A fictitious soundtrack inspired by the likes of Francois de Roubaix and Phil Spector! (Japanese, Rock) CD

Previously unreleased material including soundtack work and live recordings. (Japanese, Rock) CD

Includes singles and both episodes of the Futuristic Youth Exhibition! (Japanese, Rock) CD

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". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The first three albums of Japanese noise legends Ruins, all presented in a single set – sounds that are as powerful and mindblowing as when they were first unleashed to the world back in the 80s! The style here is still completely revolutionary – even though so many others have tried to copy it over the years – sounds that were born in punk, but inflected by noise and free jazz – often moving at a blistering pace that's as breathtaking as it is bold! We might make some slight comparison between these guys and the Pussy Galore/Royal Trux generation of American noise guitar – but Ruins are also completely different, and made waves from halfway around the globe that are still being felt today. 51 tracks in all – with titles that include "Crisis", "Human Being", "Entropy", "Makarom Iyaike", "Government", "Grudge", "Divide", "Octopus", "Amalgam", "Infect", "Dadaism", and "Flagment". CD

The cover here gives you a good idea of what you're in for – rare material from Japanese electronic composer Hirokazu Tanaka – best known for his work on the scores of important Nintendo games – most of of it from the glory days of the cassette, and pulled from Tanaka's archives! The tracks are often beautifully tuneful – spare melodies handled mostly on keyboards, and augmented with other sonic touches and electronic rhythms – kind of a late 80s extension of some of the more familiar modes of Japanese electronic music at the start of the decade. There are vocal tracks at times, although they're not key to the set – and the package features a whopping 25 tracks in all – including "Martian Bird", "Autumn Wind", "Karasu Demo", "Small Gift", "Fairy Wings", "You & Me Demo", "Space Attack Q", "Coco", "Space X", and "Spacemen's March". (Sound Library, Rock) CD