Shake it Paradise by Toshinobu Kubota - 1986

Forty-some years ago, a young Japanese boy came into possession of one of the greatest albums ever recorded: Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. That moment became the spark that ignited a lifelong journey into becoming one of the most influential figures in Japanese pop and R&B: Toshinobu Kubota.

Kubota’s path into music began in earnest in 1981, when he met Ichiro Haneda at Komazawa University. The two formed a band called Hottentots, marking Kubota’s first serious step into the music scene. Just a year later, he entered the Eastwest ’82 contest, where his exceptional vocal ability earned him the Best Vocalist award. 

As his reputation grew, Kubota began appearing as a guest vocalist on various projects, including works by famous jazz pianist Naoya Matsuoka (松岡直也). By the mid-1980s, he had expanded his role beyond performing, establishing himself as a songwriter and composer for major Japanese artists such as Hiromi Iwasaki, Kyoko Koizumi, and Toshihiko Tahara. This period of behind-the-scenes work allowed him to refine his sound—an increasingly confident blend of Japanese pop sensibilities with the groove and phrasing of American R&B.

That evolution culminated in his debut album, Shake It Paradise, released on September 10, 1986. The album arrived at a pivotal moment when Japanese pop music was beginning to more fully embrace the influence of American R&B.

THE MUSIC

1. 
   Ryu-sei No Saddle⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Olympic Wa Hinokuruma⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Shake It Paradise⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Missing⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Shitsui No Down Town⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. To the Party⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Mou Hitori No Kimi Wo Nokoshit⭐⭐⭐
8. Somebody's Sorrow⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Dedicate (To M.E.)⭐⭐⭐
10. Inside Carnival⭐⭐⭐
11. For You⭐⭐⭐

THE VIERDICT

I once came across a YouTube comment calling Toshinobu Kubota the “Japanese Bruno Mars.” I couldn’t tell if it was meant as a compliment or not—after all, Bruno Mars himself has often faced accusations of “pretending to be Black.” But I get the comparison. I’ve always believed that if music is truly the universal language, then race doesn’t matter. That said, it’s clear that Kubota took inspiration from groups like New Edition and Boyz II Men, building his sound around that smooth, radio-friendly R&B style.

In the 1990s, Kubota even tried to cross over into the U.S., moving to New York with the determination to break into the American market. Unfortunately, it never really panned out. Perhaps if he had taken the “Bobby Caldwell approach”—keeping his face in the shadows and letting the music speak for itself—he might have stood a better chance. The truth is, Kubota wasn’t offering something radically different from what Black artists were already perfecting at the time.

Still, that doesn’t make his music disposable, far from it.  Shake It Paradise proves Kubota had a keen ear for R&B hooks and arrangements, delivering a record that feels both globally informed and distinctly his own. Tracks like “Ryūsei no Saddle” and the title cut “Shake It Paradise” still hold up today—if they came on in a club, I’d have zero complaints. The album is undeniably a product of its time, a prototypical mid-80s pop-R&B record, but it’s executed with such polish despite being a bit clichéd.

Shake It Paradise is like  a “familiar dish, well-cooked.” You’ve tasted it before, but there’s comfort in the familiarity, and a certain satisfaction in how skillfully it’s prepared. That being said, if you want to listen to the best Kubota has to offer, just listen to his compilation album THE BADDEST. It has all of his best songs of the 80s (except Dance if You Want it, for some odd reason), it's the best way to experience the Kubota at his peak.

Nude Man by Southern All Stars - 1982

Whenever I talk to Japanese tourists about Shōwa-era music, one band name comes up constantly: Sazan—better known by their full name, Southern All Stars. Led by the charismatic Keisuke Kuwata(桑田佳祐), this Kanagawa-based rock band crafted a unique identity rooted in American rock & roll, Latin music, and highly suggestive lyrics. Arguably, their most famous song is their breakthrough debut single, “Katte ni Sindbad”, which shot into the Top 10 upon its release in 1978.

Their fifth original album, "NUDE MAN," released on July 21, 1982, is considered a landmark album, highlighting their musical evolution. One of the key players in the album's production was Keyboardist Yoshihiro Kunimoto, who played a major role in Sazan's live concerts. Surprisingly, this period also marked the band’s growing interest in songs with socially conscious themes. Despite the album's funky, upbeat sound, some tracks drew inspiration from contemporary issues such as the plight of Japanese war orphans left behind in China and the political scandal of the Lockheed bribery case.

So... we gotta address the naked elephant in the room, and talk about the jacket photo on the album. Captured by photographer Katsuo Hanzawa, it's an image of an Australian hippie with whom Hanzawa lived in a rented fishing hut during a photography trip to India in the early 1970s, encapsulating a sense of freedom and cultural exploration that was synonymous with the band. Kuwata, for whatever reason, found the photograph resonant and amusing, deciding to incorporate it into the album's visual identity with Hanzawa's consent. 

Despite the album's success, lead vocalist Kuwata’s reflections on "NUDE MAN" were mixed. He described the album as "boring" and expressed a lukewarm sentiment towards some of the songs. Yet, he also acknowledged the creative liberation the album afforded him, stating that it allowed him to pursue musical endeavors that were previously out of reach. Kuwata also recognized the album's pivotal role in shaping the band’s image, suggesting that it solidified the Southern All Stars’ identity as synonymous with summer, for better or worse. 

THE MUSIC

1. Oh! Claudia⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. The Legend of DJ Kobe (D.J.コービーの伝説) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Memories of Star Dust (思い出のスター・ダスト)⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Giving Up On The Summer (夏をあきらめて)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Chasing the Flowing Clouds (流れる雲を追いかけて)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. Rainbow Coloured The Night Club 匂艶The Night Club ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. "I've met you, I've seen you, my sick mind" 逢いたさ見たさ病める My Mind⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Plastic Super Star (Live In Better Days)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Lamentations of a Female Poet 女流詩人の哀歌⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. Nude Man ⭐⭐⭐⭐
11. Cat 猫⭐⭐⭐
12. Come Jamaica 来いなジャマイカ⭐⭐⭐⭐
13. Just A Little Bit⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE VERDICT 

When it comes to summer pop in Japan, names like Tube or Omega Tribe are usually the first to surface. Omega Tribe and Southern All Stars (SAS), in many ways, are the premier summer bands; however, their differences are perfectly articulated by prolific songwriter & producer Tetsuji Hayashi:

“If Southern All Stars is a beach house, then Omega Tribe is a bistro. The former can go anywhere in the country, even if there is a curtain of ice. But the latter is pretty much restricted to Shōnan or Suma. That’s where SAS’s strength lies.”

Where Omega Tribe is bound to a single, summer vibe, SAS thrives on flexibility, which allows them to remain fresh long after the season fades. Their 1982 album Nude Man embodies this versatility—a strange yet addictive collage of Southern rock, disco, 1960s soul, and Latin influences, all anchored by Keisuke Kuwata’s bluesy, soulful vocals.

One of the album’s standouts, “Natsu o Akiramete” (夏をあきらめて), has become one of SAS’s most enduring ballads, a breezy anthem of summer love. Remarkably, Kuwata recorded the vocal while suffering from a TMJ disorder—yet it still shines as one of his best performances. “Chasing the Flowing Clouds” (流れる雲を追いかけて) offers a somber honky-tonk ballad telling the story of a mother enduring hardship in war-torn Manchuria. While it's a beautiful song by itself, it's extremely jarring, as it is immediately followed by “Nijiiro The Night Club”, the album’s showstopper: a bombastic, Latin-flavored track brimming with strings, brass, and layered vocals that perfectly encapsulate SAS’s signature sound. Then there’s “Koi na Jamaica” (来いなジャマイカ)—a tongue-in-cheek reggae cut that’s as provocative as it is goofy, with the lyrics cheekily name-dropping Marley, Jagger, and Ray Parker Jr., while rhyming “erection” with “connection.” While each song varies in tone, you can tell that they were constantly looking for new ways to go all-out in the studio, Plastic Super Star being the perfect example, as it's produced to sound like a live concert, Kuwata went so far as to invite dozens of students from Aoyama Gakuin University, his old stomping grounds, to serve as the rowdy audience.

Listening to Nude Man is like wandering through a raucous summer festival: eclectic, noisy, a little messy, but utterly unforgettable. This record is a testament to Southern All Stars’ ability to pivot between genres while always sounding unmistakably like themselves.

Blue's by UDAKAN - 1988

The Blues are the cornerstone of American music. Artists like Muddy Waters and B.B. King laid the foundation for what we would eventually call Rock & Roll. Although the genre’s popularity waned over the decades, it experienced a significant revival in the 1980s, carried by the passion and soul of artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray.

Color me surprised, then, when I discovered that the Blues also found a new home across the Pacific—in the bustling streets of Osaka. By the 1970s, a thriving underground scene had taken root in the Kansai region, where bands like Funny Company, West Road Blues Band, and Masaki Ueda’s South To South reinterpreted the genre through a distinctly Japanese lens. They didn’t just imitate American forms—they injected their own regional flavor, blending Kansai’s rough-and-ready spirit with the raw emotion of Delta and Chicago blues.

Among these groups, one of the most famous names to emerge was Ukadan (憂歌団). Founded by Mitsuki Kimura (木村充揮) and Kantaro Uchida (内田勘太郎), the band began performing in the early 1970s under the heavy influence of American blues musicians. But unlike many copy bands of the era, Ukadan adapted the blues to the Kansai dialect and daily life. Their performances carried what critics called the “smell of the street,” making their music resonate deeply with ordinary listeners.

The best example is their 1975 debut single “Osōji Obachan” (“Cleaning Lady”)—a satirical take on the life and personality of an Osaka cleaning woman. While catchy and full of swagger, the song was banned from airplay just a week after release, accused of mocking working-class women. Ironically, the controversy only cemented Ukadan’s reputation as a band unafraid to push boundaries.

Over the next decade, their name became synonymous with Japan’s homegrown blues. That reputation reached its peak in June 1988, when Ukadan became the first Japanese band ever to perform at the Chicago Blues Festival, standing shoulder to shoulder with the music’s originators. That same year, they released their most iconic album, simply titled “BLUE’S”. Produced by famed lyricist Chinfa Kan, this record confirmed their place not just in Japanese music history, but in the global story of the blues.

THE MUSIC

1. 大阪ビッグ・リバー・ブルース⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. ちっちゃなダイヤモンド / Little Diamond⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. 二人でいようよ/ Let's be together ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. かぞえきれない雨⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. 働け、ブルース・バンド⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. 木綿のシャツをつくっておくれ / Make me a cotton shirt⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. オンリー・ロンリー・ジャマイカ⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Fisherman's Blues⭐⭐⭐
9. Angel On My Shoulder⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. とどかぬ想い～I Say Love You, Only～⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE VERDICT

I wasn’t sure what I expected going into this one. The opening track, “Osaka Big River Blues,” immediately reminded me of Masaki Ueda’s signature ballad, “Osaka Bay Blues.” Honestly? It’s just as good. Something about Kimura’s raspy vocals evokes the grit of Howlin’ Wolf or Joe Cocker, perfectly matching the band’s down-to-earth style.

Songs like “Little Diamond” use the metaphor of a diamond to describe the precious, irreplaceable things we hold in our daily lives. That kind of lyricism, paired with Ukadan’s gritty blues-rock instrumentation, shows their intimate understanding of what the blues is really about—turning ordinary struggle and longing into something universal.

“Countless Rain” (かぞえきれない雨) is another standout, a deeply evocative blues ballad that channels heartbreak and isolation through weather imagery. The rain becomes a relentless force, pounding at the narrator’s heart like unshakable sorrow. Pair that with a lonely highway at night, and you’ve got a song that hits as both raw poetry and a badass driving soundtrack.

Funny enough, with most J-rock bands I encounter, this album veers into other genres with equal quality. “Let’s Be Together” (二人でいようよ) drifts into a light, breezy bossa nova, the kind of track you’d hear in a quiet coffeehouse. Meanwhile, “Make Me a Cotton Shirt” (木綿のシャツをつくっておくれ) plays like a jazz standard lifted straight from the Great American Songbook, warm and timeless.

That’s what makes diving into albums like this so rewarding: discovering the many ways American music gets reinterpreted through the lens of another culture. Ukadan don’t just cover the blues—they live it, while bending its vocabulary into something distinctly their own.