Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Meh
I'll be returning to this, really good.
Ja Nice
There is not enough going on to get more than 3 and there is not enough bad to get less than 3.
Something tiresome is the amount of well known albums that are linked to on streaming services as extended 'deluxe' versions. I don't wanna hear out takes, b-sides or remixes unless I'm a super fan. This one was particularly bad: 3 versions of a cover version. Just play me the album as the artist intended, especially for a daily taster session like this. I was enjoying this a lot to start with. Tapered off big time though. Quiet Life is a great track.
A lot of synthesiser getting the 80s sound.
No real standouts on this for me, but man I love this vibe. If I didn't feel like a liar, I'd give it four stars.
I like it. Makes me think of Duran Duran on sedatives. "Despair" was maybe my fave? But I liked most of it, and by "most," I mean pretty much everything except for the cover of "All Tomorrow's Parties." Which is why it's a good thing that on this version I'm listening to on Apple Music, that song only appears on the record (*checks tracklist*) THREE times. Somebody's got to put me in charge of all album sequencing ever. Sigh.
It’s ok. Good cover of a Velvet Underground tune.
A little strange and different. hadn't heard of it!
Fine, but not very memorable.
This was very interesting, I could hear Duran Duran, Roxy music, David Bowie, ultravox all through this album. The New Romantic synth pop era. Love it!
Niet echt mijn ding, bij vlagen goed
Well, now I know where Duran Duran stole their sound from!
"Japan" is another band I've never heard of that sounds like bands I've heard of. It's as though the "1001 Albums..." is in fact a mixture of popular music and AI creations, and our responses to these unknown artists are being documented and studied. Or is "Japan" a real band from a different human timeline, and "1001 Albums..." is really a multidimensional catalogue created by some Brian-Eno-worshipping timespace cult? Is this musical journey the first nudge toward my emergence from simulation, and I will soon understand all that I question about life and reality, and finally be forced to face the actuality of my foolish decisions and quandered time? Will I cry bitterly at my failures as a human and wallow in self contempt while floating in some strange dimension? Or will I have a greater understanding of existence, and deep, knowing compassion for my previous incarnation, and hold that lifetime as a child in cradled arms, though still sufferring that unconquerable longing for those that I loved and will never see again? I what form will I be sent back as next? This album is pretty good. 2.9
Simultaneously great and unremarkable. Songs Alien made me sit and listen, while nearly every other one felt like forgettable, albeit well crafted music. To be frank, the bass player made the album, the fretless, odd bass lines kept me interested enough, despite the underwhelming vocals and lyricism.
Honestly, the first few songs were hard to get though.. As someone who grew up in the 90s and 00s music scene.. That synth-pop 80's sound is very hard to get into... There is some sprinkling of glam rock in there too. The vocals and lyrics are huge let down in the first few songs... With the exception of some parts. I was interested in finally hearing this band, as I am a fan of Richard Barbieri's work in Porcupine Tree, and his soundscapes in his solo stuff. His keyboard work in this album is the highlight for sure. The vocals... Might be the low point. It wasn't until track 4, where the album redeemed itself and it turned this from a 2 to a low 3 for me. I'm curious to check more of this band and its evolution because there are some cool ideas for sure throughout the album.
High grade 80 electropop. Mick Karn's fretless bass and Sylvians vocals make this very distinctive
Mixture of Roxy Music, Bowie and Duran Duran. Pretty good, almost excellent, but nothing surpasses the title track and sings are too long. High three.
Brani Preferiti: - "Quiet Life" Note: Non è proprio il mio genere di musica, ma l'album si lascia ascoltare senza in maniera liscia, anche se nulla sembra distinguersi particolarmente.
love the title track! guitars reminded me of Jai Paul, and cool electronic elements. Wasn't as struck by the rest of the album. 3/5
Felt like a very long listen..I liked despair, but kinda was boring to me
Oh god
Pretty good. It just doesn't really grab me in a special way.
Pretty weird but interesting. 3.5 stars (OK, OK: 3 stars)
Didn’t listen to it too much but it’s a fun new wave vibe. I actually liked the sound from what I heard so I’ll have to go back and give it a better listen.
Pop. Sin más.
Évoque certaines périodes de Bowie. Bonnes ambiances et travail rythmique manifeste.
Good for background but did enjoy, Despair, In Vogue and Halloween.
wasn't sure if i was listening to Depeche Mode or Duran Duran. Good stuff though
I dig the 80s vibes here but ultimately, I found this boring and unengaging. It’s the kind of thing I will have forgotten by next week. I did always want to try listening to Japan though, so I’m glad to cross it off my list now.
What a fascinating album by a band I haven't listened to very much at all! Just a great 80's sound, terrific vocals, and all of the condensed sounds of this era-- if that's what you're looking for. Usually, I'm not and when I rarely am, I generally lean on the radio hits that fueled my childhood. That said, a really interesting band and I hope to listen a bit more to their catalogue. Great to discover!
Not Japanese. Or from Japan. Or having anything at all to do with Japan. At first. The name may have come from a travel brochure laying on the floor of the tour bus. But regardless of the origins of the name, it may have been key to their success in Asia. Perhaps based solely off the band's name, they had a fan club with 30,000 members in the country of Japan before they even released their first album. They would go on to play in Japan, first visiting Tokyo five years after their debut for three straight sold out shows. After "Quiet Life," it seems lead singer David Sylvian embraced Asia even more, from lyrics and themes to press and collaborations. On "Quiet Life," their biggest album, they didn't grab me right away with the rather boring title track. However, it was followed by a rather interesting stretch from "Fall in Love with Me" to "Halloween." The last few tracks weren't as strong, but they do help further flesh out Japan's new style, which apparently was a departure from their earlier work. Overall, not quite my thing, but it was interesting enough.
I found this a little confusing to get to grips with, some of the more ambient instrumental ones I liked more than the first party of the album that was heavy quintessential 80s. But I didn't NOT like anything, solid middle of the road for me
This was cool, I enjoyed my time with it
This was okay. Didn't really stand out to me from other new wave bands from this era; not my go-to style, but I enjoyed the listen.
This was nothing much. I think for late 70s new wave though, it's decent. Also, the basslines generally slapped. Overall, that puts it solidly mid. 3/5
Nice enough, but nothing exciting. Synth-heavy music seldom invigorates me. C
Not bad
An interesting album. I have never heard of the group or any of their songs. I can hear the beginning of that's sound. I doubt I would listen to this album again but I didn't skip any songs. I will round up.
Good listen, no banger
Not too exciting
Just okay
Guess this is where Duran Duran got its inspiration from. Sadly, aside from the title song, none of the songs really stood out to me. Nice history lesson, though.
See the previous entry - this was very good on a hangover. I found it a really interesting listen, from a band I had no knowledge of. It sounded very much like the start of the 80s, rather than the end of the 70s.
Probably have heard songs by this group but never knew it. Very 80s new-wave. Some neat parts but overall it does not interest me. Life in Tokyo and Quiet Life are the better tracks. You can definitely hear the Giorgio Moroder influence on the bass in Life in Tokyo.
Meh. Seems like another album that is hear a lot more for context than sound. And I don't really know that context, aside from what I read. I guess it ushered in a new era of synth pop & fashion (New Romantic) that was about androgenous looks and something softer than punk or glam rock. If they hadn't been one of the first to move this direction, would this album be on this list? I doubt it. I didn't hate it but I'm not looking for more of it. Next.
Спокойный, очень слушабельный とても凄い
This is a very 80's sounding album for a 70's album. It's aight I guess. The instrumentation and use of synths and electronic music are neat; especially for the time. Nothing really jumps out at me though. This is a solid 3/5
I think this album is respectfully a 3, I think a lot of my past 4s could've been 3s, 3s 2s, & 2s 1s. I liked the synthpop, but it didn't knock me away. Maybe it'll grow on me? I'd listen to this over a lot of other stuff though. BT - Despair - In Vogue - Halloween - Alien - The Other Side of Life
Good
I liked this more than I thought I would.
Not entirely unpleasant
This is one of the most intensely 80s albums ever
Need to give this a better listen later - liked it tho
This album sounds 5 years ahead of its time. Totally the foundation for acts like O.M.D. and even Culture Club. Good set of songs and I actually love the Velvet Underground cover.
Duran Duran with bad vocals. This must have been unique in 1979 - before the whole New Romantic thing went mainstream. And maybe it's just because of the band name, I can't help but draw a dotted line between this record and Japanese visual kei.
Ok
Fine. Very forgettable though.
More delicate than I had expceted.
Brooding early goth edm?
A synthy new wave jaunt, a good example and a fun one as well.
day 37. At first I thought this was pretty generic 80’s new wave, but I appreciated it more as the album went on and the dark, foreboding, spooky vibes came out more. I probably still wouldn’t think to come back to this, but there was some good stuff here. also, having not listened to Velvet Underground before, All Tomorrow’s Parties was new for me … I listened to both and liked Japan’s version better, but found it to be a boring song overall. faves - Halloween, Alien, Despair 3/5 overall it was fine
first listen so boring
This album came out over years before Duran Duran hit the music scene. When I first heard the album, I thought they were just a Duran Duran copycat.... uh, maybe it is the other way around. This album is quiet excellent! Standouts: Rating: 3.5
What starts as generic wavy synthpop develops an interesting minimalist use of sounds to create a mysterious aura. The songs themselves do not strike you to be outstanding und songwriting but the stripped-down-to-essence approach is certainly appealing 3.4
When I listened to the first track, my first thought was "not another funky/new wavy stuff" as this usually is not my thing. But I later on I noticed that the funkiness actually makes the songs pretty good. 3/5
Very good. Very 80s
Wikipediugreinin talar um að þetta sé allt saman mjög Low-era Bowie inspírerað. Ég heyri ekkert nema Roxy Music sem inspó. Quiet Life er Both ends burning vol. 2, með smá Manifesto soundi í leiðinni. Ekki leiðinlegt en ekki mjög eftirminnilegt.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Quiet life, Fall in love with me
Eh, ok background music. 7/10
I used to love Japan back in the day. David Sylvian was very pretty to look at and the songs seemed so different. Listening now is a different experience. That cover of All Tomorrow’s Parties is an absolute travesty and should not exist. A Quiet Life is still a good song and the album is decent. What seemed so different and exciting then has slightly lost its lustre though.
As a big fan of early Duran Duran, this sounded like a playbook for the start of that band. Both get compared to Roxy Music, but I hear a much more direct line from Japan to DD. The vocalist, in particular, and the sequenced synths, were reminiscent. The sax hearkened to Bowie — but this band seems lodged right in the midst of these glamorous pop stalwarts of the '70s–'80s. For that reason, this was an understandable inclusion. But I found the songwriting a bit lackluster and the musicianship also subdued — hard to tell if that was a product of choice or limitation. So I enjoyed this well enough but wasn't exactly wowed by it.
Another unknown-to-me band that I really dug. More than a 3 not quite a 4.
It's pretty good synth-pop. I enjoyed it, but nothing special.
it's pre-Duran-Duran Duran Duran (edit: 3 of the 5 top reviews make this same comparison) More notable for the atmosphere than the individual songs liked the beep-boop synth (as enlightened musical academics call it) throughout \"All Tomorrow's Parties\". Didn't strike me as a Velvet Underground song but I don't know much about that band to begin with HL: title track, \"Despair\", \"All Tomorrow's Parties\", \"Alien\" May 15, 2023
Boppy but again kind of eh, I can understand others liking this but to be it's very much take it or leave it
70s synth pop 2.5/5
Totally Duran Duran vibes here. This band sounds a little ahead of their time. Not bad all together.
It's an okay album, nothing too standout. 3/5.
A bunch of pretty cool post-punk-esque vibes. But also a bunch of atmospheric/orchestral vibes that I wasn't so into. I think they deserve a further listen.
Very interesting album and one actually enjoyed a good amount of, and am going to get more than one or two songs. For an album that came out in the late 70's, this felt fairly ahead of it's time, especially since similar style groups like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell haven't gained their notoriety yet
Very Duran Duran like. Pretty good
Lovely sound! I hate the repeated tracks though, this isn't a deluxe edition or anything! No thank you.
Didn’t know of Japan before this listen. Nothing really grabbed me.
Good, would've been better with more material, felt like a weak finish.
There are a couple very strong songs on this, but I feel like the pacing lets it down as an album.
the 80s bits were good. real trinational time.
Early 80s synthpop record
This band is an early member - or even precursor - of the New Romatic Movement from the early 80s (think the likes of early Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet). The sound is all there, but the songs are not - at least not entirely. It's OK, but nothing more. 3/5
Wasn't digging it after listening to it on a small but quality Bluetooth speaker. Threw on some headphones and the first track is slapping. That synth bouncing from left to right in the cans. Definitely appreciating the first 3 tracks more than I did the first time. Got the headphones and the post work vibes going for the second listen.
Pretty relaxing. Good but not really my type of music
Me gustó mucho mas que nada en lo instrumental, las canciones se me volvieron medias aburridas, y no soy fanático de como canta el chabon tampoco.
es entretenidisimo y me hace pensar en aspen
Pop con sintetizadores. Ni fu ni fa.
6/10
Never heard of this band before. Cool 80's sound but nothing that big of a deal?
Prima alternatieve rock, maar beetje traag. Maar goed, is al wat ouder ook. 3*
I was pleasantly surprised!
It was cool early new wave but no big hook
A less catchy Duran Duran (looking forward) or (looking backward) Roxy Music or David Bowie. Except Despair, which sounds like the soundtrack to an even darker Westworld spinoff. Quiet Life is good, it's my kind of music, I enjoyed the album and am happy to have had it brought to my attention. But ... does it belong on this list? Maaaybe.
Not a bad album.
Exactly what I expected.
Bem new wave, gostei. Melhor música: Despair
Super duper meh. Kinda forgot it was on.
Sleek, sexy synthetic sounds
Gave it two solid attempts. Not bad but also nothing grabbed me too hard. Middle of the pack.
I used to love music like this, but better, like Duran Duran.
love the vibe.
Pop con sintetizadores. Ni fu ni fa.
Syntpoppens vagga. Stundtals bra.
This was a very interesting album. Reminded me a bit of the Talking Heads.. if they were worst. I'd definitely like to revisit this in the future.
Left remarkably little impression.
Des pièces vraiment très bonnes et des pièces vraiment pas terrible. Pas un album désagréable overall, mais je me demande pourquoi mention dans un tel palmares.
Like Roxy Music but without the hits or the talent (bit harsh). Very 80s Brit sound even though it came out at the end of the 70s. It's fine but nothing jumps up and bites you.
Starts strongly but becomes somewhat anonymous
big in japan, recursively enough
If you want to witness one of the biggest disparities between a band's earlier image and a later one, why not try contrasting Japan's early single Adolescent Sex, a late, disco-tinted and quite derivative glam stomper with a bit of a dodgy title and a video which has the band done up like a big bunch of jessies, and their later single Ghosts, a sombre, bleak and minimalist cut of New Romantic synthpop which still has them done up like a big bunch of jessies, but a markedly different breed of jessie? So yes, Japan were quite the bandwagon-jumpers, but ones which curiously missed the biggest bandwagon of their experience: punk. Instead, they were still pushing glam in 1978, and their tracks from this period didn't manage much success in Britain, so they decided to hear what Bowie had been doing in Berlin, and thus we have the Japan we all know and, er, actually, let's just stick with "know". Japan fulfilled the standard qualifier of New Romanticism: along with Adam Ant and Soft Cell, they denied being New Romantics. Was New Romanticism any good? Despite all its preeminence in documentaries about Thatcher's Britain, I don't see that much acclaim gathering around the New Romantic bands. This is due in part to the short shelf-life of outré fashions: wearing a grunge-era lumberjack shirt won't invite any comment, but styling yourself as a constructivist pierrot will have meant you have received continual howitser-blasts of "WANKER!" from schoolkids and builders since 1982. Also, robot mime accompanying New Romantic music is the most terrifying spectacle conceivable: falling off a skyscraper whilst on fire and having dozens of spiders crawl into every orifice is nowhere near as scream-inducing or bowel-emptying as two actors behind on the mortgage in white masks raising their forearms 45 degrees to the tune of Fade to Grey. The album is acceptable for what it is. It feels rather generic for the time, heavy bass and synth leads, with lyrics of alienation and glamour. Other bands made worse with the same ingredients, but other bands made better. David Sylvian, the central figure to Japan, has a very particular phrasing, which may irritate as much as beguile, but on their best songs I get what he's doing. The best songs, by the by, tend to be the slower, colder numbers (Despair, The Other Side of Life). But to explain when it doesn't gel properly, I ask the reader to consider their cover of the Velvet Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties. The original version has never enticed me, purely because of Nico's godawful voice. She sounds like a lorry reversing. David Sylvian, by default, has a much better voice. But he ridiculously tries a suave delivery which doesn't fit the song at all. When I listen to Japan, I want effeminate, dispossessed futurism, not David Sylvian acting like a cybernetic Bryan Ferry (who himself has tried and failed to perform a louche, seductive All Tomorrow's Parties). I think it's the consensus that Quiet Life isn't Japan's most feted album. Their fifth, 1981's Tin Drum, had David Sylvian include more elements of East Asian music, and this experimentalism has led some critics to vaunt Tin Drum as a standout of post-punk, synthpop and new wave. I don't really agree. Tin Drum is more interesting than Quiet Life, but Japan never rose above being a mildly interesting diversion. And with a name like Japan, you'd expect then to be a bit more seismic.
Duran Duran, Pet shop Boys and many other early electronic acts all have influence here. Some strong tracks but nothing standing out too much
Some interesting pop but it bored me tbh
It was pretty good but nothing stood out too much.
I was expecting more of a spectacle with this album given the names and high reviews. It's possible the gentle and slow grooves on these tracks weren't syncing with me, and may just click with me better on future listens.
This must be my 1979 week. "Quiet Life" is the 3rd album from the English band Japan and marked their transition from glam rock to more synth-pop. The band collaborated heavily with Giorgio Moroder and the album was produced by John Punter who produced Roxy Music. Both of those influences are heard pretty heavily throughout. Another heavy influence is David Bowie and his Low album. Speaking of influences, if you wouldn't had told me whom I listening to, I would have said early Duran Duran. Their lead singer David Sylvian is a dead-ringer for Simon Le Bon. Or maybe visa versa. The bass and drumming are also very similar. Who knew there was musical line from Roxy Music to Duran Duran with Japan being the connector. Well, maybe just to me. Which is good, since I do like Roxy Music and Duran Duran; one would conclude that I would like this album and I do for the most part. I do believe there is some filler here and I do think their Velvet Underground cover of "All Tomorrow's Parties" is just OK. Original though. There are some some really songs. The album starts with title track which has a dance beat and kind of dreamy-sounding keyboards. The influence of Giorgio Moroder and on Duran Duran are both heard, which is a song about them struggling for success as well as noticing all the scenery as they tour. "In Vogue" is mostly instrumental with only three verses, sung in French, for a 6:29 minute-long song. It has an interesting bass intro, a dance beat and a haunting keyboard melody. The influence of Roxy Music is prominent. "Halloween" starts the second side with a saxophone and has a eerie keyboard sound in the background. I don't think the song has anything to do with the holiday. Overall, a good listen. This band was much bigger in the UK than in the States. I really only listened to them within the last ten years. A band definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the early to mid-1980's synth-pop scene.
Synth pop lluny de la comercialitat. A l'igual que The The, van ser rara avis en el génere. No ho van ser però a la década dels '80, a la que van ajudar a posar imatge i so ja des d'aquest disc del '79, plenament identificat amb el moviment dels new romantics. No hi ha hits, i el so lisérgic, que barreja les sonoritat dels anys berlinesos de Bowie amb les aventures musicals de Roxy Music, és més d'escoltar de forma pausada i reflexiva que com a banda sonora per anar a la platja
I'd never heard (of) this before but holy hell - i literally would have put a dollar on this being an early Duran Duran album (listen to "Halloween" especially). It's actually a pretty cool album, although I'm a little puzzled as to it being on this list. Maybe/probably because it was one of the first to adopt this sound - I suppose I just admitted as much calling them early Duran Duran. Strong 3 from/for me - I wonder if I'd have ranked this higher if I'd known it beforehand (i.e. nostalgia) and I'll probably listen again. 6/10 3 stars.
3.7 - A cool record that evokes a dark, futuristic atmosphere, like driving through a sleeping metropolis in the middle of night. Standouts: “The Other Side of Life”, “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”
I liked this album. Very Duran Duran but mellower. Nothing that hits hard enough to put on a playlist. Made me want to listen to Oingo Boingo and wonder why these are on the list and not Oingo
3/5 interesting but not enough
4/28/2022 - ALBUM #92 https://open.spotify.com/album/0QOBJYviordwqHAgv5g9m3?si=8DymYbWOSainkUeMB8nYyA Today's Album: "Quiet Life" by Japan - This album just kind of sucks in all honesty. Now, I usually don't just write off a record like that, but this really just feels like a record that does not need to exist. The sound this band is attempting was done better by it's contemporaries like Duran Duran for instance. The title track and opener Quiet Life honestly isn't a terrible song and as far as I can tell, it's really the hit that makes this band even qualify as a one-hit-wonder. Any of the songs that are somewhat likeable on this record are typically just shy of hitting the highlights threshold of 7.5 and that usually just spells doom for a record. Tracks like Dispair, In Vogue, and Halloween have some good instrumentals backing the track, but the vocals just really are not very good. There is a definite line in this kind of music where if someone goes too overboard with singing off key, it just sounds bad. It is an art that few punk acts and even fewer other acts can get right and this album just doesn't. The track All Tomorrow's Parties is a cover of a Velvet Underground track from more than 10 years earlier and comparing them back to back just shows the lack of talent in the vocalist and even in the band to an extent. I may be biased by my current dislike of 80's style vocals, but this really is just so unbearable. The only highlight to me on this track list is the closer and to me, it's really just carried by a pretty great jam session from the band. The vocalist is barely scraping by good enough of a performance and there's enough of an intriguing vibe to warrant a listen, but that really is the extent of how good I think this group can get at it's peak. Overall, this is an act that I can only see significance in if it is the first to do it's style (which is might be) because it has just been done so much better and in such a more listenable manor than this. Maybe it isn't my thing, maybe it actually is bad. Either way, give this one a listen if and only if you are a die hard for 80s music and can tune out some honestly unlistenable vocals. Highlights: The Other Side of Life Score: 5.5/10 Inoffensive instrumentals but a damn terrible vocalist
Bog standard new wave/new romantic gumpf. Someone had been listening to Roxy Music but the tunes juts aren't as good. Best Tracks: Quiet Life; Fall In Love With Me; In Vogue
Nice instrumental
Didn't know this album. Some decent synth pop tunes, some of the slow tunes were a bit brutal. It's decent probably a 2.5 for me, I'll round up to 3 since this was 1979.
Did Japan ever send a Cease & Desist letter to Duran Duran? Also, I’m not a fan of either, but I get why this was an influential (read: directly copied) record.
Interesting. Not my preferred flavor of 80s synth music.
80s synth. Not great, not terrible. For some reason the entire time listening to this one the lead singer kept reminding me of the Prom singer in the movie American Pie. No idea why that thought kept coming in my head, but it did. I went back and watched the prom in that movie and they're not even that similar, but my brain just can't shake the comparison.
Mwah, dit ging aan mij voorbij. Stem deed me in de verte wel denken aan de zanger van Tool.
Dit had wat Duran Duran achtige elementen, wat natuurlijk altijd goed is. Mooie stem, maar over het geheel iets te traag om echt indruk te maken.
Niet heel spannend, maar prima voor tijdens een autoritje.
Eh, this just sounds like a mediocre imitation of David Bowie
Didn’t listen that carefully but I actually kinda dug the mood
p436. 1979. 3 stars Thin White Duke impersonator and Brian Ferry sound-alike steals the best bits from Roxy Music's "Stranded" and "Manifesto" and creates the template for Duran Duran, Midge Ure-led Ultravox and the entire New Romantic movement. If you like synths and moodiness then you can appreciate how influential this was. If not, then you'll get bored with this VERY quickly.
03/16/22
Though I'm a fan of some New Wave, this veers more towards Techno-pop and feels a bit too pretentious to me. There are some good songs that have a bit of a Roxy Music/Bowie and maybe even Duran Duran vibe to it, so it did grow on me. The cover photo would probably stop me from listening, but I'm glad I took a listen.
Pretty decent. Title track and the Velvet Underground cover are the standouts. Nothing too crazy, but a pleasant listen.
Despair Welcome to Japan, a place where the things are not as such as they said it, but it’s louder than it looks. Keep calm and listen to the new wave, this band provides such as elements as in the whole 80s sold a bunch of records and different tunes from a lot of bands, names as a-ha, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, you name it. Jealously of them to create a modern sound when their genre was quite unknowable at its time, the music industry was another, well, there were no limits of creativity and no edges neither frontiers. Across the Pacific and surfing in Indian tides, they’re on the shore with a humble group of people playing their songs, people just don’t remember them as they deserve it. B
Mostly forgettable but plenty to like. Their influences are pretty obvious but this album was also pretty influential. the syth pop/new romantic style definetly took shape in the next couple years after this record.
Atmospheric synthwave from 1979. A good mix of poppy and more experimental elements. I liked it. 3.5/5.
Pretty average new wave.
album is a nice synth pop album a bit on the more slow and darker side of things
Decent stuff. Not extravagant, but easy enough to have on in the background. Favorite song: Alien
very of the times, still nice
Not bad, solid New Wave.
6/10 the most outstanding thing about this album is how much the guy sounds like morrisey
6/10. Bit better than I expected.
I don’t care for the vocals and it was generally slow paced for me. I enjoyed most of the vibes of the songs though and it’s maybe worth a revisit in a different setting. 6/10
I don’t know if I have heard of Japan before or not…maybe…but I have definitely never listened to an album. Not likely to dig this one out to listen again. I was confused at what band I was listening to. Wait, is this Duran Duran on a couple of tracks…maybe Depeche Mode on another. The album did not capture my attention, in any case. I was often bored. I guess that none of the tracks made much of an impression on me…forgetting the tune just after it ended. In fact, I was listening to a version of the album with some bonus single-versions of one of the tracks and when I got to them I paused and thought, “This song is familiar. Where have I heard it before?” Turns out that I had heard it just a couple of track earlier on the album… Thankfully I wasn’t being quizzed on what I had been listening to.
Fun, synth-y, sax-y late 70s/early 80s pop. A clear influence on Duran Duran. Not my favorite but good enough and the right beats per minute for an afternoon walk in the sunshine. Love the cover of All Tomorrow's Parties.
I was mostly astounded to learn about this band and hear how similar they are to Duran Duran (they came out around the same time in the same country). Kind of interesting that they fell apart right as Duran Duran were on the road to super-stardom. A solid album with some strong early-80s cuts.
This was interesting but not great. 3
Cover Impressions: More 80s New-Wave, fantastic. Do you like Glam and Synthesizers? If you answered yes then this should be right up your alley. On listen: Overall it's not bad, doesn't lean too heavily into the 80s weirdness but it is still there, there are some good hooks in this. I like the melody in "Fall in love with me". Giving me Depeche Mode or Duran Duran vibes, vocals are very familiar sounding but they are the weakest part of this. The more I'm listening the more forgiving I'm feeling of this after my initial distaste for what I was about to be getting into, it's not cringey and there's some pretty solid arrangements. I'm usually not one for the moody depressing stuff but Despair, and In Vogue both had lengthy brooding instrumental sections that I was just vibing with. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to revisit but I appreciated this one.
"despair" certain lives up to the title. At the tip of the new wave era, I think this would have lived up with a lot of the genre.
It seems a strange mash up of Roxy Music (without so much warble) and Duran Duran. I like the horns used with the synth and the broodiness of many of the tracks. Nothing stands out as amazing, but overall reasonably enjoyable.
Basically 80s but it ain't so... cool
Sounds a lot like early DuranDuran
Je ne pense pas grand chose de cet album, qui ne m'a ni surpris, ni interessé, ni plu. Mais j'accepte la sentence, après une série des plus excitantes concoctée par Robert. L'occasion pour moi de vous en dire un peu plus sur cet homme. Suite à ma récente promotion en tant que bras droit de Robert, j'ai la chance de pouvoir vivre au plus près du gourou du générateur, et d'ainsi me rendre compte du travail formidable qu'il propose. Il faut savoir que Robert est en contact permanent avec les quatres coins du globe, afin d'être mis au courant des dernières sorties musicales, mais également afin d'organiser des descentes de police/milice si necessaire. Il entretient d'excellentes relations avec la plupart des chefs d'état, qui le laissent opérer sans la moindre barrière. Là où la journée de Robert devient complétement formidable, c'est sur le coup de 19h. C'est à cet instant que Robert décide de l'album qui arrivera sur vos écrans au petit matin. Pour se faire, Robert a un long processus de pensée, bien trop complexe et trop long à décrire ici, qui débouche toujours sur un album qui n'est pas là par hasard. Alors la prochaine fois que vous critiquerez l'album généré du jour, tournez sept fois votre langue dans votre claque merde, si vous ne voulez pas vous exposer à la vendetta de Robert.
Nisam pozorno, igro sam roket ligu dok sam slušo. Šta sam pohvato svidlo mi se.
This was OK. I'm not a new-wave guy, but the songs were varied and some were catchy.
Very distinctly New Wave. Interestingly enough, belongs to the New Romantic scene form the UK in the early 80's (see: Duran Duran) that took New Wave and added a glam spin on it à la Bowie. Tres chic! Big focus on ambience with this album. Japan likes to fully flesh out their environmental soundscapes, which ultimately sets them apart from other New Wave artists of the day. Otherwise it's not all that notable. Not bad!
Not bad
80s vibe from a late 70s album. I enjoyed some of it
I judged an album by its cover and expected some Depeche Mode/OMD-like music. Wasn't floored by it, but did enjoy. Prob addition to library.
If I heard this in 1979 upon release I probably would have dismissed it since my hatred for disco had, by that time, extended to almost anything played to fill a dance floor. The first few songs are quite good. I have one question about the ballads: Why? The album recovers a bit with All Tomorrow's Parties but I wish they had more dance floor stuff on this LP. I just made 1979 Johnny cringe.
The title track is epic early synth-pop and I thank 1001 for bringing back that memory. The next two tracks caught my attention too, Despair at first with its haunting intro, the again with the clumbsy singing in French. I like the song-writing and arrangements enough to give this a higher mark but I find David Sylvian's voice wears on you after a half-dozen songs.
I was a heavy listener of Japan in the late 70s so I've tried to get past my early fan bias. Now I also have to get past the silly hair, makeup and New Romantic costumes. Actually it wasn't as bad as I expected with some songs holding up pretty good eg All Tomorrow's Parties. Kudos to them for being such early pioneers in the Synth-Pop genre and influencing groups such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, ABC, Human League etc. But is there anything gloomier sounding than David Sylvain’s voice?
Kinda like Duran Duran. Relatively enjoyable listen.
Interesting album. I wouldn't have guessed it was released in 1979. Good electro/synth vibes, with variance enough between tracks to let me know there were differences. With that said, the album itself didn't strike me as powerful enough for 4 stars, so it gets a good 3.
Italo disco meets Bowie met een vleugje Air. Heerlijk poppie album met veel potentiele hits. Heel erg modern voor zijn tijd, veel synthesizers maar ook gewoon nog gitaren en drums. Dan nog zo'n typisch Engelse zanger en ik vind het leuk! Sommige nummers hebben iets duisters waardoor je een beetje een hardrock sfeertje proeft, maar het blijft toch allemaal in de poppie Italo disco hoek. Helaas zitten er aardig wat "quiet" oftewel langzame balads bij, die mij niet zo aantrekken. Leukste nummers zijn "Fall In Love With Me" en "In Vogue".
eh. cute velvet underground cover i suppose.
Too loud
It seems a little ahead of it’s time - I can’t really comprehend that it’s from the 70s. Kind of a classically good album, I don’t think it’s anything completely unique, but it’s pretty solid.
synths 80....que decir
I really liked the first 30 seconds but then this went a little too nerdy/Japanese anime soundtrack for me
Lovely spicy 80s album
Some catchy songs but nothing really stands out. Overall it's good, but nothing extraordinary.
All Tomorrow’s Parties was catchy, kind of relaxing. Not a bad album, but probably not my bag.
took a while to get into it, but its a chill album. would use as background music again probably.
Best Songs: Despair, A Foreign Place Worst Song: Fall In Love With Me
A perfectly fine pop album. Enjoyed
gemütlicher New Wave
Beep boop
Synth/art pop stuff like this isn’t really my thing, but I can appreciate it for what it is so a 2.5 leaning to a 3.
I do really like synth pop but maybe this was a bit early for me?
Poor man’s Duran Duran... and much better than I expected.
This sounds like a scary/emo Duran Duran. Really love the use of fretless bass for texture. Good album. Dark synth pop is not something you hear too often, but these folks do a great job of making music that you know a vampire from the 80's would make.
which came first the japan or the duran duran? i kept thinking i was listening to a duran album. so if japan came first it deserves respect, if duran came first it deserves derision. i've checked with my sources and japan came first. nuff respec. especially like their version of ATP.
Synth pop de la New Wave. Algunas canciones chulas pero se hace largo. No brilla demasiado pero es escuchable.
Sounds like a generic New Wave band. Nothing super interesting here for me.
I moved to Japan in the summer of 1982, three years after the release of this. The Japanese had never heard of it, but had heard of me Nigel Spackman. Their entire culture since '82 is based on my suggestions. Especially the manga porn stuff. I love a bit of that. An octopus strangling a school girl? Yes please.
Yeah is okay. Nothing stood out as bad. Listened without any worries at all, enjoyed it. Probably won't bother again...
Eh. It's okay.
Funky electronic
Rock, cool synths, bass and drums. Worth re-listening
Pop un tanto blandengue y un tanto plano. Se puede escuchar, pero tiene un aspecto muy de los 80. Ritmos suaves y con voz relajada
Pre Duran Duran influencer. I liked the album. Although it won't be a part of the regular rotation, I'm glad I listened.
Good start and interesting but drags at the end
This album was…interesting. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I didn’t hate it. It was just a bit strange to my ears.
Never heard of them before. Not bad. Won't be my #1 go to, but I enjoyed half of it.
Crazy how much this sounds like Duran Duran. Obviously a big influence on many future bands.
meh
It's really hard to believe this was released in 1979. When I think of Japan I think of the 80s, and this is full of their typical electronica, but it doesn't sound at all out of date, even today. I don't love it, nor hate it, but I can see that it's very impressive for its time.
"Despair" is very dark. Apart from this. not too much standout.
Some solid stuff here, but sometimes it drifts into a bad Bowie impression backed by saxophones
Not great, kinda boring.
This sounds like generic British stuff, not a fan. It was definitely more interesting to see the release date. (It sounds much newer than that.) But still... meh.
Gar nichts meins Zu vie synthy zu viel 80s
Another sad 80s boy 2/5 but maybe I’m grumpy
Parts of this really cook. Other parts lag
Escucha
Ei ihan auennut minulle.
Välillä ihan jees mutta ei nyt mun cup of Tea ⭐️⭐️
Had all the ingredients but didn't bake well for me, might be a mistake to go 2* but it's a 5/10 for me and will try to revisit sometime
Disappointed in this one. I thought I'd enjoy it - I know one or two tracks by Japan, perhaps from a bit later in their career - but it just seemed dull and passive, nothing grabbed me.
It was okay? I guess? Idk there’s really nothing special about thing here. Bass player is good though.
Boring synthpop rock. Vocals are decent. I feel like I should hate this style of singing, but I don't. Being a weeb during the 70s is kinda crazy though. They didn't even have good anime back then.
This wasn’t good
The only quiet life I am after is not listening to this
Ugh could not get into this
Another heavily synthed new wave album, this one had a couple pretty good tracks but not really my style.
Weird synth music
Voorloper electronica
the glam-rock/synth-pop blend is very easy to spot. i can say the mixture was well done even though i only enjoyed listening to Fall In Love With Me. I would have liked Other Side Of Life much more if it had a pink floyd-like guitar solo at the end. the other songs were not as catchy nor funky but 1 star would be unfair and hypocritical to the potential Other Side Of Life has and to how much i enjoyed Fall In Love With Me.
I like the fretless bass on some the songs, but that’s about it.
eh, alright, sounds like tears for fears a little vocally. some repetitive noise in a way that gets on my nerves
No, Mr. Dimery, I really don’t need to hear every single generic British new wave album before I die. Minus one for all tracks being two minutes too long.
I though I was not going to like this new wave pop album. I was right. 3/10
Hard to get excited with this one. Terrible band name and it sounded like Duran Duran without any hooks. Strong 2.
Unremarkable, but decent ambient/background tracks. That doesn’t lend itself to be an essential album though. 2.5/5 rounding down
Knowing this was released in 1979 impresses me because it sounds like something from 5 years after that. Otherwise, I'm not really feeling it.
Mix of electronic sounds with guitar. Arrangements repetitive.
It's cool to hear the shift from the distinctly 70s as it blends into the distinctly 80s. It was just a bit slow for my taste
Some good parts, but ultimately the songs are too long. Didn’t hate it, but just ended up feeling bored by it.
Trying to be David Bowie and lowk not really working
Quiet life and life in Tokyo were pretty good, but everything else was not good.
My new struggle with this journey is the 'why'? Why must I hear this album before I die? Because it's a great album? Because it influenced another, more successful act? Because if I want to be a music snob, I have to have the knowledge of Japan? This album is fine. I could tell you it existed and play you a song or 2 that sound like Duran Duran. That's all I get out of today's expierence.
i'm glad to see that white people making their artist names randomly themed after japan isn't just something that popped up around the 2010s. it's fitting here because with the lead singer's voice i expected him to start wailing out a vkei song any second fave track: halloween
Duran Duran took this and made it eleventy times better
I can hear the influence this had on some banmds from the late 90s, 00's and 10's but it's not my vibe.
OK
Jesus Christ, this went off a cliff didn't it? Why is there so much bass on the vocals? We also have the English guy speaking French AND calling his band Japan? Pick a slightly above average IQ white guy quirk buddy jeez. Pick a "guy who calls himself a creative" lane here, pal. Nyahh I wanted to hate all of this. It's not that bad. I mean for every "Quiet Life" and "All Tomorrow's Parties" there is a "Despair" which crash lands our spacecraft onto planet boredom. Aliens is rad though. I don't know. This was alright. What do you want from me? Do you want me to tell that I've been to Japan once? I have! It was cool. Of course as a white fellow who enjoyed Japan (the place, again, band is meh) I am frequently told "errrm they have lots of problems you know" as if this "news" will render my world to dust under the weight of their transcendent geopolitical knowledge. Frankly, they're pretty comparable to the problems in Canada, and at least you don't have to listen to an opioid user's iPhone 3 at full blast on the public transit system. I don't know. I had a good time. The ability to understand that more than one thing can be true can officially be declared dead. Thanks social media. Nuance: ∞-2007 2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Bullet Train in the Japanese sense, not so much the American sense (gun attack at train station)
I disliked this band the first time I heard them . . when they were called Duran Duran.
It was like discovering Duran Duran B-sides
How much New Wave do I HAVE to listen to before I die?
Too experimental? Too weird? Too Boring? Too much? Best Song: Quiet Life Rating: 4.0/10 Stars: 2
listened to it yesterday, and couldn't tell you a thing about it. didn't have much to capture my interest
I listened to this the other day and I don’t really remember too much about it. I do remember that it was pretty generic 80s music for the most part. I feel like this is strongly in the one hit wonder territory more than super influential, maybe I’m wrong but it doesn’t seem that way at surface level.
Chato p caralho. Arrastado
first couple songs are cool. awful cover of “All Tomorrow’s Parties” in the middle and a straight up weird slow sax song
Edged between 2 and 3, but with most of the time resting in 2 land. Their take on All Tomorrow's Parties was a great take on a wonderful song. But much of it was a bit moring, often droning and his singing seemed a bit flat and off key at times. I'm not a huge New Wave fan and this did not seem like best-of-breed of the genre.
Just not for me
Although published 1979, the sound is very 80s. They obviously had an impact on bands like Duran Duran, OMD, etc. So in this way interesting and worthy of being here in the list. But for me not the right music.
ooby scooby dooby music
Weebs?? hell naa
Kind of boring.
Was there ever a Duran Japan superband?
Dig the early new wave music, but the singers nasally voice bugs the hell out of me. And my ex loved this band, so I’ll admit to a bias there
First song was good, rest was eh
album #16 I saw one reviewer saying this album is like Duran Duran on downers and I haven't stopped laughing. It's true, though! I do enjoy that you can see/hear where a lot of 80s synth got it's inspiration, and I rate them for that! However, a lot of the album falls a little flat to me, either sounding indistinguishable from the last or just a bit too forgettable. I'm giving a 2/5 because I liked a couple of the tracks and I like the influence the album had on the following decade, but it's lack of memorability means it loses out on a 3. average track rating: 2.6 favourite track(s): fall in love with me, foreign place least favourite track(s): all tomorrow's parties album rating: 2/5 number of albums left to review: 1,073 number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 8 (+1 Quiet Life) albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 3 albums from the list I won't include on my list: 13
Wanted to like this as I've heard a few tracks that I've enjoyed beforehand. A lot of it all fell flat.
This wasn’t a good album. I’m not sure what was so good about it. Vocals were bad but the beats were ok
I enjoyed Halloween but I was pretty ambivalent towards the rest of this
Perfect new wave. But sadly I don’t like new wave.
To quote Patrick Bateman, this was a “little too, ‘new wave’ for my taste”. This one wasn’t for me, not a fan of the vocals and it just didn’t do anything interesting for me, was happy for it to be over.
chill listen.
No private session used for Spotify. Kudos to Japan for nailing that 80's synth heavy pop sound a year early. I don't like that 80's synth heavy pop sound. This album reminds me of early Duran Duran, but without the talented bassist and guitarist...also with a worse singer.
einschläfernd
Oh, another early New Wave album that no one remembers anymore! At least on “Quiet Life,” Japan sounds like (almost) every other New Wave band. That's why I won't go into further detail and will give it two stars this time as well. The emergence of New Wave must have been very important to the authors. Have I mentioned that there are too many of these albums on the list?
Meh
A British band singing in French, pretending to be Japanese. Despite the identity crisis, these guys put out some alright 80s synth-pop. Half the album was good with "Halloween," 'Quiet Life," and "All Tomorrow's Parties" leading the charge. A few slow, dull tracks that had me nodding off. Not sure the significance in music history with this one and why it lands a spot on the list so 2.18 stars.
Not outwardly repulsive but it just slides off my brain. I don't feel anything listening to this. The vanilla oatmeal of British music.
No comment
suffers from being one of the firsts to influence too much. this is like watching the star wars trilogy then reading dune and thinking old news
Certainly an early example of the kind of synth pop music that would be one of the staple sounds coming from the UK through the mid-80s. It was not a sound I particularly liked, and this album just seems to go on and on. I didn't feel like my ears were bleeding as I listened to it, so it's got that going for it, I guess. But in the two years surrounding THIS album's release, Warren Zevon put out Excitable Boy and Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, neither of which made the 1001 albums list. Something really doesn't add up there, does it?
Eh, not feeling this, but it’s not terrible.
Not my favorite. A bit pretentious (which isn't always a deal breaker) and too much casio keyboard. I know it came out in the early days of new wave, but it doesn't hold up well. Japan walked to Depeche Mode could run
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Despair Pretty boring. Music from the 80s - the new wave genre - continues to enforce my dislike of... the genre. I chose despair for the standout track because it was probably the most interesting track (and instrumental) on the album and because it best represented my approach to this album, knowing I was in for yet-another-new-wave-album-from-the-80s.
kind of creepy which I like. there is some sort of quiet despondency about this general 80s goth/glam rocky kind of music
Outside of the Velvet Underground cover, this album just wasn't my speed. I didn't hate it, but I didn't get into it.
A schizophrenic album. One I don’t like.
It wasn't bad but honestly not that memorable.
Some cool stuff, but mostly forgettable. Wish we could get half stars. 2 feels too punitive, 3 feels too much. Oh well
Hmmm
I’m starting to hate the people who made this list. This is not a ‘must listen’ in any sense of the phrase. To be positive: I have heard worse and ‘A Foreign Place’ was pretty good if I had to choose a song. It’s cool that it inspired a lot of bands to do this sound much better and in more interesting ways than this. Very forgettable.
2.5
Like it's not a bad album, I just couldn't care for it.
This album sounds like an identity crisis, and not one that's fun to listen to. Some good ideas, neat elements, moments that I thought to myself "gee, maybe I should like this," but ultimately, it never gels into anything. It's deeply frustrating to listen to and yet completely forgettable once it's over.
The people of Japan are owed an apology. 2/5.
I don't understand. It feels like a good album, nice music, but not enough in general. I think because it's a very transitional album. I feel like it's influential, somewhere between one decade's sound and the next. Like the transition from glam rock in Bowie's style plus rock, but it's already a kind of synth-pop sound, but not really a synth-pop. "You can't have your cake and eat it too" It's really good technically and etc, but...Do I want to listen to it? Probably no. If it occurs on a radio, I'll be jovial to hear a Quiet Life or Fall In Love With Me, or Alien. It's all good music, I respect a try of mixing all of this, but I don't want it in my playlist. 2/5 —————————————— No liked songs
Not really a synth pop fan. While I'm sure it was an influential album like everyone keeps saying, I don't like what it influenced. That or people saying they were inspired by Roxy Music- another band I'm not a fan of. Favourite song: All Tomorrows Parties Least: In Vogue
This is pretty painful. Just the worst example of 80s British pop and nothing I want to listen again. 3/10 (1.5/5)
Found this to be underwhelming