Caramel Mama by Tin Pan Alley - 1975

Some of the most influential bands are the ones that work behind the scenes. They are usually in the form of session musicians but they're so reliable that multiple artists end up relying on them for their services. In the American 60s, we had groups like the Wrecking Crew & The Funk Brothers, and in the 80s you had Toto. Meanwhile, in Japan, one music group would end up fulfilling this role as the "first-call gang", whose sound was so unique it would serve the foundation of modern Japanese music.

Tin Pan Alley was one of the most important bands in Japanese history. Their mastery of American-style production would help define genres like New Music and City Pop, and by extension, brought Japanese music into the modern era. After the breakup of legendary rock band Happy End in 1973, bassist Haruomi Hosono (細野晴臣) went to record his solo album from his own residence in Iruma, Saitama Prefecture. He brought with him fellow guitarist Shigeru Suzuki (鈴木茂), alongside drummer Tatsuo Hayashi (林立夫), & keyboard player Masataka Matsutoya (松任谷正隆) from the folk band Four Joe Half (A Japanese pun that translates to Yojohan/四畳半). After recording Hosono's album they decided to stick together and provide sound production for other records, thus forming the band Caramel Mama. The name Caramel Mama originated from the Japanese slang term referring to overzealous conservative mothers who would invade college campuses to dissuade young people from joining protest movements using sweets and treats... We can assume that they named their band ironically.

Tin Pan Alley was the driving force behind the New Music scene in the 1970s. After the dissolution of the influential rock band Happy End in 1973, bassist Haruomi Hosono (細野晴臣) began working on his solo album, Hosono House, which would be recorded from his own home in the city of Iruma, Saitama Prefecture. He recruited former Happy End guitarist Shigeru Suzuki (鈴木茂) alongside drummer Tatsuo Hayashi (林立夫), & keyboard player Masataka Matsutoya (松任谷正隆) from the folk band Four Joe Half. Together they would go on to form a band originally conceived under the name Caramel Mama, a slang term from that era that referred to overzealous conservative Japanese mothers who were trying to dissuade college students from taking part in the left-wing student movements of that time. It's safe to say they named their band ironically.

Caramel Mama's debut as a backing band was for singer-songwriter Yumi Arai's (荒井由実) debut album, Hikoki Gumo, in 1973. Since then they have been a backing band for almost all of the most influential artists of the 70s, including Yumi Arai, Bread & Butter, Kaze, and many more. In the process, they formed a large collective of like-minded artists, such as Minako Yoshida(吉田美奈子), Hiroshi Sato(佐藤博), Akiko Yano (矢野顕子), & Yoshitaka Minami (南佳孝). The collective eventually was renamed Tin Pan Alley in homage to the collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City who dominated the popular music of the United States. They became incredibly influential, eventually evolving into the Japanese equivalent of The Wrecking Crew, backing many of the best acts of the '70s until their breakup in 1977. Within that time they've released their own standalone material, which began with their debut record, simply titled, Tin Pan Alley. 

On top of the four core members, Tin Pan Alley took advantage of their huge circle of talent to provide a star-studded production team. Nearly every name that we associate with New Music/City Pop today has participated on this album. On vocals (including backing) alone, we have Hosono, Suzuki, Matsutoya, Yoshitaka Minami, Taeko Ohnuki (大貫妙子), Tatsuro Yamashita (山下達郎), Makoto Kubota (久保田麻琴), Haruko Kuwana (桑名晴子) and her rockstar brother Masahiro Kuwana (桑名正博). Both Takashi Matsumoto (松本隆) and Yumi Arai contribute as lyricists. We also get Akiko Yano on piano, bassist Tsugutoshi Goto (後藤次利), legendary guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka (高中正義), and percussionist Nobuo Saito (斉藤 信男).

THE MUSIC

1. Caramel Rag: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Chopper's Boogie: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Hadoboirudo Town (はあどぼいるど町): ⭐⭐⭐ 
4. Being on the moon (月にてらされて): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
5. Choo Choo Gatta Goto '75: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
6. She Is Gone: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. The Girl with the Freckles (ソバカスのある少女): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
8. Jackson: ⭐⭐⭐
9. Yellow Magic Carnival: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. Ballade Of Aya: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐

Like many New Music albums of the 70s, Tin Pan Alley serves as a sort of a sampler platter of all the different styles of music they have mastered throughout the years, all combined with the band's signature "Yellow Magic '' production style and Hosono's strange sense of humor. Caramel Rag is a comedic overture featuring a ragtime sound backed by weird sound effects of roosters crowing, alarms ringing, and... bombs dropping? Upbeat funky jam sessions like Chopper's Boogie, highlight their knack for Jazz-rock fusion, with Takanaka's epic style guitar-shredding giving the song a vibe that would fit right in with Jeff Beck's Blow For Blow which came out a year prior. Choo Choo Gatta Goto '75 is a great cover from Hosono's own debut album, Hosono House, taking a folk-rock song and sending it to New Orleans with a much funkier ragtime number. We also get to hear rare instances of Matsutoya's vocal chops in Jackson, a strange funky cover of a country classic by Billy Edd Wheeler. Of course, we also get to hear Hosono's signature exotica sound with tracks like Yellow Magic Carnival and The Girl with the Freckles. The song that sticks out the most to me is She is Gone, with fantastic English lyrics sung by John Yamazaki, and a contemporary soft rock sound reminiscent of Pretzel Logic era Steely Dan.

Overall all of the songs on the album are really good, and truly represent each genre they emulate extremely well while also subverting them in creative ways. However, comparing this to their other work, this certainly isn't their best. With a few exceptions, you won't find anything as iconic as the works they've done for other albums, and many songs on this album would be covered later by their contemporaries to better effect. It's interesting to note that only 2 of the 10 songs (Caramel Rag & Ballad Aya) were produced by all four members, with the rest being solo productions by individual members, which explains why this record feels a bit disjointed compared to their other works. In spite of that, Caramel Mama is a compilation of songs that do a good job of showcasing Tin Pan Alley's versatility, fluidity, and discipline as a band.

*Also shout out again to Japanese study expert Moritz Sommet for his help with research on the band. For more information on Japanese culture, you should follow him on Twitter .*