JAPAN "OBSCURE ALTERNATIVES" 1978 HANSA/ARIOLA AMERICA EX-/EX UK SYNTH POP PROMO

$

100

THREE YEARS AGO I LOST ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS TO CANCER, HE WAS A COOL MUSICIAN A DRUMMER BY TRADE, ORIGINALLY FROM SEATTLE, BUT RELOCATED TO L.A. IN 1985, HE AMASSED A VERY LARGE MUSIC COLLECTION, AND HAD KILLER TASTE FOR ROCK & ROLL, SADLY I AM SELLING OFF A LOT OF HIS COLLECTION ON BEHALF OF HIS WIDOW TO HELP PAY OFF DEBTS INCLUDING BILLS, TAXES AND STORAGE UNIT FEES. I AM NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR THIS SERVICE, DOING IT FOR MY FRIEND (MISS YOU DAVE!). THIS ITEM IS FROM HIS COLLECTION.

THE PHOTO'S MAY BE A LITTLE BLURRY, HAVE A LITTLE GLARE, SOME REFLECTIONS OR IN SOME CASES YOU MAY SEE SPECKS OF DUST. BUT THE PHOTO'S ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM YOU ARE BIDDING ON. I DO COMBINE SHIPPING. BUT I DO NOT ACCEPT “BEST OFFERS”, THE MONIES GO TO MY FRIENDS WIDOW.

THESE ARE VISUALLY & PLAY GRADED. LET ME REITERATE I DO NOT TAKE “BEST OFFERS”. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS!!

ARTISTS: JAPAN

TITLE: “OBSCURE ALTERNATIVES”

TRACK LISTING (SEE PHOTOS & BELOW):

A1

Sometimes I Feel So Low

3:50

A2

Automatic Gun

4:03

A3

. . . . Rhodesia

6:49

A4

Love Is Infectious

4:09

B1

Obscure Alternatives

6:49

B2

Deviation

3:23

B3

Suburban Berlin

4:59

B4

The Tenant

7:12

Companies, etc.

• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Ariola America, Inc.

• Copyright (c) – Ariola America, Inc.

• Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria

• Published By – Chadwick Nomis Ltd.

• Mastered At – Kendun Studio D

Credits

• Arranged By – Japan

• Engineer – Chris Tsangarides

• Producer [Produced By] – Ray Singer

• Written-By – David Sylvian

Notes

"I S" in the runouts indicate a pressing by Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria. Not to be confused with Obscure Alternatives which has "T1" in the runouts which indicate it was pressed by a different pressing plant in the US; Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute

? 1978 Ariola America, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA 90211
© ? 1978 Ariola America Inc., Beverly Hills, CA 90211

All titles published by Chadwick Nomis Ltd.

This has a different track order to the UK release and uses a red instead of a blue logo on the sleeve. This was released nearly 2 months before the rest of the world to tie in with the band's only US tour.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side A, runout, etched, stamped): I S SW-50047-A 1B KENDUN-D ? A

• Matrix / Runout (Side B, runout, etched, stamped): I S SW-50047-B 1A KENDUN-D ? A2

• Other (Side A, label): SW-1-50057

• Other (Side B, label): SW-2-50057
  

LABEL: HANSA/ARIOLA RECORDS AMERICA

CAT. #: SW-50047

YEAR: 1978

RECORD CONDITION: THE RECORD IS IN VG+/EX- CONDITION, NICE SHINEY BLACK LUSTER. NO MARKS OR SCRATCHES,LINES, ETC.BOTH LABELS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.NICE SHINEY LUSTER TO THE VINYL. NO AUDIO BACKGROUND SOUND BETWEEN TRACKS. THE SONGS SOUND GREAT, & PLAYS SUPER CLEAN. VERY VERY LIGHT VISIBLE WEAR.THERE IS SOME LIGHT BACKGROUND SOUND ON THE LEAD IN GROOVES, A FEW LIGHT “CLICKS/POPS”, BUT THE SONGS PLAY VERY CLEAN..

JACKET CONDITION: THE JACKET IS IN NM/NM- CONDITION THERE'S NO WRITING ON THE JACKET. STRAIGHT EDGES, NO WRITING, TEARS, WRINKLES OR SEAM SPLITS, ETC.ETC...THERE'S A SMALL SPOT UPPER LEFT FRONT OF THE JACKET WHERE A PRICE STICKER WAS LIFTED (SEE PHOTO) PLUS SOME VERY LIGHT RING WEAR CENTER TOP BACK ALSO (SEE PHOTO). 

MORE INFO: I TRY AND MATCH WHAT I AM SELLING WITH DISCOGS LISTINGS. THIS RECORD IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT. SANTA MARIA PRESSING.

MORE ON THE ARTIST & RELEASE:

Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steve Jansen (drums), Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Mick Karn (bass guitar). Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences, eventually becoming an influence on the UK's early-1980s New Romantic scene.

Japan achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, releasing nine UK Top 40 hits, including the 1982 Top 5 hit single "Ghosts", and scoring a UK Top 5 with the live album Oil on Canvas (1983). The band split in December 1982, just as they were beginning to experience commercial success in the UK and abroad. Its members went on to pursue other musical projects, though they reformed briefly in the early 1990s under the name Rain Tree Crow, releasing an album in 1991.

History

The band began as a group of friends in 1974. Brothers David Sylvian (guitar and vocals) and Steve Jansen (drums), keyboardist Richard Barbieri and bassist Mick Karn studied at the same school, Catford Boys', Brownhill Road, South London. As youngsters they played Sylvian's two-chord numbers mainly as a means of escape; sometimes with Karn as the front man, sometimes with Sylvian at the fore.

The band, who were initially nameless, opted to call themselves Japan just before their first live gig in the mid-1970s. The name was intended by Sylvian to be temporary until they could think of something else, but ultimately became permanent.[7] The following year they were joined by lead guitarist Rob Dean, and signed a recording contract with the German disco label Hansa-Ariola in 1977, becoming an alternative glam rock outfit in the mould of Lou Reed, David Bowie, T.Rex, Roxy Music, and New York Dolls although their initial material was guitar-based funk.

After winning a label-sponsored talent contest, they were signed to Germany's Ariola-Hansa Records in 1977 and debuted a year later with a pair of LPs, Adolescent Sex and Obscure Alternatives, which received little notice at home or in the U.S. but did find favour among Japanese audiences.

The first song they recorded with Hansa, in 1977, was "Stateline".

Early years

The band debuted with the 1978 album Adolescent Sex and followed up with their second album, Obscure Alternatives, the same year. Both albums, produced by Ray Singer, sold well in Japan and the Netherlands, where the single "Adolescent Sex" was a Top 30 hit. They also gained some popularity in Canada. However, in their native UK, those albums failed to garner public attention and did not chart.

Though influenced by artists such as Lou Reed, T. Rex, New York Dolls, Roxy Music and David Bowie,both albums were widely dismissed by the UK music press as being distinctly outmoded at a time when punk and new wave bands were in ascendance. The band was managed by Simon Napier-Bell who also managed the Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, London and Wham!.

Mid-career

In 1979, the band briefly worked with the successful Euro disco producer Giorgio Moroder, who would co-write and produce a one-off single, "Life in Tokyo". The track was a significant change in musical style from their earlier guitar-laden recordings, moving them away from their glam rock roots and into electronic new wave.

The electronic style continued on their third album, Quiet Life (1979), which was produced by the band with John Punter and Simon Napier-Bell. In a retrospective review of the band's work, The Quietus described Quiet Life as defining "a very European form of detached, sexually-ambiguous and thoughtful art-pop, one not too dissimilar to what the ever-prescient David Bowie had delivered two years earlier with Low.[It showcased Barbieri's synthesizers, Sylvian's now baritone style of singing, Karn's distinctive fretless bass sound and Jansen's odd-timbred and intricate percussion work, with Dean's guitar playing becoming somewhat sparser and atmospheric.Quiet Life was their last studio album for Hansa-Ariola, although the label would later issue a compilation album (Assemblage) featuring highlights from the band's tenure on the label, followed by a series of remixed and re-released singles.

Final years

After leaving Hansa-Ariola, the band signed with Virgin Records who released their last studio albums, Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981). The albums continued to expand their audience as the band refined its new sound, however the combination of their newer sound and the band's stylised visual appearance led to them unintentionally becoming associated with the early-1980s New Romantic scene. The band had always worn make-up since their inception in the mid 1970s at the tail end of the glam rock era, several years before the New Romantic movement had begun. In an October 1981 interview, Sylvian commented "There's a period going past at the moment that may make us look as though we're in fashion."In another interview, he stated "I don't like to be associated with them [New Romantics]. The attitudes are so very different." Of Japan's fashion sense, Sylvian said "For them [New Romantics], fancy dress is a costume. But ours is a way of life. We look and dress this way every day." Regardless, it had a positive effect on the band's record sales in the UK and they slowly began to gain chart success.

After a couple of lower charting singles, their first UK Top 40 hit was a re-release of the "Quiet Life" single, which peaked at No. 19 in October 1981. Three of the singles from the Tin Drum album also peaked in the UK Top 40, with its unconventional single "Ghosts" reaching No. 5, becoming Japan's biggest domestic hit.[9] The Tin Drum album itself peaked just outside the UK Top 10, and was the band's first record to be certified by the BPI, being awarded a Silver disc within a month of release, and reaching Gold status within four months. The album, produced by Steve Nye, is often regarded as one of the most innovative of the 1980s, with its fusion of occidental and oriental sounds. In 2011, thirty years after its release, Tin Drum was awarded BBC Radio 6 Music's 'Goldie Award' posthumously for the Best Album of 1981.

With personality conflicts leading to rising tensions within the band, Tin Drum was to be the band's final studio album. Long-simmering differences among the bandmembers came to a head when Karn's girlfriend, photographer Yuka Fujii, moved in with Sylvian and the individual members proceeded with their own projects. Rob Dean had already departed (in May 1981) after the release of the Gentlemen Take Polaroids album, as his electric guitar work became superfluous for the band's sound on Tin Drum. Dean subsequently formed the band Illustrated Man. Karn released his first solo album, Titles, at the same time the band announced their split in late 1982.

During the early 1980s, Japanese multi-instrumentalist and experimental keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto, of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), briefly collaborated with the band, and worked directly alongside Sylvian on tracks such as "Taking Islands in Africa". In addition, Steve Jansen was influenced by YMO's drummer Yukihiro Takahashi. Sakamoto would continue to work with Sylvian both before and after the band split, and the pair would achieve the hit singles "Bamboo Houses" (1982) and "Forbidden Colours" (1983).

The group's final UK performances came towards the latter stages of 1982, which included a final TV appearance playing together on the Old Grey Whistle Test in October and culminating in a six-night sell-out stint at London's Hammersmith Odeon in November (which would be recorded and filmed to produce Oil on Canvas, a live album and video released in June 1983). During this period, guitarist and keyboardist Masami Tsuchiya performed with the band on stage. Japan's last ever performance was on 16 December 1982 in Nagoya, Japan.

The band decided to split just as they were beginning to achieve major commercial success both in the UK and internationally, with Oil on Canvas becoming their highest charting UK album, reaching No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart,a rare feat for a live album. By this time, the band's back catalogue had begun to sell steadily and both Hansa-Ariola and Virgin Records continued to release Japan singles into 1983, ultimately earning the band a total of nine Top 40 hits in the UK

Obscure Alternatives is the second studio album by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1978 by record label Hansa.

Background

Japan's first album, Adolescent Sex, had been unsuccessful on the British charts, and their record company required another album, this time aimed at the lucrative US and European markets where rock was dominating the airwaves. Still working with Ray Singer as producer, singer and songwriter David Sylvian in particular found it difficult to take a back seat and began to demand more control over the eventual presentation of the material.

Content

Trouser Press wrote that the album "adds more keyboards but still relies on Rob Dean's buzzing guitars and David Sylvian's sneery vocals for its sound". Certain tracks contain elements of funk and reggae. AllMusic's Amy Hanson described "Automatic Gun" as "a spit-shined punk shocker backed by bright pop guitar". The title track is described as "wonderfully atmospheric and slightly menacing", while "Love Is Infectious" "put the band completely into discordant post-punk art house-dom". "....Rhodesia", Hanson writes, "brought the funk back and infused it with a Caribbean essence.

The final track, "The Tenant", a piano based instrumental, was the first notable shift towards the direction their later material would take. "The Tenant" also marks bassist Mick Karn's recording debut on saxophone.

Release

Obscure Alternatives was released in October 1978, only seven months after Adolescent Sex. As with the first album, Obscure Alternatives was commercially unsuccessful in the UK, but garnered moderate success in Japan, where it peaked just outside the Top 20.

The tracks "Deviation" and "Sometimes I Feel So Low" were released as singles in certain countries, the latter as a double A-side with a re-recorded version of "Adolescent Sex" (the title track of their first album, re-recorded during the sessions for this album). It became Japan's first European hit single, and the re-recorded version of "Adolescent Sex" is featured on the 1981 compilation album Assemblage. Both tracks were mixed together to form "I Can't Wait", which was club hit for L'il Devious in 2003.

The album was remastered and re-released in 2004, and included a video for "Sometimes I Feel So Low".

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