Leningrad Cowboys: Sweet Home Alabama

Holy mother of the Kremlin! These cowboys are rasslin’ up some good times with bigger hairdos than Amy Winehouse.

The Leningrad Cowboys is a Finnish rock and roll band formed in the 80s when the Soviet Union was an empire and considered a threat to the world order. Currently, the band has eleven Cowboys and two “Leningrad Ladies.” Their songs, performed in English, are influenced by polka, progressive rock, folkloric Russian songs, and rock and roll ballads. They cover songs from bands as diverse as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their music centers on diverse themes including vodka, tractors, rockets and Genghis Khan.

They are frequently featured with the Soviet Red Army Choir (Choir Aleksandrov), a performing ensemble that was the official army choir of the former Soviet Union’s Red Army. The group consists of a male choir, an orchestra and a dance ensemble. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Red Army Choir has continued entertaining audiences both inside and outside of Russia.

Put the two acts together and you have a mind-blowing experience that you have to see to believe. I have to wonder if the lead singer was influenced by Fausto in his “Fire-Eating” days.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 5:34 pm and is filed under Music, Wow Factor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.