Track Listing

1. Art Of Parties
2. Talking Drum
3. Ghosts
4. Canton
5. Still Life In Mobile Homes
6. Visions Of China
7. Sons Of Pioneers
8. Cantonese Boy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19502 in Music
• Released on: 2006-05-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

The final Japan album...
This reissue of 'Tin Drum' - Japan's most popular LP - featuring surprise hit single 'Ghosts' comes in a budget priced form (rather than the wonderful 24-page booklet, deluxe appearance set released a few years ago).

The album itself is still wonderful, though the Japan sound was pretty much defined on 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' (1980)- here the music is oriental, as the lyrics were influenced by a collection of photos of Communist China (according to the 'Black Vinyl, White Powder' memoir of Simon Napier Bell, then manager of Japan). 'The Art of Parties' gets straight to the point- a clipped sythetic sound that might have been Roxy Music if they hadn't embraced MOR. 'Talking Drum' is even better- an underrated Japan track which has the same electronic-country feel of 'My New Career'; this seagues into the Top Five hit single 'Ghosts'. Who'd believe that a minimal electronic piece indebted to John Cage and Henrik Ibsen would be their biggest hit? As with 1980's Burning Bridges, Nightporter & Taking Islands in Africa, Sylvian dispenses with the band- notably Mick Karn's fretless bass. This might seem absurd, but Sylvian was going for the song, rather than adhering to the band formula- this was Sylvian's year zero and the pathway to his interesting solo career (see tracks like 'Bamboo Music', 'Backwaters' & 'Late Night Shopping' to see where this lead; also 1999's 'Godman' referred to this!). The light comes back in with the Jansen/Sylvian-composed 'Canton'- wonderful world music that fails to explain why any of this lot weren't employed to provide a film soundtrack...

'Still Life in Mobile Homes' (er, title?) remains rather too indebted to Yellow Magic Orchestra- possibly the least track here. 'Visions of China' sees Jansen and Sylvian create another lovely pop song- something that Sylvian would veer away from (though Jansen's 1987 album with Barbieri as The Dolphin Brothers (?????) would see the not dissimilar 'Shining'). Mick Karn's distinctive fretless bass fares as well on 'Sons of Pioneers'- a vast opaque song with sinister undertones (though I prefer the live version from 'Oil on Canvas.' Finally, the brilliant 'Cantonese Boy' concludes the album. This is the apex of their obssession with Japan and the Far East- "Cantonese Boy/bang your tin drum!"- it's a fantastic pop song that I wish someone NOW would cover: Mao's revolution set to 80s synths and sequencers?

'Tin Drum' is just one of the many great budget priced reissues of Japan/Sylvian material surfacing from Virgin- as great a reminder as the recent 'Snow Borne Sorrow' is, that Sylvian was and remains a major talent.

tin drum
OK, la, here it is:Tin Drum was the band's one and only masterpiece. This is not pop, this is cutting edge stuff, merging world music influences with modern technology to create a blend of music that has never quite been replicated.In other words, this band was unique. African rhythms, oriental melodies,pulsing synths, and Mick Karn's elastic basslines, cohere with Sylvian's effeminate crooning, to form an album that is simultaneously arresting,primal,and hypnotic.'Talking drum' exhibits a bouncy, quirky, addictive bass, 'Still life in mobile homes' is soaring fast paced opener, and 'Visions of China' is possibly 'Tin drum's most accessible song, hypnotic drumming emebellished by Karn's compelling bass.
There's danceability,ambience,and eerie atmospherics aplenty here.There's poetry in 'Ghosts', for me the most distinctive song to break into the top ten, and Sylvian's best lyric. And 'Sons of Pioneers', a spartan litany of Burundi drums and chunky but fluid bass, marks itself out as the best song, alongside 'Canton', the most overtly 'oriental' song of the album and a definite classic.Mesmerising..The marimba laden Cantonese Boy is probably the most beautiful and unique 'dance' song of the era, and another unlikely hit. No doubt about it, the band's glam image detracted from their music's seriousness,and as for pretentiousness, just like with his mascara there was more than a hint of it with Sylvian, but they were purveyors of art, make no mistake.And this album is high art, kidder.

I'm turning japanese
Being a big Lewis taylor fan I recently bought his american-produced album "Stoned" and the last track on the album (which is not listed in the sleeve notes and on all my equipment won't play unless you press play at what seems like the end of the album) there was a song named "ghosts" which is my all time favourite song by Lewis. Imagine my surprise when my fiancee showed me some old vinyl records that she had as a teenager and 'lo and behold there was a track called Ghosts on an EP by Japan so I just had to play it and, yes you've guessed it, one and the same! I was never a fan of Japan when they were current as I dismissed them as being a bunch of pretentious poseurs, an opinion based primarily on their appearance, but now I have mellowed with age I really like this album finding it refreshingly different to current genres with such strong atmosphere and totally original musicality. Despite other bands of that era not being being to my taste this is now one of my favourite albums.