Tatsuro Yamashita
(Feb 04, 1953 -age 65)
The ’80s is a time to remember whether you might call it “The Decade of Greed”, or “Yuppie decade, or ”The Reagan decade”. It was a time that had emerged sounds and alternative rock was no exception. Tatsuro Yamashita is a Japanese singer-songwriter who was the king of soft rock/city pop during the ’80s. Tatsuro Yamashita was influenced by several musicians of American pop rock like Brian Wilson, Beach Boys, and James Brown. Tatsuro had a love for genres like Soft Rock, Blue-Eyed Soul, Chorus group, and Sweet Soul. His love had opened a new sound of easternized rooted sounds with western techniques, Tatsuro is, well-known by using the technique of “one person acapella” which overwrites its own vocal, which is additionally known as “Sound Craftsman”. in addition to vocals and backing chorus, he does recording works all by himself ranging from guitar, driving computer, synthesizer, percussion. He is especially sensible at rhythm cutting of guitar. it's a powerful sort of acoustic feeling, however thanks to the policy to utilize the most recent technology, he includes a big selection of expertise covering from analog to digital.
Yamashita went through so many changes when it came to the technicality of making music, Tatsuro’s journey started as being group member from a band him and his friends Taeko Onuki and Kunio Muramatsu had made called Sugar Babe. Sugar Babe came about in 1973 when they released their first album Songs, the album is a unique take on western music especially how Sugar Babe took western influences and created their own spin to it using versatility in cultures. The album Songs completes itself in versatility, though! Just a bit more city pop by-the-numbers. You got elements of reggae, soft-rock, folk, funk, and hints of classical sounds, all showcased with complete competence. One of my favorite songs in this lp is Downtown, Down Town is one of the many songs on the LP that perfectly represents the unified mix of sounds, such as the clavinet beat with a flow like Phil Spector on the castanets and the cannon accompanied by the several independently parts that perfectly contradict to the melody. Unfortunately, I'm not fluent in Japanese so the lyrics didn't feel mutual but I did feel this intensified connection with the tone of the vocal in Mirage Town. Mirage Town featured Taeko Ohnuki who sang beautifully with the contrast of bringing a more feminine “fragile” sound to the trade-off of Tatsuro vocals. The seamless way that they end up sounding like one person even when they sing distinctive solo parts brings joy to my ear. Although the sales of the record were increasing and had launched the incoming pop music scene that exploded in Japan through the '70s. Sugar Babe had shown so much potential and outbreaks with songs but due to the bankruptcy of their record label, the band had split in 1976. Yamashita and Onuki went on to have long and booming careers and stayed active as artists. Songs were re-released in 1999 on the Planets label to introduce it to a fully new generation of artists and music lovers.
Sugar Babe (1973-1976)
Tatsuro Yamashita had been signed to RCA and launched his own career, with the release of the solo album Circus city. that very same year he teamed up with Eiichi Ohtaki, who was the producer of Sugar babe, and brief Sugar babe member Ginji to release an album titled Niagara Triangle Vol. 1. The collaboration was one of the six Japanese groups that changed the history of Japanese music. once his 1979 triumph album Moonglow gained success that took Yamashita straight to fame. In 1980, his song "Ride on Time" peaked at #3 on the Japanese Oricon, and therefore the same-titled album flat-top the chart after. As a solo creator, Yamashita has released seventeen studio albums, two live albums, multiple compilations, and over forty singles. He has been one amongst the foremost commercially flourishing Japanese male solo recording artists within the history of the Japanese album chart, selling about nine million albums in total. He has additionally composed for films and tv commercials and worked on records by different artists. Surprisingly his sound has stayed consistently due to the connection that had been kept with the group members of Sugar Babe. Tatsuro was still out there killing it with good feeling groovy tones.
The 1980s came around and it was certainly a good time for Japan, so it’s no surprise that the music of the time reflected that specifically Tatsuro Yamashita. The Enka Ballads (Japanese genre that generated after postwar) of the postwar generation, their children were listening to a sound that was bright, funky, and heavily inspired by Western pop. This was perfectly suited to a new generation of the young working class who migrated from rural Japan to the cities to take advantage of job and education opportunities in the booming economy. The recent development of portable car stereos and the Sony Walkman (debuted in Japan in 1979) made it possible for them to take music anywhere. The For You LP album released in 1982 shaped up Yamashita and fans in a way that was never done before. This album had been the change of Yamashita for better of the generation. I was amazed by the range of new implemented instruments added on this album. The saxophone solos, heavy basslines, gave depth and fluidity with his swift words, this was definitely different from his first album that released with RCA. “Sparkle” is the first song listed in the album, sparkle has an exponential gain brass carrying you along to the amazing sax solo. The second song Music Book easily dissolves with the ending of Sparkle with rolling drums and electric piano this song was influenced by “The Doobie Brothers”. The third song “Futari” is a smooth love song that eases you with a slow dance and carries you into “Loveland, Island,” which begins with the harp easing you into the funk of the electric guitar. To top it all off Yamashita’s vocals on “Your Eyes” had been highly influenced by Paul McCartney’s wings at the speed of sound. For You had been placed in a time that was the most needed and wanted. This album had influenced many experimental artists to dive into a generation where technology was at its baby steps yet forming at a fast rate. Tatsuro Yamashita loved feeding on new sounds and cultures to find his individuality and many people loved being along with him in the process. As he carries himself in the present he carries himself with joy. The consistency of feel-good music in the humanity that is all but consistent he is a gem that keeps on giving.
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