Yamashita was a pioneer at implementing trends that would become staples of the new wave of pop that would take over Japan in the 80s, being already ahead of its time with his first two solo albums in the 70's, and even with his work with Sugar Babe and Niagara Triangle, but throughout all that early period, the reception towards his work was very rough. Songs, in 1975, can be considered as the first City Pop album, presenting a unique blend of pop with soft rock, coming up with a very polished and layered album where Tatsuro found his love for arrangements and music production, but even with a single released, the band wouldn't be able to be properly recognized at the time. He then followed in 1976 with his solo debut, Circus Town, where he challenged himself musically by recording the album in the US, where he learned how to be selective with the musicians he picked for his music, expanding his musical influences to jazz, funk, and rock; but more importantly, learning a new, more professional, way of writing music with partitures. Circus Town was a mixed bag, a first try at some new ideas, as well as presenting wonderful tunes that represented his slow evolution on a great way, but he would look to refine all those aspects with his future records, wasting no time in implementing his new knowledge into his next solo project, leading to the release of Spacy in 1977.
Circus Town received poor sales and harsh criticism, leading to a rough relationship with both critics and the label, but the only thing that pushed him forward was his desire to work on his solo music. For his second album, he gathered an all-star cast that was up to his standards, and proceeded to record the album that for many would be the proper start of his career. It was something much more technical and methodical in the instrumental approach, with a big jazz and funk influence, but it was still catchy, easy going, and memorable, with Yamashita's vocals being the soul of the performances on a very dynamic, varied, and polished production where giants like Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto worked on more than willing to make up for a great experience. Spacy was not perfect, it was essentially built to show its true colors on a live setting, but it would be the proper start of Yamashita's career, setting up ideas and approaches to songwriting that would find themselves expanded on future releases. But despite having this cast, the sales were not as expected, barely making up for the big budget that went with recording the album the way Tatsuro wanted, and even then the money would come mostly from the concerts that were given on small venues in promotion of the album (these were highly regarded and respected by those who attended, and they lead to the idea of recording two of these gigs in order to make a live album and try to recover some budget, leading to the fascinating and wonderful double album of "It's A Poppin Time" in 1978, showing Tatsuro with a high charisma accompanied by talented performers, including a young Ryuichi Sakamoto on keyboards, and expanding ideas from his solo albums, as well as showcasing new material). But even then, it wasn't enough.
Tatsuro Yamashita seemed to have reached the lowest point of his entire solo career by 1978, and it appeared as if his solo career was almost coming to an end. It is not like he was doing bad financially, mainly due to the fact that working with big names in the Japanese music industry at the time, while also being recognized as someone extremely talented by those names as well, led to him being a very popular and respected musicians who worked without giving out his name as a producer and songwriter with other artists and labels. The main issue relied on the solo aspects of his professional music career, where sales were poor and mostly restricted to Tokyo for both of his studio albums, and specially his double live record, leading to problems and restrictions with RVC/RCA at that time. The music that Tatsuro was working on had a big range of influences, coming from almost exclusively occidental sources, and it was mainly focused on a particular and varied pop aesthetic that had both incredible and polished instrumental arrangements that were complemented by Yamashita's memorable and impressive vocal performances. However, this was not popular in the mainstream, being mostly attacked by critics at the time, and its positive reception was only restricted to a very loyal underground fanbase, as well as all the professional artists he worked with, but that, as well as the fact that he had not released any single in promotion of his work, was not enough to get a career floating.
There were still minor glimpses of hope that still made the label stick with Tatsuro, with them knowing very well the quality of his music, as well as looking at related projects where he participated doing well on sales and slowly building up his status as a widely recognized artist (with the 1978 Pacific project, an instrumental collaboration made with Shigeru Suzuki and Haruomi Hosono being one of the main things that lead to Tatsuro still being hold as an artist with a huge potential). Despite all that, Tatsuro started to feel as if the rock and folk world in Japan was changing abruptly, entering to a new age that seemed like it had no reception for artists with a love for pop music such as him, thinking that he would had to quit playing his solo music in both live and studio settings. That way of thinking, plus being well aware of the poor reception that the music he worked really hard on had, led to him getting a pessimistic mindset that his third studio album would be his last one. His way of thinking, stablished in Spacy, started to get affected (plus having a variety of rough times with him trying to stablish his own office), with him deciding to work loosely on concepts to finish this third album, thinking that he would quit his music and venture on becoming a full time producer and composer for other artists, there simply was no high spirit or will to finish an album properly, and it all culminated on the release of Go Ahead! in late 1978. Due to that, recording sessions and songwriting for his new project were unfocused and all over the place, unlike the ones for Spacy, leading tracks that dived into different genres and approached different styles that Yamashita simply felt like trying out, and that is the simple factor that lead to this being a mixed bag of an album, having some great and hard hitting tracks, while others could evidently need to be properly fleshed out to achieve their full potential.
It all starts with Overture, a small acapella introduction that was slowly expanding Yamashita's desire to dive deep into these kinds of recordings (with a first proper try with the recording of Marie for the live album). It mostly starts developing Yamashita's trend of developing multiple choruses and segments just using his vocals, and it does serve the purpose of opening up the experience on a short, charming, and sweet way, setting up the tone and atmosphere of the album. This is followed by Love Celebration, the first track of the album, starting with a simple drumbeat to then give place to the groovy main rhythm lead by the bass. Songs for the album were dragged from many places, and this one was no exception, being a scrap from an abandoned project for Linda Carriere produced by Haruomi Hosono, aimed to be a mix between the musical styles of Chicago and Miami, making up for rhythm and blues segments, as something much funkier and disco driven. Instrumentally wise it all flows really well, being a wonderful track that is engaging with the main rhythm, leaving space for small solos and the implementation of string, trumpet, and background vocals that complement the track's atmosphere, fleshing out throughout the track. The main step back are Yamashita's English vocals, they are not horrible, they still hold the charm and passion of his work, but it certainly doesn't end up mixing all that well in the final product. It is a good opener, a nice track to follow up in setting up the mood of the record, but it could have been polished to an even further extent.
Let's Dance Baby takes over, being one of the early highlights of the album, and also being an important track in Yamashita's discography. Along side Bomber, this would be released as the first single in Yamashita's solo career, in promotion of Yamashita's fourth album "Moonglow" months after the release of "Go Ahead!", and while Bomber would be the first main hit, this would also receive an equal amount of attention, leading audiences to slowly take notice of Tatsuro's previous projects and slowly leading to the jump in popularity that he would experience in 1979 and 1980. It was originally written as part of three songs composed for The King Tones, with only two of those being used and Yamashita using this remaining one for his own solo project. It is a very captivating, catchy, and sweet track that really serves well as a memorable and catchy single, with a calm instrumental that engages due to the way its presented, with the keyboard being the main element that makes everything work upon the cowbell beat set in the beginning. Tatsuro's vocal performance, along side the wonderful background vocals, all integrate really well with the instrumental and make up for a great song that does know how to set the tone throughout all its length. Just another lovely masterpiece by the master himself.
However, this short and sweet song is immediately contrasted with the rather lengthy and mellow Monday Blue, a long ballad that tries to flesh out its ideas, but ends up feeling as lasting more than it should. The main melody is carried by a wonderful interaction between Yamashita, Shuichi Murakami on the drums, Akira Okazawa on bass, Hiroshi Sato on keyboards, and Tsunehide Matsuki on guitar; creating a wonderful and lovely dynamic between all the members, ending up on a very mellow and well executed melody, supported by extra layers thanks to the inclusion of strings and similar elements, such as a harp, that just add to the atmosphere. Up to the four minute mark, with Sato's fantastic and calm solo, it all flows very well, but it feels as if lasting more than it should, fleshing out for another three extra minutes, when it could have perfectly faded out after the first solo, having stablished everything already, only to be repeated on the second half. Still, a beautiful melody that engages and certainly has a lot to offer to the listener. That melancholic tone is embraced even more with the mellow keyboards and vocals present on the beginning of ついておいで , misleading the listener into what seems like another mellow approach at songwriting, but suddenly, and wonderfully, shifting tone into something much more upbeat and funky, very reminiscent of songs on Spacy, with a killer bassline and a trumpet solo that just end up stealing the show. It was written to try and integrate a rhythm style popular on the US around that time, with both verse and instrumental parts having distinct melodies, but interacting very well between each other, complementing into something that really shines for being very unexpected and engaging.
The second side opens with Bomber, a one of a kind song on Yamashita's career, being an experiment from the artist at trying to write a polyrhythmic funk song, while also trying to record a track with new artists (being written by Hiroshi Uehara and Akihiro Tanaka, and having Hiroyuki Naniwa and Kazuo Shiina as guest musicians), that would eventually become a part of the Moonglow recording sessions, ending up on a very unusual masterpiece that would be the key element for how both Yamashita's career and creative optimism would see hope in the future. This track is simply iconic at this point among both Japanese pop fans, and specially Yamashita fans, mainly due to Akihiro Tanaka's impressive, groovy, and explosive slapping bass that takes over the entire track. It was released as the B side of the Let's Dance Baby single, but an inverted version of the release started to become popular among Osaka's disco establishments, mainly due to having a very danceable and catchy melody present throughout all its length. It is a very straight forward track on the song structure, but it is executed on an excellent way, with a mix where all the elements simply complement each other very well, leading to Tanaka's bass solo and both Riingo's guitar solo segments being the payoffs to what was already a rewarding build off, with Yamashita's wonderful vocals adding to the already powerful spirit found here. This track, although rather unique in approach and instrumental execution, would be the turning point of Tatsuro's career, with him inclining towards this style of funk on following projects, and being the spark to reignite his creative flame. There is simply nothing more to say, an essential pop track, insanely well performed and memorable, and the reason why Tatsuro's career kept providing excellent music throughout the years. A bombastic explosion of joy and talent, and a more than enough excuse to check this album all the way through.
潮騒 follows up shifting the upbeat mode to something much more mellow in spirit, trying to emulate the structure and chord progression of a Todd Langren song. In many ways, it would serve as a sudden contrast to something as engaging and explosive as Bomber, as well as being something that almost feels out of place within the record, even having classic waves crashing as the outro even when they don't really have a reason to be there. It is far from being a bad song, but it does fall more into the category of "the enjoyable mellow/ballad like B-side that works well for what it is, having no elements outside of the comfort field of the artist and that gives not much to talk about, but that simply contrasts the explosive main highlight of the A side of the single" (which in fact, would be the case, being used as the B-side to the masterful Let's Kiss The Sun a year later). The tone is once again contrasted with the second main highlight of the album, Paper Doll, and one of the odd decisions take by the label in regard of their moves with Yamashita's solo career. This was a song that was intended to be used as a single in the early part of 1978, but the label rejected it thinking that it would not have a warm or successful reception from the mainstream, therefore never being used in that form and being one of the reasons for Yamashita's pessimism during this time. It is somewhat understandable, considering that it is not as upbeat or engaging in dancing as Bomber, but it is still something catchy with the way the instruments are arranged and performed, with a calm Yamashita providing a soft and calm guitar solo and vocal performance. It was not released as a single, but it was popular on concerts, being able to be expanded with improvisation, specially in the solo segment, and it already made an official debut appearing as part of "It's A Poppin Time". A simple, groovy, catchy, and relaxing tune that simply lasts what it has to last, offering a very satisfying and engaging listen.
The last two songs found here are some of the most intriguing in approach, but they also stand out for being the weakest and least memorable songs on the record. This Could Be The Night shifts the mood once again, and even the production and mixing aspects, towards something almost radically different in tone, tempo, atmosphere, and arrangement. It is a cover from a Phil Specter song, with Yamashita doing almost all of the instrumental work, while he is joined by Ryuichi Sakamoto playing a Polymoog Synth giving out the main element that leads the tone and atmosphere of the track. The little bells being used, along side the synth and the production aspects of the song, certainly give off a simple and direct version of a Christmas track (also considering that the album was released on December), but it is really out of place compared to what was seen before, specially with the production aspects seen here (particularly on the vocals, even shifting in the mix for something much clear at one point at the end), something repetitive and of an almost odd quality, with the only particular things to remember being the use of the Polymoog and the simple instrumental performances provided by Yamashita. And finally, 2000トンの雨 comes as the closer of the entire album, being something that almost seems to follow along with the production aspects of the last song, but having more in common with previous songs on the album. Apparently, this track's lyrics would be re-written along side the instrumental arrangements into Space Crush, a live song featured on It's A Poppin Time, and one could certainly see some aspects being similar, but also concluding that the live track is simply the most engaging and well executed version. However, it is something sweet and passionate on its performing, but nothing particularly unique coming from Yamashita. Curiously, it would still become a sort of small classic among some fans of the artist, specially due to it being used on some love films as a main theme. A simple and short track that works very well on being sweet and calming, with some solo segments that do add to the atmosphere, and a very charismatic vocal performance, closing up the album on a nice way.
Go Ahead! is a curious record. Curious in the sense that it is an important album for Yamashita, but it certainly has more value on it's significance to Tatsuro's career more than on being a carefully crafted or polished masterpiece of a project. On the one hand, it almost marked the end of Yamashita's solo career, with a frustrated artist finding himself pessimistic about the reception of his music, having the resources and the talent, but lacking the income to let him push his creative vision even further. On the other hand, it would be the spark to reignite his artistic mindset, with Bomber particularly (used along side Let's Dance Baby as the first singles of Yamashita's career just some months later in 1979 in promotion of his fourth album, and finding itself as the artist's first notable hit on his career), being the turning point that would lead him to record more funk driven, danceable, catchy, groovy, and technical tracks that just worked on composition, arrangement, and performance; culminating on the release of Moonglow and Ride On Time just some time later. But on second hand, it would be a mixed bag of some incredible tracks, some nice and engaging ideas, and some loose attempts that end up feeling almost completely out of place within a 10 song project.
In many ways, Peter Sato's album cover depicts perfectly the main problems that this album has. It is a colorful and vibrant experience, just like any other Yamashita project is, but something just doesn't end up being completely right. Upon closer look there simply is a lot going on, with some random strokes and odd decisions being made on some aspects, becoming a little messy or even a little off putting in the final product (the reason why Yamashita is depicted smiling like that will always be a mystery to us mere mortals). Go Ahead!'s main issue is the inconsistency found within the album, but it certainly reflects the frustration and attitude of the artist during that point. The first side holds some sort of consistency and coherence, while the second side simply takes liberties and drifts away towards small little experiments of melodies, chord progressions, arrangements, and production aspects that Yamashita simply felt like wanting to try out; resulting on some of the best songs of his entire career, as well as some of his most forgettable and uninteresting material. It is not a horrible album, and it is not a mediocre experience either. There are a lot of things to take away from the album, with Bomber and Paper Doll being more than enough reasons to check this album on its entirety, and there are evident ideas that would be greatly expanded on future albums, finding its roots here, executed to a better or worse extent. It is still an enjoyable album, and certainly something that would give place to something much more worthwhile and well crafted in future projects.
Despite Tatsuro being frustrated and pessimistic about it, the album still manages to push through with some masterpieces, and it really is worth it to go ahead and check this experience front to back.
Overall Rating: 7/10
Favorite Track: Bomber / Paper Doll
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