Various - Ongaku 70 - Vintage Psychedelia In Japan

Gotta admit that I was a little disappointed with this one upon hearing it for the first time yesterday but at the cold yet promising (said the weather lady on Daybreak at least) dawn of a new day I'm thinking I was being overly harsh, probably due to expecting it to contain more full-on autre noise blasts in the manner of the genius Les Rallizes Denudes who close the LP with an edited version of 'Strong Out Deeper Than The Night' from the quite literally stupendous '77 Live.. In reality there can only really be one LRD so it shouldn't have been surprising that the rest of this collection is much, much gentler. That's not to say that the weirdness ain't there though as we're treated to krauty/proggy explorations, fusion-esque groovefests, proto-Ghost psych-folk, Steve Reich-style percussion workouts, pure ghostly Shinto shit, kitschy TV themes, dramatic epics and gorgeous torch songs as well as moments of pure pop-rock.. Which almost seem the oddest tracks when placed in this context. Gotta give special mention to The Apryl Fool whose vocals have to be heard to be believed; fuck knows what that lad's going through but it definitely needs fixing. If you've ever wondered what elements of Japanese music came together to inform the immortal undergound which (perhaps) reached its apex during the eighties then I imagine you'll find this LP as informative and enjoyable as I have.