The Ventures - "Pops in Japan" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Japan, 1980 (United Artists Records Japan)

If for nothing else The Ventures brought the electric guitar to Japan.  To this day, The Ventures (or whoever is left of the band) still do yearly tours of Japan, and it is one of the significant areas of the world to complete your Ventures vinyl collection.  Other then that, The Ventures made two albums for the Japanese market covering Japanese pop songs and Enka, which is similar to the blues, but in Japanese.  These sad Japanese pop ballads have a natural relationship with the electric guitar.  For the Westerner, it's a cool combination.  For my wife, who is Japanese she may find it kitsch.  Since I'm writing this review, I will say it's fine art.

The liner notes are all in Japanese, and I suspect that side one & 2 of this double set was released as it is sometime either in the 70s or 60s.   It is also better than the second disc, which has keyboards and has a late 70s vibe in its recording.  Still, a remarkable document.  I have heard songs or singles that is devoted to the Japanese market, but it's rare to listen to a whole album by a Western band dedicated to the Japanese songcraft and hits.  The Ventures play their twang guitar sound, but it fits in perfectly with the Japanese melodies.  Also, I must note that side one is all original songs by The Ventures focusing on a Japanese 60s pop sound.  The rest of the double-album set are cover songs.

It took me years to find a vinyl version of this album, even in Japan, it's hard to find. I found this perfectly beautiful edition at Counterpoint Music and Books.   It was the last thing I expected to see in a shop.   The Ventures generally are not my favorite instrumental band.  For instance, I prefer The Shadows, and I think it comes to the Jet Harris bass and the Hank Marvin guitar. Still, one has to acknowledge the importance of The Ventures, and the little-known knowledge that they had a massive impact on Japanese pop music and aesthetics.  Before The Beatles, the other fab four, The Ventures, came and stole the hearts of future Japanese guitarists.  

Jun Togawa (戸川 純) - "Suki Suki Daisuki (好き好き大好き) Vinyl, LP, Album, Japan, 1985 (HYS)

Without a doubt one of the great albums from the 1980s, and a work that is still as fresh as the first day of spring.  For one, the production does yell out the 1980s, but like Sun Records is from the 1950s, this is almost a militant version of that era.  Jun Togawa is a vocalist that is very difficult to explain because she is a rare artist that goes beyond her limitations of the pop (Japanese) world.  Most Japanese pop music exists to please, but there is something dark and disturbing about the Togawa sound, which is hyper-emotive and one feels traces of Bi-polar expressions within its groove.  

One thing that is very noticeable is that a Jun Togawa recording is very unique.  There is nothing like it in this world.  To make comparisons is always a fun sport, but I'm not sure if comparing her to other artists would be accurate.  Saying that "Suki Suki Daisuki" has traces of French Yé-Yé sound, but updated to the 80s, and she does cover Serge Gainsbourg's  "Comment te dire adieu," yet it sounds very much like her own material.   The song is sung in Japanese, and I'm not sure if it's just translated lyrics from French to Japanese, or she may have written her own words to the song.  The sound is more Togawa than Gainsbourg, yet respectful of the original melody/song.  

She also does a beautiful, but a bizarre cover of "Angel Baby" the great Rock n' Roll ballad of the 1950s originally recorded by Rosie and the Originals.  The original version is a fantastic time-piece of out-of-this-world pop, and Togawa does this song in English, that reminds me of Yoko Ono if she did a cover of this song.  I'm not saying that due that they are both Japanese women, but their voices have a similar vocal range.  Togawa can go for the lower notes to the highest, and she is an amazing singer. In the nutshell, I think of her work as a combination of Sparks, Yoko Ono, French Yé-Yé with a touch of Kate Bush ambition.   I know that both John Zorn and Jim O'Rourke think of her work highly, and it's a shame that she is not better known in the West.  Then again, I suspect that she could care less about the music market outside of Japan.  Truly a unique music artist.  Also, she did the design work for this album, and it's a great package. 

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Haruomi Hosono - "Nokto De La Galaksia" Vinyl, LP, Album, Japan, 1985 (Non-Standard)

Haruomi Hosono is probably one of the great music figures to come out of Japan in the 20th-Century.  A big statement I know, but it's true.  It's hard to compare him and his music with someone from Europe or the United States.  He's all over the map music-wise, but the one thing that matters to me is his intelligence and his respect for world music - not only from 'out' there, but also equally fascinated with his own Japanese music roots as well.   His early albums remind me of someone like Ry Cooder, but then he can make a techno-pop album within months of the 'roots' album.  He's known for his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), but I prefer his solo albums, which I have to admit is an endless entrance with no exit.   Once you're into this world there is no escape. 

"Nokto De La Galaksia" is Hosono's soundtrack to an anime film made in Japan.  It very much shows up Hosono's various skills - as an arranger, electronic artist, and a strong melodist. The album is instrumental and it flows in an ambient fashion, but it has textures that keep one aware of the music. As I listened to the music, I don't think of it as a soundtrack album, except there is a theme that is repeated throughout the album.  Still, this is a very strong work by Hosono, and those who have an interest in electronic pop or instrumental music, this album is a must-have.  Non-Standard is his label from the 1980s, which not only released his solo recordings at the time, but other Japanese artists as well - with exception Lounge Lizards from New York City, and Mikado a band from France, if not mistaken.  Also while having this label, he's the first to release a Pizzicato Five album. 

Japan - "Quiet Life" Vinyl, LP, Album, Japan, 1979 (Hansa)

As I mentioned in an earlier review of a Japan album, I would never buy one of their albums due to their name.   It's a general rule that any band that names themselves after a country, a state in the United States, or even a city, are usually terrible.  The two exceptions are the bands the United States of America and of course, Japan.   I first discovered Japan from their album "Tin Drum," which was also their last studio release before splitting up.  "Quiet Life" is an important album for the group.  Their third album and the one that broke off their previous two albums in sound and vision. 

David Sylvian gets his crooning voice in order and the band plays with textures that at first reminds me of Roxy Music, and obviously influenced by Bryan Ferry and company, but took that sound to another place.  I was going to say another level, but Roxy Music and Japan are very different from each other.  Ferry is very much focused on the ideal female - not even a woman, but a presence that is almost ghost-like in his imagination.  Sylvian is more spiritually inclined and in many ways more sensual than Roxy, but also quieter.  I think Eno's "Another Green World" is another influence on the band, in that it is making music for reflection than action.  Mick Karn's presence is felt strongly, and it's interesting to note that Sylvian on the Japan releases is always the cover figure and Karn lurks in the back cover, the placement for a writer or arranger.  Still, this is a fantastic band that blends the sounds in a natural manner, that is suitable for Japan.  

The songs on "Quiet Life" is uptempo in parts, but the future sound is clearly marked.  The song "Quiet Life" is a quiet anthem, and it has a glam overture with the phrase 'Boys..' - and the beautiful string arrangement by Ann O'Dell on "The Other Side of Life" is exquisite.   There is also a cover of The Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties," which is suited to the Sylvian croon.  Simon Naiper-Bell managed Japan, and the early Sylvian career, which strikes me as an odd relationship. Only considering that the great Napier-Bell (I'm a fan) went on to manage Wham! and George Michaels, as well as The Yardbirds, and early Marc Bolan.  He co-produced this track, but most of the production work is from John Punter, who worked on the solo Bryan Ferry recordings.  

Ironically I bought this album in Tokyo and this version of "Quiet Life" is the Japanese vinyl edition. It comes with a poster, liner notes (in Japanese) as well as the lyrics both in Japanese and English. 

Jun Togawa (戸川純) - 極東慰安唱歌 Vinyl, LP, Album, 45 rpm, Japan, 1985 (Yen Records)

I first discovered Jun Togawa in the small town of Moji-Ku on the big island of Kyushu in Japan.  I was living there for the entire four-seasons, and I came across her albums with the help of my wife Lun*na Menoh.   With a great deal of cultural guilt, I never took on the Japanese pop music scene in Japan in a big way.  I greatly admired Hosono Harumi and other members of YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) but a lot of it sounded flat to me due to the production standards of record production of the 1980s. Very digital, and it struck me that Japanese pop music was very much like Kabuki theater where everything is laid out on the stage in an equal manner.   My eyes didn't focus on one character or actor, but I look at the stage as if it was a giant poster.  My eyes kept moving around, and I feel the same with Japanese pop music of the 1980s.   Jun Togawa was different from the rest of the Showa era entertainers or artists.  Listening to her work I got a huge painting, but I can focus on parts of that aural painting due to its clarity and at the same time, it's eccentricity. 

 極東慰安唱歌 is a superb Togawa album or should say, The Jun Togawa Unit, which is the official artist listing for this project.   Here she makes music with Yoichiro Yoshikawa, Takago Higae,  and uses traditional Okinawa music as well as the composer Giacomo Puccini and the great Haruomi Hosono.  The first impression is that this is very much a techno-pop music but with touches of the old (Puccini and Okinawaian music), but the glue that holds all of this is Togawa's magnificent vocal talents.  She's a great singer.   

On one level she reminds me a bit of Kate Bush, but totally not British and very Japanese.  I once read or heard a Togawa quote that she knew nothing of Western music except for classical and Prince.  I believe her.   There are traces of psychedelic pop in her method and sound.  Listening and collecting Togawa is for sure falling into the rabbit's hole, and how one can crawl out of that space is very questionable.  Still, her recordings are consistently being reissued on the CD format, as well as in various compilations.  It's worth the adventure to check her music out.  She's great.   

Lewis Furey - "The Humours of :" CD, Album, Reissue, Japan, 1976/1990 (A&M)

This French Canadian (now living in Paris) is an amazing talent and songwriter.  I had the vinyl back in 1976 but lost it through the ages.  This is his second album and although the material is basically the same, the production by Roy Thomas Baker is huge.  Huge as in over-production, and treating the songs here as Broadway tunes.  The first album by Lewis Furey is quieter, yet theatrical, but in an off-Broadway manner or in a small theater.   

Furey reminds me a bit of John Cale's solo recordings with a mixture of early Lou Reed.  Furey's songs tend to have street life tattooed on his aesthetic, but with a Bertolt Brecht distance and one gets the feeling he's writing a narrative than saying something out of his personal life.  It's interesting that I found the first and second album in Tokyo in the 1990s  At the time it seems that A&M released all their 1970s titles into the CD format for the first time.  It was like going to Tower Records in the 70s.  

I love Furey's music.  Although I do have a problem with the production, it still is a fantastic album.   The way "Cop's Ballet" emerges into   "Rubber Gun Show" is a great opening for an album/CD.  The songs are all catchy, and again, I suspect Furey is writing a musical, although I don't feel there is a running narration, it still feels like a Broadway or big budget show.   CD is very difficult to find, but the vinyl comes up once in every little while.  Get it. 

TAMA - しおしお CD, Album, 1989 (ナゴムカンパニー)

Well, here I was in Japan and living in a very small town that was part of Kitakyushu.  An old port town that saw better days before the war.   I couldn't speak a word of Japanese when I lived there, and my main entertainment was watching this late night TV show called "Ika 10" or something like that.  It started off at Midnight and it seemed to stop around 4 in the morning.  It was an old fashion battle of the bands type of show, where the best band do a song, get judged, and then get invited again next week, and then they keep going to the top of the pyramid.  The great thing about this show is that they basically ignored the boy or girl band J-Pop sound, and focused on eccentricity.  In other words, a true group of indie rock bands, but kind of weird for the mainstream at the time. Yet, the show became a hit of sorts, and all the bands made records, etc.

One of my favorite bands from this TV show was a group called TAMA.  I didn't only like them, I was crazy about TAMA.   The Tokyo fab four's line up was acoustic guitar, minimal drum set, electric bass, and accordion and some keyboards.   The music was pre-world war two Japanese pop but twisted.  Their clothing they wore on stage was also from the era of the late 1940s.  A very strange band. 

I bought their CD with great anticipation, and I wasn't disappointed.  As mentioned the music is very acoustic based, I guess in a sense Japanese folk music, but with a lo-fi aesthetic and very catchy.  To me, and being a foreigner, I thought for sure if I can bring them to the U.S., it would be TAMA mania.  Four good-looking guys, who play (really) original sounds.  It was an ah-ha moment for me.  Alas, I didn't have the means or perhaps talent to be a manager.   As far as I know this is their first album, and they continue to make albums for the next five or six years.  I think they are brilliant.  

Guernica - 電離層からの眼差し CD, album, Japan (Teichiku Records)

In my year-long exile (1989) in Japan, I discovered this remarkable CD I think at the Wave music store in Roppongi.   I was immediately intrigued by the graphics on this CD, and thought to myself, how can this possibly go wrong?    It's a masterpiece. 

Guernica is a musical project with music by Koji Ueno, lyrics by Keiichi Ohta, and most remarkable of them all - Jun Togawa singer.  She is like every great new wave singer from the 1980s rolled into one body or mouth.     The music is highly orchestrated with real strings, horns, and it's so retro that it's basically an avant-garde pop album.  The album even has tap dancing, which I think is real.  The roots go back to the 1930s, with a touch of Busby Berkeley.  Togawa's vocals are operatic, to small Judy Garland "Wizard of Oz" era vocals to the vocal range of someone like Yma Sumac.  

This is not easy listening music.  It's very much in your face and totally doesn't take any prisoners.  The closest thing I can think of is "Song Cycle" by Van Dyke Parks.   It's a militant aesthetic that looks toward the past but to make something totally new.   This album is totally unique.   Hard to find, even in Japan, but worth the hunt.   I strongly recommend this album to anyone who is interested in orchestrated pop, baroque pop, and experimental music. 

The Honeycombs - "All Systems GO!" CD, Mono, Japan (Parlophone) WPCR-16842 (Recorded in 1965, CD 2015)

First of all, ignore this cover.  This is from an early CD release.  The one I have is Japanese and it has 11 bonus tracks.  Re-released in 2015 and remastered at that time in Japan as well.  So, a classy package of the second Honeycombs album, produced by the legendary and great Joe Meek. 

The first album by the Honeycombs (same title as their name) is a masterpiece.   All the songs were written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who worked as a team and sometimes known as "Howard Blaikley."   The essence of The Honeycombs is Denny D'ell's vocals, which has traces of vintage Gene Pitney, but very much his own voice that conveys emotional breakdown and disappointed.  A British soul voice that doesn't adopt from the Black American, but from a crooner's fate in its own hell-hole.   Their drummer Honey Lantree, who besides being a female drummer (unique at that time in the early 60s) is also a good vocalist as well, when she takes a solo vocal time-to-time, and third, and perhaps most important is the contribution by the record producer, Joe Meek.

Listening to a Honeycombs recording from the early 60s is very much like listening to a band produced by Brian Eno in the 1970s.   Meek takes all the aural ingredients from the band and transforms the sound into something compressed and highly electronic.  The vocalist echo effect traces back to the croon via Phil Spector, but Meek makes it totally unique and of course, the sound is from outer space.  There is also the weird electronic keyboard that comes through their recordings which I believe is a Clavioline or Univox.

After the success of The Honeycombs' first single "Have I The Right," they pretty much toured the world, so the second album I imagine is what is left over from the first or material put together quite quickly.  "All Systems GO!" sounds very much like a second album.   Still, a fantastic album, that is not a masterpiece like the first, but it does show a band with a future (which, didn't happen).   One of the great beauty tracks on the album is "Emptiness" a song written by The Kinks' Ray Davies.   A beautiful song that is totally classic Ray.   There are classic performances here.  "Something I Got To Tell You" is a Honey lead vocal, and she is the classic British pop girl singer.  Why she didn't make recordings under her own name is a mystery of sorts, but nevertheless her work as a percussionist/drummer as well as occasional lead vocalist and back-up is always superb. 

"I Can't Stop" is a classic Honeycombs single.  It should have been a mega-hit, but alas, it didn't happen. There are five solo Joe Meek compositions on the album, and all are either great, or of interest.  Meek's work as a songwriter always has a yearning for a better romance or life - it's moving when you know his actual life and what he went through.   For me, I feel The Honeycombs was a perfect vehicle for Meek to do his magic.   The band itself is great, with a wonderful guitarist in Alan Ward, but even the throwaway b-sides that are on this album is enticing as well.   A great find for me in Japan. I bought this CD at Pet Sounds in Meguro Tokyo. 

John & Scott from The Walker Brothers "I Only Come Dance With You"/"Greens" 45 rpm Japanese Vinyl

For a Christmas present, my sweetness in life purchased this record in Japan for me.  It's not exactly a Scott Walker solo recording or even a Walker Brothers release.  It's a recording made my Scott Engels and John Maus before they formed The Walker Brothers.  And to make it even more confusing,  the record list John as "John Stewart."   It's not.  Although Scott, I believe, was a good friend of John Stewart in those days (the early 60s.).

Maus and Scott Walker must have recorded this not that far off from the Walker Brothers.  It has a strong Phil Spector production sound, and I think it's more Maus singing lead than Scott.  But the Scott presence is very much part of this recording.  The flip side is an instrumental with a strong Jet Harris type of bass sound.  That, I have to presume is Scott playing the bass.  A cool record, with even a cooler record sleeve, which sounds incredible for a vinyl from 1966 - which I'm sure was released, both in Europe and Japan, due to the popularity of the Walker Brothers.