01	Transmission						04:48
	02	Unconventional State Line						03:02
	03	Wish You Were Black						04:49
	04	Performance						04:36
	05	Lovers On Main Street						04:09
	06	Don't Rain On My Parade						02:55
	07	Suburban Love						07:29
	08	Adolescent Sex						03:45
	09	Communist China						02:44
	10	Television						09:14

Adolescent Sex
Date of Release Mar 1978
Styles New Wave

Although Japan later became one of new romantics' poster children, their 1978 Adolescent Sex LP predated the movement by two years. A remarkable debut, the set snarls with leftover punk intent, a few glam rock riffs, and a wealth of electronics that not only reach back to the band's youth, but also predate much of what would explode out of the next wave of British underground. Sounding absolutely nothing like MTV's mainstream Japan, the quintet snarls across the opener "Transmission," all snotty lads and frazzled hair, setting the stage for what follows. Except, rather than toeing that line, the band pull some remarkable tricks out of their admittedly tight sleeves. The "wow factor" of an incredibly funky bass and guitar on "The Unconventional," repeated again on "Wish You Were Black," is not only a surprise but leaves one wondering if the band were closet Chic fans - especially in light of the seven-minute jam "Suburban Love" that follows a little later on. Elsewhere, though, the band play closer to their roots while defining their own style, which includes David Sylvian's wonderfully sexy, tousled vocals - most notably on the epic, and sexy, post-punker "Television" and a cover of the vintage showstopper "Don't Rain on My Parade." A more exciting album than just about anything else they'd ever record, Japan were young, hungry, and more than a little rough around the edges. Despite the slick R&B work twined in, it's important to remember that this band were in the sonic foothold of an early edgy era - groundbreakers at their own inception. The sound, that look - it fit them well. - Amy Hanson

1. Transmission (Sylvian) - 4:47
2. The Unconventional (Sylvian) - 3:03
3. Wish You Were Black (Sylvian) - 4:50
4. Performance (Sylvian) - 4:37
5. Lovers on Main Street (Sylvian) - 4:09
6. Don't Rain on My Parade (Merrill/Styne) - 2:56
7. Suburban Love (Sylvian) - 7:28
8. Adolescent Sex (Sylvian) - 3:46
9. Communist China (Sylvian) - 2:44
10. Television (Sylvian) - 9:15


Japan - Arranger
Mick Karn - Bass, Flute, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Saxophone, Vocals
Richard Barbieri - Keyboards, Vocals
Rob Dean - Guitar, Vocals
Steve Jansen - Percussion, Drums, Vocals
Ray Singer - Vocals, Producer
David Sylvian - Guitar, Vocals
Pete Silver - Engineer
Graham Hughes - Cover Photo

2001 CD BMG 37218
1994 CD Blue Plate 1201
1978 LP Hansa 8004


Adolescent Sex

AMG REVIEW: Broken down into its simplest components, "Adolescent Sex" flays wide into classic funk bass-beating thumps, glammed out guitar, snotty punk vocals and proto disco cum wave synths. Put back together, though, and fed through Japan frontman David Sylvian's pockmarked brain, the song is an onslaught of a bewildering battery of stylistic nervous breakdowns, all so gorgeously twined that the resulting brew is simply stunning. Redolent of the New York Dolls, if they really had been as garish, glammed and gorgeous as their posthumous press insists, the title track of the band's 1978 debut album packs a devilish freneticism that, just as the Dools themselves discovered, won the band very few mainstream fans, and left even the art-school fringe of Punk feeling nervous. What it did achieve, however, was a veritable sonic breakthrough, a climactic clash of new breed idealism and forward thinking experimentalism that, by the standards of the time, was simply staggering. - Amy Hanson






Japan
Formed 1974 in London, England
Group Members Mick Karn Richard Barbieri Rob Dean Steve Jansen David Sylvian
Performed As Rain Tree Crow

by Jason Ankeny

Japan's evolution from rather humble glam-rock beginnings into stylish synth-pop (and beyond) made the British group one of the more intriguing and successful artists of their era. Formed in London in 1974, Japan began its existence as a quintet comprised of singer/songwriter David Sylvian, bassist Mick Karn, keyboardist Richard Barbieri, drummer (and Sylvian's brother) Steve Jansen and guitarist Rob Dean. In their primary incarnation, the group emulated the sound and image of glam-rockers like David Bowie and the New York Dolls; Sylvian's over-the-top vocals, much in the vein of Bryan Ferry, also earned Japan frequent (if derisive) comparisons to Roxy Music.
After winning a label-sponsored talent contest, they were signed to Germany's Ariola-Hansa Records in 1977 and debuted a year later with a pair of LPs, Adolescent Sex and Obscure Alternatives, which received little notice at home or in the U.S. but did find favor among Japanese audiences. With 1979's Quiet Life, Japan made a tremendous leap into more sophisticated stylistic and subtle territory; a subsequent hit single covering Smokey Robinson's "I Second That Emotion" further underscored the newfound soulfulness of their music.

1980's Gentlemen Take Polaroids continued to broaden Japan's scope, incorporating a variety of exotic influences into their increasingly atmospheric sound. With 1981's Tin Drum (recorded minus Dean), the band peaked: tapping sources as diverse as funk and Middle Eastern rhythms, the album moved beyond pop confines into experimental tones and textures, and scored a U.K. smash with the single "Ghosts."

However, Tin Drum also proved to be Japan's swan song: long-simmering differences among the band members came to a head when Karn's girlfriend moved in with Sylvian, and the group disbanded in 1982. The individual members quickly forged ahead with their projects: Sylvian began a successful solo career and also entered into a series of collaborations with performers like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Holger Czukay and Robert Fripp, while Karn issued a 1982 solo LP, Titles, before founding the short-lived duo Dali's Car with Bauhaus' Peter Murphy. In 1986, meanwhile, Jansen and Barbieri issued Worlds in a Small Room under their own names before recording together as the Dolphin Brothers.

In 1987, Karn released Dreams of Reason Produce Monsters, a solo LP which featured contributions from Sylvian and Jansen, spurring rumors of a reunion which came to fruition in 1989 when the four principal members re-teamed under the name Rain Tree Crow. By the time an eponymously-titled album appeared in 1991, however, relations had again dissolved in acrimony, and the musicians went their separate ways; while Sylvian continued working independently, as the decade wore on Karn, Jansen and Barbieri occasionally reunited in various projects while also maintaining solo careers.



1978 Adolescent Sex BMG
1978 Obscure Alternatives BMG
1979 Quiet Life BMG
1980 Gentlemen Take Polaroids Blue Plate
1981 Tin Drum Blue Plate
1983 Oil on Canvas [live] Blue Plate
2003 Tin Drum [Expanded] Virgin
2003 Gentlemen Take Polaroids [Expanded] Virgin
2003 Oil on Canvas [Expanded] [live] Virgin
2004 Adolescent Sex [Expanded] BMG
2004 Obscure Alternatives [Expanded] BMG
2004 Quiet Life [Expanded] BMG