http://lennonhead.tumblr.com/post/12056737078/homestuck-vol-8-review
I'm very sorry for not updating much at all, and with this being a non-Hirasawa related review posted on another site, but...
Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Various Underrated New Wave/ Technopop Songs
By underrated, I mean I tried to pick songs from bands who either aren't so popular or aren't known for this kind of music (though I made an exeption). The songs themselves aren't exactly hits either. This isn't so much a review as it is a recommendation. Don't worry, I'll try to continue with the P-Model stuff soon.
Kid Dynamo- The Buggles/ The Age Of Plastic
This sounds like it could make for a good superhero show theme song! I really like the piano; I have a soft spot for more traditional instruments used in a synth setting. The song is catchy and has a powerful tune and instrumentation. Remember, The Buggles did more than Video Killed the Radio Star!
Festa Manifesto- Missa Fukuma/ Festa Manifesto
Normally, Missa makes more acoustic, folkier songs, but the title track from Festa Manifesto, an album produced by former P-Model member and brother Hajime Fukuma, is an interesting standout. It reminds me of Jun Togawa’s Teinen Pushiganga, but synth-based. Of course, it’s like a P-Model song also. It keeps just enough of a folk atmosphere to make sense with the rest of her songs. The rest of the album is good, especially the song Yuri No Oka. Don’t come into it expecting fast-paced, energetic tracks, but it’s nice background music if you want to relax. Missa has a sweet, calm voice.
Temporary Secretary- Paul McCartney/McCartney II
What? My dear Paulie once caught 80’s disease, and made this song in the throes of fever. The result is very interesting, but distinctly un-Paul. He sings this in a strange nasal voice, which could be annoying to some people. The tune is kind of deadpan, I guess. I like the guitar, also.
The Book I Read- Talking Heads/ Talking Heads: 77
Would this count as underrated? The band and album are very popular, but this song doesn’t seem to be talked about often. I don’t know. David Byrne’s voice here is like usual, somewhere between really good and terrible, and as usual it works well for this song. The chorus is nice especially.
Yang Yang- Yoko Ono/ Approximately Infinite Universe
What is this? It was made before New Wave was really settled, but what else could it be? It’s not right to call it Punk, exactly... Anyways, while it has guitar solos and stuff not normally associated with New Wave, I think it counts. Yoko is normally remembered for ear-piercing screeches and not for her songs that are less an exercise in weirdness and more an exercise in sounding real good. This was ahead of its time. I also recommend I Felt Like Smashing My Face In A Clear Glass Window, It reminds me of The Clash.
Rondo- Shampoo/REBEL STREET
A dark, moody sounding song. It’s slower, and the tune is cool. Somehow I’m reminded of The Doors, but they don’t sound too similar at all. Shampoo is produced by Susumu Hirasawa. They’ve recently got a new album out. The album this song is on is kind of a compilation. It also has a different version of the P-Model song Furu-He-He-He, if you’re interested.
I’ll Soon Be No Good- Yapoos/ HYS
Jun Togawa’s voice is cool, you should all listen to her. That’s all I should say, but I will save gushing about her for another review. Her band Yapoos had a similar evolution path to P-Model: it started as a more normal New Wave band, then turned into this weird thing. Jun’s interesting voice holds it all together, but the backing music is no slouch either. I will save further comment for when I’ll inevitably review more of her songs.
Kid Dynamo- The Buggles/ The Age Of Plastic
This sounds like it could make for a good superhero show theme song! I really like the piano; I have a soft spot for more traditional instruments used in a synth setting. The song is catchy and has a powerful tune and instrumentation. Remember, The Buggles did more than Video Killed the Radio Star!
Festa Manifesto- Missa Fukuma/ Festa Manifesto
Normally, Missa makes more acoustic, folkier songs, but the title track from Festa Manifesto, an album produced by former P-Model member and brother Hajime Fukuma, is an interesting standout. It reminds me of Jun Togawa’s Teinen Pushiganga, but synth-based. Of course, it’s like a P-Model song also. It keeps just enough of a folk atmosphere to make sense with the rest of her songs. The rest of the album is good, especially the song Yuri No Oka. Don’t come into it expecting fast-paced, energetic tracks, but it’s nice background music if you want to relax. Missa has a sweet, calm voice.
Temporary Secretary- Paul McCartney/McCartney II
What? My dear Paulie once caught 80’s disease, and made this song in the throes of fever. The result is very interesting, but distinctly un-Paul. He sings this in a strange nasal voice, which could be annoying to some people. The tune is kind of deadpan, I guess. I like the guitar, also.
The Book I Read- Talking Heads/ Talking Heads: 77
Would this count as underrated? The band and album are very popular, but this song doesn’t seem to be talked about often. I don’t know. David Byrne’s voice here is like usual, somewhere between really good and terrible, and as usual it works well for this song. The chorus is nice especially.
Yang Yang- Yoko Ono/ Approximately Infinite Universe
What is this? It was made before New Wave was really settled, but what else could it be? It’s not right to call it Punk, exactly... Anyways, while it has guitar solos and stuff not normally associated with New Wave, I think it counts. Yoko is normally remembered for ear-piercing screeches and not for her songs that are less an exercise in weirdness and more an exercise in sounding real good. This was ahead of its time. I also recommend I Felt Like Smashing My Face In A Clear Glass Window, It reminds me of The Clash.
Rondo- Shampoo/REBEL STREET
A dark, moody sounding song. It’s slower, and the tune is cool. Somehow I’m reminded of The Doors, but they don’t sound too similar at all. Shampoo is produced by Susumu Hirasawa. They’ve recently got a new album out. The album this song is on is kind of a compilation. It also has a different version of the P-Model song Furu-He-He-He, if you’re interested.
I’ll Soon Be No Good- Yapoos/ HYS
Jun Togawa’s voice is cool, you should all listen to her. That’s all I should say, but I will save gushing about her for another review. Her band Yapoos had a similar evolution path to P-Model: it started as a more normal New Wave band, then turned into this weird thing. Jun’s interesting voice holds it all together, but the backing music is no slouch either. I will save further comment for when I’ll inevitably review more of her songs.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Sorry for the delay!
I'm sorry for not posting much, but I've been busy with other stuff, like translating, drawing, etc.
I'm so sorry!
I will try to get Potpourri and Perspective done soon.
Thank you for reading!
I'm so sorry!
I will try to get Potpourri and Perspective done soon.
Thank you for reading!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Susumu Hirasawa Review Extravaganza, Part 2: New Wave P-Model
IN A MODEL ROOM
“No, Fujiko! You like Prog Rock and pretentious crap like that! You can’t like Punk and New Wave and stuff!”
Ahh, shut up.
So anyways, Mr. Hirasawa, in all his wisdom, believed that Prog Rock had gotten too commercial, so he picked up 3 band members from the ruins of Mandrake, ditched the pretentious, overly long instrument wankery, set off to form a “technopop” band, whatever that means, and moved from this:
To this:
(Susu’s the one in the top right hand corner. Loving that striped shirt!)
The early P-Model was very successful and influential. At this point, Susumu’s bandmates were still treated somewhat like equals to him. They were named Katsuhiko Akiyama, Yasumi Tanaka, and Sadatoshi Tainaka, by the way.
Anyways, this is a catchy, energetic album. The band Polysics owes a lot to these guys, along with basically any Japanese Electronic group since. This was rated one of the best albums of Japanese Rock music numerous times, and what fame it has is well deserved. Even if most of the songs aren’t completely top-quality, the album as a whole is a great joy to listen to. It’s also nice to hear Susumu being so energetic and punkish in his singing, a trait he would soon lose. Although, it’s real fun to see him sing Art Mania in the same tone of voice he used to use while standing near-completely still, but that’s another thing entirely. Fab album.
9.5/10
ART MANIA
The single that launched a thousand ships. This brought P-Model to the front of the Japanese New Wave movement, and for good reasons. Catchy, energetic, and all around fun. A true classic.
10/10
HEALTH ANGEL
Not much to say about this one. Fast and fun, as usual from early P-Model.
7/10
ROOMRUNNER
This one has… I guess you could say it has a bit less of a tune. More similar to things on the album Potpourri, but with less screaming. Also has Susumu breathing heavily and other people talking weirdly.
5/10
SOPHISTICATED
A slower sound than usual, but manages to still be pretty tense. It must be Susu’s voice that does it. This song is also in English, mostly, but as you would expect, his pronunciation is off. Weird electronic noises come in about two thirds in. Personally, I like the coolness of this bass-lead song, and Susu saying “fried chicken” amuses me.
7/10
FOR KIDS
Now we’re back into slightly normal things. This one sounds quite punkish. This song as a whole is alright, but I suppose his backing singers can get annoying. The tune is nice enough.
6/10
KAMEARI POP
Another cooler-sounding song. For some reason, this reminds me of those slow-dance type songs from things set in the 50’s, like Oh Darling by The Beatles (which is of course from the 60’s, but you understand what I mean), but with more keyboards and such. That “echo, echo” bit at the end makes me smile.
7/10
SUNSHINE CITY
Back to songs on amphetamines. I like the energy of this song, and it’s pretty catchy. Susu’s yodeling ability strikes for the first time, as seen later in tracks from Water In Time and Space~ I’m joking of course, but I enjoy how he sings in this song.
8/10
THE GREAT BRAIN
Weird Prog Rock-ish bass and construction here, with New Wave length. A very weird song indeed, and I love the bit with the chorus of “la la la”s with Susu flatly saying “la” at the end. Sort of a funny song, and I must learn that bassline as soon as I can.
8/10
WHITE CIGARETTES
A favorite of mine. I still get this song randomly stuck in my head, even if I haven’t listened to it for a while. Somehow more serious-sounding than other tracks.
9/10
PINKY TRICK
This song is a bit more sarcastic sounding than some other songs on this album, and it’s got that awesome popping keyboard playing a large part in it. I want one of those things!
6/10
ART BLIND
This is pretty much a synth-only song, and I think it would be good dungeon music for some old video game. It makes a good ending for the album, I think.
7/10
LANDSALE
This album starts off even better than the last one, but by the end it starts to sound a bit plainer, if you understand what I’m trying to say. Overall, it balances out as a great album, but perhaps not as entertaining as the first. It depends on your tastes, of course. I think that, while some songs are better than the stuff on the first (besides Art Mania), the ones that sound like filler stop me from enjoying listening to the whole thing.
8.5/10
OHAYO
The title means “good morning”, and it sounds like Susu is still half asleep. He puts on the monotone Psychedelic Rock voice, you know the one. Think Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles or Crying Is For Writers by July or something, but this song is way calmer than either of those. It has a nice piano and synth string backing, but it seems a bit of a sad song. Susu sounds so tired and tense, it makes me want to get a time machine and a plane and go hug him!
8/10
DAIJOBU
Here’s the sarcastic yell we all know and love! I love this song, it’s sort of obscure even for P-Model, but I think it’s great. It really gets you up and going after that sleepy opener! Every time I play it, I get the urge to sing along. It has a great and catchy tune. HALLO!
9/10
LOVE STORY
One of the first P-Model songs I heard, and I think it’s great. For most of this song, Susu puts on a voice like the one he’d adopt later on, and laughs manically and yells in the chorus. I think that sounds really darn cool, he’s got an awesome laugh. With the sarcastic, monotonous tone of the song, you get the feeling he’s laughing out of desperation more than anything else. It’s a brilliant song. HUA HA HA HA!
9.5/10
DOCTOR SOP
A rather chaotic song. It jumps all over the place, led by Susu’s angry, uncaring talking/singing, and a strange sounding backing group of singers. It’s good, yeah, but so are the other songs on the album.
4.5/10
TOUCH ME
The title is practically begging me to say something about it, but I won’t, mainly because Susumu doesn’t seem to sing on this track. It’s a fun song, though, and certainly worth 3 minutes of your time. One of those songs where I feel like singing along.
7/10
NA-KA-YO-SHI
I like this song a whole lot, and I don’t know why. It’s infectious. LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU! LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU! BOKUTACHI NAKAYO-
Oh wait, it ended abruptly.
8.5/10
MISSILE
A song that gets stuck in my head a bunch. Apparently, this one is popular, otherwise Susu wouldn’t have remixed it for Totsu-Gen-Hen-I, but oh well. I don’t find it anything special. It’s good though of course. It’s also easy to sing, haha.
5/10
LITTLE BOY
Sometimes, I wonder what Susumu’s songs are about. As far as I can tell, most of the song involves a kid bothering his parents and teacher about things, but Susu sounds awfully scared in some bits. Hrmm, some words about dreams… Ahh, I don’t know enough Japanese. Regardless, this song manages to sound upbeat and a bit… scary, I suppose, at the same time. Susu is good at doing that, as you will later see a bit of in the albums Sim City and Vistoron and such…
7/10
I AM ONLY YOUR MODEL
Be thankful (or whatever) for songs like these in which Susu and his bandmates actually sing together, because you will be seeing less and less of them. Yeah, they aren’t the greatest singers in the known universe, but I don’t think the songs would have the same feel if they were very good.
5/10
ONE WAY LOVE
Here, sort of like in The Great Brain from the previous album, there’s the chorus and then Susu’s flat response sort of thing. I’m loving the psychedelic-type guitar and keys break in the middle of the song.
6/10
ALIEN
The keyboard here is especially nice, I think. I don’t really know what to think of this song. There are some strange-sounding bits… Things that show Susumu Hirasawa would soon progress beyond New Wave, or any real genre for that matter.
5/10
GLOBE
It starts off calm enough, with keyboard and drums, and Susu’s tired voice, and doesn’t really go anywhere else, besides some weird whispering and monotone singing in the right speaker, and a weird crackling sound in the left one. It sounds like a tense lullaby, or something. I don’t know.
5/10
Ahh, shut up.
So anyways, Mr. Hirasawa, in all his wisdom, believed that Prog Rock had gotten too commercial, so he picked up 3 band members from the ruins of Mandrake, ditched the pretentious, overly long instrument wankery, set off to form a “technopop” band, whatever that means, and moved from this:
To this:
(Susu’s the one in the top right hand corner. Loving that striped shirt!)
The early P-Model was very successful and influential. At this point, Susumu’s bandmates were still treated somewhat like equals to him. They were named Katsuhiko Akiyama, Yasumi Tanaka, and Sadatoshi Tainaka, by the way.
Anyways, this is a catchy, energetic album. The band Polysics owes a lot to these guys, along with basically any Japanese Electronic group since. This was rated one of the best albums of Japanese Rock music numerous times, and what fame it has is well deserved. Even if most of the songs aren’t completely top-quality, the album as a whole is a great joy to listen to. It’s also nice to hear Susumu being so energetic and punkish in his singing, a trait he would soon lose. Although, it’s real fun to see him sing Art Mania in the same tone of voice he used to use while standing near-completely still, but that’s another thing entirely. Fab album.
9.5/10
ART MANIA
The single that launched a thousand ships. This brought P-Model to the front of the Japanese New Wave movement, and for good reasons. Catchy, energetic, and all around fun. A true classic.
10/10
HEALTH ANGEL
Not much to say about this one. Fast and fun, as usual from early P-Model.
7/10
ROOMRUNNER
This one has… I guess you could say it has a bit less of a tune. More similar to things on the album Potpourri, but with less screaming. Also has Susumu breathing heavily and other people talking weirdly.
5/10
SOPHISTICATED
A slower sound than usual, but manages to still be pretty tense. It must be Susu’s voice that does it. This song is also in English, mostly, but as you would expect, his pronunciation is off. Weird electronic noises come in about two thirds in. Personally, I like the coolness of this bass-lead song, and Susu saying “fried chicken” amuses me.
7/10
FOR KIDS
Now we’re back into slightly normal things. This one sounds quite punkish. This song as a whole is alright, but I suppose his backing singers can get annoying. The tune is nice enough.
6/10
KAMEARI POP
Another cooler-sounding song. For some reason, this reminds me of those slow-dance type songs from things set in the 50’s, like Oh Darling by The Beatles (which is of course from the 60’s, but you understand what I mean), but with more keyboards and such. That “echo, echo” bit at the end makes me smile.
7/10
SUNSHINE CITY
Back to songs on amphetamines. I like the energy of this song, and it’s pretty catchy. Susu’s yodeling ability strikes for the first time, as seen later in tracks from Water In Time and Space~ I’m joking of course, but I enjoy how he sings in this song.
8/10
THE GREAT BRAIN
Weird Prog Rock-ish bass and construction here, with New Wave length. A very weird song indeed, and I love the bit with the chorus of “la la la”s with Susu flatly saying “la” at the end. Sort of a funny song, and I must learn that bassline as soon as I can.
8/10
WHITE CIGARETTES
A favorite of mine. I still get this song randomly stuck in my head, even if I haven’t listened to it for a while. Somehow more serious-sounding than other tracks.
9/10
PINKY TRICK
This song is a bit more sarcastic sounding than some other songs on this album, and it’s got that awesome popping keyboard playing a large part in it. I want one of those things!
6/10
ART BLIND
This is pretty much a synth-only song, and I think it would be good dungeon music for some old video game. It makes a good ending for the album, I think.
7/10
LANDSALE
This album starts off even better than the last one, but by the end it starts to sound a bit plainer, if you understand what I’m trying to say. Overall, it balances out as a great album, but perhaps not as entertaining as the first. It depends on your tastes, of course. I think that, while some songs are better than the stuff on the first (besides Art Mania), the ones that sound like filler stop me from enjoying listening to the whole thing.
8.5/10
OHAYO
The title means “good morning”, and it sounds like Susu is still half asleep. He puts on the monotone Psychedelic Rock voice, you know the one. Think Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles or Crying Is For Writers by July or something, but this song is way calmer than either of those. It has a nice piano and synth string backing, but it seems a bit of a sad song. Susu sounds so tired and tense, it makes me want to get a time machine and a plane and go hug him!
8/10
DAIJOBU
Here’s the sarcastic yell we all know and love! I love this song, it’s sort of obscure even for P-Model, but I think it’s great. It really gets you up and going after that sleepy opener! Every time I play it, I get the urge to sing along. It has a great and catchy tune. HALLO!
9/10
LOVE STORY
One of the first P-Model songs I heard, and I think it’s great. For most of this song, Susu puts on a voice like the one he’d adopt later on, and laughs manically and yells in the chorus. I think that sounds really darn cool, he’s got an awesome laugh. With the sarcastic, monotonous tone of the song, you get the feeling he’s laughing out of desperation more than anything else. It’s a brilliant song. HUA HA HA HA!
9.5/10
DOCTOR SOP
A rather chaotic song. It jumps all over the place, led by Susu’s angry, uncaring talking/singing, and a strange sounding backing group of singers. It’s good, yeah, but so are the other songs on the album.
4.5/10
TOUCH ME
The title is practically begging me to say something about it, but I won’t, mainly because Susumu doesn’t seem to sing on this track. It’s a fun song, though, and certainly worth 3 minutes of your time. One of those songs where I feel like singing along.
7/10
NA-KA-YO-SHI
I like this song a whole lot, and I don’t know why. It’s infectious. LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU! LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU! BOKUTACHI NAKAYO-
Oh wait, it ended abruptly.
8.5/10
MISSILE
A song that gets stuck in my head a bunch. Apparently, this one is popular, otherwise Susu wouldn’t have remixed it for Totsu-Gen-Hen-I, but oh well. I don’t find it anything special. It’s good though of course. It’s also easy to sing, haha.
5/10
LITTLE BOY
Sometimes, I wonder what Susumu’s songs are about. As far as I can tell, most of the song involves a kid bothering his parents and teacher about things, but Susu sounds awfully scared in some bits. Hrmm, some words about dreams… Ahh, I don’t know enough Japanese. Regardless, this song manages to sound upbeat and a bit… scary, I suppose, at the same time. Susu is good at doing that, as you will later see a bit of in the albums Sim City and Vistoron and such…
7/10
I AM ONLY YOUR MODEL
Be thankful (or whatever) for songs like these in which Susu and his bandmates actually sing together, because you will be seeing less and less of them. Yeah, they aren’t the greatest singers in the known universe, but I don’t think the songs would have the same feel if they were very good.
5/10
ONE WAY LOVE
Here, sort of like in The Great Brain from the previous album, there’s the chorus and then Susu’s flat response sort of thing. I’m loving the psychedelic-type guitar and keys break in the middle of the song.
6/10
ALIEN
The keyboard here is especially nice, I think. I don’t really know what to think of this song. There are some strange-sounding bits… Things that show Susumu Hirasawa would soon progress beyond New Wave, or any real genre for that matter.
5/10
GLOBE
It starts off calm enough, with keyboard and drums, and Susu’s tired voice, and doesn’t really go anywhere else, besides some weird whispering and monotone singing in the right speaker, and a weird crackling sound in the left one. It sounds like a tense lullaby, or something. I don’t know.
5/10
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Susumu Hirasawa Review Extravaganza, Part 1: Mandrake
To kick off my track-by-track review of everything that great man has ever done, I figured I'd start at the beginning: his little-known Prog band, Mandrake. I don't think it deserves such obscurity. I'll be reviewing its two albums, Unreleased Materials Vol. 1 and 2.
UNRELEASED MATERIALS VOL. 1
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First off, you must know that I am a huge Progressive Rock fan. Finding out that Susumu Hirasawa, a man I love so very much, was in a Prog Rock band in the 70’s was a great moment for me. Why the heck is Mandrake not considered a classic band? It’s just as good as Yes or King Crimson ever was, I think. Although, I guess it’s for the same reasons why Susu is popular enough in Japan but nearly unknown anywhere else. Isn’t it sad~
This and its sister album were actually released in the 90’s, but the material was recorded in the 70’s.
This album certainly has its dull moments, but most of it consists of some of the best things I’ve heard. If the last song didn’t exist, and if the remaining songs had more memorable melodies, this would have gotten a 10.
8.5/10
KAZARI MADO NO DEKIGOTO
This is probably my favorite song. I mean that. Not just my favorite song in Susumu Hirasawa’s entire discography, but I mean my favorite song ever. It’s just perfect in every way. Classic Progressive Rock by one of my most beloved artists, not too long, not too short, never devolving into random instrument wankery like so many other Prog songs, incredibly beautiful… It’s great, no doubt about it. Now, I know some people dislike Prog Rock, I know it’s pretentious, I know it’s outdated, but as usual for me I don’t think that really matters. Everybody needs to hear this. I’m not going to pretend that my word is God, but I think this is one of the few songs where I have a right to gush about it. I don’t do it often, but this amazing and sadly obscure song deserves it. Go tell your relations. This is a perfect 10 in my book.
10/10
SYUMATSU NO KAIJITSU
Longer and less action-packed and memorable than the first track, but still absolutely lovely. Susumu’s guitar work and songwriting are great as usual, but his voice isn’t really suited to that typical Progressive Rock voice that you hear Jon Anderson, Geddy Lee and such singing in that he tries to imitate, and that I will now call The Shriek for short. Anyways, he tries to sing like that with this band, and it sounds alright but pretty strange. Also, being a classic Prog song, free up a little time to listen to it. It also has a few blank spots with nothing but a softly-playing keyboard, which is nice, but as you will see later in the reviews I am a bit impatient for slow songs. However, it doesn’t linger on these spots too long, which is great. The keyboardist, or whatever the word is, is very good anyways, so it stays relatively enjoyable.
9/10
OKASARETA KYUDEN
Another song that’s about 13 minutes long. I don’t know if it’s just me, but Susu’s voice is pretty quiet in this. This song is a bit heavier than the previous track, but I don’t think the tune is as good, and it certainly doesn’t even touch the first song on the album. There’s a sort of guitar solo a bit more than halfway through with synth as well that sounds pretty cool, and then Susu and the drums come in and it turns into what I think is the best movement of the song. Overall still pretty enjoyable, even if it goes on for a little too long.
8.5/10
SUKURAN NO TOBIRA
Arrgh! That noise at the beginning! Even when the tune starts up, it still sounds weird… But that’s not out of the ordinary for either the artist or the genre. Oh, did I mention this is nearly 20 minutes long? I think to myself, hey, I listened to all of Thick As A Brick in one go, this is nothing, honestly. But Thick As A Brick was generally more interesting than this. This song lapses in and out of having a tune and being instrument wankery, and when noodling around with your guitar takes up more than 3 minutes, well, it makes me just not want to listen to it anymore. The melodic parts are nothing special, but occasionally the noodling about produces an interesting riff that I would think would have been great if it was expanded on. I don’t really think Susu is singing in this song, and if he was, maybe he shouldn’t have sung with a head cold. Or is that just me?
4/10
UNRELEASED MATERIALS VOL. 2
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This was recorded live, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but the sound quality is pretty bad. The song quality has taken a small dip too.
MANDRAGORA
The opening is pretty creepy-sounding, which I like. However, in a short while, it starts to sound like a bit like a typical late period P-Model track with more acoustic drums and stuff. That’s not to say it doesn’t still sound cool, but… Well, I’ll explain it once I hit a track later on that gives a good example of what I mean. Anyways, about 3 minutes in it gets really nice sounding. Susu’s voice comes in, and a concrete melody is formed, and the piece really comes together, for a while. After a drought, a new tune comes in near the 9 minute mark, and it’s KMND quality, I swear. However, the lead up to such a great ending section wasn’t great enough.
8.5/10
TALES FROM PORNOGRAPHIC OCEANS
Haha, very funny title, Susu. I’ll admit that I laughed when I saw it. Anyways, it kind of starts from where Mandragora left off, and it is near-instantly cool. Susu’s guitar work is underrated, let me say. It gets slower in the middle, and consists of keyboard noodling, mostly, but once Susu starts singing again, you know the drill, it gets interesting once again. So far, it seems to be a theme of the album’s songs to have a ridiculously good second half.
9/10
NAGARE NO HATE NI
The drums and keys that start this song off start nice, but soon get rather uninteresting. At least more parts are added to the riff before it stops at the 3-minute mark. Then there’s a bit of happy time with Yasumi Tanaka and his keyboard, as usual, although he’s good at making it sound alright. But suddenly, after about a minute of that, a fab guitar riff comes in, and everything is once again right with the world. But just as suddenly, it degenerates into eardrum-piercing cacophony. I won’t waste your time with further play-by-play, but it gets better. It’s hard to rate these songs because some bits are really good and others… aren’t.
8/10
IRIYOUBACHI NO YUUWAKU
This song starts with a lot of clocks ticking, which is interesting. Here is where you can see P-Model in this the most, just listen to that first keyboard bit! The little tune after is uplifting and slightly silly, and I like it. Then the tune switches, and it gets all King Crimson on you, if you know what I mean by that. This song is relatively short, but I think it’s a nice ending.
8.5/10
UNRELEASED MATERIALS VOL. 1
First off, you must know that I am a huge Progressive Rock fan. Finding out that Susumu Hirasawa, a man I love so very much, was in a Prog Rock band in the 70’s was a great moment for me. Why the heck is Mandrake not considered a classic band? It’s just as good as Yes or King Crimson ever was, I think. Although, I guess it’s for the same reasons why Susu is popular enough in Japan but nearly unknown anywhere else. Isn’t it sad~
This and its sister album were actually released in the 90’s, but the material was recorded in the 70’s.
This album certainly has its dull moments, but most of it consists of some of the best things I’ve heard. If the last song didn’t exist, and if the remaining songs had more memorable melodies, this would have gotten a 10.
8.5/10
KAZARI MADO NO DEKIGOTO
This is probably my favorite song. I mean that. Not just my favorite song in Susumu Hirasawa’s entire discography, but I mean my favorite song ever. It’s just perfect in every way. Classic Progressive Rock by one of my most beloved artists, not too long, not too short, never devolving into random instrument wankery like so many other Prog songs, incredibly beautiful… It’s great, no doubt about it. Now, I know some people dislike Prog Rock, I know it’s pretentious, I know it’s outdated, but as usual for me I don’t think that really matters. Everybody needs to hear this. I’m not going to pretend that my word is God, but I think this is one of the few songs where I have a right to gush about it. I don’t do it often, but this amazing and sadly obscure song deserves it. Go tell your relations. This is a perfect 10 in my book.
10/10
SYUMATSU NO KAIJITSU
Longer and less action-packed and memorable than the first track, but still absolutely lovely. Susumu’s guitar work and songwriting are great as usual, but his voice isn’t really suited to that typical Progressive Rock voice that you hear Jon Anderson, Geddy Lee and such singing in that he tries to imitate, and that I will now call The Shriek for short. Anyways, he tries to sing like that with this band, and it sounds alright but pretty strange. Also, being a classic Prog song, free up a little time to listen to it. It also has a few blank spots with nothing but a softly-playing keyboard, which is nice, but as you will see later in the reviews I am a bit impatient for slow songs. However, it doesn’t linger on these spots too long, which is great. The keyboardist, or whatever the word is, is very good anyways, so it stays relatively enjoyable.
9/10
OKASARETA KYUDEN
Another song that’s about 13 minutes long. I don’t know if it’s just me, but Susu’s voice is pretty quiet in this. This song is a bit heavier than the previous track, but I don’t think the tune is as good, and it certainly doesn’t even touch the first song on the album. There’s a sort of guitar solo a bit more than halfway through with synth as well that sounds pretty cool, and then Susu and the drums come in and it turns into what I think is the best movement of the song. Overall still pretty enjoyable, even if it goes on for a little too long.
8.5/10
SUKURAN NO TOBIRA
Arrgh! That noise at the beginning! Even when the tune starts up, it still sounds weird… But that’s not out of the ordinary for either the artist or the genre. Oh, did I mention this is nearly 20 minutes long? I think to myself, hey, I listened to all of Thick As A Brick in one go, this is nothing, honestly. But Thick As A Brick was generally more interesting than this. This song lapses in and out of having a tune and being instrument wankery, and when noodling around with your guitar takes up more than 3 minutes, well, it makes me just not want to listen to it anymore. The melodic parts are nothing special, but occasionally the noodling about produces an interesting riff that I would think would have been great if it was expanded on. I don’t really think Susu is singing in this song, and if he was, maybe he shouldn’t have sung with a head cold. Or is that just me?
4/10
UNRELEASED MATERIALS VOL. 2
This was recorded live, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but the sound quality is pretty bad. The song quality has taken a small dip too.
MANDRAGORA
The opening is pretty creepy-sounding, which I like. However, in a short while, it starts to sound like a bit like a typical late period P-Model track with more acoustic drums and stuff. That’s not to say it doesn’t still sound cool, but… Well, I’ll explain it once I hit a track later on that gives a good example of what I mean. Anyways, about 3 minutes in it gets really nice sounding. Susu’s voice comes in, and a concrete melody is formed, and the piece really comes together, for a while. After a drought, a new tune comes in near the 9 minute mark, and it’s KMND quality, I swear. However, the lead up to such a great ending section wasn’t great enough.
8.5/10
TALES FROM PORNOGRAPHIC OCEANS
Haha, very funny title, Susu. I’ll admit that I laughed when I saw it. Anyways, it kind of starts from where Mandragora left off, and it is near-instantly cool. Susu’s guitar work is underrated, let me say. It gets slower in the middle, and consists of keyboard noodling, mostly, but once Susu starts singing again, you know the drill, it gets interesting once again. So far, it seems to be a theme of the album’s songs to have a ridiculously good second half.
9/10
NAGARE NO HATE NI
The drums and keys that start this song off start nice, but soon get rather uninteresting. At least more parts are added to the riff before it stops at the 3-minute mark. Then there’s a bit of happy time with Yasumi Tanaka and his keyboard, as usual, although he’s good at making it sound alright. But suddenly, after about a minute of that, a fab guitar riff comes in, and everything is once again right with the world. But just as suddenly, it degenerates into eardrum-piercing cacophony. I won’t waste your time with further play-by-play, but it gets better. It’s hard to rate these songs because some bits are really good and others… aren’t.
8/10
IRIYOUBACHI NO YUUWAKU
This song starts with a lot of clocks ticking, which is interesting. Here is where you can see P-Model in this the most, just listen to that first keyboard bit! The little tune after is uplifting and slightly silly, and I like it. Then the tune switches, and it gets all King Crimson on you, if you know what I mean by that. This song is relatively short, but I think it’s a nice ending.
8.5/10
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