 Various
Artists
"Love, Peace, and Poetry: Japanese Psychedelic
Music" CD
Q.D.K.
Media
Genres: psychedelic rock, acid rock, Japanese
psychedelic music
Normal Records
PO Box 150 117
53040 Bonn
Germany
Aug 12 - 25 2002 |
From
1968 to 1972, a large and healthy psychedelic scene existed in Japan,
of which few artifacts remain today. Thankfully, the folks at Q.D.K
Media took it upon themselves to create this chapter in the acclaimed
"Love, Peace, and Poetry" series, dedicated solely to
Japanese bands of the psychedelic era. I have no idea where they
culled all these recordings from, but you can be assured that they
chose them well. While many of these songs have english lyrics, they
all have a slight Japanese style to them that's hard to define but
definitely there. As we've come to expect Q.D.K., this is a fantastic
and well-representative selection from the Japanese scene, and,
although this may not appeal to those who dislike psychedelic music,
fans of the genre are in for a treat.
Fourteen different bands were enlisted in order to represent the
early Japanese psychedelia scene (no, not Acid Mothers Temple,
you're off by a couple of decades), and among these are Apryl Fool,
The Happenings Four, and Speed Glue, & Shinki.
Tracks like Kuni Kawachi & Friends' "Kirikyogen"
and Speed, Glue & Shinki's "Run And Hide" are Hendrixian,
guitar-heavy tunes, while Apryl Fool's "Tomorrow's
Child" and The Mops' "Asamade Matenai" sound
more like the eclectic acid rock of The 13th Floor Elevators.
Meanwhile, there are more subdued, pop-influenced tracks courtesy of Justin
Heathcliff, Beavers, and Jacks, which help to even
the compilation out.
While many of the psychedelic compilations out there touch on North
American, European, and Australian music, the fourth installment of
the LPP collection has successfully covered terrain that even the Pebbles
series couldn't take on. Bravo!
88%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
58 min 1 sec; 17 tracks; distributed by Forced
Exposure;
released 2002] |
