VSOP. 1973 London / King
Ahhhh, finally a band from Japan that doesn't require me to type a book as the title! :-)
Here's the last of the Japanese rarities sent in by The Alaskan Connection, though we have a few more non-Japanese albums to cover, including one that's a total mindblower! For me anyway...
VSOP are a fairly typical early 70s blend of blues rock and various other styles. Side 1 is a pedestrian "trail mix" of genres, whereas Side 2 has a nice raw, grungy underground feel about it (and it's a live concert recording). This latter element recalls the Argentinian blues psych scene such as Pappo's Blues or Cuero.
Fortunately for us, The AC has provided a much more insightful review:
"London/King Record (Pop Shop): SKD (L) 1018, 1973, Japan
Side 1:
1 - Shizuka da kara
2 - Ame
3 - Omiyage
4 - Henji wa Irimasen
5 - Tengoku e Ikou
Side 2:
(Recorded Live 3/31/73)
1 - Haru
2 - Yuuwaku sarete
3 - Shinkyokushoukai:
- Chotto dake yo (Taboo)
- Shizuka da kara
4 - Kami ni Sugaru Yowaki Mono ni Utau Uta
Hard rock/heavy psych rarity by this largely unknown unit. Led by guitarist/vocalist Kazumi Mukai, they manage to kick up a pretty good racket here. The first side is a regular studio recording and runs the gamut from blazing guitar-led heavy rock to psych ballads, standard blues rock, etc, and features some fine songwriting throughout. The action really picks up on side two, a live concert recording from early '73. Long, jamming tracks filled with blistering heavy fuzz guitar soloing that will peel the paint off your walls if played at the proper volume. A very good album in this style, and should be a lot more well-known. Cool cover art, too. They also released an even more obscure second LP in 1975 called "Epilogue", which I haven't heard but apparently saw them heading in a less interesting pop-rock direction, as well as a few singles."
And like The AC, I love albums that peel the paint off the wall! Would be interesting to know if they had some archival material from this era.
Priority: none
1/11/12
