Char - Shinin' You Shinin' Day

Due to popular demand, I had to post this up. It was one of those situations where I actually thought I had already done it. Even the mp3 was already loaded up on media fire. But, it seems I've had some slippage. I was wrong indeed. No worries. If at any point you notice I am double posting, it's not because I'm trying to cheat, I'm just actually getting a little senile. Here it is, in all its splendor. This fantastic man (or group) Char. I think the name does refer to the actual dude Char, based on interviews I've seen of him on Japanese TV. Either way, Char is mostly a rock and roll outfit. This is one of those exceptions. Feeling the tides of soft rock and fine mist of quiet storms, Char crafted this epic tune. I'm ALL in on this one. Definitely my shit. I've said it before (perhaps waaaay tooo much) but, I'm hell bent on this mission to connect the many great things I'm finding in the soft rock and funky rock soul vein from japan to that of its US counterpart. Seems as though Boz Scaggs, Bobby Caldwell and even the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan sent waves that crashed on the shores of Okinawa. Thing is, some of the Japanese soft rock is even light years better. Case in point this tune.

The vibe and groove of this tune is lethal. Even with a lengthy guitar solo, which feels so dated and outdoor rock festival-ish, it still manages to kill me. If you know anything about my tastes, you'll know how much I love the imperfections in this singers English accent. It's not how you say it, so much as what you're actually saying. And, this song has a happy little positive message. Love it. Then it gets brutal, at about two and a half minutes in, they cave my head in with this synth and guitar thing. Sounds like they're showing Blue Oyster Cult what it really sounds like to be the cheer squad for Godzilla. Nice chanting vocals, goofy-but endlessly cool-lyrics and a mid-tempo groove. Great synthesiser action throughout, tasty flute, falsetto highlights, it all adds up to one tasty bowl of Blue eyed inspired Japanese Boogie funk. Stir it around a bit, let the miso mix with the tofu bits. You'll thank us for it.

Char - Shinin' You Shinin' Day

Ned Doheny - Get It Up For Love

This isn't going to sound entirely fair, but here's another one from the white guys. Partly that's not fair because Ned Doheny is not just another 'anything' in any sense. He's got a remarkable trail of goodies. From his disco rock dancer 'Prove My Love' to a rare 80's LP I still have not found for a reasonable price. Judging from this cover he's being marketed like someone we know all too well, Robert Palmer. Or, the like I suppose. But, Ned has been proving more than his love. He's turned out to be more rewarding than just your average 'yacht rock' shite. Even when you're me...and you LOVE shite yacht rock.
Far from being shite really. Here's a guy who seems to have 'Earth, Wind And Fire' trapped up in his chest and soul is oozing on every album.
This tune start out like the music from Kubrick's 'Clockwork Orange' and eclipses into the loveliest of hippie funkdom reaches a plateau of late night loft classiness. Amazing really, this tunes does my head in quite well. Just so freakin' lazy and cool yet so irresistibly funky.

From his 1976 'Hard Candy' LP this song was also used by Tata Vega for a disco version. Most seem to know her version, but have never even heard of poor ole Ned. Ned Doheny had 5 albums in total and was immensely popular in Japan and Europe. More so in Japan. Several of his LP's also were released in Japan at the same time as over here. Could also be why you can't find any of his joints on this side. All his shit was bought up long ago buy Japanese dealers and collectors. Nice work gang, early appreciation gets the worm. Got to respect that. This only further confirms my suspicions about Japanese groups being heavily influenced by soft rock and blue-eyed boogie. So true, that something in artists like Ned Doheny bled right into Japanese artists like Char. Wait, have I posted anything by Char yet? Ok, shit. I'll get right on that. (I actually went and checked) Ok, it looks like I haven't got to that yet..so, here's what I'm talking about... Char - Shining You, Shining Day on YouTube. But, it'll go up next. But, with artists like Char and Tatsuro Yamashita it's obvious to me, they are replicating this small but delicious genre or, short lived era of groove rock or soft rock soul music. I've heard the young kids these days calling it 'groovy' well, that's certainly true. Kind of funny to us old folks as 'groovy' could just about identify anything.
So, back to Ned. He's the king of shit like this. And, THIS song proves that shit. Whether he took a back seat to Boz Scaggs or Robert Palmer because the FM bandwidth in peoples brains was so narrow or he just didn't get play on radio at all...he still deserves major credit. Credit for making sweet music and doing his thing, which at any time was not immensely popular to be doing.
Mr. Black Dick himself, D.J. Harvey even threw kudos to him and reminded disco folks that before Tata there was Ned by playing him at his gigs. If you're looking for more interesting and groovy white guys and theme music for floating around the harbor in a yacht then check out Ned. But, make sure you're getting on the boat with shorts and Sperry Topsiders or just a white suit with no shirt on. Important.


Ned Doheny - Get It Up For Love

The Faith Band - Riding High

All traces of this 45 seem to have vanished from the face of the earth. I bought this years ago and now can't find anything about it. Funny how sometimes these things can just disappear. I know it was released on Village records, and is indeed the same Faith Band that also cut a few records on Mercury records. They are a rock band with soul and sometimes a touch of funkiness. Perhaps they were influenced and or traveled down 'china grove' just like the Doobies. They seem like a slice from the same cake at least. This possible first release by them pins them as more of a straight soul or funk bar band. It's a tale of attitude and bravado that's, as they put it, 'strickly on the level'. Thanks guys for keeping it on the up and up with us. But, seriously there's pleasant lyrics, nice changes, tasty bridges and its an all around nice first outing. They seem to know that 'smooth and slow' is gonna yield a funkier outcome but they've got just enough 'unk' to make it pop. I like the multiple smart uses of Rhodes electric piano throughout the song. Not bad guitar solos from either two or three of the players or just one player well mixed together. Ultimately a good little track on the disco funk tip.

WARNING! WARNING!!
BEWARE the image pictured above is NOT associated with this tune. This came out on a 45 only and was never released on an album. I used this pic because it was an actual picture of the whole band. Again, you will NOT find THIS tune on THIS LP. Every once in awhile, it pays to read the actual writing in my posts. Right?

The Faith Band - Riding High

Tatsuro Yamashita - Solid Slider

The lovely DJ Mama Bear played a little Tatsu' last time I went a' Sweaterfunking. She bumped "Dancer" from his lovely 1977 LP called 'Spacy' on RCA. I was reminded just how sweet and mellow Japanese Boogie can be. This tune however is appealing to my interests in 'soft rock' funk. Half sung in English and Japanese it's feeding my developing ears into the realm of blue eyed boogie. It's turning out that many Japanese artists were right in pocket with the 'soul easy rock' bag. In fact they often capture the mood better than their 'blue-eyed' contemporaries.

Tatsuro Yamashita has a large catalog of great soul music. Still pumping out music to this day, and over 20 LP's released from 1972. Originally in the Sugar Babe Group, he then went and recorded a long list of solo LP's. His 80's stuff is great. Probably the best, most well rounded of the 80's Japanese Boogie artists.

This tune bears a stark resemblance to Boz Scaggs' "Low Down". Complete with similar pop bass, 'woo-ooh-ooooh--ah ooh' creepy backing vocals and overall sleazy mood. So, hats off to TY for out bow-tie-in' the bow tie funkers. And, honorary mention in the soft rock, soul funk hall of fame.


Tatsuro Yamashita - Solid Slider

Rasa - Questions In My Mind

Recently I've been throwing a pile of records together that I'm hoping will resemble some kind of theme. What I've got so far is a bunch of Blue-eyed Boogie, Yacht Soul, Funky Rock, and late 70's disco pop rock. Hopefully it will resemble the theme I'm thinking of, and I think I'm gonna call it "Bow Tie Funk". In that quest for more of that same sound and any thing that might strike me as the quintessential track for the comp, I'm flipping through more rock records than ever. Recently I came across this Rasa LP. Now, I'm a huge fan of hippy funk, so already it's a treat of an LP for me. I feel as though I've seen this record everywhere, and maybe even passed on it a few times. So, I give it a listen. I'm drawn to this 'Questions' song right away as the stand out track. It's from this Lp "Everything You See Is Me" and mostly a groovy rock, hippy thing but, it certainly has its moments. The melodies left an imprint that lasted throughout the rest of my week long digging vacation. So, it'll most definitely make it on my mix/comp. and just thought I'd throw it up here as well. This blog will be updated when the mix is ready and a few nuggets from it may show up here before as well. In fact, I'm so lazy and busy (yes, both at the same time) it may not be a mix and end up just being several tracks on this blog. We shall see, but for now..n-joy!

COMING SOON - BOW TIE FUNK

Rasa - Questions In My Mind