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My Top 20 albums from 1978 no 5

2 months ago
19

Adolescent Sex Japan
Art Rock, Synth-pop, Glam
Year:
1978
Tracklist
1 Transmission
2 The Unconventional
3 Wish You Were Black
4 Performance
5 Lovers On Main Street
6 Don't Rain On My Parade
7 Suburban Love
8 Adolescent Sex
9 Communist China
10 Television

Career changes are a fact of life; I'm pretty sure it's less likely for someone to actually become who they wanted to be at an early age than not to. I mean, hey, I wanted to be an astronomer when I was younger, and judging from my 200+ reviews, I think I'll be doing something else in the future. What is a little surprising is when you become known for something you were the polar opposite of maybe a few years ago, and of all the artists and bands that this could apply to, it ends up being Japan.

Japan were one of those groups that almost got a shot at stardom, but ended up splitting just as they became popular. They were actually one of the first New Romantic groups, and "romantic" was a good way to put their music: they were pensive, modest, but lush in sound and heavy users of synthesizers. They even included elements of ambient in their music, as demonstrated by their hit single "Ghosts", if you disregard the one-off reunion record Rain Tree Crow or the main body of work of David Sylvian, former lead singer and songwriter of the group. They're one of my favorite groups, but if I had to say something mean about them, then I'd call them "squares". They're innovative and talented, but they're pretty square... except, maybe not.

See, they were initially formed in 1974, but they only got to recording music after winning a talent contest, netting them a contract with Hansa Records. In 1978, they released two albums that were successful in Japan (the group's name probably helped), but which were basically looked over in their native UK, because of the increasing popularity of the punk and new wave scenes. Initially, Japan weren't a new wave group (there are small tinges of the genre in their pre-Quiet Life records, but that's more in the production and sound than the performance); they were a glam rock band with one hell of an attitude. I mean, this world is hardly as prude as it was in the 60's or 70's, but would you consider releasing an album titled Adolescent Sex now?

Let's go over the musical elements of the album in the opening track "Transmission". The song begins with the sound of the howling wind, until a subdued combination of drums, guitar and keyboard comes in. Soon afterwards, an ominous "da-ba-da-ba-da" harmony appears, and it leaves way to David Sylvian, who charges in with a high and gruff voice and the lyrics "YOU'RE CONFISCATING TRANSMISSION / FOR LIBERTY! NO SYMPATHY!" Yes! That's David Sylvian, the same guy who'd do this 6 years later! Otherwise, this is a kick-ass song, alternating between an ominous atmosphere and heavy, rocking segments, sometimes backed by a singular, otherworldly synthesizer line that either sets further down the foreboding tone of the tune, or is mostly a backbone to the furious guitar playing in the forefront. Take note: that's as "new wave" as the record gets.

When it comes to the sound and scale of the music, Adolescent Sex is a glam rock album through and through, but what's interesting is how pissed off the group sounds. This is very well evidenced in David Sylvian's vocals -- to be precise, he often seems to strain himself so as to deliver as much vocal raw power as any glam rock singer who has a lot of presence on stage, but he instead ends up in the zone between "subdued" and "powerful" that, in the case of this album, is actually more satisfying than if he actually crossed over into the latter. That's hardly the only example of the record's personality, however: while I could hardly find anything truly offensive on here (aside from the name, you know), the album sounds really like it wants to provoke, and that adds a load of charm.

Actually, I got an explanation for the album's provocativeness: all of its tracks are about sex, and they span the entire spectrum of metaphor, giving Big Black a run for their money in that regard. This is easier to recognize on the first side (tracks 1-6), which is pretty much an onslaught of great tunes about making love. Another thing worth of note are the funk elements: this is one groovy record, with cool rhythms and superb guitar lines. I'd say "Performance" is my best cut out of those six, because it's both the most laid-back number of the bunch and the owner of a guitar part that remains 110% captivating even when everything else is much louder in the mixing.

But hey, if you want something heavy, then help yourself: "Lovers on Main Street" is the hardest number on side A, and it CRRRUNCHES in a way that rivals Led Zeppelin (if only because Japan actually wrote this song). If you're still not satisfied, there's a cover of that classic show tune "Don't Rain on My Parade"; needless to say, the transition into this album's type of funk rock is handled perfectly, because I'm convinced it's about fucking even though the lyrics haven't been changed one bit. "The Unconventional" and "Wish You Were Black" are pretty cool too: they're the most sexual numbers on side A.

Side B is where the album stretches its formula to its most extreme form, and comes out with four amazing songs. The first of these is "Suburban Love", a 7-minute epic that begins in the same way as the rest of the tracks -- albeit with a much more climactic feel and an amazing guitar hook that never reappears -- but then, at the three-minute mark, it kicks off with a wicked synthesizer line directly interacting with the guitar, which goes on for a minute before easing back down... but it's soon another climb back to the top, all of the parts becoming more and more complex, leading up to an insane guitar solo. It's such an orgasmic experience that I'm cool with it fading out. How would you end something like it anyway?

It's immediately followed by the title track, a perfect single if I've ever seen any; it's filled from head to toe with great hooks, awesome melodies, memorable lines like "Whatever gets you through the night, just keep on dancin'", and a dramatic bridge where David Sylvian almost sounds on the edge of an epiphany as all of the instruments go nuts around him, before dropping right back to the song proper. God damn, that's an amazing tune. "Communist China" ain't half-bad either: in contrast to the 8 previous tracks, it's borderline psychotic in its sound, and that is cool.

This sets the tone for the closer "Television" (the name was mistranslated in the Japanese version and became "Temptation Screen", a name so incredible I must make that an album or band name), which takes the insanity of "Communist China" and sticks it on one of the record's best funk backbones. In the same vein as a funk jam, it's pretty static -- more so than "Suburban Love" for sure -- and it's an absolute blast, because it's here that David Sylvian becomes so positively angered that, after about 8 minutes of delicious vocal hooks ("Television! Television!"), he actually explodes into a guitar solo. Chances are he became the quiet, nerdy little art rock god he is today because all of his negative emotions got trapped in there.

In case I didn't sound enthusiastic enough, I am seriously recommending you pick up Adolescent Sex. It's (and its successor Obscure Alternatives) a criminally overlooked piece of late-70's glam rock that undeservedly got swept in the punk undercurrent. It's an outstandingly unique record, and 1978 definitely wasn't an uneventful year. OK, so I suppose the name could turn someone off.. either that or the fact that it's the same group that released Gentlemen Take Polaroids... nah, you don't have any excuse not to pick this up, run to your record store and snatch one of the 4 copies it has of this album before it becomes popular again.
Featured songs: Adolescent sex and suburban love

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