oil on canvas

subtitled the very best of japan
not the country but the group of the same name
i approached viewing this dvd with some degree of trepidation
for these days i tend to avoid most things 80's in the musical sense
i like to think it is because there is so much great new music about
or maybe as popular opinion would have it the music then was um forgettable
but in fact for me the 80's were quite liberating times musically
most days were spent figuring out which gig to go to that night
distance presented no obstacle and enthusiasm was in abundance
there's a number of musicians i hooked into then
that i still listen out for and keep going back to
not for the sake of nostalgia as i do not subscribe to that
but just because the music now and then is very good
mr david sylvian would be one of a handful from that era
that still gets my undivided attention with every release
so when i stumbled upon this dvd featuring him in his first band
i just had to add it to the collection of 'to be viewed one day'
tonight i fired up the trusty projector, inserted the dvd and observed
the first 7 tracks are promotional videos for the band
number 1 is titled life in tokyo and we witness the band in full glam mode
there's a bunch of very tidily dressed lads with full makeup
a very cool attitude and equally impressive musicianship
in each of the subsequent videos the demeanour is consistent
and the point is made that this was a very eclectic outfit
having a firm handle on both sound and image
it's odd that the dvd extras appear before the main feature
made me think maybe the main show is not that good
we are in the hammersmith odeon in 1983 for a live concert
from memory this must have been one of their final shows
there seems to be a lot going on aurally and visually
and another dimension has been added to the dvd
with a constant stream of amazing photographs of the orient mixed in
the band is very percussive, bassy and as you would expect
has a not unhealthy component of synthesizers and keyboards
david sylvian himself is in out-front solo mode
dressed as sharply as ever and with a lot of close-ups
each tune has a completely different look and feel
and played so confidently and produced so well
it's almost impossible to pick this for a live concert
gentlemen take polaroids is as good as i remembered it
visions of china is full of them and played very strongly
canton is their take on jean michael jarre and more
ghosts is just the best song and done brilliantly here
there's 12 tunes in total making up the concert
me - very pleasantly surprised at the quality of this one
the concert is one that would stand up to repeat play
japan - beautiful country - great band