A fabulous Swiss easy fusion rarity in Renato Anselmi's Know What I Mean? from 1981

From a Japanese record store, briefly:

European Rare Groove Recording Solo album by Renato Anselni, a Swiss Jazz pianist famous for his participation in Emphasis. Although this work can be heard with a clear sound of smooth jazz type overall, Hello Mr. Acuvis which feels good funky rhythm section to scat melody is also recorded! feat. Curt Treier, Peter Jacques, etc.

Notice the artist's name was misspelled by google translate... so when were you saying those robots will be replacing all of our jobs?  Emphasis, in turn, is over-enthusiastically described in discogs thusly:

"Emphasis" was a Swiss fusion project featuring Pierre Cavalli (guitar, bass), Renato Anselmi (piano, synthesizer), Fernando Vicencio (flute, sax), drummer Nick Liebman and Curt Treier on percussion. Their only selftitled album from 1974 saw two original releases on the Swiss Pick label and in the UK on Jaycee and is darn tough to find: 12 tracks in all offer masterfully played European Jazz Rock, a combination of electronic Fusion and latinesque conga percussion.

Actually, I thought it was hugely disappointing, save one or 2 tracks, like Gargantua, but anyways...

Moving on to Mr. Renato, this his second release after the hard to find To His Friends (from 1976) reminds me a lot, with the piano plus orchestral sounds, of the wonderful library composer Oscar Rocchi's Ladies I ripped and posted and have hugely enjoyed in the years since I bought it, which I guess makes sense, given the beauty and the sexuality of those wonderful females.
Or you could stick more to facts and say this album is similar to the earlier Emphasis work, but lighter and more libraryish.  A big difference from Rocchi is the lack of that typically Italian melancholy delicatesse.

Consider waking up Saturday Morning, in particular:






But it's clear the most amazing track has the Chris Hinze Bamboo-like magical female vocal opener, which is the aforementioned closer, B5's Hello, Mr. Acuvis:






Wow, right?  Nice stuff... should've been a hit in its time...
You can be sure we will be hearing more from this artist in the near future.

As well, it's so pleasant to have the privilege of a near mint record to listen to-- and to celebrate I'll give you guys a freshly ripped brand new lossless to enjoy.

Still looking for his first album To His Friends, from 1976, anyone have it please contact me so we can make a deal...  whether mp3 or lossless or vinyl, doesn't matter.

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.

Some more worthy tracks from Godiego / Mickie Yoshiko from 1976-1978

In 1976, on the debut album (excluding the prior already posted Suicide Play with Genshu) this wonderful group helmed by Mickie made a wonderful pop song called "If you are passing by," as usual, should've been a hit back in that year, and may be it was, in Japan:





A nostalgia song which is remarkable in that it doesn't reference any children or people he is going back to visit, he just wants to ensure that his childhood creek is ecologically undamaged, in the state he left it in.  Needless to say this song touches me deeply as it reminds me of the local pond I've mentioned before where I used to play every day as a child, catching huge bullfrogs, turtles and fish and insects.  When I visited last year, it had a concrete barrier put up rendering it totally off limits and a huge warning: "Keep Out! Biologically protected zone!" to make sure no child could ever enjoy it again like I did...  Yeah I'm sorry Mickie, today, if you're passing by, those pussy willows are all quite gone from songs...

Altogether a beautifully composed ditty, and as I've said before, only in the mid-70s golden age of pop could you hear something so naively beautiful.  So the first album is basic pop, with even a Beatlesian sound, altogether too generic to be of much interest.  Side b is taken over by Suite Genesis, a stitched-together suite of actually separately composed songs, which, unfortunately, is also mostly generic, except the very first passage (have a listen to that, but don't get excited as the rest of the suite is a downward spiral).

Eat from the House OST presents to us some of that classic Ceccarelli-like funk-prog sound we heard from Mickie's 1975 instalment:





I could listen to tracks like that all day, and according to my wife, I do.

Then, in 1978, no one could not enjoy the opening to the mega-hit (in Japan) Monkey Magic:





Watching the opener on youtube is beyond entertaining, have a look for laughs, as you listen to the above (same) theme song.  Those who recall from their childhood the Kung Fu style ridiculously dubbed Japanese shows in particular will love this.  I didn't then and I still don't understand today why they had to make those comical faces during the fight scenes.

Genshu Hanayagi and Mickie Yoshino / Godiego in 1975: Zan Sonezaki Shinju

I thought I would bring this one out after the Lucifer album that was so interesting, as another example of the lost music of Japan but so unexpectedly excellent.  The rarity of this release is quite astonishing (as seen on rym).  And you'll see the situation here is analogous to Yuji Ohno, who made such remarkably beautiful records early on but descended into generic soundtrack and schmaltz later.

Some basic information first derived, as usual, from The Great Google:

From an ebay vinyl description (note price of 180 usd):

GENSHU HANAYAGI is a Japanese female avant-garde dancer/actress/performer/author/feminist.
She has spent her life defying her conservative culture’s contempt for independence and unconventionality.
She denounced Emperor Hirohito as a war criminal, and dismissed death threats made against her by right-wing groups.
MUSIC by MICKY YOSHINO GROUP (almost same members as GODIEGO).

With regards to the title of the album, it's clear that it's from a Japanese play (from 1703!) called "The Love Suicides at Sonezaki."  A great title too I'm sure you'll agree, though for a somewhat confused and more than somewhat creepy story.

So because we are concerned here with the music, let's take a closer look at composer Mickie Yoshino.

Japanese popular songwriter, arranger and keyboards player. Born December 13, 1951 in Yokohama. Started playing at US bases in Japan in 1966 with a band called Midnight Express Blues Band. Joined The Golden Cups in 1968 and was a member until 1970 (and also participated in their 2004 reunion).  Studied at Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1974. Following his return to Japan that same year, he formed the Mickie Yoshino Group, which changed its name to Godiego in 1975.  He has also composed music for film, animation, and the stage.

We always recognize Berklee (in Boston) as a fantastic source of good music for those who have studied there.  What a privilege it must be to attend that famous college!  If you follow all the above links you'll see there is tons of material on the part of Mickie and his band Godiego but only one single listed on discogs for singer / talker Genshu Hanayagi.


Now let's turn our attention to the contents of this album.  It's mostly typical soundtrack material (although this is not an OST but rather a spoken play plus music work).  But here and there are stunning flashes of brilliance showing quite clearly how much Mickie learned in his salad days just off Boylston Street.  Considering this is his first LP I would go so far as to say, what I usually do say, which is that some of the compositions sound like they were writing exercises for college, because they are so intricately well thought out.

Today we will consider the tracks 4, 6, & 12, go ahead and fast forward through the Japanese talk (if possible jump to the 3:24 mark):






Clearly this recalls the soundtrack stuff from Ohno but in some ways it's better: being more 70s fusiony and smoothly sexy, which is saying a lot, because Yuji was a formidable and prolific composer as you guys may recall.  Just listen to those synths over electric guitar and rhodes piano creating an indubitably orchestral texture, I mean I just want to die when I hear it on the headphones up loud-- especially, when he changes up the synth settings midway through the track: from super-space-traveller, to intergalactic-heaven...  I just want to die......

I could listen to that track all day, and I have, to the great annoyance of my wife and kids...
And when the headphones are on and the music is turned up, you guys all know there is no wife alive who could penetrate that acoustic wall that shuts out her talking about the million terrible things that happened to her in her day...  Oops shouldn't say those things...  what was that you were saying, hon?

Luckily you don't have to fiddle too much with the fast forward button for track 6:





Again, quite a remarkable electric guitar riff augmented with scales on the synths side by side, pushing the music higher and higher as if in a jagged and rough staircase to upper hell, threatening always to tumble you down, the chromatic dissonances making you feel slightly vertiginous and off--

Track 12 reminds me a bit of our wonderful Masabumi Kikuchi (remember him?) in his beyond brilliant Hairpin Circus, but shockingly, at the 2-minute mark, the song completely changes to a formidably offputting ostinato playing ensemble, which builds in intensity to continue into a mega-crash at the end:






Really really amazing composing.
And it's also amazing how much great music we've found, and it still keeps on coming.
God bless those musical miracle workers...

Unknown Swiss progressive outfit Sisyphos in one of their many albums, Mujokan

Overall, very similar to German Iskander with the advanced, nicely rocking (up the hill and back down again ad infinitum) progressive symphonic, almost always featuring electric instruments, usually two well-tuned and loud el. guitars.  (An update on Iskander, for those who actually read my postings / rantings.  Someone mentioned in comments there exists a CD release of their masterpiece Boheme 2000, and indeed there is.  You can see that here.  This CD has bonus tracks, making up more than half an hour of extra unreleased music that is off the charts excellent progrock, and for this reason I strongly urge you guys to locate a copy and compare with the vinyl rip I (once) put there.  Really, thanks for these suggestions, sometimes, like in this case, they are right on the money!)

It's quite shocking both how prolific and therefore how underheard these guy are, to this day.
First of all look at their discography, beginning 1981, shortly thereafter crossing through into the CD world, 30 years later transitioning into the digital world and ending only a few years back with 2009's Retromania.  In total, 8 albums listed.  There's a couple of caveats here the most important being that they had an unfortunate tendency to recycle certain tracks, admittedly often good ones, and sometime changing their names, which therefore trespasses further onto the territory of annoying, like a friend you like who eats all the leftover meat-lover pizza you wanted for breakfast.  But you couldn't say no when he asked because it's not polite so instead you just complain to your wife who rolls her eyes and walks away.

There is tons of information relating to these guys online, starting with discogs:

Profile:
The band Sisyphos has been playing in the same formation for more than 30 years. Their music is somehow a reminder of the progressive rock sound of the seventies as well as of classical music – spherical music but with a hard rock touch, which is transformed as rough as it is produced. 
Members: René Senn (Guitar), Boris Bühler (Drums, Vocals), Herman Peter (Bass), Peter Scheidegger (Keyboards, Vocals)

Sweet but accurate blurb, gets to the heart of the matter for sure.

On this LP the old almost 19th century style vocal composition The Language Of Acceptance (Martins Garden) is superb:

The first chord, which is added minor 6th on top of the G7 (resolving to the key of Stevie C) with its harmony vocals, just gives me chills, referencing as it does the old pop tunes I heard as a kid blasting out of the cabinet-sized radio/amp/turntables we once had, but this song is so much more than a nostalgia homage ode, as it changes through various keys and sounds, never straying from the darkness and sudden turns down strange alleys.  Keeping it together is a melody that climbs up and down like Sisyphos's rolling rock over a couple of octaves even as the song ostensibly in the genre of pop promiscuously accepts all classical influences in its chords and structures.  To me this is really a masterpiece composition, automatically making it to my top ten list of best progressive songs heard in the last year.  Hopefully you will enjoy it too.  And thank you for that, Sisyphos guys...


Now back to the discography.

I've listened to all their albums by now and can tell you that in the beginning they were almost plain hard rock with some, but few, inventive changes, always eschewing the standard rock progressions of I IV V or its inverted form of V IV I which was clicheified so badly by the Rolling Stones, but nonetheless not much prog.  As far as I remember, most of their songs were even in E or A back then, sometimes G.

But after the 80s period they had a change of heart almost and went the wrong way completely-- the right way for us-- in the direction of more prog, and in 1996, the year alternative ruled the world, they came out with an album called Moments that to me is their masterpiece for all time.   And it's really shockingly good, made more so by the fact I had never heard it, or heard of it, until quite recently.  And I thought I knew all about prog!  What about you Tom? You knew?

Virtually the same album was made into a live release shortly thereafter, and today's LP called Mujokan came next after, in 2002.  Of course it must be that these true heroes suffered from their dedication to the old school vinyl format, since I see from the info there was no CD release of this particular work.  But that doesn't matter to you guys: here it is, digital and easily consumed like baby food but with all the flavours of adult mature mastery...

Mention should also be made about the album called Exit, by 7Pines which is Sisyphos keyboardist Peter Scheidegger in a trio with even more classic progressive rock nitrogycerine blasting out all the hallmarks of the genre: odd time signatures, original chord progressions often in minor seconds, crazy unison arpeggios in fourths, fast runs of atonal 'melodies', prolifically tossed minor seconds and tritones in every song-- etc., etc.

We all need the language of acceptance, the language of our hearts...