. One of the nicest solos ever done by Nõgisto, I must say. The ending section is back to the "Johnny" flavour for a bit, with a proggy feel for a few seconds.

"Laul surnust linnust" is another known part of "Johnny" that was re-recorded years later and released by Olav Ehala on his solo album. Again, hearing Urmas Alender sing this beautiful song is quite incredible. It's a bit slower than the new version that featured Tõnis Mägi on vocals, but again rather similar. The two singers have very different styles over this song. This version is truer to the feel of late '70s epics, a very lonely and soft voice -- reminds one of Roger Waters in isolation for parts of The Wall. Again the drumming of Ivo Varts stand out on this version more than the later re-recording. Fabulous version of this classic.

A sharp reminder of the return of pianist Rein Rannap is the 1982 "Killud toovad õnne," which featured a fabulous concert piano opening. Absolutely fabulous minute of solo piano, one of his best pieces with Ruja. The cracking of the glass begins the rest of the song, which is a good "classic rock" piece in the double meaning sense of the term. There is an overriding piano concerto feel throughout the song, even on the guitar solos by Nõgisto and keyboard solos by Rannap. Cool song I must say, one of the best from the "third era" of the band.

"Käsi" follows that, from the same 1982 era. It actually has a feel of the "fourth era" despite being from an earlier time. A snappy tune with a prog feel to it on the opening. The chorus is a bit cheesy, but it has some cool bass licks by Tiit Haagma. Drummer Jaan Karp also does a fabulous job on this one. If the "third era" did more songs like this, it would have been more interesting.

Then a live version of "Aeg" from Linnahall in 1983. The opening vocals of Urmas Alender is positively awesome, followed by a series of haunting bells. The calm piece also features some crafty piano lines by Rein Rannap, with some excellently-placed organ hits. The piano solo in the middle is absolutely fabulous, albeit quiet, before a crescendo brings the song back u. It returns to a softer feel, but the piano is absolutely fabulous, with Alender pulling off some inspired singing with the band back on full force. Probably the best progressive rock piece from the "third era" of the band, and it shows that Rannap could have written prog masterpieces even during this rockabilly time for the band. Wonderful stuff.

Also live from that concert is "Viru vanne," which is a hard rock piece typical of that age. It would have been good alongside Deep Purple and other classic rock stuff on AOR radio, though nothing too special. However, the organ solo by Rannap is fabulous, with an awesome Leslie sound to it. But a good live piece.

We have a strange entry in "Oota mind," as it features one of the most popular singers of Estonia -- Ivo Linna (remember him from Eurovision singing with the fabulous Maarja-Liis Ilus a few years back and almost winning it?). This is a sort-of merger with the rock band Rock Hotell, of which Linna is the singer and Margus Kappel was keyboardist. A good pop ballad, which shows why Linna is one of the most loved vocalists in the country. What a voice.

Then we have one of the few bits from the post-Nõgisto era of Ruja with "Ih-ih-hii ja ah-ah-haa." This is one of the few songs in the band's history composed in collective in 1988 -- featuring Raul Jaanson (later of Linnu Tee) on guitars. A fabulous bass bit by S P Gulliver at the beginning, and this is a cool snappy proggy song -- with the trademark keyboard style of Igor Garshnek flying around in the background. However, this was probably one of the last songs every recorded by the band. Too bad, as it had a lot of promise and this was a very good beginning -- with Jaanson playing a good tasteful solo. Even bassist Gulliver had some fabulous leads throughout. Excellent '80s Yes-like stuff. Alas, it's not to be...

Back in time to 1987 with the Nõgisto-creation "Päikeselapsed," which features Indrek Patte again on lead vocals. Excellent drums by Arvo Urb and bass by Gulliverb (including a cool solo), this was one of the nice prog tracks of the era -- though according to Nõgisto, it was rejected by controversial manager Juri Antov for being too "prog" and too "Estonian." It never made it to the third LP, Kivi Veereb, released that same year. Too bad, as it's a good prog-pop song -- better than a lot that ended up on the album. But it was that tension that eventually led to the end of the band.

From 1982 is "Kui mõtled enda pääle," a good proggy piece with nice harmony and solo guitar parts by Nõgisto and a driving bass line by Tiit Haagma. It's another one of those "third era" songs that was clearly more prog than rock -- also a rare synthesiser solo by Rein Rannap, the consummate piano and organ man. Another excellent song.

Then another bit of "Johnny" is "Laul võimalusest," which was also on the solo Olav Ehala LP re-recorded. The emphasis on this original version is much different, as Urmas Alender takes it much softer along with the band -- instead of the harder version of a decade later, fitting the harsher voice of Tõnis Mägi. This version does sound a little hollow at times, in honesty. The guitar solo is very Nõgisto, compared to the re-recording, which was clearly Varts.

The beautiful "Luigelaul," or "Swan song," is next -- featured on the compilation Must Lind CD. An excellent prog power ballad with a nice acoustic guitar and synth opening, before it launches into the dominant vocals of Alender. It also has an excellent guitar solo by Nõgisto that fits the song perfectly. This 1987 classic is a great way to move to the close of the band's career.

The final song of the box set, the final song of the band's career, is the 1985 version of their classic "Nii vaikseks kõik on jäänud." This ultra-emotional version, with excellent solo piano by Olav Ehala, is a fitting way to say goodbye to the band. At the final 1994 memorial concert, this song -- from tape -- ended the concert. This was Urmas's song, and no one can ever do it justice. Probably his best vocal performance ever. It also fittingly ended the Must Lind CD. Perfect way to cap off the career of this fabulous band.

Well, this brings us to a close of disc five and the entire boxed set. This CD does have some treasures that we all thought we'd never hear. Fabulous prog pieces hidden from the public during the rockabilly early 1980s, as well as previously banned stuff like "Johnny." An excellent CD. They put it together with discs 3 and 4 as it mostly comes from those times, but it also ensures that people would snap up this second set when they come out individually. Excellent collection, and a classy and perfect ending to the Ruja story.

Mel Huang
Tallinn, Estonia
18 December 1999

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