Way more than just another anime soundtrack – as this set features dialog from the film too! LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a very striking cover, but which features music done for the more warm-tinged program Mu – a 70s drama represented here by a really great range of different themes! The mix of modes is great – one tune might have a playful Fender Rhodes solo, another a more serious koto line, and another might have groovy use of sitar, or slide guitar, or other inventive instrumentation – all to illustrate the different scenes and characters in the show! There are slight moments of sentiment, but the music is never sappy at all – and in a way, the whole thing really reflects the way that the Japanese listening scene was so strongly influenced by Euro soundtrack styles of the late 60s and very start of the 70s. All titles are in Japanese, and the set is instrumental throughout! (Soundtracks, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album from Meiko Kaji – an artist most folks knew first as an actress, but whose voice finds a wonderful setting in this record! There's a gentle current of funk to most tracks – stepping electric bass next to soaring strings, a bit of horns, and great use of koto from time to time – all to create this mellow groove that's totally great, and instantly appealing – which then opens the door to the subtle drama that Meiko brings to her vocals – beautifully sung, but with a presence that's very gripping, even if you don't understand the lyrics – and really served up in the best way possible, given the arrangements! Lyrics and titles are in Japanese – and tunes include "Shitto", "Aieno Kitai", "Ginchou Wataridori", "Jingi Komoriuta", "Ginchou Buruusu", "Hamabeno Meruhen", and "Yogiro Sukina Anata". CD

A very groovy album from 70s Japan – one that makes all the best use of the sexy vocal style of Kaoru Yumi, set to a warm mix of funky and easygoing backings! Yumi's as famous for her appearances on screen as she is on record – a role that was unified here through the scandalous album cover – which maybe gets at the way her music was marketed. Yet despite that crass approach, Kaoru's got a strong vocal style too – one that really fits well with the backings, no matter the style – just the right subtle sense of drama from the earlier generation, but refitted here for a nice 70s approach. Lyrics are in Japanese throughout – and titles include "Delta Queen", "Miami Beach Rumba", and "Taboo". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album from Meiko Kaji – an artist most folks knew first as an actress, but whose voice finds a wonderful setting in this record! There's a gentle current of funk to most tracks – stepping electric bass next to soaring strings, a bit of horns, and great use of koto from time to time – all to create this mellow groove that's totally great, and instantly appealling – which then opens the door to the subtle drama that Meiko brings to her vocals – beautifully sung, but with a presence that's very gripping, even if you don't understand the lyrics – and really served up in the best way possible, given the arrangements! Lyrics and titles are in Japanese – and tunes include "Shitto", "Aieno Kitai", "Ginchou Wataridori", "Jingi Komoriuta", "Ginchou Buruusu", "Hamabeno Meruhen", and "Yogiro Sukina Anata". LP, Vinyl record album

Really wonderful sounds from Meiko Kaji – an actress as well as a singer, one who was famous for her Nikkatsu work at the start of the 70s – and who delivers the songs here with a similar sense of darkly moody drama! The music often mixes rock touches with larger arrangements – and the recording quality is completely sublime – so that Meiko's voice is right out front in the mix, really commanding the proceedings with a vibe that's expressive, but in ways that are very different than Japanese female vocals from the decade before. You might recognize her voice from use of her music by Quentin Tarantino – but you hardly need that reference to enjoy this set – a wonderful album full of gems that include "Wara No Ue", "Onna Somuki Uta", "Onna Hagure Uta", "Nigori Onna", "Urami Bushi", "Betuni Doutte Koto Demo Nishi", "Hitora Kaze", and "Onna Kawaki Uta". CD

Really wonderful sounds from Meiko Kaji – an actress as well as a singer, one who was famous for her Nikkatsu work at the start of the 70s – and who delivers the songs here with a similar sense of darkly moody drama! The music often mixes rock touches with larger arrangements – and the recording quality is completely sublime – so that Meiko's voice is right out front in the mix, really commanding the proceedings with a vibe that's expressive, but in ways that are very different than Japanese female vocals from the decade before. You might recognize her voice from use of her music by Quentin Tarantino – but you hardly need that reference to enjoy this set – a wonderful album full of gems that include "Wara No Ue", "Onna Somuki Uta", "Onna Hagure Uta", "Nigori Onna", "Urami Bushi", "Betuni Doutte Koto Demo Nishi", "Hitora Kaze", and "Onna Kawaki Uta". LP, Vinyl record album

It's easy for Yumi Seino to be a natural woman with backings this great – really jazzy instrumentation that helps set a style that keeps things moving throughout – and which definitely has the record on the more soulful R&B side of the city pop spectrum! Yumi's voice is great – rich and strong, yet never too overly dramatic – just able to convey the right spirit of the lyric, even when the language is Japanese – helping bring a really sort of universal appeal to the record along with the music. Titles include "Caledonia Love Day", "December", "Les Memories D'Un Con", "Tokyo City Nights", "Airport 4:30pm", and "You & I". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique record from one of the most unique singers in the Japanese scene of the early 70s – an artist with a spare, subtle sense of drama that's really carried through here – as the record features more spoken than sung passages overall, but with a dreamy vibe that's very much in the spirit of Kazumi's previous album! There's almost a European vibe to the record – light soundtrack arrangements that are lower in the background than Yasui's voice – often with a feel that's like some sexy French film production, save for the fact that the lyrics are all in Japanese! Song titles and note are all in Japanese – but there's a very cool vibe to the record that transcends the boundaries of language. LP, Vinyl record album