Great Finnish cover records

Normally I'm not a big fan of cover versions. They are usually about as interesting as karaoke night and generally indicate that the artist has:

a) run out of ideas
b) sold out
c) fallen in love with the sound of their own voice so much that they think their boring karaoke versions are worth bothering us with
d) all of the above

There are exceptions of course. Stevie Wonder blows this one out of the water

And Wilson Pickett and Duane Allman do the same here. 

Ouch!

However. I do have a soft spot for foreign-language covers. Everyone has a copy somewhere deep in their computer of Seu Jorge singing Bowie covers. Of course you do, they're great. There's something wonderfully exotic yet accessible about a song you recognise filled with strange words. 

Finland has a great selection of cover versions. Listen to the radio long enough and you'll hear them, they play them all the time. I've managed to scramble to my phone and catch a few on Shazam. Here are my Top 3.

My Finnish isn't good enough yet to understand the lyrics. I'll probably go off them when it is. Anyway, if these songs have terribly offensive lyrics in them then I apologise.

Number 1. Let's not mess around. Straight in at number 1 this sexy gem from Markku Aro. Go play it to your wife/significant other and thank me later.

Number 2. Tumppi & Problems? Love old school punk? Love this.

Number 3. Replacing Tom Waits Neigh-Bour-Hood with the name of Helsinki's hippest drinking area, Kal-Li-O, Sir Elwoodin hiljaiset (is that a real knighthood?).

Honourable mentions go to:

• the inevitable David Bowie cover, 
• a lovely Bob Dylan cover 
• the perhaps less-inevitable Boney-M cover (you love it). 

If you have any more then let me know.