Osamu Kitajima - Benzaiten. 1975 Antilles
*** Reissued by PSI (Germany) 2016
Definitely one of the more recognizable albums in the CDRWL. Kitajima's album received relatively good distribution in the US due to it being on the Antilles label, benefiting no doubt from Jade Warrior's presence. I've had this album for well over 20 years, and I'm pretty sure it's still somewhat easy to find on LP. I wouldn't be entirely surprised to hear this was already pressed on CD in Japan, but I haven't found any evidence of it. I did, however, see that Amazon is selling an "on demand CD-R" for the title. Those don't count for the CDRWL.
This past December we featured extremely rare albums by Toshiaki Yokota (Primitive Community) and Rock Joint Biwa (Fulukotofumi). Kitajima's debut album fits squarely in the same mold. This is truly a world fusion - a melting pot of Western rock and Japanese indigenous music. Very few have pulled it off so well as Kitajima does here. Either they fall prey to new age sappiness, or worse, move towards amateurish exploitation. This is a serious work, and the type of rock influenced world music that still hasn't been explored much at all. I for one would like to hear more.
Priority: 2
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