Dreaming / Niagara Triangle - Niagara Triangle Vol. 1 (1976) Album Review

All important or relevant things are not built or conceived out of thin air. That is a fact that is known by everyone who is aware about the sudden rollercoasters that life is able to provide at any given moment, with the knowledge that one has to work hard in order to earn their goals, in order to achieve their dreams. Examples of this can be found all over the world, and all across media. Some of the biggest and most talented musicians got to their status after dedicating themselves entirely to their music, after years of pursuing their goals and getting through a lot of different barriers, being at the right place, at the right time. It is something that can be found across history, regardless of the genre or scope of the artist, sometimes the right things happen at the right time and lead to a series of events that culminate in the long and prosper careers of those involved; and a good example of that is what happened with the members of Sugar Babe, Eiichi Otaki, and the creation of the Niagara label in 1975. Sugar Babe would be the result of a group of artists getting together in order to make music that fit their goals and influences, to create something that had a focus and execution that was unconventional for Japanese music at the time. All the members had things to offer, but the consistent highlights of the group were Tatsuro Yamashita, who would take upon the lead regarding the instrumental arrangements for all the songs, and Taeko Onuki, whose vocals provided a sweet and calm contrast that had a lot to offer in the overall scope of things. In 1975, they would release their first, and only, album under the title of Songs, something that would go almost completely overlooked by the mainstream, but that remained relevant in the underground. The style of music, accompanied by Eiichi's timeless and polished production, lead to the album slowly getting recognition years after its release, eventually being pinned down as the birth of City Pop, as well as presenting ideas that would be present through an entire generation of Japanese pop music, eventually being respected as one of the most important albums in Japanese music history. 

The band published their album through Eiichi Otaki's personal label, Niagara,  being the first band to be completely under Otaki's wing, with Otaki himself releasing his solo album, Niagara Moon, not long after. Niagara records got associated with Japan Columbia and Elec Records, who was on its last breath at the time, and instead of focusing exclusively on record releases, it would also focus on the distribution and divulgation of names in the music industry at the time. This would be done with Eiichi's radio show "Go Go Niagara", starting that same year in 1975, and having Ginji Ito and Tatsuro Yamashita as the two first important guests to join the show. Eiichi would create other companies, associating with Columbia Records, but Niagara would be with own space to do whatever he pleased regarding his personal music. Eventually, and during the radio shows, a project involving Eiichi, Ginji, and Tatsuro was proposed, and it would slowly came to fruition during 1975. This new "Project Triangle" started to craft the idea of a full studio album, but one that was structured on a somewhat unconventional way. And finally, in 1976, before the dissolution of Sugar Babe as a band, Niagara Triange Vol. 1 was released. 

Niagara Triangle is an odd release in many different ways. Its structure relies on the three artists involved having a number of songs where they take the spotlight, deciding the scope of both arrangements and production, and bringing in as many guests as they see fit, making up for what seems like a varied and unpredictable record at first, at least theoretically. The end result however, is sadly not that exciting. What this project lacks, it's main and most evident flaw, is the fact that it lacks focus, it lacks a motive, tone, or structure that ties all these different songs together. There are songs that share the same style, mostly because they were made by the same artist, but they end up feeling out of place when put together with all the rest of the tracks. They are all produced on a great way, and each artist take their own liberties to experiment with their formulas on a way they see fit, but it all leads to a very inconsistent and somewhat underwhelming experience for such a promising concept. Still, not everything is disappointing, mainly due to the fact that this might as well contain two of the best Tatsuro tracks from his early career, and even his career in general, as well as Eiichi and Ginji both having their own hidden gems, where the formula and ideas are executed on a charming way, making one wonder about what would happen if an entire album was built under the premise and style of those focused moments.

The album starts off immediately with the two main highlights, the most polished, well arranged, and well performed songs of the entire collection, courtesy of none other than a young nd flourishing Tatsuro Yamashita. The opener, ドリーミング・デイ, is enough of a reason to bother in checking the entire album, and no other track on the entire projects is able to reach this level of charisma in every single aspect possible. With lyrics by Taeko Onuki, this song was written and arranged exclusively for this album, with Yamashita trying to show respect to the influence that Otaki had on him for the three years they had been working together. The album has the gratitude of having some guest members appearing in all tracks, most notably the inclusion of members of Sugar Babe at that point (with Taeko on background vocals, and Muramatsu and Uehara on support instrumentals), but it had the performance of none other than Ryuchi Sakamoto, not taking over the instrumental section, but ending up adding flavor to the final result. The percussion, orchestral arrangements, the interaction between keyboards, and the subtle and minimalist use of the guitar to keep rhythm. The instrumental alone is creative, layered, and extremely engaging by itself, but Tatsuro's voice is just starting to develop into the high notes and climaxes that he would expand later on his career, and it comes out with one of the most beautiful and enjoyable performances he has ever given. The track keeps building on itself like a common song structure, but the chorus increases in details and emotion each time, and it makes up for one of the highlights of his entire career. Definitely beautiful and lively, as if it was pull directly from a perfect dream.

Right after that powerful opener, パレード, or Parade, takes the spotlight. This was a song conceived by Sugar Babe, and until that point it was a common part of their live shows (and it had been already recorded during the Songs sessions, planned on being a main single, but it ended up being discarded and released years later on its demo form with the first anniversary edition of the album). It has a lot in common with those early live and demo renditions, but the tempo is slight changed for something much calmer and layered with details. Little xylophone notes, the wind instruments, complementing the main arrangements that follow the old Sugar Babe formula of each instrument having its own simple rhythm, making up for a nice melody when put together; it is simply a very sweet and soft track. Tatsuro's vocals getting complemented by Taeko's backing choruses is never something to get tired off, and the vocal performance is much more laid back compared to the previous track, but still managing to be powerful and memorable. Without a doubt, a parade of joy and love being displayed for the listener to enjoy. So far, Tatsuro took the rails and showed two tracks that were entirely under his control, even regarding the production, resulting in two strong and lively openers that build up expectation for what is to come. However, after this point, the rails get distributed between tracks, and here is where the inconsistency starts to take place.

Right after Parade, 遅すぎた別れ comes in an offers an interesting change of focus and tone. This is nothing more than an interesting way of presenting Spoken Word and field recording segments being included within a conventional Tatsuro track. The lyrics were written by Ginji Ito, while the arrangement and performances ended up being in charge of Tatsuro himself. The arrangements are as beautiful as ever, with the piano taking a big presence, being the main focus of what is being presented, with powerful melodies that serve as a base for the entire track. The use of the guitar, the background vocals, and the bass, is all very subtle, and it does go incredibly well with the soft and calm tone that is trying to be transmitted through the entire track, getting dragged down a bit by the different volume that the field recording gives contrasting with the mixing and production found in the instrumentals. As for the vocal performance, it is certainly a mixed bag, but on a really positive way. Tatsuro's spoken word segments are calm and laid back, suddenly shifting to Tatsuro singing on his wonderful tone, being very passionate and offering a nice contrast. Overall, it is an interesting contrast to what was seen before, and even if it doesn't really end up working all that well, it ends up being one of those interesting deep cuts that any fan of Tatsuro should definitely seek out.日射病 breaks the streak of Tatsuro being the main focus of the song by introducing a song entirely written, composed, and arranged by Ginji Ito (apparently conceived at first for his previous project Coconut Bank), with the man himself taking the lead vocals. It is a very lively, upbeat, and summer like track, one of the most straight forward songs that can be found here. It doesn't really give much to talk about, since it feels more like a nice love letter to Ito's favorite music more than anything. The guitar playing could be taken as the highlight, with the rest of the arrangements working for what they are. A nice, but sadly forgettable, track, but that gets contrasted with one of the more experimental proposals from Ito's side.

ココナツ・ホリデイ’76, the closer of the first side, is one of the hidden gems here. This track was composed and played under the name of Paper Hikouki for the last Happy End concert, so hearing it here certainly feels like a proper farewell and love letter to the paths that took the artists involved until that point. It is far from a perfect track, but the members are having a lot of fun performance on this, with the arrangements coming up on a very tropical feeling (with me not being able to get out of my head the idea that it could almost like it could belong to a Donkey Kong or Mario level), and the synths and keyboards being the main highlight of the track (aside from the things the members sing, as if they were having a blast recording this). It doesn't end up working completely well, but it is really gets engaging more and more with each listen. It is something that should be heard in order to be understood, since it is one of those tracks that isn't everyone's cup of tea. Regarding the arrangements, it is something you just feel, and Ito himself felt it, re-recording it under "Coconatsu Holiday 2003" for Coconut Bank's first album. Something really nice to listen to, but that could have been executed on a much better way. However, as a closer, it certainly is a wonderful and odd delight for the ears.

幸せにさよなら and 新無頼横丁 open up the second side, once again being under the lead of Ginji, being really similar in spirit, structure, and arrangement to his first track on the album; but the main difference being the country influence being found here, something that takes the strong lead and marks the main characteristics of the tracks. Sadly, it has the same problem as the first effort, offering almost nothing to the listener, being fairly enjoyable, but sadly something forgettable due to their cliché nature in the overall scheme of things. Another track where Tatsuro takes the lead appears in the form of フライング・キッド, a Minako Yoshida cover, taking a very unconventional approach for both a cover and Tatsuro's style. The production is odd, and only a part of the original lyrics are present, with a very uncommon rhythm set for the base of the track, but having a blues influence almost right at the end, with the piano and sax performances building up to a fade out. It is an interesting and odd proposition, but the echo effect and the overall mixing don't end up doing much for the track. Intriguing, but it doesn't really do much in the end. 

Finally, to close up the album Eiichi Otaki takes the lead and is in charge of the last three tracks, with Fussa Strut Part-I being his presentation card. The idea would be similar to what Ito presented on his big experimental track, with the members involved having fun over a groovy and lively rhythm, but it is executed with different results. The song is an odd choice, and it can be pointed as the weakest song on the album in every way, where all the elements involved end up not working at all. The main instrumental leads are nice, but the concept of the track is stretched to an unnecessary degree. The second part of the track would appear on Otaki's solo album Niagara Moon a couple of months later, but the execution would be as underwhelming as the track presented here. Still, this is rumored to have been the first track where Hosono and Sakamoto crossed paths, leading to the creation of YMO, so it certainly stays as a nice novelty once one is aware of that fact. 夜明け前の浜辺, a track that was supposed to end up in Niagara Moon, comes in place, and it feels as a very rushed track in many ways. It is a surf rock style ballad, very soft, slow, and calm in every single aspect, with some vocal interactions over the sound of waves in the background while the mellow guitar tone leads the attention of the listener being the main interesting aspect of a song. Otaki reportedly wrote the lyrics of the song in a few minutes, and only took two vocal takes, ending up in the final product; and one can definitely tell. It is a nice track, but definitely easy to overlook.

ナイアガラ音頭 stands as the last Eiichi track as well as it being the closer of the entire album, and out of all the songs presented on the album, this is the one that certainly raises the eyebrow of many people (even of Yamashita himself when they were mixing the album). This is, at least as far as I'm concerned, Otaki's hidden gem. An odd idea, contrasting all the occidental influences and sounds with a final song that blended them with a much more traditional and folk inspired sound. Fumio Futani comes in as a guest vocalist, getting supported by some very charming background vocals by a female guest, offering a very fun and oddly enjoyable contrast that works up on a surprisingly nice way in the end. The folk instruments and arrangements blend with the sudden inclusion of a drum rhythm and a bass arrangement, ending up on a merge of styles that works really well for what it is, and that has a lot to offer due to the layer of details that it offers. It is something that grows more and more with each listen, and it definitely is a charming oddity to dive into. Fun, unexpected, and surprisingly well executed; definitely a nice way to end such an inconsistent album. 

Niagara Triangle Vol. 1 is a very odd project. In theory, the alliance of all these great and talented artist that came with the concept of making a collective effort where they explored their ideas on studio form is something intriguing, that could lead to a fantastic album being produced. Sadly, the result is quite different. The scope of the tracks is divided between the three different members, and each one has its own way to focus on the arrangements and the style of the song structures. It has some unconventional ideas, some uncommon propositions from each artist, ending up in great, intriguing, and odd result (from Tatsuro's spoken word track, Ito's tropical bonanza, or Eiichi's idea to blend occidental elements with a more traditional japanese folk sound, ending on something that works surprisingly well, with these tracks being the sort of "hidden gems" that can be found here), but also a big portion of generic, lazy, and forgettable material. There are no horrible or bad tracks found in the album, since they all have a nice production, as to be expected from the men inolved, and an enjoyable instrumental arrangement, but they don't really do anything for the listener as to offer something that had thought put into it.

Its main flaw is that inconsistency found in the tracklist, the thing that leads to this album being so underwhelming as a full experience, specially considering that the main highlights (the two fleshed out and passionate Tatsuro masterpieces, with the opener being easily one of his best songs from this early period) are pushed as the openers of the album, ending up being misleading towards something that doesn't reach that level of proficiency in songwriting in any of the nine remaining tracks. The Tatsuro tracks and the experimental deep cuts mentioned above are enough excuse for anyone to check the album, since this is a project that offered so much potential and that is still something enjoyable in the end, but it really could have been so much more if there had been a common idea or focus in place for the three main artists involved. Still, great things would come in the future following this release, and as most things Tatsuro is involved in, this is enjoyable and lively as hell. 

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Favorite Track: ドリーミング・デイ/ パレード