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Rough Guide: The Music of Japan [ENHANCED]

Various Artists - International - Far East - Japan

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews) | More about this product

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Product Details

Audio CD (May 11, 1999)
Original Release Date: April 20, 1999
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Enhanced
Label: World Music Network
ASIN: B00000IJQM
Also Available in: Audio Cassette

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #136,302 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#5 in Music > World Music > Compilations > Far East > Japan
#32 in Music > Indie Music > World Music > Far East & Asia

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1. Makura - Takeharu Kunimoto
2. Kakin Ondo - Kawachiya Kikusuimaru
3. Fukko Bushi
4. Nikata Bushi - Michihiro Sato
5. Takio'l Soran Bushi - Takio Ito
6. Amagoi Bushi - An-Chang Project, Yasuba Jun
7. Mangetsu No Yube - Takashi Hirayasu
8. Hiyami Kachi Bushi - Ayame Band
9. Moji Banana No Tatakiuri - Tadayoshi Ikawa
10. Utuwaskarap - Oki
11. Nyorai Shizune - Shozan Tanabe
12. Ubue
13. Asadoya Yunta - Tetsuhiro Daiku
14. James Bond Theme - Surf Champlers
15. Haisai Ojisan - Makoto Kubota, Sunset Gang
16. Agari Jo - Yasuko Yoshida
17. Ho Na Mi [Excerpt] - Koto Vortex
18. Utage [Excerpt] - Eitetsu Hayashi
19. Shi Chome - Cicala Mvta

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The inimitable travel mavens at Rough Guides are not offering your average travel fare, and their counterparts in music are also looking for the unusual and the undercovered. This guide to Japanese music sidesteps the obvious shakuachis, kodo drums, and No theater music in favor of taiko-rap, ondo-funk, Okinawa-pop, and some forms yet to be hyphenated, let alone explained. It runs the gamut, from the mediocre pop of Kawachiya Kikusuimaru (toss-off synths and drum machines) to the brilliant avant-garde biwa (lute) and accordion of Yukihiro Goto and the minimalist koto quartet Koto Vortex. Humor abounds in the Surf Champlers' weird Tokyo take on the James Bond movies' theme. Fuzzy electric blues meets Okinawa in the music of An-Chang Project, fronted by the emotive vocals of Yasuba Jun. The set has it all, great, good, bad, and awful in pretty equal amounts, but for the good and great alone it's worth the price, and the bad and awful are certainly enlightening and entertaining. --Louis Gibson

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Musical Box of Rocks, June 24, 2006

By	Crazy Fox (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Well, this CD certainly offers the listener an eclectic mix of Japanese music. It's hard not to like it for that reason alone. One strength of the album is that it includes the kind of music you'll never hear on any other compilation. Both traditional classical music and modern pop music are largely eschewed; instead, most of the tracks are what one might call contemporary folk music--urban satirical songs and sales-pitch ditties, country shamisen music from the Northeast, and lots of music from Okinawa, and such. Pretty much all of it is more or less interesting, though to assume that this is a representative sample of Japanese music would be way off. And never listen to this CD if you want a consistent mood...this stuff is all over the place.

As much as I've enjoyed the variety and oddity of this CD many a time, a few things about it do annoy me. First, music from Okinawa seems too over-represented. Don't get me wrong, the Okinawan tracks on this CD are great, but since there's a Rough Guide CD for "The Music of Okinawa" they seem a bit redundant here, and their lively tropical mood is very, very different from mainland Japanese music (Okinawa was an independent kingdom for centuries, after all). Second of all, while the liner notes are in general pretty good, it would've been nice if a translation of the lyrics for those songs with vocals had been included--much of the point of some of the songs resides in the wit and humor of their lyrics, and this is pretty much lost on you unless your Japanese listening comprehension is truly exceptional. Finally, a couple of the tracks are excerpts, and I'd really rather hear the whole thing when it comes right down to it.

Such nitpicks aside, though, this is an unusual collection of Japanese music that never gets boring. Some are gems, some are diamonds in the rough, and some are just pebbles--yet all have a distinctive charm.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting sampler of Japanese music, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This is not another CD of koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi. It offers a perspective on Japanese music not found on most other compilation CDs I've heard. Especially interesting is the last track, Shi Chome, which sounds like a Japanese version of Klesmer music.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must have, October 10, 2001

By A Customer

This cd is one of the best cd's of Japanese music that I have ever seen. Most of it is traditional Japanese songs, but its been modernized and been given a kick. From the soothing song with just shamisen playing, to the james bond theme, to the song with the taiko drums that will shake your car apart if you turn the bass all the way up. This cd is great for the hardcore Japanese music freak, or the simply curious.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars there is so much more to Japan
If this is representative of what is popular in Japan, there you have it, but I think it's missing so much and gives a false (small) impression of the amazing diversity and... Read more

Published on January 3, 2006 by soundsmith

3.0 out of 5 stars why no gagaku?
This collection is seemingly all embracing but actually it only scratches the surface.The highly distinctive and alluring 'Gagaku'(ancient Japanese court and dance music)is oddly... Read more

Published on November 28, 2005 by Peter Heddon

5.0 out of 5 stars just great
as a fan of japan brings this music back a lot of memories and feelings at my time in japan. i think this compelation is something for people which want to become behind the... Read more

Published on September 20, 2005 by Jean Lessenich

5.0 out of 5 stars Catchy Japanese Folk Music
I just bought this CD and I love it!!
At first it took some listening to really get into, but after a while I couldn't stop playing it over and over again! Read more

Published on April 21, 2002 by sakuram

4.0 out of 5 stars Japanese music you wouldn't hear elsewhere.
This is a great CD that features some Japanese psuedo-folk-rock songs. Not the stuff you hear in the Japanese restaurants, but not J-Pop either. Read more

Published on August 26, 2001 by J. English

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