Japrocksampler

One more music post today. You can find everything on the Internet, but sometimes you find little treasures which you wouldn't soon find in your local music store around the corner.

One of those small gems is a very cool compilation of psychedelic Japanese rock tracks. Incredible hard to find, but thanks to the wonderful Internet (and with a bit of luck), I am able to offer you something quite unique.

The title of the compilation, Japrocksampler, actually derives from Julian Cope's book on the history of Western music's arrival on Japanese shores after World War Two. The book is an exploration of the clash between traditional, conservative Japanese values and the wild rock'n'roll renegades of the 1960s and '70s. It tells the tale of key artists in Japanese post-war culture, from itinerant art-house poets to violent refusenik rock groups with a penchant for plane hijacking, and rounds up the seminal japrock albums.

Anyways, the fitting soundtrack of the book (with thanks to and courtesy of Grown Up All Wrong):

CD I
01 - The Jacks • Marianne (Vacant World, 1968)
02 - Love Live Life + One • Shadows of the Mind (Love Will Make A Better You, 1970)
03 - Masayuki Takayanagi and Kaoru Abe with New Direction • untitled [excerpt from side one] (Kaitaiteki Kokan, 1970)
04 - Flower Travellin' Band • Satori, part II (Satori, 1971)
05 - Speed, Glue & Shinki • Run and Hide (Speed, Glue & Shinki, 1971)
06 - Masahiko Satoh with Soundbreakers • untitled [excerpt from side one] (Amalgamations, 1971)
07 - Blues Creation • Sorrow (Demon & Eleven Children, 1971)
08 - Datetenryu • Harugeshiki (Unto, 1971)
09 - Lost Aaraaff • Hell of Screams (Genya Concert, 1971)
10 - People • Shomyo, part I (Ceremony: Buddha Meet Rock, 1971)

CD II
01 - Taj Mahal Travellers • untitled [excerpt from track 2] (July 15,1972, 1972)
02 - Akira Ishikawa and Count Buffaloes • Pigmy (Uganda, 1972)
03 - J.A. Seazer • Echigo Tsutsuishi Oyashirazu (Kokkyou Junreika, 1973)
04 - Acid Seven Group • untitled [track 6] (Oz Days Live, 1973)
05 - Yonin Bayashi • Omatsuri (Isshoku Sokuhatsu, 1974)
06 - Karuna Khyal • untitled [excerpt from side one] (Alomoni 1985, 1974)
07 - Geinoh Yamashirogumi • Osorezan [excerpt] (Osorezan, 1974)
08 - Magical Power Mako • Jump (Jump, 1977)
09 - Les Rallizes Denudes • Enter the Mirror (’77 Live, 1991)
10 - Far East Family Band • Timeless Phase (Tenkujin, 1977)

To download, click CD 1 and/or CD 2. To see/ listen to an example, check the Youtube video below.