Rotation by SHOGUN - 1979

Rotation is the 2nd album by the soft rock band, SHOGUN in 1979. SHOGUN was a session band formed in 1978 to compose the soundtrack to the hit comedy/detective show, "Oretachi wa Tenshi da!"（俺たちは天使だ!/We Guys Are Angels!). The two lead members were session guitarist Fujimaru Yoshino (芳野藤丸), fresh off of making his 1977 debut album, BGM, and Kansas-born American singer-songwriter, Casey Rankin. 

Fans of Rankin might recognize him for his work in 80s anime soundtracks or as the composer for the Japanese theme songs to the hit SEGA CD game Sonic CD, but back in the '60s, he was already a distinguished songwriter and studio musician who's toured with bands like The Guess Who, Vanilla Fudge, and Leslie West's Mountain. However, the excessive lifestyle of the music scene in the states was taking a toll on his mental and physical health and decided to go on a hiatus in which he moved to Japan in 1971. While in Japan, he began a one-year intensive program of zen in a temple located near Yokohama, which completely refreshed him as he returned to his songwriting career in 1976, with his short stint with the band, Short Hope.

SHOGUN's next project would be for the soundtrack for another popular detective show simply known as Detective Story (Tantei Monogatari/探偵物語), staring actor Yūsaku Matsuda, who would serve as the inspiration for Cowboy Bebop protagonist, Spike Spiegel. They composed the main opening and closing theme songs for the show, "Bad City" and "Lonely Man", which would be featured as singles on their second album, Rotation. The album was produced by Noriko Iida (飯田倫子) who was responsible for producing many records by prolific jazz-fusion composer, Yuji Ohno(大野雄二) famous for his work in the Lupin III anime series. It also features the musical talents of saxophonists Jake H Concepcion and Eiji Toki, as well as drummer Atsuo Okamoto(岡本郭男), who at the time was also part of the Brass-rock band, Spectrum.

THE MUSIC

1. As Easy As you Make It ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Imagination ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Sailor-Sailor ⭐⭐⭐
4. Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Margarita ⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. Bad City ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. The Tourist ⭐⭐⭐
8. I Should Have Known Better ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Lonely Man ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE VERDICT 

Seems like whatever band Fujimaru is a part of, he knows how to make cool music. For their second album, SHOGUN goes for a sound that's a cross between Doobie Brothers and Chicago, a smooth & jazzy soft-rock sound backed by an in-your-face brass section, with the occasional dip into country. Yoshino & Rankin have this Michael Mcdonald & James Ingram dynamic going on where their voices sound so similar, they complement each other really well. Each song sounds like it could have been the theme song of a 70s TV show, or at least part of a soundtrack to a movie. Two of them literally are TV songs, and they're the best songs on the album. 

"Bad City" definitely has that cop show vibe to it, the piano opening definitely makes you feel like you're entering a cantina in a shady part of the city, then it shifts into a rock & roll boogie number and suddenly you feel like you in the middle of a bar fight or a shoot out. "Lonely Man" is a badass shuffle straight out of Boz Scaggs' Middle Man. The other songs on here are great too like the jazzy vaudeville-inspired The Tourist about a Japanese tourist's unlucky experience at the airport, the appropriately named tropical yacht rock piece, "Margarita", or the somber counter-top blues number "Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow". 

Overall, Rotation is a great album for those who are looking for a more cinematic approach to City Pop and is a great example of SHOGUN at its peak. If you want to learn more about their bandleader, Casey Rankin, YouTuber Mercury Falcon did an excellent video about his life & work.

Dancing Shadows by Tadao "Daisuke" Inoue - 1979

 

 

Tadao Inoue(井上忠夫), or Daisuke Inoue(井上大輔) as he was later known in the ‘80s, was a singer-songwriter and composer with an incredibly expensive career. Usually, in conversation, people will remember his career in the 60s as a part of the Group Sounds band, Jackey Yoshikawa And His Blue Comets, or his composing work for television, like the famous "I Feel Coke" jingle for Coca-Cola, and the soundtrack to the popular Mobile Suit Gundam anime. However, one part of his career that is often overlooked is his transition into City Pop, with his 1979 album, Dancing Shadows.

Inoue began his music career as a member of the Blue Comets in 1960 as a saxophonist and a composer for the group. Inoue’s most famous composition for the band was the single “Blue Chateau”, which sold more than 1 million copies, winning for the band the ninth Japan Record Award in 1967. It also, according to him anyways, contributed to the downfall of the Group Sounds movement, as many of their contemporaries would try to replicate the sound of their hit single and fail. Although this is highly unlikely and probably had more to do with the overabundance of garage rock bands in the 60s.

After the first line-up of the Blue Comets disbanded, Inoue composed many popular songs for other artists, everyone from the 5 Fingers (a Jackson 5 clone) to The Channels (Rats & Star), to male idol Hiromi Go (郷ひろみ). In 1976, he did release his first album Artificial Blossoms (水中花), an atypical kayokyoku album. His second album, "Ten Years After: Keep Looking for Group Sounds", was all self-covers of his old Blue Comets songs. It wasn't until Dancing Shadows that he dived into New Music/City Pop territory, which was convenient since one of his original goals as a musician was to become a jazz saxophonist. With the rise in popularity of Western-style New Music Inoue would get his chance to break outside of the kayokyoku mold.

The Album features lyrics by Yoko Aki(阿木燿子), Keisuke Yamakawa(山川敬介), Machiko Ryu(竜真知子), as well as Tadao’s wife, Yoko Inoue（井上洋子). Composers, Mitsuo Hagita(萩田光雄) and Jun Sato(佐藤準) handled the arrangements. Popular band SHOGUN, led by Fujimal Yoshino(芳野藤丸) & Casey Rankin, took part in the musical backing of this album. Other popular musicians include Jazz keyboardist Jun Fukamachi(深町純), guitar hero Masayoshi Takanaka(高中正義), bassist Tsugutoshi Goto(後藤次利), and percussionist Nobu Saito. Japanese-American singer and hula dancer Sandii Suzuki is also featured on this album. She would later be famous as a member of Makoto Kubota's Sunset Gang, later known as Sandii & The Sunsetz.

THE MUSIC

1. Velvet Afternoon(ビロード色の午後 ):⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2. Dancing Shadows: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

3. 22 Color Weekend (22色の週末) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

4. Rain (雨) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5. Close Your Eyes ⭐⭐⭐ 

6. Please my Angela (いとしのアンジェラ) ⭐⭐⭐

7. Come On Blue Jeans! ⭐⭐⭐

8. On The Gray Morning (グレイの朝に) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE VERDICT

Dancing Shadows does a good job of playing around with different styles while still evoking the sounds of New York City. Inoue really shows off his skills on the saxophone here as well as the flute. One of my favorite moments is in the titular song, "Dancing Shadows", where Inoue plays an epic flute solo in the middle of the jazzy & somber soul ballad. There are also some really nice ambient effects spread throughout the record to really immerse the listener, like in the opening of "Rain" with the thunderstorm accompanied by a sax solo, which leads into a jazzy downtempo shuffle, perfect strutting down Manhattan in an April rain.

One of the things that stand out about this album is the heavy Latin influence throughout. Velvet Afternoon is a chipper salsa-based number. Songs like "22-Color Weekend" and "Close Your Eyes" tap into bossa nova territory with the acoustic guitar to create some mellow grooves. The added synths by Jun Fukamachi in the latter song really complement the melody. Of course, there are other tracks like Angela, a fun but pretty standard rock & roll number. "Come On Blue Jeans!" is a nice easy listening ballad in the style of Burt Bacharach, and In "The Gray Morning" is pleasant chamber pop. Overall, Dancing Shadows is a nice light & mellow music experience that puts you right smack in the middle of Manhattan. The best songs are definitely in the first half of the record, but the record as a whole is worth a listen.