Being the oldest of 5 kids, I never had any older brothers or sisters who turned me onto Led Zeppelin or The Who, or who took me to a Dead show or hipped me to Dylan, or who pontificated on the sophistication of Rush or Genesis. Sure, music was on in the car always, and my parents allegedly saw Hendrix and Deep Purple and loved Motown and the Beatles, but music was not exactly “in the air” in my house growing up. I always had to rely on my Casey Kasem on my radio walkman, Sam Goody at the mall, and my own instincts. Inasmuch, I’d say my mental musical library is missing a few important volumes.
Enter slightly older buddies I’ve been lucky to have in various chapters of my life who recognize my passion for music and can quickly pick up on my blind spots, read: “What do you mean you’ve never heard ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway!” That’s criminal! Here you can have my copy. Prepare to have your mind blown! Be sure to put the phone down and read the lyrics when you listen to this cover to cover.” Bless you, David!
Mfidelity on YouTube, or Dave to his pals, is another long time and many time visitor to Japan, who, with a giant breadth of musical knowledge and tastes, is of those sorta older kid that lives around the block that knows everything from folk to funk, from prog to punk, from new wave to no wave, from bebop to hip-hop, and from classical to classic rock (and all the -pops, -fi’s, -gazes, -cores and more.) Dave is a stone cold appreciator of music, and had the chops (and records) to prove it. I had the wonderful first (of what I hope to be more) chance to meet up with him on a visit he made to Japan last year, and he really did gift me a copy of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” which I listened to again today (along with Fox Trot which he insisted is the last blind spot in need to fill in my semi complete Genesis collection.
I was actually VERY happy to photograph him with 3 records that rank at the TIP TOP of my favorites. Doubt he picked up on them from me but looking back it at least feels like some wonderful musical exchange. Hey! If you’re not already following @Mfidelity on YouTube, go give him a sub, he’ll no doubt drop some science on you about some records that you might not know about yet, but that you certainly need to!
Thanks again, David Hughes!
More Tokyo Record Style on the way!
Yellow Magic Orchestra [イエロー・マジック・オーケストラ] – Solid State Survivor [ソリッド・ステイト・サヴァイヴァー]
Label: Alfa – ALR-6022
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Repress, Stereo, 5th Version
Country: Japan
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style:Electro, Synth-pop
https://www.discogs.com/release/2542750-Yellow-Magic-Orchestra-%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B8%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B1%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9-Solid-State-Survivor-%E3%82%BD%E3%83%AA%E3%83%83%E3%83%89
Happy End [はっぴいえんど] – Happy End
Label: Bellwood Records – K25A-182
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, King pressing
Country: Japan
Released: 1981
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/27867231-Happy-End-%E3%81%AF%E3%81%A3%E3%81%B4%E3%81%84%E3%81%88%E3%82%93%E3%81%A9-Happy-End
Akiko Yano [矢野顕子] – Japanese Girl [日本少女]
Label: Philips – FW-5012
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Japan
Released: Jul 25, 1976
Genre: Jazz, Rock, Funk / Soul, Pop, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Jazz-Funk, Psychedelic Rock, Pop Rock, Min’yō
https://www.discogs.com/release/3347658-%E7%9F%A2%E9%87%8E%E9%A1%95%E5%AD%90-Japanese-Girl-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%B0%91%E5%A5%B3
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