By the time 1976 was coming to an end, Tatsuro Yamashita could firmly and confidently state that he was more than inspired and prepared to dive deep into the risks and challenges that came with emerging and moving forward as a musician with a solo career. The road he had been involved with up to that point had been one of uncertainly, rough receptions/criticisms, and a need of assuring his confidence on the way he wrote and composed his music, but he was also slowly starting to be more and more recognized for the talented and dynamic songs and collaborations he was involved in. Sugar Babe's debut album, Songs, the place where he started with his professional musical career, was at first overlooked by many, but it was slowly starting to pick up popularity thanks to the rise of City Pop as a style of music that was slowly becoming relevant within the Japanese pop music scene at the time, and Songs was starting to be recognized as the place where it all had started. Even then, Yamashita's financial situation still wasn't the best one, but he was still getting involved on a surprising variety of projects in order to carry his own interests forward. At that point, he had already collaborated with artists like Yumi Arai, Mayumi Kuroki, and Minako Yoshida as both songwriter, producer. and guest artist; as well as getting involved with big names like Eiichi Otaki and Ginji Ito (and at the same time getting to meet giants like Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto), but he was still hesitant about diving into the idea of a solo career.
This hesitation came from a multitude of places, but it mainly happened due to the dissolution of Sugar Babe as a group, something that took place mainly due to the fact that the different members were starting to build different personal goals for the direction of their music. Tatsuro was thinking of himself as a "dictator" within the group, he was the one gathering all the musical ideas and deciding how to arrange them, while also getting involved with the production aspects along side Eiichi Otaki, but building up towards a more refined formula, ending on a great album where all the songs felt carefully crafted and timeless due to the blending of the different influences within a balanced, passionate, engaging, and incredibly memorable recording. But still, this lead to Tatsuro being doubtful about his musical abilities, and then create a firm thought that if he were to record his first solo album, it should be done abroad, and with the arrangements being handled by other, more professional and experienced, musicians. Due to the fact that his run with Sugar Babe hadn't been successful, labels were hesitant on getting him signed in, much less about getting involved with such a relatively expensive project such as the one Yamashita had in mind, but he was eventually signed in with RVC/RCA records, and given the chance to record his first debut album on the US, leading to the release of Circus Town on 1976.
The debut album was a nice start to what would becoming a consistent and productive career, offering an album that, despite not being perfect or completely polished, still managed to show an incredible amount of potential on his talent, represented mainly on some of his best material from that point, with songs like Windy Lady and City Way being proof that he had a lot to offer. But more than it being one of his best works, Circus Town was definitely one of the most important landmarks on Tatsuro's entire career. The experience was a tough challenge for both his moral/ethical thoughts, as well as a confrontation with his musical identity. He was pushed into a cultural clash that struck him hard, being faced with the relevant racial and economical difficulties, as well as dealing with problems regarding the recording of his debut solo album. Due to budgetary reasons outside of his control, the then twenty three year old artist recorded the album in both New York and Los Angeles, with both of these places giving him mixed experiences (with the Los Angeles side almost lead to him cancelling the project completely, due to the fact that the musicians involved at first didn't seem to be to excited to collaborate with the plan, but eventually pushing forward as it was planed). However, the New York sessions seemed to be the ones that were mostly beneficial for him, and that would be an important stepping stone in the way how the man both wrote and thought about his music in general.
Despite him being nervous about this new experience, some of the professional musicians involved with the project gave him enough confidence for him to push forward with his performances, as well as giving him a feeling of security about the fact that his pop influences were certainly something excellent and well applied to his own compositions; but it also got him introduced to both rock and jazz music, which would become new brands of musical influences that would mark a before and after on his songwriting. Regarding production values and musical arrangement, he was faced with Charles Calello, who showed, explained, and allowed Tatsuro to take his partitures with him, allowing Yamashita to examine them carefully back in Japan, getting impressed and immersed on a style of composition and musical theory that was completely new to him; to the point where there was no way that he wouldn't try to use it on his future projects. Back in his home country, he was having some rough experiences in general, facing some issues with the label and some music critics that seemed to be too rude towards his music; but he had already set his mind on his musical confidence, and decided to put all those new experiences to the test.
Knowing well that at that point he had to choose carefully those who would form part of the recording sessions for this new project (this mainly due to the bitter experience he had faced back in Los Angeles), and having formed some very impressive connections to some reliable and talented artists at the time, he gathered a truly amazing team that lived up to his expectations. It truly felt like the perfect union of talent and passion within one recording, where artists were changed depending on what Yamashita required at any given moment: Shuichi Murakami (who would collaborate with both Tatsuro, Taeko, and other artists involved in this project in future albums) and Hiroshi Uehara (one of Sugar Babe's drummers, who would also be part of the recording of Niagara Triangle Vol. 1) on drums, Happy End's Haruomi Hosono and Akihiro Tanaka on bass, Tsunehide Matsuki on supporting electric guitar parts, upcoming legend Ryuichi Sakamoto on keyboard and vibraphone, upcoming Seaside Lovers' Hiroshi Sato on keyboards, as well as many other guests on orchestral and percussion duties; everything carefully managed and controlled by Tatsuro, who took upon the role of multi-instrumentalist, producer, and arranger in order to come out with a work that satisfied his creative ambitions at that point. This would all lead to the release of Spacy in 1977, marking for many, myself included, the proper start of his prolific solo career.
The ten tracks presented on Spacy are truly of pure quality, where all the elements that are being used are never wasted on something pointless, making up for engaging and layered songs that form a hypnotizing album. The opener is enough proof of an artist taking a major and considerable step in most aspects compared to his previous effort, with Love Space being one of the best and most memorable openers, and tracks, not only on Yamashita's career, but on that entire era of Japanese pop in general. Love Space was the first song recorded for Spacy, and it is simply a flawless, engaging, memorable, and incredibly balanced masterpiece of pop music. It was mainly written as a song to be performed on a live setting, in order to be improved with jamming sections, and one can tell why. It has a free spirit, and it is the first example of Yamashita evolving his songwriting into something much smoother and polished than what was seen on Circus Town. There is simply an explosion of beautiful sounds thrown at the listener from the very beginning, and all the members participating on this are simply outstanding on their respective instruments. Hiroshi Sato's keyboard playing is simply superb, very dynamic and essential at providing the base upon which the entirety of the song would be built upon, while Hosono's impressive and engaging bass playing complements with a very marked rhythm that adapts very well to all the changes happening at different points across the songs, with the guitar and drum parts serving as the cherry on top of the main instrumental section. The production and mixing on the track is simply superb, and the introduction of a string arrangement to the background as an extra layer only reinforces the way the studio rendition works, with a phenomenal saxophone solo that just adds another level of perfection to an already incredible track. But the main thing that makes this such an effective and powerful opener are Yamashita's vocals, achieving a higher and more ominous range than ever before, being very well balanced with the instrumentals, and bleeding of passion and dedication from a man devoted to his music. This presentation card to the new stage of Tatsuro's career is certainly one of the main peaks of the album, but the album still continues to deliver in the following tracks.
翼に乗せて follows right after, being somewhat shorter than the opener, but still serving as a showcase of the way the instrumentals are composed. It gives off this basic and catchy melody, but on a closer look it definitely is something difficult for such an easy going track (with this aspect being reinforced with Yamashita's vocal performance, following along that laid back and calm spirit, and just building up on his range right at the end), specially with the coordination going between keyboards, drums, and bass. It is not an uncommon time signature, but it is something layered and a little bit messy with the tempo, even more reinforced with the big band influenced trumpet solo midway through. It is a nice, calm, and sweet tune that works surprisingly well all the way through, coming out as simple and straightforward while also being one of the more interesting tracks regarding the musical arrangement within the album. The calm and laid back tone is enhanced and even more relevant in 素敵な午後は, a track written as something to "convey the soul of Chicago". The different segments on the track were written along side Murakami, Hosono, Matsuki, and Sato, with every single one of the artists giving Tatsuro's partitures their own spin, while still carrying the main melody. As a result, there is an interesting track in the way the instruments interact with each other, this being much more noticeable with the guitar parts, with each of them following an almost separate rhythm on each audio channel, while trumpet and string parts become part of the background, managing to work well on the final result, conveying a smooth jazz/soul-like feeling that, despite not being as fleshed out as the previous tracks, still manages to be very engaging and relaxing.
Candy follows right after, being a very sweet (who would have thought) and lovely ballad, very calm and passionate in spirit. One very subtle, but still relevant, element present in the album is the inclusion of Minako Yoshida as a background vocalist this time around, with her presence starting to be much more important from this point onward, and specially with tones like the ones present on Candy, where she shines for the soft and calm melodies that is able to provide, supporting Tatsuro's already relaxed and sentimental vocal performance. Instrumentally, it is built upon an interest for chord progressions, and the ones that go around here are certainly smooth and very subtle (with the production enhancing this by placing certain elements, like the keyboard, in the background, with the soft guitar melodies taking the spotlight, and even following such a mellow tone in the solo), falling right in place with the main mood conveyed on the song. A very sentimental track, both instrumentally and vocally, serving as a nice break in style compared to what was seen before. This tone is immediately contrasted with the closer of the first side, taking the form of Dancer, a more funk inspired song that lives up to its name while still following a calm and smooth tone, just breaking it on the animated chorus. After each chorus, more and more elements are added to the main formula, including percussion, minor string arrangements, and even some trumpet solos; but it all follows the main melody stablished by the bass, keyboard, and specially the drums (with the track notably being built around the main tempo stablished here). Its another one of the tracks that might have been structured with a live setting in mind, giving a lot of opportunity for expanding the ideas with the opportunities for improvisation given on the main rhythm and structure of the song (with the live recording available of the track proving this up to some extent).
アンブレラ, or Umbrella, as it is more known as, opens up the second side of the album carrying the smooth, calm, and paused structure that varies in the bridges and chorus sections, but instead of being funk inspired, it falls in line within a more soul/jazzy and pop atmosphere. A song written with Minako Yoshida, focusing on a very particular chord progression, which can be found on the surprising inclusion of an acoustic guitar on the final instrumental. It is something that builds up with each passing segment, leading to a keyboard solo that follows the main chord progression, eventually fading out. It is an easy going track, and a nice way to start the second side. This is followed with 言えなかった言葉を, a track more inspired on Calello's partitures than anything else, aiming to be a New York Shuffle swing beat more than anything on the way the backing instrumentals are used. The piano is the main lead instrument here (accompanied by a calm and groovy bass), with a calm melody that has elements added throughout the song, including a harmonica solo courtesy of Yamashita himself, like the backing Minako vocals (having some mesmerizing interactions on the different ear channels, interacting on a great way with Tatsuro's laid back vocal performance) and the trumpet, that almost seems to replace the electric guitar.
After that, 朝の様な夕暮れ, the shortest song on the album, takes the spotlight, presenting a rather unconventional track that has two distinct, almost separate, segments. The first half of the track is a simple piano ballad, with Tatsuro's vocals going along the mellow tone presented by the instrument, that has a minor peak before dying down and leaving place for the main important part of the song: a small acapella segment. This was Tatsuro's first try at making a completely acapella lead part in any of his music so far, being inspired on his early pop influences more than anything, and as such it definitely feels as something sweet and enjoyable, a first attempt at something he would expand with further releases, finding its peak on the On The Corner projects. As many of the things on the record, it is still a first try at something he would seem to refine later on, but compared to the rest of elements that at least seemed to be fleshed out in some ways, this segment is limited and amateur, but it still comes out as sweet and enjoyable as a whole. The weakest moment on the project, but even then it is something good nonetheless. But that 60's pop influence would be found once again on きぬずれ, a Beach Boys influenced track that has some nice use of the instrumentals in order to mark a unique tone in the album, leading to a piano driven piece that has some great use of vocal layers, mixing acapella elements with the main instrumental, and coming out as a rather odd song within the album, but still being pulled off incredibly well.
Finally, Solid Slider comes in as the closer of the entire album, a seven minute funk/rock inspired piece that is built upon a main rhythm pattern, being elaborated with the idea of being expanded on a live setting with the improvisation of all members. Without a doubt, this highlight of the album is an absolutely crucial track in Tatsuro's discography, and it is an example of how he knew how to take advantage of the limited budget he had access to at the time, and how the main focus on an instrumental piece could lead to a mesmerizing and excellent experience. The main melody is never dropped, with the bass, drums, guitar, and keyboard appearing as repetitive for the entire seven minutes, when it mostly follows along with each solo segment, adapting to the variations provided there, starting with a smooth guitar solo (where the trumpets are introduced), followed by a saxophone piece (where even Tatsuro's vocals adapt to the main melody and reinforce the lyrical and vocal themes), and ending on a keyboard segment serving as an outro for the entire piece, but obviously implying that any of the elements present on the track had the ability to take the spotlight and lead the main melody with a solo of its own. Regardless if the solos were recorded on one take or not, this is a technical marvel for Yamashita's career, showing that he knew how to use some of the most talented musicians of Japan at the time to his own advantage, ending up on a masterpiece such as this, that does not waste a single moment of its runtime whatsoever. The production and mixing shine on this track for how polished, balanced, and precise they are in getting all the arrangements positioned on a particular way in order to make the main components stand out depending on the track, while still keeping a coherence with the rest of the instrumentals. Without a doubt, a masterpiece in production, instrumental arrangement, and overall performance; closing up the album on a fantastic way, and creating expectation for the future of the artist as a whole.
For many fans, musicians, and even for Tatsuro himself, Spacy is one of the most important, enjoyable, and polished records that can be found on Tatsuro Yamashita's solo career. It is the record where the man first decided to dive deep into a careful and precise way of structuring music, writing most of the tracks with partitures of his own (something that was a much more professional way of songwriting for him), arranging every instrument carefully, aiming to give each element used purpose and intention that, once put together, would aim to match his final vision. This was mostly coming from both Calello's influence (which happened on the first half of the Circus Town sessions), as well as from a range of newly found musical inspirations that he acquired during his trip to the US (these coming mostly from jazz, rock, and funk), leading to a very consistent and engaging experience that doesn't let down on any of the ten tracks that are being presented. It was the first solo project where Tatsuro felt completely confident as a performer, songwriter, arranger, and producer; carefully gathering a range of talented and recognized musicians in order to structure a record the way he wanted, without any issues or creative differences within the recording sessions. As a result, Spacy turned out as an experimental and introspective project from him, presenting trends that would be further expanded and adapted in different ways across his entire career. And even if it didn't turn out successful at first, it would be ahead of its time presenting ideas that would become big selling points a few years later.
This was Yamashita's first attempt at many things, from acapella compositions to full improvisation driven pieces, but even if that seemed to be the main issue with the record (in the sense that not everything is fleshed out to its full potential) it still provides with some of Tasuro's most balanced, memorable, and iconic songs. Love Space and Solid Slider are, of course, the main highlights, but the tracks in between all have something to offer to the listener. It is a very well crafted, consistent, and highly enjoyable experience, that doesn't waste a single moment of its runtime on something pointless, but instead looks to expand its horizons providing something calming, dynamic, engaging, and exciting all the way through. The all star cast that is present on the album is used on a fantastic way, with the main highlight of the entire album being the instrumental performances, that at the same time have the powerful and impressive Tatsuro vocals as the cherry on top. It might not be Tatsuro's most polished album, and to many, including myself, it might not be his best studio effort; but no one can deny the fact that it is a timeless release, full of powerful and engaging masterpieces that prove the potential that the man had in many different aspects of the music industry. It would mark the proper start of a wonderful career that would expand for decades to come, and it sure is something worth to go through just to be amazed by the beautiful soundscapes that it provides.
Spacy is a sweet and passionate record, with songs that bleed of passion and love from a man that loves his music, and that aims to push forward with his career, knowing how to face the challenges that came along in his path while managing to express himself freely with his creativity. It is a smooth and lovely experience that takes the listener to other beautiful and peaceful worlds, where the soundtrack that goes along with it is as pleasing and lively as the tunes presented on the album, and I couldn't recommend it more.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Favorite Tracks: Love Space / Solid Slider
No comments:
Post a Comment