Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Gentlemen Take Polaroids : JAPAN

 
Thirty odd years ago it shone, and was a near perfect piece of vinyl as you were likely to find. All this time later, and I listen to this more than any of the supposed classic albums. It still sounds as fresh and as unique and as ethereal as it did the first time I heard it.
 
The reason for that is it's completeness. Not a sound out of place, not a note too many or too few, and Mick Karn's incredibly fluid bass guitar was an almost-unique sound (only Level 42 and Stanley Clarke were using the bass in a similar way)  Every track is a gem, no filler here, and it also acts as homage to a golden era in electronic music. It stands at a crossroads; analogue synths were the best they would ever be in terms of sounds and digital synths were only a year or so away. Many would agree that the sounds an old Prophet 5 or Oberheim could make after a fair bit of knob twiddling was far more ear pleasing than even synths available today. Hence why these machines fetch such good money nowadays.

 
Gentlemen Take Polaroids
 
 
Swing
 
 
My New Career
 
 
Nightporter
 
 
 
 

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