Rain Tree Crow "Rain Tree Crow" (1991)

Rain Tree Crow [debut]
release date: Apr. 20, 1991
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Rain Tree Crow
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Big Wheels in Shanty Town" - 4. "Red Earth (As Summertime Ends)" - 8. "Blackwater" (4 / 5) - 10. "Blackcrow Hits Shoe Shine City"

1st and only full studio album by Rain Tree Crow, a band completely identical to the line-up of the British new wave, sophisti-pop and new romantic band, Japan, which had disbanded in 1982, and therefore it's difficult to label this as a debut. The message is clear then: to mark that the music is not to be confused with the new romantic and synth pop style of the former band, the band members may have decided to make music together again (they regrouped in '89) but as a new band. Rain Tree Crow consists of vocalist David Sylvian who is also credited on guitar & keyboards, Richard Barbieri on keyboards, Mick Karn on bass, saxophone & bass clarinet, and with (Sylvian's younger brother) Steve Jansen on drums. Ironically, the four split after the release of their only album in almost ten years, apparently, due to tensions between Sylvian and the other members of the band who found that he wanted too much control, ultimately, making it a project of his own - the irony is that the same conflict had led the quartet to the disbandment of Japan in '82.

Anyway, the music here is not what made Japan a famous new romantic and synth pop band bond to the 80s but the result of fine musicianship. Karn's bass-lines are like unique fingerprints and a strong trademark of his lifting any music to something else than the ordinary, and Barbieri contributes nicely with his synth-notes, but Jansen is like Karn's musical twin, who lays the perfect match to Barbieri and Karn with anything but traditional drum-lines, and on top of it all, you find Sylvian's melancholic crooning, which makes it all sound more like his solo releases. All in all, it's actually a fine and tight album, and it's quite surprising to read in inlay that: "The majority of the material on this album was written as a result of group improvisations. There were no pre-rehearsals; the improvisation took place in the recording studio and much of the finished work contains original elements of those initial performances."

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Tin Drum" (1981)

Tin Drum
release date: Nov. 13, 1981
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Steve Nye, Japan
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Art of Parties" - 2. "Talking Drum" - 3. "Ghosts" (4 / 5 - 4. "Canton" - 5. "Still Life in Mobile Homes" - 7. "Sons of Pioneers" - 8. "Cantonese Boy"

5th studio album by Japan is also the band's final studio album (as Japan). With new romantic exploding in full scale in Britain, Japan, who was perhaps the first band of the genre, has taken its music elsewhere. This is still synth pop but much more art pop-founded than any of their previous releases, and the music has become slower and more experimental. Actually, it has more in common with David Sylvian's solo releases of the mid-80s than the previous releases by Japan. Sylvian has always taken a dominating part in the band but after the departure of guitarist Rob Dean, Sylvian's dominance surely hasn't decreased, although, more tracks than usual are co-written with other members of the band on this. The band now consists of David Sylvian on vocals, guitar, keyboards & keyboard programming, tapes, and cover concept, Mick Karn is credited for playing fretless bass, African flute, and dida, Richard Barbieri is credited for keyboards & keyboard programming, and tapes, and Steve Jansen for handling drums, acoustic, electronic & keyboard percussion. The album is the highest peaking studio album by Japan in the UK, as it reached number #12 on the national albums chart list.
I never found the album interesting until I rediscovered it after the new millennium. Today, I think of it as a near masterpiece, but also more like a David Sylvian solo release, and that may also have been the case and the reason as to why the band split after recording this due to disagreements about leadership in the band (other sources suggest that the actual reason to the split was an affair between Sylvian and then girlfriend of Mick Karn that led to the final split). The album doesn't contain obvious hit singles but there are no fillers and all compositions are truly delicate and almost true symbols of coolness. In 1983 the band's final album, Oil on Canvas, a live album was released; and in 1991 the Japan members from this late period rejoined under the name of Rain Tree Crow to record and release one more album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (1980)

Gentlemen Take Polaroids
release date: Oct. 24, 1980
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: John Punter
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (4 / 5) - 2. "Swing" - 4. "My New Career" - 5. "Methods of Dance" - 6. "Ain't That Peculiar" - 7. "Nightporter" (live) - 8. "Taking Islands in Africa"

4th studio album by Japan and the last to feature the band's usual guitarist Rob Dean (who would leave in the spring of '81). With this the band continue its art pop and new-found style of new romantic, which would become a mainstream pop style within a year with bands like Depeche Mode, Visage, Spandau Ballet, ABC, and Duran Duran. The glam rock and Bowie-inspiration has been left behind, and the album comes out as highly original. All tracks except from a cover (track #6 by Smokey Robinson, Warren 'Pete' Moore, Marvin Tarplin and Bobby Rogers) are written by David Sylvian - track #8 being co-written by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Gentlemen Take Polaroids was well-received by critics but failed to reach the public attention. In retrospect, however, and alongside its predecessor, it has been hailed as a cornerstone in the whole new romantic era.
[ allmusic.com, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Quiet Life" (1979)

Quiet Life
release date: Dec. 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]
producer: John Punter, Simon Napier-Bell, Japan
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Quiet Life" (4 / 5) - 2. "Fall on Love With Me" - 3. "Despair" - 4. "In Vogue" (live) - 6. "All Tomorrow's Parties" - 8. "The Other Side of Life"

3rd studio album by Japan who has taken another stylistic move. The first two albums are both playing with funk rock and variations of glam rock and new wave but with this the band focuses more on art pop adding a layer of synths to the sound and by doing so, the album has been recognised as one of the very first albums to introduce and ignite the new romantic era. Another change to the band's sound is the vocal performance of lead vocalist David Sylvian. On the first two albums he appears heavily inspired by David Bowie, but now he has taken on a darker, more sincere, and also a much more original and contemporary tone. All tracks except the cover song "All Tomorrow's Parties" (Velvet Underground track written by Lou Reed) are credited David Sylvian.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Here Before You Die". Unfortunately, the album didn't gain much success at the time of its release but in retrospect it has become one of the most acclaimed albums of its time.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Obscure Alternatives" (1978)

Obscure Alternatives
release date: Oct. 27, 1978
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: Ray Singer
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Automatic Gun" - 3. "Love Is Infectious" - 5. "Obscure Alternatives" - 6. "Deviation" - 8. "The Tenant"

2nd studio album by Japan. The band has changed its style by moving away from glam rock and founded its style on art pop new wave and funk rock, thus being even more at the forefront of new musical styles. A few tracks are also avant-garde art pop pointing to later solo works by lead vocalist David Sylvian e.g. the title track but most significantly "The Tenant". Sylvian still sings in a way that mostly sounds like a Bowie clone. As on the debut album, Sylvian is credited for all compositions.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Adolescent Sex" (1978)

Adolescent Sex [debut]
release date: Apr. 8, 1978
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,04]
producer: Ray Singer
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Transmission" - 2. "The Unconventional" - 8. "Adolescent Sex" - 9. "Communist China"

Studio album debut by Japan consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist David Sylvian (aka David Alan Batt), lead guitarist Rob Dean, bassist Mick Karn, keyboardist Richard Barbieri, and with drummer and percussionist Steve Jansen (aka Stephen Batt, younger brother of Sylvian). All tracks are composed by David Sylvian.
The style is primarily glam rock with some art pop and funk rock elements, and differs from the band's later albums. Some tracks are dominated by a fusion of funk glam and r&b styles, whereas others are more new wave-based, which makes it hard to describe fully. There's also a distinct inspiration from David Bowie, who had fusioned styles on his Young Americans 1975 album.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]