Customer Reviews

Exorcising Ghosts

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As is often the case, Japan made several terrific albums while contracted to one label, then switched labels to make a few more records, also terrific. The dilemma then is, the fan is left with no definitive "Best Of" release (to see an example of how this problem can be rectified, please listen to XTC's "Upsy Daisy Assortment" combining their Virgin and Geffen years into one flawless collection). Japan had so many great songs, incorporating two very different styles, yet they still seem to embody the fluid transition of musical movement from the more aggressive, punk moods of the late seventies to the more New Romantic musings of the early and mid eighties. In fact, their brief career neatly compacted and mirrored that of their most obvious influence, Roxy Music. From rock classics like "Love Is Infectious" and "Rhodesia" (early Bowie meets Hanoi Rocks) to the swoon inducing "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (later Bowie meets Bryan Ferry), Japan was a band that still deserves it's legacy to be preserved on disc via a REAL greatest songs release, incorporating the best from both labels (Ariola and Epic). So far, sadly, this wonderfully remembered band has not been given it's proper rememberance.

My review pertains only to this particular Amazon listing for "Exorcising Ghosts [EXTRA TRACKS][IMPORT]~Japan". I purchased this in expectation that this was an import from the band named Japan (this is their geatest hits release). I have found listed in a discography that a 2 CD version of "Exorcising Ghosts" was released in the >country< Japan. It's a 2 CD set which does in fact have extra tracks compared to the domestic CD release. What I got for a whopping ($$$) from ... is an import from >HOLLAND<, and is exactly identical to the domestic release, NO EXTRA TRACKS! I can't imagine why anyone would fork over a wad of dough for a CD that you could get for a fraction of the cost????

For those US people, this CD was actually originally a double vinyl album in Europe, and sadly this cropped and edited collection, though excellent, misses some really cool stuff like "Sons of Pioneers". If you have to buy one Japan CD, this is it: but really, get all the studio albums!! Oh, and buy all the David Sylvian stuff, especially Brilliant Trees and Gone to Earth (also sadly a double album that became a single, cropped CD).

Some of the critics recomend geting the live but well done Oil On Canvas. I like this one much better. It is fuller. I would have added Cantonese Boy (Tin Drum), Sons Of Pioneers (Tin Drum), Swing (Gentlemen Take Polaroids) and Taking Islands In Africa (Gentlemen...). I won't bother you with what songs I would have taken off.

But this is still a good selection. The night I brought home the vinyl - back in 1987? - I was astonished at how artful and beautiful it was. I like Sylvian's Gone To Earth and Secrets of The Beehive better - but this album is up there with them.

So, I bought this one and then got Gentlemen and Tin Drum. I haven't heard Quiet Life - so maybe that one is worth getting as well. (Which might make this one unnecessary.) But, start here. Not with Oil on Canvas.

Shame on EMI. Such a large and cash-rich record company that would stinge a few tracks off this original Double LP that would have made this a Five-Star collection. Shame indeed.

Not having bothered to dig out my LPs, I bought this as Japan is one of the bands worth investing in AGAIN after having paid for the original LPs (and record companies who cry about people ripping and exchanging MP3s for free should think about this).

The pleasure of hearing all these great tracks again made me forget the missing songs. But one fine day long after the return policy had expired, I discovered the ommission and am sorely disappointed.

For example, you'd be missing Swing, a remarkable and one infectious number, a marvel of Japan's subtlety. The minimalist saxophone riff, the imaginative Steve Jansen drumming, the punctuated Sylvian vocals and the uniquely oriental synths and Mick Karn's compelling bass slides makes this an essential part of the album.

Taking Islands in Africa is another rarity that ought to have stayed. Now considering David Sylvian managed to fit 70 minutes of music into his Dead Bees In A Cake, the omissions by EMI are by no means technical. It is just pure shameful, just as how they ommitted the last and best instrumental track Silver Moon Over Sleeping Steeples from Sylvian's Gone To Earth. Just ONE more song... how hard could that be?

Sheesh. Considering Japan is probably not getting royalties from this CD you might as well get the original albums as suggested.

When this was originally released in the UK I bought the vinyl and cassette versions. I recently updated to the CD and was taken aback to discover that not all the tracks are on there! No "Swing", "Taking Islands in Africa", or "Sons of Pioneers" (one of my fave Japan tracks) - it's also missing an instrumental track. It's a shame because some of the flavor is lost. Still, this is great music and a reasonable introduction for people new to Japan. I just wish record companies would stop releasing truncated versions of albums - is it really that much more expensive to keep everything intact?

The songs on this collection were selected by David Sylvian himself. It's a nice glimpse into the Japan material he's most proud of rather than just a tacky "hits" compilation. The real gem here is "Life Without Buildings," a Tin Drum era B-side which is, to my knowledge, available nowhere else. Also included is a punchier, single version of "The Art of Parties."

An augmented, Japanese-import edition of this album is (or was) supposedly available, but there's enough here to satisfy.

as most have pointed out here it is a crime that this is not the original and full version of this album. i've always thought of 'exorcising ghosts' to be the "studio companion" to the 'oil on canvas' live album and as such something fantastic was satisfied in both of those albums having the songs they did on them. however, this remains both a fine collection and a missed opportunity to preserve the works full potential.

Hi, folks. You've got a bunch of Japan cds under the band name "Japanese Animation." You might want to correct that.

Some weird songs, some not so good songs but there are some very special tracks that are extremely memorable.