Thursday, 13 October 2022

Just when I think I'm winning


I'm digging deep into the Japan back catalogue at the moment; I first latched onto them when thy were very loud, very louche and, yes, very glam. Hailing from Catford in south London they quickly jettisoned their guitar heavy sound and the glam tag that came with it. Growing up in double quick time they soon transmogrified into one of the UK's most original electronic bands. Always innovative, always great to look at, they could have been massive. But they were never destined to grow old (quite literally In Mick Karn's case*) - blink and you miss 'em. Androgynous front man (well, they all were really) David Sylvian pulled the plug not long after Ghosts became a top 5 hit. This etherial masterpiece could have been the beginning of something special but they didn't stick around long enough to find out.

This single used to wrong-foot me then; forty years later it still wrong-foots me. I can't think of any other record that sounds remotely like it. 

Japan - Ghosts (1982)


* I must mention that their heroic bass player doesn't feature on Ghosts. To make up for this travesty here are some of Mick Karn's best bass bits. God love him.


Mick Karn (1958-2011)

on

8 comments:

  1. Charity Chic14 October 2022 at 09:24

    Ghosts is the one

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  2. C15 October 2022 at 10:35

    Ghosts... oh god yes, I remember well seeing that performance of it on OGWT and being completely blown away; you say, nothing else sounds remotely like it. It was only after that I dug into their back catalogue - remember Adolescent Sex? (Not a personal question...!) I found it quite strange to hear that *after* having tuned in to their electronic incarnation. Mick Karn's bass... yes, wonderful. As was their mesmerising androgyny.

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    1. John Medd16 October 2022 at 22:29

      Ah, you did Adolescent Sex the other way round (Oh, matron!)
      Only wished I'd seen them live.

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  3. The Swede16 October 2022 at 10:39

    'Ghosts' is an extraordinary song.

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    1. John Medd16 October 2022 at 22:32

      Cheers, TS. A 25% higher word-count review than CC!

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  4. Khayem17 October 2022 at 06:29

    Superb. I was already familiar with Japan but I remember being completely stunned when they performed Ghosts on TOTP. David Sylvian was just beautiful and I was fascinated by Mick Karn's shaved eyebrows and pierced nose!

    Coincidentally, I picked up Karn's 2001 album Each Eye A Path and 2002 companion Each Path A Remix back in July and have listened to both a fair bit since. Really absorbing.

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