Wind City Romance

Happy End - Kazemachi Roman (1971)

This warmth of the production that seeps in the brain on this record is pretty much untouchable. There's a dash of fuzz guitar here and there, but mostly this is in the roots-y folk blues style, heavy on the rhythm. Could probably stack this up against records in '72 by Neil Young, Grateful Dead, the Band, the countrified Stones, the whacked-out Beach Boys and those gentemen that used to be in the Beatles. Organic tones everywhere and the production spaced so that you can hear every instrument. "Kaze wo Atsumete" might be familiar to you if you listened to the Lost in Translation soundtrack. That song is basically a watertight pop song - I could pour this terrible coffee that I'm drinking in it and we'd still be good. On a background note, the bassist Haruomi Hosono played in the psych-blues group Apryl Fool (notable for the track "The Lost Mother Land, Pt. 1" - which is one of the more twisted psych tracks you're going to find). I was just reading that this album was conceived as an ode to a more simple time in Japan's history, and despite the language barrier on my end, the phrasing certainly suggests a more bucolic time. The group continue to be an influential force within Japanese music (despite breaking up in the early '70s). There is an earlier album available, a live album, a tribute album and a box-set. All of which can be yours for a ridiculous price.

Dakishimetai

Haru Ranman