
WORLD MUSIC Japan - Rough Guide To The Music Of Japan (1999)
This excellent anthology steers clear of the worst excesses of so-called J-Pop or Japan's thriving psychedelia. But that is not to say that compiler Paul Fisher's anthology lacks hallucinatory moments over its 19 tracks. Kenji Yano's Surf Champlers are apparently barely known in Okinawa let alone in Nippon but if their take on the "James Bond Theme" has anything to do with it they deserve far greater attention. They mix Ventures soundalike guitar and Okinawa's katcharsee song rhythms to great effect. Keeping to an Okinawan agenda, Makota Kubota & The Sunset Gang cover the nearest thing to a popular national anthem that Okinawa has produced in Shoukichi Kina's "Haisai Ojisan" (the narrator of which ridicules the vain posturings of young upstarts who think they know a thing or two about whoring!). Among the Japanese music proper featured is Oki's mixture of Japanese and Ainu culture, the jazz-rock of Takio Ito & Takio Band and Yukihiro Goto's biwa (a teardrop-shaped lute). "Like most things in Japan, the music can be bewildering to a foreigner," offers Fisher in his notes. This compilation may not banish bewilderment but it does alleviate occidental distress! -- Ken Hunt
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