EXORCISING GHOSTS

Formed in London in 1974 as an after school diversion for brothers David and Steve Batt (later Sylvian and Jansen, respectively) and their friend Anthony Michelides (later Mick Karn), the group began practicing at the Batts' home. Looking to flesh out their sound, the trio enlisted classmate Richard Barbieri to play keyboards and found lead guitarist Rob Dean through an ad posted in Melody Maker. The name Japan was supposedly decided on the backstage before an early gig, when the band realized at the last minute that they needed to call themselves with a name. Initially a glam rock inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences. Their style was deeply influenced by Roxy Music, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Talking Heads and Yellow Magic Orchestra. By the other hand, Japan eventually becoming an influence on the UK's early 80's New Romantic scene.

"Exorcising Ghosts" is a compilation of Japan released in 1984. It features tracks from three of their five studio albums. It has two tracks from their third album "Quiet Life" of 1979, four tracks from their fourth album "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" of 1980, four tracks from their fifth album "Tin Drum" of 1981, plus a non-albums track. However, it hasn't any tracks from their first two studio albums, "Adolescent Sex" and "Obscure Alternatives", both were released in 1978.

"Exorcising Ghosts" has eleven tracks. The first track "Methods Of Dance" was originally released on "Gentlemen Take Polaroids". This is a song with a great rhythm provided by an amazing performance of Mick Karn and Steve Jansen. It's an excellent song with a great instrumental section. The final result is a superb track. "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" was originally released on "Gentlemen Take Polaroids". It's an excellent track to open that album. It sounds very much to the new sound of the 80's. This song was probably one of the songs that most influenced the new wave music. "Quiet Life" was originally released on "Quiet Life". It has great synth playing accompanied by the catchiest chorus line on the album and features some lush strings. It's a track with a kind of a darker edge. "Nightporter" was originally released on "Gentlemen Take Polaroids". It was influenced by the work of the French classical composer Erik Satie, particularly by his piece "Gymnopedies". It's a very beautiful track and an excellent example of melancholic music and dark musical ambient. "My New Career" was originally released on "Gentlemen Take Polaroids". It's an excellent track that has some influences from the world music. This is a song with a very solid beat, great synthesizer performance and a nice vocal work too. "The Other Side Of Life" was originally released on "Quiet Life". This is an epic ballad that sacrifices deep emotional feelings for a more otherworldly atmosphere and a lengthy instrumental coda with synths. This is the icing on the cake for its grand orchestral music and spellbinding vocal. "Visions Of China" was originally released on "Tin Drum". This is a song with many influences of the new wave romantic sound and the Eastern music. It features some great bass work from Mick Karn. This is a very catchy song. "Ghosts" was originally released on "Tin Drum". This is a very mysterious song based on the synthesizers of Richard Barbieri. Here, we can clearly see, in some parts of the song, the similarities between David Sylvian and Bryan Ferry vocal styles. "Life Without Buildings" is a non- albums song. Originally, it was never released on any of their studio albums. It only appears as a bonus song on the 2003 reissue of "Tin Drum". This is an avant-garde track with Japanese musical influences. It's a minimalist repetitive piece dominated by an interesting and curious drum work very beautifully supported by an innovative keyboard work. "Talking Drum" was originally released on "Tin Drum". It's a song with some intricate sounds and where the Japanese influences are pronounced. Anyone who's familiar with the traditional Japanese music sees immediately the influence of it. Deserves also to be mentioned the nice violin solo performed by the guest ex- Hawkwind member, Simon House. "The Art Of Parties" was originally released on "Tin Drum". It's a song with some intricate sounds. Particularly, the guitar sounds are very mysterious making some strange noises. This is a song with clear Eastern musical influences.

Conclusion: "Exorcising Ghosts" is a compilation with the track selection supervised by David Sylvian and definitely aimed at serving the Japanese market. And as I wrote before, much of the music comes from their albums "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" and "Tin Drum". However, a double LP version was also released in the same year containing other tracks, "Swing", "A Foreign Place", "Taking Islands In Africa", "Sons Of Pioneers" and "Voices Raised In Welcome, Hands Held In Prayer", of which some are remixed versions. So, "Exorcising Ghosts" isn't a true career overview but still is a reasonable way to start for those who aren't familiar with this interesting and original band. The emphasis is entirely on the moody melancholic but energetic phase of Japan's career. But, by the other hand, and despite be good, there's not anything here to make of this a required purchase for those who already have the albums mentioned above.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)