Tranzam's Second Funky Steps from 1976

Continuing on with Japanese music, for the moment, we return to Tranzam.

So on this record, the second in the Funky Steps franchise from this Japanese popular band we don't lose any of the funking around, the funkmeter stays turned up to max, but this time instead of tired old generic classical pieces we have tired old generic popular songs including Weill's September Song and the horrific Unchain my Heart melody (from 1961 originally).  And had I not heard the original songs, as was the case with Sound Creation, I would've enjoyed these instrumentals far far more.  (Unfortunately to have not heard the original songs, you would've had to be deaf in both ears since birth and in utero too.)  Incidentally with regards to the much better known Sound Creation, I hope all y'all realize that eventually a full copy of the album "Rock Fantasia" was made available for your consumption, partly due to popular demand...  These guys are just as good though in the virtuosity department.

It's a shame since Tranzam could have made original compositions that would've been so strong, given the originality of their arrangements, and compelling, instead of building on a bunch of old cliches in the manner of the easy listening muzak that was such a black death type plague throughout the seventies, resulting in the horrible deaths, full of pustular suffering, of possibly one third of the population of that era.  And it only ended when 'elevator music,' presumably in a decision by God, was replaced by a continuous repetition of old Beatles and other pop hits, as I've said before, which is today's huge and underestimated scourge.

As an example listen to what they do to the aforementioned chainless cardiac track:






You get a sense of how good the band is, and how unfortunate their choices are, like a really beautiful and smart girl who dates drug addict losers and breaks her poor daddy's heart...  now how about giving me her cell number, dad, and I'll see if I can straighten her out a little? Or can I take her shopping to Nordstroms for some new shoes, maybe?

After this record I've definitely had enough of these guys though, since nothing really compared or even came close in quality to the funk classics and totally original rock of the 1st and 2nd albums.
So I'll have to close the book on their discography.