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To start with, one should give this cd
a chance. Okay, Japanese progressive rock is not the most common
thing and not really what we expect to encounter in this scene.
Especially the language sounds so strange that we will never
associate it with rock music.
The recording is of poor quality.
Given the fact that it dates from 1979 this can’t be expected to be
a technical masterpiece. The instruments don’t sound at their best
and the drums sound a bit muffled. The vocals seem to come from a
distant hall and I must say that I sometimes wonder whether it’s
Japanese or English the singer is singing. Yet I think Makoto
Kitayama has got a good voice. I say I think because the
sound quality is to poor to judge his real singing qualities.
So now we know this isn’t a great
record, but what about the music itself? Well, imagine a combination
of Genesis in their best days and Japanese influences that make one
think of Kitaro. The result is a number of well composed songs, with
some great guitar playing, not simple but then again nobody says
that progressive rock has to be simple. The vocals – only to be
understood by the happy few among us who know Japanese – are not of
the same level as the music. The vocal lines are often too simple,
especially when combined with the backing vocals. They lower the
quality of the songs in many cases and that is a pity. Sometimes the
likening with the work of Genesis is a bit too obvious, but is it a
crime to copy some marvellous riffs and integrate them in a new,
original song?
I for one am very interested to hear
some music of this band that has been properly recorded. Shingetsu
has got quality, that’s for sure. |
