Ultima Thule is perhaps the most popular band in Estonia for the last decade. Their blend of rock, blues and fusion brings together fans of all sorts of music in a magical formula -- plus the amount of gigging the band does is quite commendable. All the musicians in the band are among the best of their instrument. Looking at the names of the members, for prog rock fans, it is a dream band of Estonian prog: Riho Sibul (almost everything, with In Spe, Kaseke, VSP Projekt and more), Raul Vaigla (Radar, VSP Projekt to name a few), Aare Põder (Radar and VSP Projekt -- note that all of the namesake of that project is here), Toomas Rull (one-time Ruja drummer), Kalle Vilpuu (played on many Data tracks), as well as the fantastic voice of Tõnis Mägi (one of his memorable prog performances came with the 1992 Olav Ehala solo LP). And when you lop the name Erkki-Sven Tüür along that group, you got yourself a more-than-potent force to deal with. Goodness, even the studio engineer for this is Elmu Värk, the guitarist for Mess all those years ago!

The CD released in 1998, featuring a string quartet arranged by Tüür, is among their best releases. Following along the "unplugged" craze around the world, this recording features the band at its studio best, unplugged. With the dual vocal attacks by Mägi and Riho Sibul (whose raspy voice could contend with any of Estonia's top singers) and the barrage of acoustic guitars, it makes for a great listen. Though perhaps not "progressive" in the usual sense of the word, it is a musically strong release by any standard.

The first track is "Turbatuli," which features a strong guitar attack by Sibul and Vilpuu, which is joined by the unmistakable power voice of Tõnis Mägi. More progressive than your "typical" acoustic blues stuff you hear on MTV, I promise you! The second verse features the singing of Sibul as the string quartet makes its presence felt. The fantastic Peeter Volkonski (of Hõim and Rosta Aknad fame, among others) can also be heard doing some backing vocals here. The vocal performances are absolutely top class on this opening track, as are the drum fills by Toomas Rull.

"Tuulemeelne" is next, with the string section playing a much larger role -- flowing behind the raspiness of Mägi's voice. The strings play a dampening role in this moody song, The acoustic guitar solo is quite nice and fitting for this song, before bassist Vaigla leads the string section on a wonderfully creative passage composed by Tüür.

We go back to more typical blues with "Kassitapp." With Riho Sibul doing the most of the vocals, the string quartet plays a rather interesting role in your typical blues line. It is definitely a creative way to use the strings, I must say. The vocals get quite macabre and in-character on this one, it shows off Sibul's vocal range as well. Near the end of the song the musicians all get a chance to show off a bit during the traditional blues solo spots -- even the strings in some cat-screeching (!!) stuff. Fun song. Following is "Kuutõbiste tants," which starts off with some weird chants before a fast poppy beat takes over. Another quite fun song, it does get a bit strange. The lyrics explain some of it, but still, there is some inherent weirdness in these guys!

Next is "Aed," a beautiful rock ballad -- featuring Tõnis Mägi at his most classic form. A vocal tour-de-force, it shows off Estonia's most loved rock singer at his finest. In front of a beautiful string section and fretless bass, Aare Põder places a wonderful piano solo that works so well in combo with the background orchestration. The closing instrumental is very smooth and classy, with full orchestration, organ and a lingering fretless bass by Vaigla. Perfect.

"Muuseas" is next, by the way (that's not a take off, that's a pun -- as that's what "muuseas" means). But this is a great vocal duel between Sibul and Mägi, and they have a lot of fun with it. It is quite a funny song, totally farcical. The electric piano solo by Põder works well in this song, where the orchestration play a smaller but still settling role. The ending bit is quite weird, but it is a good close to a cool song.

We move back into bigger orchestration with "Kakskeelne." It has a bluesy rock sound to it, but the orchestration play a key role in this song's intrigue. Again Sibul lends excellent vocals here, with a cute little guitar solo in the middle. "Ilmtingimata" is next, where the string quartet plays a cool bluesy lead -- it almost brings memories of "Kashmir" throughout this song. More good and raspy stuff by Sibul, though the quartet is the star of this song. The guitar solo here is absolutely excellent, in addition to the other cool stuff.

Following that is "Hallaöö," with its organ start we can guess where this goes -- with some soulful singing by Sibul. That organ work by Põder is absolutely dead-on, giving this song a great feel. This is a great poppy-ballad by any standards, with the fine orchestration behind the guitar solo as one of many examples. Next is "Laulev jõgi," which has a interesting guitar opening line before Tõnis Mägi joins with his voice. Again the organ work by Põder fits this song nicely, giving it a really wonderful feeling throughout. The fretless bass of Vaigla also plays a stronger role here, with some smooth passages that only a fretless bass can make (I'm biased, I'm looking at my Fender Jazz fretless right now...). Near the end of the song Mägi gives another clinic on how to sing a rock ballad, with some powerful phrases that just sends shivers down one's spine. The orchestral ending is a classy way to end this one.

Then the funny "Vägav vähk" where they get more active again -- it's a rather pop-rock song, with good vocals by Mägi and a wonderful layer of orchestration in the background and at times forefront. The middle instrumental section is one of the times on this CD that the guys let loose a bit, especially Aare Põder on piano. It's quite a weird and aggressive solo, but it fits the fun and weird song. The ending is really crazy with everyone doing their best to make it strange and it's actually darn cool.

The CD ends with the long and soft "Videvik," on which we're acquainted with Raul Vaigla's trademark fretless bass passages again -- fabulous. The ballad features Sibul on vocals, one of his best performance. His voice works well with the fretless bass -- no wonder, as the pair have worked together for over a decade. The fretless bass solo also shows how melodic the guy is -- he's generally been rated the best bassist in Estonia in the past 15 years. When you think it's over, it comes back for an instrumental reprise -- with Vaigla at it again. Beautiful stuff, with excellent acoustic guitars holding the background. Wonderful ending to this excellent release.

Okay, this is not really "prog rock" as we usually know it, but it is one of the best "unplugged" albums I've heard. It's got good playing, excellent orchestration (thanks to the arrangements of Erkki-Sven Tüür), top-class singing and solid songs -- all the elements for a really good CD purchase. If you want to play some music at a party that's not quite ready for stuff in 9/8 or more, then this is perfect. Excellent release, a must for fans of all sorts of good music.

Mel Huang
Tallinn, Estonia
25 December 1999

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