By 1978, Tatsuro Yamashita's musical career seemed to be on a constant evolution of a creative and musical formula, but it was also one of the roughest times on his entire life as a whole regarding the overall reception of his music as well as the constant economical problems that constantly got on his way. It is not to say that Yamashita was talentless, or that his music felt amateur in some way, it was the complete opposite of that. The man's music, from the moment it officially started to develop professionally with Sugar Babe in 1974, had been more than a breath of fresh air for Japanese pop music at the time. His way of structuring music seemed simple, straight forward, packed with a huge amount of catchy melodies to display on his catalog with pride, but upon closer inspection it was a mix between musical knowledge, charismatic and energetic performances, a knack for coming up with the melodies, and a talent when it came to the musical arrangement in order to make all these elements work on an efficient and memorable way, bringing up consistent projects where every single track had something to offer one way or another. Indeed, the problem wasn't any of his musical abilities, but it was the fact that the brand of music that Sugar Babe and his solo career brought along were unconventional and ahead of their time for Japanese trends at the time, as well at still being quite an amateur with the way he promoted his music.
Even though his music would eventually be recognized and respected, along side him becoming a big sensation in his home country, the early years of Yamashita's career relied mostly on the underground following that he was gathering. It was like that since the days of Sugar Babe, with Songs being a fantastic album that blended a good range of pop and soft rock influences into one consistent and impressive full album experience, leaning more towards an occidental style of sound adapted to Japanese pop, but that was criticized and almost entirely overlooked when it came out. The thing that pushed the band forward was the recognized underground status they had due to their energetic and engaging live performances, where it was evident that they had more material to offer outside of what was seen on their debut. The disbandment of Sugar Babe was only natural, with each individual part seeking a different direction, even though there still was a lot of hesitation for what it meant to dive deep into a full solo career. Ideas that came up to be during Sugar Babe's run would eventually be recycled and improved in the solo careers and side projects of the members involved (starting with Niagara Triangle, the trio between Tatsuro, Ginji Ito, and Eiichi Otaki, in 1975), although the rough reception and following of what would become a new wave of Japanese pop was still suffering from the rough reception at the time. And even if Tatsuro wasn't recognized by the mainstream, his reputation as a talented producer and songwriter started to become more and more widespread on the music industry, with him appearing as a guest collaborator on a considerable amount of projects.
Eventually, Tatsuro decided to challenge his confidence as a musician by recording his first solo project abroad, something that he was lucky enough to do due to the support of RVC/RCA at the time, releasing Circus Town in 1976. Although the reception towards the album wasn't as warm, and the music being something that showed a lot of potential for what would come in the future, the experience gathered while recording the album would be the stepping stone in what Tatsuro's musical and artistic ambitions would be with future albums. The album had a glimpse at ideas that could still flesh out even more under the proper preparation and experience, with tracks like Windy Lady, Circus Town, and City Way being incredibly enjoyable and engaging, but still showing an artist that had a lot of space grow to the best of his abilities. Going to the US, despite it being a pressuring and intimidating experience, brought him a big appreciation for new branches of music, most notably Jazz and Rock/Funk, as well as getting introduced to a much more methodical, precise, and effective way of writing and arranging music (due to having someone as recognized as Charles Calello as an arranger for his music, who would let him take the partitures with him, something that he quickly fell in love with). Tatsuro wasted no time, and he decided to apply these new elements to his music as soon as possible, leading to the release of Spacy in 1977.
Spacy is taken as many as the proper start of Tatsuro's career. It would introduce many different new aspects that would become essential to his music, mainly regarding vocal performance and instrumental arrangements, as well as presenting an artist being much more confident in the way he structured his music by using all his influences, both new and old, to the very best of his abilities. The experience recording Circus Town made him realize many positive things, but it also made him realize that, if he wanted his true vision to come to light, he would need to gather musicians with specific qualities that satisfied his needs in performance, leading to the cast that appeared in Spacy being a gathering of some of the most talented artists in Japan at the time, with the likes of giants such as Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Hiroshi Sato, among many others depending on what was required for every track (even implementing artists that had stared to build their own musical career due to the help of Tatsuro on their own albums, with Minako Yoshida appearing as the background vocalist this time around). The way the music was structured this time around was similar to what was seen on Circus Town in spirit, but it was something much more sweet and calm in atmosphere, as well as it being surprisingly technical at times regarding the instrumentation, giving a lot of space for tracks that seemed to be built with a live setting in mind, where they could expand as much as they wanted with the talent of the members (offering some of Yamashita's best songs to ever appear on studio form, with Love Space and Solid Slider being the definitive highlights, but with the rest of the album still having a lot to offer with each song on the tracklist). Spacy was not a perfect album, but the range of unique and varied ideas that were presented, along side their particular energetic and brilliant execution, made up for a timeless, consistent, and incredibly enjoyable project that would proof that Yamashita had a passion, dedication, and love for his music, only building up expectations for what could possibly come next on his career.
However, despite Spacy cementing Tatsuro's musical career and ambitions as something of quality and full of potential, sales on the album were not particularly good. At that point, it had been a year and a half since Tatsuro started with his solo career, and even though he released two consistent and polished albums, his reputation with critics wasn't very good. The main issue relied on the fact that no singles had been released in promotion of his albums, and without that it was evident that media wouldn't be interested in what he had to offer, being an exclusive album artist. This would be something he wouldn't resolve until 1979, after the release of Go Ahead!, in promotion of his new album Moonglow. What was even more concerning was the fact that the rock scene seemed to be taking over in the late 70s, which meant that the labels had even more pressure over Yamashita in general. The main issue with Tatsuro in general was the fact that he was no longer part of Sugar Babe, part of a group that understood him and his expectations, and maintaining a full star cast of musicians, like the one seen on spacy, for his live performances just wasn't entirely possible due to budgetary reasons (this, mixed with the fact that the fanbase of Yamashita was still limited to something underground, also meant that big gigs were still not possible). However, after the release of Spacy, in late 1977, Yamashita managed to get himself a more than impressive lineup for his live shows, consisting mostly of members that participated on the recording sessions. The artists included Shuichi Murakami on drums, Akira Okazawa on bass, Tsunehide Matsuki on guitar, Hidefumi Toki on saxophone, Kayo Ishu, Michiko Ogata and Minako Yoshida as background vocalists, and most notably Ryuichi Sakamoto himself on keyboards.
This lineup, along side Tatsuro himself on vocals and guitar, despite not having access to big venues, they were still able to fill gigs with 200-300 attendees due to the quality of the performances that were provided. Based on these facts, Riuzo Kosugi (who had also signed up Tatsuro to RVC/RCA based on the Sugar Babe live performances he attended to) suggested to Tatsuro the idea of making a live album based on both a preservation of his art, and as a sort of next logical step to try to recover from the financial struggles he seemed to be facing. Based on this, Yamashita decided to record two shows, which took place on March 8 and 9 of 1978 on the "Pit In" house (a venue mostly dedicated to jazz and fusion, but where Tatsuro was recognized as a talented artist worthy of performing there), a place that he considered as optimat to truly capture the live energy on good quality. Due to his influences and the way songs were structured, the songs were being performed mostly with an improvisational spirit in mind, which lead to plenty of material being recorded, enough to make a double album (something that the label considered as risky, but still pushed forward with the idea, and even then, space was missing for two extra songs that were implemented later on with the reissues), with Yamashita himself writing the credits and details on the package due to problems with the printing of his first two albums, leading to the release of "It's A Poppin Time" in May 1978.
This would come to be known as the first of two live albums that Yamashita would put out throughout his career, and in many ways it would serve as a musical, personal, and creative statement, much like Joy would be on it's own way a decade later. It didn't really had a reason to be released, since it came during a rough time for the artist, where he was far from being as popular as he could come to be just a couple of years later. He wasn't an unknown or completely overlooked artist, since his fandom mainly relied on the Japanese underground pop scene that would end up taking over, with enough fans to fill up small venues in order to support the live shows, but he didn't really had a big enough audience to assure sales of a double live album consisting of a music that was inclined towards an occidental style of songwriting and arranging, showing something that was a blend between pop, soft rock, soft jazz, and funk. However, the performances that were given by Tatsuro and his supporting band at that point were certainly a statement from an artist that only looked to move forward, regardless of the barriers or criticisms, displaying a setlist that compiled both old and new songs from his catalog, as well as covers molded to his own particular style of performing music (making them songs of his own), and looked to expand them under his vision at the time, showing an evident passion and love for what the artist was doing, with a lively, energetic, and charismatic spirit that is really not that common in general. It would be fleshing out the ideas from what was stablished on Spacy, ideas that were documented over the course of two nights, and that would make up for an incredibly beautiful, engaging, and wonderful live album that only bled of quality from beginning to end.
It's A Poppin Time has a very particular sound to it, and it can be attributed to the conditions where it was recorded at. As it was stablished, the "Pit In" was a small venue that focused a lot on jazz and fusion performances, so the structure of the venue seemed to be focused on encaging the sound on a very nice way, and with help of Yasushi Yoshida, the audio engineer at the time, along side the fact that Yamashita had picked a group of musicians that molded to his expectations, the sound that ended up appearing all over the album conveyed a feeling of being clean session recordings, good studio recordings, and polished live tracks with some pristine performances; and it is something that can be heard from the very first track. Space Crush was one of the songs written for the live shows at the time, and it would make his first and only official appearance on this album. It is certainly one of Yamashita's most groovy, funk influenced, and engaging melodies from that time, and it serves as a very impressive opener for such an experience. The way everything is arranged and structured works extremely well, and the sound from the venue makes every single element pop up in the final mix, with nothing being prioritized, making up for a clean and highly enjoyable track that has a lot to offer. The track kicks off with an atmospheric intro by Ryuichi Sakamoto leading to the main thick and powerful bass melody from Tsunehide laying out the main rhythm for the track, being complemented by the keyboard and the drums. Tatsuro's vocal performance is something confident and professional, with no bad intonations or fuzzy notes, everything is clear and polished, and it is even more effective with the wonderful background vocals that make up for an engaging melody. Midway through, Toki's saxophone takes over in a very natural way, presenting a solo that transitions once again into that atmospheric intro, leading once again to the main part of the song, but with one notable difference, a subtle and groovy guitar being implemented in the mix, with the main rhythm and chorus carrying out before fading out completely. It is a wonderful example of impressive songwriting and arrangement from Yamashita, a layered track that is very dynamic in spirit, and that certainly works the way it does due to the wonderful performances that complement it. A fantastic opener, and a first example of the unique sound, energy, and engagement that would only end up setting ideas that would be expanded in the following songs of the album.
After that, 雨の女王 takes over, being the second song written exclusively for these live performances, and that would also makes its one and only experience on this live album. Its main focus is certainly the rhythm section that shines all throughout the track, something sweet and almost mellow in tone, set primarily by Sakamoto's keyboard and Toki's saxophone, being an evident example of a track that works at its best on a live setting. It all flows on a very coherent way, with minor guitar riffs complementing the rhythm along side Murakami's drums, with space for solo improvisations, where the saxophone shines very well. Tatsuro's powerful vocals are reinforced by the wonderful background vocals, and all the elements on the track flow seamlessly and on a very balanced way. Right after that, the first cover song of the album comes in with a cover from Bread and Butter's Pink Shadow, which was one of Tatsuro's favorite song at the time. Tatsuro does what any cover song should aim to achieve, transform the original intention of the song and molding it into the style of the artist, appropriating the identity of the track itself, while still keeping the original spirit present, making the cover a unique and separate experience that has a value of its own. The original song is something much more calm and relaxed in arrangement and tone, so Tatsuro arranged the track to something much more upbeat, speeding up the original tempo and adding it a much funkier spirit. The way the song is executed with the instrumentals keeping calm during most of the song, just getting louder in order to get to the level of Tatsuro's explosive and impressive vocals on an energetic chorus (with the background vocals being very efficient at adding to the atmosphere). The saxophone, the keyboard and synth pieces, with a groovy bassline, it all has a reason to be, and it's simply wonderful. It is a very dynamic and engaging track, that knows when to place elements and when to explode in a joyful manner, and it certainly is a highlight of the entire experience. Something that must be heard in order to be fully understood.
Following that, 時よ, the second cover on the album comes in, although this would have qualified more as early version of a track that would appear on a future album. This was a track written by Minako Yoshida for her following album, and it was arranged and composed by Yamashita, with it debuting on any setting in the style of a cover courtesy of the man himself. An almost nine minute melancholic trip, ranging from a multitude of emotions, but having a passionate and powerful chorus, with the keyboards and guitar being the main element of focus on the track. It's an instrumental bonanza that maintains a main melody and idea, carrying it throughout the entirety of the track, but still managing to be one of the definitive highlights of the entire album. A passionate, highly emotional performance that has a lot to offer in every single aspect, with some of Tatsuro's most memorable and hard hitting vocal performances on any type of song reminiscent of this tone. Minako's studio version would be considerably different, but her live versions would stay in line with what was seen on this performance, and even then, they don't really get to the level of efficiency and execution that was seen during this period of Tatusuro's career. Definitely, a proof that his live performances could manage to be technical on the instrumental aspects, while still being efficient in the way the emotion and tone was conveyed with the atmosphere and execution of the tracks. Finally, シルエット comes closing the first side, also being a Minako track, but written with Tatsuro exclusively for live performances. It is highly focused on the instrumental aspects, in the unconventional way that the instruments are written and arranged, using the band members to the best of their abilities, and for very good reasons. It is a track that wouldn't work without the level of coordination that goes into executing it, with many segments that could be used as examples for this point (more notably the way the drums go along Yamashita's inflections on the chorus), but it all makes up for a charming, relaxed, captivating, and impressive track that keeps showing the potential of Tatsuro in many different aspects of elaborating his music.
The second side opens with a new version of Windy Lady, one of the tracks written during the Sugar Babe era, that was part of Circus Town. The version found on this album certainly molds the original song to the performance and writing style found on Spacy, a more jazzy, calm, and technical version that is smooth in the way all the elements are balanced, with a laid back vocal performance, and a wonderful saxophone solo that ends up tying everything to make up for a much more engaging experience. Definitely one of the more interesting versions of an essential track on Tatsuro's solo catalog, but at the same time being one of the best performances that can be found of the song in general. Incredibly charming, and an example of how much Tatsuro's musical and songwriting influences were changing, evolving into something much more structured, while still carrying the original spirit forward. The ending of Windy Lady transitions directly into 素敵な午後は, wasting no time whatsoever, and maintaining an impressive flow, keeping the laid back spirit while changing the tone at the same time. It is a close rendition to the track that appeared on Spacy, but it is a little bit slowed down on the tempo, with some minor elements added due to the band that appeared on the live lineup. Sweet, calm, and undoubtedly wonderful in spirit and execution; just a great rendition that improves many aspects from the original version just by slightly changing the tone on the performance, with everything falling into place more efficiently.
Paper Doll makes its first official appearance in the form of a live rendition following right after. This would be one of the most important tracks in Tatsuro's discography, mainly because it would be part of his first ever single to be released. It was supposed to come out before the release of the live album (which at the same time preceded Yamashita's third studio album, Go Ahead!, of which Paper Doll was a part of), but the label discarded it due to thinking that "it wouldn't sell". Eventually, it would be the start of Tatsuro's rise in popularity, and its first official iteration can be found on this excellent live version. The rendition is very close to the final studio version (one of his most engaging and catchy melodies, with all the instruments having a vital role on how the rhythm ends up coming out like), and it is definitely important to acknowledge its existence, also serving as proof that Tatsuro had plenty of material written and arranged, appearing on live performances before ending on their studio counterparts. Finally, to close the second side, Candy changes the tone and mood to something much more mellow and sweet in spirit. The version here is close to the one on Spacy, with the main difference being Matsuki's guitar segments that end up adding some extra layers of detail to the song that make it work in a more efficient way, closing up the second side on a very sentimental and charming performance.
The third side of the album opens up with the thirteen minute version of Escape, another song exclusively written for live setting, making its one and only official appearance on this album. This is the sort of Yamashita deep cuts that make this live album work in such a fascinating and fantastic way, with all the members giving some impressive performances. The main bass rhythm carries the song through its entirety, while improvisational segments come in between Tatsuro's remarkable vocal segments. It feels as if it was more of an outtake from the Spacy sessions, being very related to the spirit conveyed on those tracks, but having much more freedom on its execution, evidently focused on the improvisation aspects present with a big instrumental section that serves as a sort of climax for the entire track. The main groove is incredibly engaging throughout all the track, with the guitar solos following along the main tone and managing to be very dynamic and authentic on its performance. Ryuichi starts experimenting with the atmospheric keyboard/synth parts, something that would be much more present on YMO some years later, but leading to a wonderful and powerful keyboard solo in the same spirit as Matsuki's guitar, that just keeps building up over and over, adding more and more energy to what is going on, being entirely beautiful and fitting for the experience, eventually leading to a dual solo segment with the guitar, offering one of the most impressive, beautiful, and unfairly overlooked moments of Yamashita's entire career, carrying on an incredible spirit until the very end. If there was one track that could encapsulate the slow refinement and musical evolution of Tatsuro's career at this point, it would certainly be this one, finding an artist on his natural state, where he is free to flesh out his ideas on impressive and effective ways. Truly outstanding.
A cover of Hey There Lonely Girl, a song from Ruby & The Romantics, comes in to change the tone and attitude from Escape and close the third side of the album on a much more upbeat, mellow, and sweet way, contrasting the technical aspects with something that is much more relaxed, embracing the main influences that lead Tatsuro to start with his music career. Singing this style of tracks, while still arranging the instrumentals on his own way, was a good style to make Tatsuro pop up from most male performers at the time, giving him more of a distinct personality. It is by far the weakest song on the album, but it is still charming and passionate in execution, a very nice way to close the third side in order to pick up the pace again with the final side of the album. This is done by introducing a rendition of Solid Slider, that certainly fulfills what was left to be fleshed out from the studio version released on Spacy. It is a track with a heavy focus on improvisational aspects, being written for a live setting more than anything, but that was limited on the studio recording, but the live version certainly lets one see the full potential of what was restrained at first. Any member had the possibility to take the lead with his respective instruments, and that happens at random points throughout the track, with guitar, saxophone, and keyboard solos, leading back to the main lyrical section of the song and closing it up on a great way.
Finally, Circus Town comes as the last official live recording left on the album, the closer of one of the two shows seen on the Pin It back in 1978. Once again, part of Tatsuro's debut album, and adapted to the new style of arranging and performance that Tatsuro was establishing. It is not quite a dramatic change as what happened with Windy Lady, it is closer to the original version, but it has the technical aspects seen on the recent lineup that he incorporated. The main difference relies on the implementation of improvisation halfway through, lead by Tatsuro's wonderful vocals being complemented by Toki's sax and Sakamoto's dynamic and upbeat keyboards. The jamming parts and the way Tasturo closes up the track are simply perfect, full of charisma and passion, and every single element used makes up for a close to eight minute rendition of the original track, improving and fleshing out the different ideas that seemed limited on the original studio version, and providing a lively, joyful, and energetic closer; a more than impressive and captivating farewell to what can be assumed as a fantastic show. And finally, the original closer of this double album comes up in the form of Marie, an original track that feels like a huge love letter to The Beach Boys, being a fully acapella song that closes up the project on a very charming, unexpected, and lovely way. It would present an evolution on the acapella segment seen on Spacy, slowly showcasing the love from Tatsuro towards this style of song (that would come on full form with the On The Corner albums a few years later), and it works surprisingly well for what it is, certainly a nice way to end such a fascinating experience.
However, the complete "It's A Poppin Time" experience doesn't end with Marie. Due to the fact that Tatsuro recorded two shows, he wasn't able to implement all the material he wanted onto the double album release, leaving some recordings aside. In 2002, many of the RCA albums were reissued, and one of them was this first live album, including two bonus tracks from the original recordings of the concert. In the opinion of many, including myself, these are two of the most essential and impressive bonus tracks that can be found on what is available of Tatsuro's live recordings, and they complement the album on a very impressive and outstanding way. The first of these two bonus tracks is the live rendition of Love Space, which was the original opener for both shows performed on the Pit In, but that wasn't able to be included due to the technical restrains of the original release. This is, undoubtedly, a beautiful and flawless version of what was already one of the best tracks on Yamashita's entire studio catalog. As with many songs on Spacy, this was written with a live setting in mind, and this version proves why on an incredible way. Tatsuro's vocals are as dynamic as ever, and he uses the track to slowly introduce the members of the band as they jam with their respective instruements. It all starts with a brief sax solo from Toki, leading back into the powerful vocal segments, with some great drum fills by Murakami, leading to another, more extended and dynamic, sax solo, that seamlessly flows into Ryuichi's keyboard being introduced, performing a beautiful one minute solo segment that simply bleeds of joy and talent. After this, the main melody is introduced once again, but it all follows an instrumental outro, carrying the impressive technical aspects with the unmatched live spirit showcased on this performance, eventually dying down and showing a glimpse of the transition to Windy Lady.
Finally, the last bonus track, and the final closer to the special reissue of "It's A Poppin Time, comes in the form of You Better Run, a nineteen minute behemoth, and one of Tatsuro's most intriguing and captivating deep cuts. This is another cover, this time of the original two minutes song from THe Rascals, being extended with improvisational segments, and being molded with the original Tatsuro spirit and sound that was thriving at that point. It shows both the slow influence of rock/blues music on his music, as well as an unconventional way to cover such a track, instead inclining towards a jazz/funk style, much more groovy and technical than the original song. After the original two minute lyrical segments, every instrument comes in to have its respective solo segment, and this can be considered as the musical peak of the lineup used during this era, with a display of talent and coordination that certainly shines for how natural and easy-going it feels, despite evidently having a lot going on behind the initial impressions it conveys. Starting with a funky Toki solo, it transitions into Ryuichi's dynamic keyboards being complemented by the guitar, bass, and drum fills that carry the main rhythm forward, making everything flow on a very impressive and engaging way. Matsuki's guitar follows right after, in the same spirit as Sakamoto's segment, fleshing out to the best of its abilities before going back to the main rhythm and giving part to the main highlights of the track. Okazawa's bass and Murakami's drum solos certainly impose themselves in the way they are able to stand out by themselves, and it is something that carries out on a very natural way before returning to the main segment of the actual song, with Yamashita's vocals coming back once again, closing up the experience on a smooth way. Definitely, a track that must be heard on full in order to be impressed by the way the band has to carry a twenty minute piece in a way where it doesn't really feel that long, but still managing to showcase their great instrumental abilities on a fantastic way, closing up such a wonderful live album.
It's A Poppin Time is an anomaly within Tatsuro Yamashita's catalog, something that shouldn't really exist because it didn't really had a reason or need to come out outside of what Riuzo Kusogi thought as convenient for Tatsuro's budgetary limitations at the time. Even though his work at that point had only gathered him respect in an underground scene, as well as being respected by other major musicians at the time, sales for both Circus Town and Spacy were not that good, and Yamashita seemed to be pressured by the label in order to find an eventual success, or to simply leave the label for good, mainly because his musical ambitions were starting to be more expensive than what he could really allow himself to expend. It is something that made even less sense, and surely appeared as a risky and bold move, considering the fact that it was decided for it to be a double live album from an artist that wasn't really well received at the time. However, and despite all the complications that the artist was facing at the time, what was presented on the double album was a collection of wonderful, memorable, and fascinating live performances that showcased an artist that was passionate about the music he created.
Despite it not necessarily having the complete all-star cast that was present on the recording sessions for Spacy, the lineup that Yamashita gathered for these live performances is still as great and full of talent and charisma as ever, with a young and energetic Ryuichi Sakamoto playing on the keyboards just to name an example, while the rest of instruments and backing vocals live up to the technical level that Tatsuro was looking for, managing to offer some outstanding performances. The songs selected for these concerts also hold a lot of significance, showing a collection of both old and new tracks, some of them adapted to the new style of songwriting that he had been developing since his return from the US, and also including exclusive songs that would only be officially available on this recording. From original new arrangements, to great and unique covers from different musical influences that become a wonderful part of Tatsuro's catalog, to even a bonus and charming acapella track. "It's A Poppin Time" bleeds of passion, liveliness, joy, and love; a love for music that simply keeps the listener engaged on a technical and emotional bonanza transmitted by some incredibly enjoyable songs.
It may be that this album has appeared multiples times at multiple points in my life, but I just can't recommended it more even from a detached and critical point of view. It does almost everything it aims to achieve on a perfect way, and the version of multiple tracks found here are simply the ultimate way to experience them, with a good number of exclusive songs and covers that honestly, despite the fact that they stand as deep cuts, are among some of Tatsuro's best compositions and tracks in general (I highly encourage people to get their hands on the 2002 reissue, with the bonus live track of Love Space and the cover for You Better Run). It is just full of highlights and memorable renditions, It might not be as flashy or grand as the monumental Joy live album that came almost a decade later, but it encapsulates perfectly all that Tatsuro Yamashita was at that point: a humble artist that only aimed to move forward in life due to the love he had to his passion of creating music, despite all the barriers and complications in his way, he still managed to provide shows full of joy and dedication in all aspects, even if he wasn't performing for giant venues. It is something that, not only is possible to resonate with, but that conveys a positive spirit, a feeling of happiness and a desire to keep living in order to appreciate beautiful things such as these, that is simply uncommon and unique in music in general. Tatsuro would eventually keep moving forward, and he would manage to gather the recognition he deserved, but this period was still a stepping stone where he still had the respect of important musicians and friends that helped him fulfill his vision. And it is simply amazing that the dedication to that passion, even on that rough point of his life, was managed to be archived on such a great way.
It is a creative, musical, and personal statement in the form of an incredible double album, and I really couldn't recommend it more. It simply is pure joy and talent encapsulated on a bombshell of delightful soundscapes.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Favorite Track: Pink Shadow / Escape / Love Space / You Better Run
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