Tin Drum [Remastered] - Japan

Advantages: Perfect songwriting and performances.
Disadvantages: Not enough of it.

When Japan released "Tin Drum" in 1981 they finally broke into the mainstream, gaining critical and commercial applause for their breathtaking originality. Sadly, one tour later, they broke, bitterly and with the exception of the semi-reunion ""Rain tree crow" sessions, have not performed together since. It is hard to believe that a work like this was produced by four men in their very early twenties but they were always old souls. As David Sylvian ...
...young, once I was smart, now I'm living on the edge of my nerves." The music is uptempo and almost uplifting yet the vocals seem to drift over the music, almost without a sense of rhythm. "Talking drum" follows in a similar vein: Steve Jansen's extraordinarily tight and original drumming punctuated by Mick Karn's snaking bass lines and some very Chinese sounding keyboard treatments from Richard Baribieri. The tempo drops here. "Ghosts" was the ... Read review

Advantages: Perfectly formed
Disadvantages: NOne

Tin Drum, the second album Japan released on Virgin, in 1981, went gold, confirming the band’s best selling status, and in 1982 they enjoyed two top ten singles, Ghosts (from the album) and a re-release by their former record company Ariola of their version of the old Motown classic I Second That Emotion. Tin Drum was also Japan’s most successful album musically and, with its Maoist inspired cover, emphasised their oriental influences. It includes ...
...Life In mobile Homes and Sons of Pioneers. It is the best work that Japan ever recorded and is the one you should buy if you only want to own one album by Japan. Unfortunately it marked the beginning of the end for the badn and shortly afterwards they were to be no more as the individual members started to fall out and go their own separate ways. ... Read review