A damn funky little album – even if we can't read any of the titles or notes on the cover! The whole thing's completely in Japanese – leaving our English-skilled eyes at a loss – but our ears are more than happy with the sounds coming out of the disc – some incredible funk with a very majestic feel – almost an MPS-type big band funky record, but with these deep inflections of soul that really send the whole thing home! Arrangements are complicated, yet always forceful enough to keep on the groove – and the horns move from roles as tight punch upfront to softer colors in the background – really creating a dynamism in the instrumentation that keeps the whole thing very unique. The whole record works together as a single sonic piece – maybe even more so since we can't distill things down on the basis of language – and there's great funky bass, guitar, and keyboards mixed in with the larger set of horns! (Jazz, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album

A great look at the bright world of female soul in Japan during the 80s – a time when the nation was hitting some of its greatest heights of the postwar years – and was coming up with a magical musical groove to follow! While disco reigned in American clubs in the late 70s, the style really took off in Tokyo during the following decade – maybe mixed a bit with European and 80s club styles, but still unabashedly as upbeat and bubbling as American work of previous years – all to showcase a range of female singers whose style really matches the groove! The music takes off a bit from that shift into soul by Japanese jazz singers in the 70s – but is much farther than that mode overall, especially once the beats and keyboards get going. The package does a great job of being faithful to this legacy – and includes notes on each song and artist, along with album covers too. Titles include "Wanna Kiss" by Hitomi Tohyama, "Dancin" by Junko Ohashi, "Dress Down" by Kaoru Akimoto, "I'm In Love" by Aru Takamura, "Broken Eyes" by Mariko Tone, "TNT" by Rie Murakami, "Love Is A Work Of Mind" by Ra Mu, "Mystical Composer" by Kikuchi Momoko, and "Sky Restaurant" by Yumi Seino. CD