Customer Reviews

Half Japanese - Greatest Hits

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

 

 

I had never heard Half Japaneese before I picked up the Greatest Hits, and I cant believe I was an idiot for waiting to hear them. Dont be scared off by the amount of music....its so vast and indelible, you'll wish it was 112 songs. The musical range is so amazing, and it has the best saxpophone playing this side of Dolphy's Out To Lunch. Yeah, supposedly "they cant play" etc...but I think thats nonsense. Music like this really is limitless, from free jazz to funk, to bedroom feedback jams.......its really a miracle for the ears and heart. So, buy buy buy buy. PS--(and this is very important) if anyone out there has a copy of the long out of print "Zombies of Mora-Tau" EP, please contact me, I'm really getting tired of searching for it

How come no one's reviewed this before me? If you haven't heard Half Japanese before, here's where you start. I know, it's two CDs, but it's worth it. This is where I started. This album has some of the funniest, most enjoyable, most endearing, freaked-out, cool, original music I've ever heard. ot every song is perfect, but enough of them are. Jad Fair is a freak and thank god he makes songs. Take a chance on this one.

Half Japanese is a great band... they're definitely not for everyone, but they're still great.

The reason they're great is they broke down rock culture and recreated it in a simple, completely idiosyncratic form. Most music lovers are amateur cultural critics too, so that sort of introspective diy music is pure heaven.

Yeah, compared to most other musicians, they can't play. But rock and roll is about making your shortcomings so obvious and in-your-face that they're aesthetically pleasing. And they manage to do that.

Not recommended for mainstream rock fans. Watch the documentary about them, "The Band that Would Be King" first. Essential for lo-fi and indie fans.

Someone did go over their albums sensibly and pick the best songs. Plus, there's 5 unreleased songs added. It's an excellent way to start with this group. I have all their albums and couldn't resist getting this, used, because, well, because I love this band since they play music in a way that no one else does. Actually, I prefer the packaging of the 3xLP better than the 2xCD only because I prefer most LP packaging better just because its larger. However, the advantage of CD's being mobile and not breaking down over time into scratches and pops and sometimes skips, its worth it having on CD.

Musically, you get a broad selection from their various albums. I'd say its worth owning all their albums except the live BOO! which has a small number of musicians playing and just doesn't have the full sound their other albums do. Heck, there's a Japanese release Greatest Hits 2 out there somewhere as well with about 2/3rds the number of trax. I believe it was originally a 2xLP. Probably now a single CD. These guys make music from what seems to be an untrained direction yet it really swings. I particularly love it when they have a saxaphone joining them which is maybe in about a third of their songs. Whew. Obviously, this will never be radio friendly music. All the more reason to buy the CD's. Of course, you need to listen to the song snippets on amazon.com first to see if this is for you. If it is, you'll probably end up like many of us HALF JAPANESE fans, head over heels in love with the power and complexity and chaotic yet blended musical style they have. chrisbct@hotmail.com

i initially hated this cd b/c its really quite awful music done by people who clearly are not professionals. this is the only cd i have by these guys. however, this cd has grown on me more so than any cd i can remember.

there are some tracks i immediately skip ("calling all girls", "dream date", "school of love") but there are others that are downright hilarious with very unique musical arrangements. a few of my favorites are "rosemary's baby", "horseshoes", "firecracker", "roman candles", "silver and katherine", "this could be the night"... actually i really like a lot of em, which is why i gave it a '4'.

the best thing about most of these songs is you cant really tell if jad fair is being serious or just joking around. he throws in a lot of cliches which, when coupled with the absurd musical backing, makes for a very unique listening experience. i really like how this collection of songs demonstrates the range of the band. they dabble in every genre from country to cheesy lounge act love songs.

overall, its a pretty good album that grows on you if you're looking for something a bit out there.

I personally think that Jad Fair may very well be the owner of the most annoying voice in the world. I was a witness to this ear tryrannist at Austin's Emos rock club and apart from his drummer I hope that I never have to face that voice again.