A record with a cover that references the Beatles, but a sound that's very different overall – as Japanese combo Happenings Four take the tunes in lots of weird and wonderful directions! The record's maybe much more psychedelic than the original recordings by the fab four – lots of fuzz and distortion at times, and some especially cool use of piano – which gets jazzy at times, but with offbeat twists and turns that further keep things interesting – as does the use of organ on a few of the cuts! The arrangements are great – hardly respectful of The Beatles' originals at all, and really opening up the tunes – to serve up fantastic unusual versions of "Drive My Car", "Don't Let Me Down", "Lady Madonna", "Fool On The Hill", "Ticket To Ride", "She Loves You", "Penny Lane", "Yesterday", and "Revolution". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic document of the lost funk legacy of 70s Japan – music that's often different than the jazz and pop work of the decade that sees greater reissue, and which shows a very strong influence from the American scene! The rhythms here are wonderful – sometimes in the best funky soundtrack mode, other times with maybe even a bit of psych added in – and some of the cuts feature lyrics, either in English or Japanese, also with a very soulful vibe – but much more of an edge than the polished sound of the city pop generation! Titles include "Yumura No Obaba" by Akira Yasuda & Beat Folk, "Jikokeno No Samba" by Kan Mikami, "Singer Lady" by Hatsumi Shibata, "Devil Woman" by Bread & Butter, "I Hope It's Fine" by School Band, "Watashi No Beatles" by Fujio Tokita, "Bad Junky Blues" by Hiroshi Sato, "Theme Of Doberman Cop" by Mieko Hirota, and "The In & Outer Stomp & Shouter" by Sammy with Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media. (Funky Compilations, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album