Far Out-Nihonjin[1973 Japan Space Rock]
this early 70’s psychedelic Japanese quartet were more or less the precursors of The FAR EAST FAMILY BAND (see this band’s biography), guitarist/vocalist Fumio Miyashita being the only link between the two. Miyashita would later join other musicians on FEFB which included among their ranks Masanori Takahashi, better known as “Kitaro”. Under the name FAR OUT, they released one album in 1973.Although « Nihonjin » is definitely a spacey album, the keyboards are only prominent on the opening notes and the synths are used sparingly throughout, for the occasional sound effect. The psychedelic atmosphere comes mostly from the guitars, electric sitar and drums, resulting in a sound somewhat reminiscent of PINK FLOYD’s “A Saucerful of Secrets”. The original LP, replete with weird sound effects, consisted of two epic tracks clocking in at 18 and 20 minutes respectively
his is a fascinating album, reminding me sometimes of Wish You Were Here era Pink Floyd (particularly the long instrumental sections of Shine On You Crazy Diamond) which is quite an achievement considering that this album was released in 1973, two years before Wish You Were Here. There are also similarities in places to Black Sabbath, with one of the guitarists grinding out a very Iommi like riff midway through "Too Many People" (using an electric sitar no less!) Nihonjin is also a fantastic track, culminating in a mantra-like freak out suddenly ending in an eerie Japanese bamboo flute solo. The band are very talented musicians, with the drumming and bass playing deceptively simple but highly inventive, anchoring the Gilmour-like soloing of the lead guitarist and the interweaving electric sitar lines of the 2nd guitarist (who cannot really be described as just a rhythm player). The vocalist's soft, almost pleading vocals (which are still capable of rising to a ravaged howl during the closing sections of Nihonjin) are very moving at times, relaying very simple heavily Japanese accented English lyrics which still tug at the soul.
[progarchives.com]
Line-up
- Fumio Miyashita / vocal, nihonbue, acoustic guitar, harmonica, moog (custom)
- Eiichi Sayu / lead guitar, hammond organ, chorus
- Kei Ishikawa / vocal, bass guitar, electric sitar
- Manami Arai / drums, nihon-daiko, chorus
password:citiesonflame
http://rapidshare.de/files/21436893/farout.rar.html
posted by Dirk at 12:38 PM
9 Comments:
Thanks for such a good mellow jamming album. The mix of clean guitar and sitar riffs is a nice change to listen to. Definately interested in more of same. This album unfortunately just enforces my own ignorance of early japanese trippy rock - good on 'em!
Thanks for the music.It will be a pleasure for me to listen to FEFB.
By the way thanks for flower travellin band,really good prog 5 stars.Have a nice day.
this and the cosmos stuff is so good
i never heard of any of it before thanks
This site is one of the best I have ever seen, wish I had one like this.
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Any chance of re-uploading the FAR OUT album?? I've been looking for it for years!! but the link doesn't work anymore,Thanx for your time...
D
Any chance of re-uploading the FAR OUT album?? I've been looking for it for years!! but the link doesn't work anymore,Thanx for your time...
D
I remember the original 4 musicians of Far Out from numerous TV appearances while I was living in Japan around 1972-1973. They were rising superstars who were advanced and different from anything ever seen in Japan at that time. Pink Floydish but with a deeper talent and connection among band members. Just like the other blogger mentioned, I have also been looking for this ORIGINAL edition - the Far Out album produced in 1973 that had the 2 songs - the super-long tracks - "Too Many People" and "Nihonjin". That record is so PURE and RICH with talent. No Japanese release after that came close to the original talent of the original 4 musicians. These young guys, at the time in their early to mid 20's, were extraordinarily talented. Eiichi Sayu's guitar leads are so pure, so intense, that his solos brought people to tears at every concert. Even today when I listen to the old album I purchased back in 1973in Japan, when I hear Sayu play his guitar in either of those songs, it draws something from deep inside. There is pure, raw, deep genius in this man. We lost a supreme talent who had a very bright future in the United States. Eiichi Sayu died young after just a few years working on a new album NYC. When guitarist Sayu moved to New York City shortly after the release of the 1973 hit album in Japan, and bassist Ishikawa and drummer Arai also moved (to LA) shortly after, the band was no more. Fumio started his new band using a very similar band name in an attempt to keep the original Far Out fan base. Although some future tracks of Fumio's new releases were easy to listen to, he could never again produce the same depth of music without those other original 3 guys. "Too Many People" and "Nihonjin" remain supreme. They were the beginning of rock in Japan. So do not be confused since Fumio later combined the 2 1973 hits onto his newer band's album under a new name. The first 2 tracks of Fumio's second recording are the original songs played by the original musicians. "Too Many People" and "Nihonjin". I'd like to find the original FAR OUT album recorded in 1973. Can anyone help me find the album? The album cover has the glove on it. Unfortunately, Fumio used the same cover again with the glove for his future album with the added recordings. This is why it makes it difficult to find the original! Fumio should have used a different cover on the second album with his new musicians since Columbia Records had already released the original 2 hit songs on an album with the same cover photo in 1973I'll keep searching for the original. I have my own original copy that I bought in Japan in 1973 but it's been played so much, it's time to replace it.
Thanks for sharing it. I really like anime. So I have been searching more japanese music because I am courious about their music.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/njyyuuidzdy/FO-N-73.rar/file
Here is a live one.
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