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JAPAN - The Wish List
This
wish list has been compiled in order to give
Virgin/Universal and Sony BMG some examples of the kind of releases the fans would
like to see. It is my belief that releases such as these would be of
interest to the fans, collectors and general public, and would be more
profitable for the record companies.
An
alternative would be to make songs available as official
downloads.
Japan at the BBC CD or CD/DVD
set
Fans
voted to say they would like
to buy a Japan CD/DVD (or 2 CD set) with a full live show. I would
suggest the best one would be Hammersmith Odeon 7th February 1981,
which was recorded by the BBC and broadcast in part on Radio One on at
least two occasions. If the BBC recording was used, there are
possible bonuses in the form of the BBC Whistle Test and Top of the
Pops performances. This is also useful as it allows more "hits" to be
included, making the set a more attractive buy to the general public.
The tracks noted as unreleased were recorded by the BBC but not
broadcast. If BBC recordings of certain tracks are not available, there
are high quality takes in fan circulation from Japanese broadcast
sources. Suggested details outlined below:
CD1:
BBC Radio One Live at Hammersmith Odeon, February 1981
- Burning
Bridges (intro tape)
- Swing
- Gentlemen
Take Polaroids
- Alien
- ...Rhodesia
- Quiet
Life
- My
New Career
- Obscure
Alternatives (unreleased)
- Taking
Islands In Africa
- Methods
Of Dance
- Ain't
That Peculiar
- Sometimes
I Feel So Low (unreleased)
- Halloween
- European
Son
- Life
In Tokyo (unreleased)
- Adolescent
Sex (unreleased)
- Automatic
Gun with Burning Bridges reprise (unreleased)
CD2
or DVD: Japan at the BBC
- Swing
(Whistle Test 1980) Live
- My
New Career (Whistle Test 1980) Live
- Quiet Life (Top of the Pops 1981)
- Quiet Life (Oxford Road Show 1981)
- Visions of China (Oxford Road Show
1981)
- Cantonese Boy (Oxford Road Show 1981)
- Ghosts
(Whistle Test 1982) with Ryuichi Sakamoto Live
- Cantonese
Boy (Whistle Test 1982) with Ryuichi Sakamoto Live
- Mick Karn & Angie
Bowie (Whistle Test 1982) Live
- Ghosts (Top of the Pops
1982)
- Cantonese Boy (Top of the Pops
1982)
- Nightporter
(Whistle Test 1982) Live
- The
Art Of Parties (Whistle Test 1982) Live
- The
Other Side of Life (Riverside acoustic version 1982) Live
- Ghosts
(Riverside acoustic version 1982) Live
- Interviews
with Sylvian and Karn on Riverside 1982
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Music
From The Penguin Cafe
In early
1981, Japan recorded 90 minutes of material to be played as background
music for their exhibition of sculpture and photography in Tokyo, and
for the Penguin Cafe, a small eatery run by Mick Karn. The music is
improvisational and was probably recorded live direct onto tape. Some
material features just Rich and David, other parts all members of the
group. We would very much like to hear these recordings as none of it
has been released and as such it is the "lost" Japan album.
Japan Singles Collection
A
straightforward compilation of hit singles by Japan and the solo
members during the lifetime of the group. On the surface this
is designed to appeal to the casual CD buyer, but in fact, due to the
strange ways the Japan back catalogue has been treated on CD, there's a
lot here for collectors too. The order of tracks is intended to flow,
rather than being strictly chronological, starting with up tempo hits
before moving to the slower, reflective numbers. The theme then moves
towards the oriental sounding hits before going up tempo again for some
rock numbers from the early days. The track listing also takes into
account tracks that were hits in foreign (non-UK) territories and
overall gives a good overview of the group's entire back catalogue. The
versions of tracks unless noted otherwise are the hit single versions
that were available at the time on 7" vinyl pressings. CD2 is
a selection of rare B-sides. All titles owned by EMI except * owned by
BMG. As you can see, if licensing issues could not be resolved, there's
still enough material from both companies for them to make individual
CD's.
CD1
- Hits (running time approx 74 minutes)
- Quiet
Life (Japanese single edit - unreleased on CD)*
- Life
In Tokyo (1982 single mix)*
- European
Son (Steve Nye single mix - only on CD in Japan)*
- Gentlemen
Take Polaroids (single version)
- Nightporter
(Steve Nye single version or DJ Edit version - both unreleased on CD)
- Ghosts
(single version)
- Cantonese
Boy
- Bamboo
Music (Sylvian & Sakamoto single - 7" version unreleased on CD)
- Bamboo
Houses (as above - 7" single version unreleased on CD)
- Visions
Of China (long version - only on rare Kult Klassics compilation CD)
- The
Art Of Parties (7" single version - unreleased on CD)
- Sensitive
(Mick Karn single - original mix unreleased on CD)
- I
Second That Emotion (Steve Nye single mix - only on CD in Japan)*
- All
Tomorrow's Parties (Steve Nye single mix)*
- Sometimes
I Feel So Low (hit in Japan)*
- The
Unconventional (hit in Japan)*
- Adolescent
Sex (single version) (hit in The Netherlands)*
- Don't
Rain On My Parade (hit in Australia)*
CD2
- B-sides and rare tracks (running time approx 74 minutes)
- Some
Kind Of Fool (Japan version unreleased - scheduled for single release
in 1982 but cancelled in favour of Nightporter. Sylvian remixed and
overdubbed this for "Everything & Nothing" in 2000)
- Swing
(single mix - unreleased except as video soundtrack)
- Ain't
That Peculiar (Nightporter b-side single version - unreleased on CD)
- Taking
Islands In Africa (Steve Nye mix)
- Burning
Bridges (7" Polaroids EP version - unreleased on CD)
- The
Experience Of Swimming (B-side of Polaroids and Cantonese Boy)
- The
Width Of A Room (Polaroids EP track)
- A
Foreign Place (Quiet Life B-side)*
- The
Sound Of Waves (Mick Karn's Sensitive b-side - the single version has
never been released on CD)
- Life
Without Buildings (Art Of Parties b-side)
- Virgin
Video sound ID (only on VHS - "Oil On canvas" & "Instant
Pictures")
- Canton
(Live) (single version - unreleased on CD)
- The
Art Of Parties (live version - Ghosts B-side)
- Goodnight
(duet with Akiko Yano - only on CD in Japan on the albums "Ai Ga
Nakucha Ne" and "From Japan To Japan") (Midi Inc).
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