Japan - Souvenir From Japan (Great 1989 New-Wave Compilation)

Japan's first label, Hansa, got a little hyperactive when it came to re-releases and re-packagings from the first three albums in the band's career. Souvenir from Japan falls squarely into that category, drawing from the earliest trash glam roots of the group to the more elegant, wistful sounds of its mid-period, all without much regard for chronology or interesting liner notes or anything particularly new. As a starter kit for the beginning Japan fan, though, it's a reasonable enough release. The sound is quite good, the delicate textures and production skill of the group and its collaborators especially noteworthy when it comes to the later songs, and the choice of tunes is generally on the money. Besides the attractive covers of Smokey Robinson's "I Second That Emotion" and the marvelous revamp of the Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties," ten other band originals make up the contents. The group's obvious fascination with non-U.K. glamour, or least images of same, make up much of the collection, thanks to the singling out of such cuts as "Life in Tokyo" and "Suburban Berlin," not to mention the ultimately prophetic fascination with "Communist China." Hearing Sylvian's all-too-arch sleaze and sneer on the earliest stuff still raises a smile, considering how much better he would get in the future -- it's hard not to laugh at the extremes he cooks up on "Deviation" and "Adolescent Sex." Collectively the group was still working out its obsessions with first the New York Dolls then Roxy Music at its most beautifully dissipated, but Sylvian's deliciously luscious croon and Karn's increasingly evident skill with fretless bass make Souvenir worth having for the newcomer, if unnecessary for the hardcore fan.

AMG Review by Ned Raggett