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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Quiet Life

Japan

1979

Buy At Rough Trade
Quiet Life
Album Summary

Quiet Life is the third studio album by English new wave band Japan, first released on 17 November 1979 in Canada by record label Hansa. The album was a transition from the glam rock-influenced style of previous albums to a synth-pop style. Though sales were initially slow, Quiet Life was the band's first album to chart and was later certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.85

Votes

12393

Genres

  • Pop
  • New Wave

Reviews

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Feb 19 2021
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5

Where has this been all my life? Eat your heart out, Spandau Ballet.

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Jan 29 2021
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5

Where is 6 stars? Duran Duran took notes from this album.

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Aug 16 2023
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4

Eighties new wave in the late 1970s. Yep, I can see how this was influential.

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Feb 17 2021
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3

At times, completely forgettable early synth pop. At other times, really compelling well crafted music.

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Feb 29 2024
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2

"Must hear before you die?" Why?? So I can know what the 362nd best album of 1979 sounds like? Stupid and erroneous. Excited to never listen to this again. 1.5/5

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Mar 21 2022
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5

What a great discovery. This is just a superb album that I kept listening to on repeat. The fretless bass makes this album even one step better than the songwriting already does. I hear influences of Roxy Music and Bowie, and you'll definitely hear where 80's bands like Duran Duran got their inspiration. Absolutely great album from start to end with no bad songs in between. Even as a big VU & Lou Reed fan, I really could appreciate the cover of All Tomorrow's Parties. Fall In Love With Me & In Vogue are my two favourite tracks 4,5*.

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Jul 07 2021
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3

Not really my kind of music but the album was easy to listen, although nothing really stood out as great.

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Apr 19 2023
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5

I don't expect to convince people that Japan are one of the greatest bands to emerge from the new wave/post glam scene of the 70s but to my ears they were. This album, their musical breakthrough where they worked out their sound, is the bridge between that scene and the New Romantics. Duran Duran came from the image and the crossover disco/new wave sound of Japan. I mean look at them. Japan would make better albums, and they would break up too soon, but from every waaaa of the fretless bass to Sylvian's new found baritone this is a superb example of a band actually doing things to move music on and looking good and sounding good whilst they did it. I think after listening to over 200 albums in this project, I'm more sure of their greatness. But that's to my ears, maybe not yours.

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Sep 28 2023
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4

A great transitional album marking the shift from the Bowie-esque glam and disco of the 70s to the fully-established new wave of the 80s Favourite tracks: Quiet Life, Fall In Love With Me, In Vogue, Halloween

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Apr 14 2021
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5

Fabuloso. Una fantasía dirían algunos. Inventan a Duran Duran aquí, pero con mucha más clase, tal vez un poco más introvertido el pedo. Yo noto una influencia recia del Iggy solista berlinés. Y claro, Bowie. No suena a 1978 pero sí. El futuro desdoblado.

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Oct 31 2023
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5

Duran Duran on downers. Melancholic and angular.

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Dec 12 2023
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5

Crazy that this ain't even Japan's best album. Right in my sweet spot - wonky, eerie New Wave played by a bunch of fey English lads. One of whom who has a voice that sounds like it's from Duran Duran by way of Jupiter. The title track is one of that era's greatest pop songs. No exaggeration, it's near perfect.

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Apr 05 2024
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4

If you want to know how ignorant I was (and arguably still am) about music, I'd not heard of Japan until I played Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain a number of years ago, and I always remembered Quiet Life being one of the weaker tracks on that game's soundtrack. To be fair, its hard to discern quality over the sound effects of a guy huffing and puffing, but I basically did not touch this song, and in turn this album, until right now, nearly a decade later. I wasn't NOT looking forward to this though, I mean, Japan is pretty well liked in small circles, and there is no denying that David Sylvian isn't SO HOT DUDE OH MY GOD HUBBA HUBBA AWOOGA HONK HON- Excuse me. So, I had some amount of hope this would be a good time, and I'd say it was! Quiet Life is far more appealing with a good set of headphones, and the whole album gives me Duran Duran vibes, but in a good, more sophisticated way, as if I'm listening to Hungry Like the Wolf for the intellectual. It isn't really like that, its pretty predictable, albeit grand pop music, but I still had a good time listening, and I think this album has its own charm that sets it apart from its contemporaries, such as tHE LEAD SINGER MMM GIVE ME SOME OF THAT B-OING WOO WO- But I seriously think this could be a good time if you go in knowing what to expect. Its a tad dated, and starts to drag near the end, but there's enough here to be a more romantic view of a musical era (new wave) that tends to be overdone in a modern setting. Looking forward to digging into more Japan stuff in the future, I've heard their albums after this one are even better.

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Aug 19 2024
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4

Quiet Life ‘It’s certainly crowded, I’d love to go’ I was hoping Life in Tokyo would be on here, but alas it’s not. So we’ll just have to do with a very enjoyable collection of Bowie and Roxy Music influenced Synth Pop. This has that great late 70s early 80s atmosphere, a bit of Kraftwerk and Berlin style detached neon coolness with the above mentioned Bowie and Roxy Music stylings. Duran Duran must have heard Quiet Life. It’s a great track, a super bit of new wave early synth pop. Fall In Love with me is very good too, not quite as immediate as Quiet Life but still a great bit of new wave pop. Despair is fantastic, with its modernist gothic atmosphere, and portentous piano and choir. I can see how this might rub people up the wrong way but I loved it. In Vogue has a lovely string outro, sounds like one of the Bond orchestral motifs, although this and Halloween are slightly less strong than the others, but I admire the consistency of sound and style. All Tomorrow’s Parties is a great cover, I do love the VU original, but I like the moodiness of this a lot, it suits the slightly odd child-like melody of the chorus. Alien is good, it has a creepy vibe to it, with the upbeat and poppy horns and then I love the piano figure in The Other Side of Life, a suitably atmospheric and slightly overwrought finale. This is something I never thought I’d say, but there’s a lot of great fretless bass on here. Overall I thought this was great - I wasn’t sure what to expect but I like the synth, Bowie, Roxy, New Wave mash up, lots of ominous sounds and slightly strangled vocals, and seemingly very smartly constructed arrangements. Was actually tempted to go 5, but I don’t quite think it’s in the top bracket, so I’ll settle on a solid and very enjoyable 4. 🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣 Playlist submission: Quiet Life

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Jun 15 2024
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3

Holy shit, a synth pop record that doesn’t completely suck ass, one that has a little bit of life to it. Hold on… Three tracks in and we are getting weepy and funereal. Let’s see if the boys in Japan, can turn it around… After a couple plodding tunes (Despair and In Vogue) they’re back to more uplifting territory, though the stench of a film noir soundtrack is still lingering a bit on Halloween. They’re covering All Tomorrow’s Parties now, and it’s evolved from a sort of Krautrock-y intro in a more jazzy affair, but it’s still got some nice ethereal instrumentation going on, but it’s a weird combination with that song, smooth jazz…not sure I’m a fan. That that krautrock vibe at the start was *really* working. Although, on second listen, the Can influence is more apparent, but it’s kind of like latter day, post-Damo Suzuki Can. This was better than most of the other synthpop records on the list, but it doesn’t quite rise to the level of a 4 star rating.

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Jun 03 2021
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1

Kompletter Schrott. Stellenweise auch einfach unerträglich. Diese Platte hat mein Leben für ca. 50 Minuten schlechter gemacht.

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Jun 24 2021
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5

охуенно, вторая пятёра подряд. Даже, вероятно, вторая десятка (с этим сомнения, ибо сложно с пары прослушиваний прямо зафанатеть, но вообще очень зашло). Вот тот годный нью-вейв, который не совсем ударен в синтпоп и имеет значимое присутствие других инструментов. Баса в песне In Vogue, например, или гитарных ликов в Alien. По композиторству вообще никаких вопросов, каждая тема пиздец приятно и интересно звучит (и это от глемеров-то!), никаких кринжовых и дурацких моментов, я бы сказал всё очень умно сделано. Единственное, кавер на Вельвет Андеграунд не сильно заинтересовал, ещё и в расширенную версию его в трёх вариантах запихнули, что немного подкашивает. Посему ну 9, наверное, будет, в список прослушиваемого отправляется точно.

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Mar 31 2022
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5

Really good, loved the spooky vibes.

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Aug 22 2022
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5

Great synth pop / new wave sound. Amazing album, will check out more by this group.

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Oct 30 2022
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5

Quiet Life, Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Tin Drum definitely belong to the list of best pop albums ever made. Sure, Roxy Music is everywhere, especially on Quiet Life, but they are much more than a slowed-down RM synth-pop clone - the songs and production are incredibly strong, and the whole concept is just perfectly executed.

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Nov 22 2023
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5

From Quiet Life onwards, Japan hit upon an apex that they wouldn't get down from until their breakup in the early 80s. One of the more underrated synthpop groups of their era, Japan always seemed to be more than the sum of its parts and it shows here, with adaptable ease into slinky yet speedy disco, a French language dirge and a Velvet Underground cover to boot all the while crafting their own inimitable path. Great album.

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Nov 23 2023
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5

Har gleda meg til detta. Jævlig bra, sjøl om Tin Drum e hakket bedre

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Dec 22 2023
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5

Never heard of them before but absolutely loved this.

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Jan 01 2024
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5

10/10 perfect album in my eyes even when it gets super cheesy, I’ll still eat this shit up

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Jan 04 2024
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5

Great band, I also followed the some of the members in the Rain tree crow and

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Jan 24 2024
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5

These guys are too cool for me. Fun covers though!

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Mar 03 2024
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5

Actually really enjoyed this! Atmospheric synth pop with a very pleasant man voice leading and nice variation in drums and base. Will listen to it again

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May 01 2024
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5

Long time Japan listener. Great Album.

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May 26 2024
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5

Well ok. What a fucking record. At times the crossover from Joy Division to synthpop, at times neither, at times both. The influence on Duran Duran is abundantly obvious, this record is so much cooler though. I love it. Never heard it before. By Halloween I was a little bit done with the 'Duran Duran several years before Duran Duran but without the success of Duran Duran' however things take a turn in an interesting direction once again thereafter with an exceptionally Eno/Frippian cover of the Velvets. Yeah nothing to do with United massively unexpectedly beating City in the cup final today, but what a lovely album and what a beautiful day.

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Aug 25 2024
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5

This is a great album. The title track is even a bit misleading because the other tracks have more musical ideas and grandeur (for example "Other Side"). It showed that New Wave and Synth Pop could offer more than just a bit of funny dancing.

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Sep 09 2024
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5

Well, what a lovely surprise. I started off thinking Quiet Life is a banger but the rest was kind of meh But something about it drew me in and I ended up listening multiple times and absolutely loving it. Isn’t it funny how that works with som albums? Maybe it’s something to do with being a huge Duran Duran fan back in the day as there is a clear link there. Who knows? Anyhow, thanks generator for another great discovery

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Sep 26 2024
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5

I’m going to be spinning this one regularly. Sounds like if Duran Duran were more artsy and influenced by Berlin era Bowie

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Oct 24 2024
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5

one of the coolest sounding albums but beyond that...so lush and full of life and bursting with love...beyond words...man...10/10

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Jan 28 2021
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4

Just thinking of him as an off brand Bowie isn’t entirely fair. What a voice.

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Jan 22 2021
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4

A surprising listen, With some synth-pop sounds I rather enjoyed. "Quiet Life" is definitely a stand-out track, and "Despair" sound great even if not a shuffle-worthy song.

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Mar 18 2021
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4

I liked it. I has the good parts of 80's without the excessive synths and drums. 4.5

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Feb 24 2021
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4

Japan, the good old band. 😌 Lovely music as always.

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Apr 14 2021
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4

Me gustó, no tenía idea de qué esperar, pero ya que escuché sabía que es algo que disfruto. Una combinación de sintetizadores con las cuerdas y la batería y ya está ese sonido característico de los ochenta. Me sonó a lo que luego lueguito estaría haciendo Tears for Fears. Realmente no tuve skips (no escuché la versión delux), aunque mis favs quizá fueron "In Vogue" y "Halloween". Pero todo bien, a gusto. 9/10

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Apr 14 2021
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4

Sí me gustó, está darketón. Tiene sus toques hipnóticos, que su pop, que su rock, que su post-punk, sobre todo el sonido del bajo es lo que más disfruté a lo largo del disco. Canción que más me gustó: Halloween. Mood: zombificado.

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Feb 28 2021
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4

Really good, enjoyed this much more than I thought i would

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Jul 11 2021
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4

Dromerige New Wave muziek met een sterk pop-kantje. Ik vond dit wel een aangenaam album

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Apr 14 2021
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4

Muy ochentas, new wave y así pero siento que un poco más dark, corríjanme sí me equivoco

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Jun 24 2021
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4

Всё же хороший альбом. Грамотно выстроенные композиции, оригинальный подбор инструментов, продуманные партии. Последние особенно в уши бросаются, когда в наушниках на фоне слышишь что-то действительно интересное. Среди треков могу выделить Despair с её сильной атмосферой. В целом, не могу сказать, что узнаю треки, если где-то услышу. Что внутренне намекает, что субъект - просто приятный проходняк. При фоновом переслушивании пытался выцепить треки, что резали бы ухо или казались явно лишними. Но не удавалось, впечатления были скорее положительными. Так что снова конформистская оценка.

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Apr 30 2021
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4

Strange mish mash of synthpop and dark sombre songs. However, even though it doesn't work the best as an album, there are some incredible songs on here. Despair, The Other Side of Life, and the cover of All Tomorrow's Parties were excellent. And I still can't get over this is from the 70s; very ahead of it's time.

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Jul 02 2021
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4

A cool, moody, Duran Duran-esque new wave record. A lot of really good songs and the album flows really well. Loved the singer’s voice, and the bass was AWESOME.

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Jul 21 2021
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4

Muy buen disco. Tuve que escucharlo más de 1 vez para sentir su potencial.

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Aug 09 2021
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4

I enjoyed this album quite a bit. It sits on the border of New Wave and Glam Rock and anticipates Goth Rock. Some of the songs were a little too drawn out but it was an easy listen. The album wasn’t overly reliant on synth and had a good balance with a strong backbeat

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Sep 09 2021
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4

Good early new wave, but didn't really hook me on any of their songs.

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Sep 23 2021
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4

this was surprising good, with combinations of folk and jazz. smooth easy complexity.

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Nov 10 2021
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4

Dobar je ovaj Japan, kao država! Sviđa mi se album. Fall in Love With Me i Alien su mi najdraži sa albuma, a iskreno po mojoj definiciji covera, treba biti kao što je on napravio za All Tomorrow's Parties (inače izvorno od Velvet Undergrounda gdje je Nico na vokalu). Despair je takva pjesma koja paše u noć, definitivno ima taj štih, dok In Vogue dosta podsjeća na stari The Cure. Sve u svemu, album nije overstajo svoju dobrodošlicu.

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Nov 14 2021
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4

Contrairement à mon rival eltrapeze, j'ai globalement apprécié la proposition musicale de cet album. J'écris d'ailleurs en ce moment même cette critique en pleine heure de cours avec ma classe de sixième au sein de mon collège situé en Basse-Saxe (vous savez déjà que j'exerce comme professeur assistant). Voici comment j'ai obtenu le droit de me comporter ainsi en toute liberté. Hier s'est en effet tenue dans mon école une longue réunion entre syndicats de professeurs et syndicats de directeurs dont l'objet était une renégociation des conditions de travail et la conclusion d'un accord de branche applicable à l'ensemble des écoles du Land de Niedersachsen. Bien qu'étant nouveau et n'ayant aucun mandat, j'ai réussi à localiser la salle dans laquelle se tenait cette réunion, ai ouvert discrètement la porte et me suis assis à la table des négociations parmi les syndicalistes sans que personne ne remarque ma présence. La discussion portait au moment de mon arrivée sur le nombre de jours de congés à attribuer en période de maternité. Pendant que les négociations se poursuivaient, je lançai lentement le fil d'une canne à pêche miniature de ma propre conception vers le papier sur lequel les points d'accord étaient rédigés et, une fois celui-ci accroché, le tira furtivement vers moi en enroulant le fil de la bobine. Une fois à portée de main, j'y annotai mes quelques revendications et le refis glisser vers sa place d'origine avant de repartir par la même porte que celle par laquelle j'étais rentré plus tôt. L'accord de branche négocié a été publié ce matin au Journal Officiel allemand, je vous joins l'extrait qui nous intéresse : « ... Das ist also der Grund, warum Frauen, die Babys machen, sich ruhig ein paar Tage ausruhen können. Sagen wir grob zehn Tage. § 14 Et donc comme je disais les profs, parmi lesquels Robfourmilière, pourront écouter les albums fournis par Robert et les critiquer pendant les heures de cours sans qu'on vienne les emmerder. § 15 Eltrapeze est interdit de séjour en Basse-Saxe. § 16 Die Jungs, die Babys herstellen, dürfen auch ein paar Tage frei haben, aber nur vier. So einfach ist das. » J'ai donc maintenant la possibilité d'exercer mon activité principale sur mon lieu de travail en toute légalité.

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Nov 17 2021
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4

New to me! Really interesting listen. I enjoyed it and will return to it in the future

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Nov 17 2021
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4

Wasn’t familiar with this but it was an enjoyable listen!

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Dec 20 2021
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4

Super enjoyed this proto new wave album

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Jan 09 2022
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4

Pretty good! I was surprised! Remember these from being a kid but never really knew much of the their music but I enjoyed it. Like a cross between Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and the Cure

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Jan 14 2022
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4

Japan instantly brought to my mind Duran Duran to me as their sound seemed very similar. But I see that this was released several years before Duran Duran, so I can assume Japan were one of the early creators of this 80s sound. I started out a little ambivalent about this album. It was hard not to compare the infectious hooks present in the best songs from Duran Duran, The Human League, A Flock Of Seagulls, Spandau Ballet, ABC and the like. On my first listen of this nothing stood out like the best of those bands... But every time I listen to this I discover new great moments. It seems I had to listen a little harder to discover these moments, but they are emerging. Maybe it is just a matter of time until Japan becomes one of my staples of the synth-pop sound. I keep adding to the list of favorite songs at the bottom of these notes and it has become nearly a list of all of the tracks… My favorite songs: Quiet Life, Fall In Love With Me, Despair, In Vogue, Halloween, All Tomorrow's Parties

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Jan 26 2022
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4

Never had heard of this group but I really enjoyed the music.

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Jan 28 2022
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4

I'm really enjoying early synthpop as I learn more about it. This album seems really really well formed for the time it was made. The production of the album is excellent. Giorgio Moroder's influence on the album seems like it adds a lot, though I haven't heard the bands earlier works to compare it to. Super fun pop album that has a lot of elements of synth music that will come to prominence in the decades to follow. This album also features what might be my favorite Velvet Underground cover in All Tomorrow's Parties 4/5

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Feb 23 2022
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4

The missing link between glam and New Romantics. Clearly heavily influenced by Lou Red, VU, New York Dolls, and Berlin-era Bowie, but leaning into a softer, more spacious sound that they became known for in the early 80s. Funny to hear how much Sylvian changed his vocal style from the first two albums. Love Mick Karn's bass playing; it is weird and distinctive and strangely funky, and always adds a fresh surprise.

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Mar 28 2022
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4

Неожиданный альбом на 4- (7 по 10-ти балльной шкале). Не знал ничего о группе, не слышал их песен, поэтому получился вполне приятный сюрприз

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Mar 30 2022
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4

This really had moments where it felt like a synth forward Talking Heads band. I liked it more and more as the album progressed.

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Mar 30 2022
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4

Nice album. It is straight 80's goodness.

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Mar 31 2022
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4

op een of andere manier heb ik dit album 2x geluisterd. Het was erg lekker, relaxed en toch ook intrigerend. Japan was wel echt een band waar een vriend (John) van mij fan van was, wellicht telde dat wel mee.

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Apr 04 2022
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4

Very good, very different from the other Japan stuff I’ve heard. A lot of influence/ sound connections between 80s pop rock like Duran Duran- but darker. Really cool listen, will look out for more Japan!

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Apr 11 2022
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4

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the member of Duran Duran listened to this a lot before recording their first album. In fact, a few of the songs I would have sworn were Duran Duran had I not known. I liked this album much more than Duran Duran though, but that could be because these songs are fresh to my ears. Can definitely hear some Roxy Music influence on a few songs. I guess Japan is the missing link between Roxy Music and Duran Duran. 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.

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Apr 20 2022
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4

This was... pretty decent for 80s synth pop that i'd never heard of.

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May 11 2022
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4

Really good and unexpectedly substantive . The sax steals the show on several cuts and this one’s easily my fave version of “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”

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May 20 2022
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4

Really enjoyed this! Very groovy, very 80s.

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Jun 03 2022
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4

Some great tracks on here. Ahead of their time and way better than their rock beginnings.

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Jun 29 2022
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4

If Japan stole some from Roxy Music, then Duran Duran stole most [maybe all] from Japan. I don’t know whether this is more New Wave or New Romantic, but it feels ahead of its time for ‘79 and a big advance from glam which had got awfully tired. Certainly, this sounds like the '80s looked. Way underrated.

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Jul 10 2022
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4

Generous 4. Moody music which I wasn't expecting with the synth style but could see myself listening to this a few times.

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Jul 17 2022
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4

It's the most relaxed of new romantic. Honestly it's very nice and cool.

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Aug 15 2022
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4

I would give this 3 stars (good), but I'm giving it an extra star because I have such deep respect for the musicians involved. David Sylvian would go on to make some of the most transcendent music as a solo artist. Richard Barbieri will later be a part of Porcupine Tree.

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Sep 11 2022
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4

Pretty good British art pop / synth pop.

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Sep 15 2022
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4

excellent, la voix la compo, c'est expérimental et dingue je kiffe bcp

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