Japan – Tin Drum (1981) [Reissue 2016] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Japan – Tin Drum (1981) [Reissue 2016]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 38:10 minutes | Scans included | 1,53 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 762 MB
Genre: New Wave, Synth-pop

Tin Drum is the fifth and final studio album by English band Japan, released in November 1981 by record label Virgin. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK charts, and featured the top 5 single “Ghosts.” It has received acclaim as the band’s best work.

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Japan – Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) [Reissue 2016] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Japan – Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) [Reissue 2016]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 59:05 minutes | Scans included | 2,37 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,13 GB
Genre: New Wave, Synth-pop

The last album with Rob Dean, Gentlemen Take Polaroids was also unquestionably the album in which Japan truly found its own unique voice and aesthetic approach. The glam influences still hung heavy, particularly from Roxy Music, but now the band found itself starting to affect others in turn. Even the back cover photo says as much – looking cool in glossy, elegant nightwear, the quintet had a clear impact on Duran Duran, to the point where Nick Rhodes obviously was trying to be Sylvian in appearance. Musically, meanwhile, the swooning, hyper elegant Euro-disco sheen of Quiet Life was polished to an even finer edge throughout, the title track and the obvious descendant of “Quiet Life” itself, “Methods of Dance,” in particular sheer standouts. Sylvian’s sighing, luscious croon is in full effect on both, and the arrangements are astonishing, Karn’s fretless purring between Jansen’s crisp, inventive, and varied drumming, Barbieri’s icy keyboards filling out the corners. What makes Gentlemen Take Polaroids even more of a success is how the group, having reached such a polished peak, kept driving behind it, transforming their exquisite pop into something even more artistic and unique. “Swing,” in particular, is an astounding showcase for the Karn/Jansen team; snaky funk at once dramatic and precisely chilled, brass section blasts adding just enough wry, precise sleaze, Sylvian delivering with focus and intensity while not raising his voice at all. “Nightporter,” meanwhile, is a hyper ballad and then some; a slow-paced semi-waltz with Barbieri’s piano taking the lead throughout with wonderful results. Further hints of the future come with the album closing “Taking Islands In Africa,” which Sylvian co-wrote with future regular collaborator Ryuchi Sakamato, and which wraps up the whole experience with a gliding, supple grace.

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Japan – Oil On Canvas (1983) [Reissue 2016] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Japan – Oil On Canvas (1983) [Reissue 2016]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 72:13 minutes | Scans included | 2,9 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,41 GB

The final Japan release was sold and marketed as a live album, though actually it’s a bit of a catchall – it is indeed mostly from concerts, but also includes a variety of studio instrumentals and a re-recorded version of “Nightporter” mixed in to sound like it’s part of the show. The various re-releases of the albums over the years confused matters further, with re-sequencings, the excision of cuts, and more adding to general confusion about the release (not to mention the fact that some reissues completely omitted where the shows were recorded anyway!). Two of the instrumentals, “Oil on Canvas” itself and “Temple of Dawn,” are brief, gentle pieces by Sylvian and Barbieri respectively. “Voices Raised in Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer” is a more involving effort, combining a quiet, gamelan-inspired rhythm with found-sound samples from what appears to be a religious ceremony. As for “Nightporter,” it’s a nice enough new version but isn’t notably different or varied from the earlier studio take. The remaining live cuts show that the exquisite tension and serene sounds in the studio were easily transferred to the stage in all their elegant complexity. The Tin Drum selections, which make up most of the release, make the case even more that Japan was as much a prog band as a glam one, Sylvian’s captivating vocals flowing over Asian-derived scales and melodies, the guitar parts handled by guest performer Masami Tsuchiya, who also plays some keyboards. “Visions of China” sounds especially grand, Jansen’s entrancing drumming seemingly impossible to be created and yet clearly existing. The extended introduction to “Ghosts,” Karn’s saxophone welling up from the distance like a siren call, is another highlight, along with the slightly rocked-up – but only just – “Methods of Dance.”

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Japan – Quiet Life (2020 Remaster Edition) (1979/2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Japan - Quiet Life (2020 Remaster Edition) (1979/2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz] Download

Japan – Quiet Life (2020 Remaster Edition) (1979/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:53 minutes | 506 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd

Japan’s breakthrough record Quiet Life was released in both 1979 and 1980 is uniquely fitting for a band who were about to step out of the glam rock, post punk shadows of the late 70s and deliver an as yet genre-less record that would come to define the 80s.

Quiet Life was the third, final and most successful release on the Hansa Records label. A forerunner for the alternative/new wave sound of the new decade, the album would become one of the great classic British albums.

On Quiet Life, the band established its unique blend of Art Pop sophistication, affecting avant-balladry and groundbreaking electronic experiments to deliver a genre-less record that would come to define much of the adventurous early 1980s musical landscape.
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