| Adolescent Sex | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1978 | |||
| Recorded | Late 1977 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:24 | |||
| Label | Hansa | |||
| Producer | Ray Singer | |||
| Japan chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Adolescent Sex | ||||
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Adolescent Sex is the debut album by the English band Japan, released in March 1978 by record label Hansa. [4] To avoid controversy over the title, the album was renamed simply as Japan in some countries.
According to AllMusic, Adolescent Sex "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." [4]
Though not a commercial success in their native UK, the album was better received abroad, particularly in Japan itself, where it peaked at No. 20, [5] and in the Netherlands where the single "Adolescent Sex" reached number 27 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1979. [6]
The Japanese release contained several mistranslations of song titles. "Transmission" became "Invitation to Fascination", "Suburban Love" became "Carousel of Love", and "Television" became "Temptation Screen".
The album was remastered and re-released as a digipak CD in April 2004, with four videos as bonus material.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [7] |
| Trouser Press | unfavourable [8] |
Trouser Press wrote that the album "introduces Japan in all its guitar-rock misery, playing such Bowie-influenced tripe as 'Wish You Were Black' with less style than a sense of urgency". [8] AllMusic retrospectively gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 grade, writing: "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." [4]
Within a couple of years of its release, the band publicly denounced the album.
"The band were not totally happy with the first album or the way it had been marketed, and were dismayed by its poor reception in the UK. Their record company were not that ecstatic with the British sales either and required another album, this time aimed at the lucrative US and European markets."
— Paul Rymer [9]
David Sylvian also said in 1982:
"I regret the first album, 'Adolescent Sex', in the sense that we were too young, too naive to make it. The people around us should have realised that and not had it released. The second album is okay as a first album." [10]
All tracks are written by David Sylvian, except for "Don't Rain on My Parade" by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Transmission" | 4:46 |
| 2. | "The Unconventional" | 3:02 |
| 3. | "Wish You Were Black" | 4:49 |
| 4. | "Performance" | 4:36 |
| 5. | "Lovers on Main Street" | 4:09 |
| 6. | "Don't Rain on My Parade" | 2:54 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Suburban Love" | 7:27 |
| 8. | "Adolescent Sex" | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Communist China" | 2:44 |
| 10. | "Television" | 9:15 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Don't Rain on My Parade" (video) | |
| 12. | "Communist China" (video) | |
| 13. | "Adolescent Sex" (video) | |
| 14. | "Adolescent Sex" (rare alt. video) |
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 |  Oricon Albums Chart | 20 [5] |
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Adolescent Sex |  Dutch Top 40 | 27 [6] |
 Ultratop | 28 [11] |
Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian, Steve Jansen (drums) and Mick Karn, joined by Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Rob Dean the following year. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences.
David Sylvian is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan. The band's androgynous look and increasingly electronic sound made them an important influence on the UK's early-1980s New Romantic scene.
Andonis Michaelides, better known as Mick Karn, was an English-Cypriot musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock/new wave band Japan. His distinctive fretless bass guitar sound and melodic playing style were a trademark of the band's sound.
Steve Jansen is an English musician, composer and record producer.
Rob Dean is a British musician turned professional illustrator, who rose to prominence playing lead guitar as a member of the British new wave band Japan from 1975 to 1981.
THRAK is the eleventh studio album by the band King Crimson released in 1995 through Virgin Records. It was preceded by the mini-album VROOOM in 1994. It is their first full-length studio album since Three of a Perfect Pair eleven years earlier, and the only full album to feature the "Double Trio" lineup of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn, Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto. It is also the last time all members from the Discipline era would work together, the last new album to feature Bruford, and Levin.
Tin Drum is the fifth and final studio album by English band Japan, released in November 1981 by record label Virgin. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK charts, and featured the top 5 single "Ghosts". It has received acclaim as the band's best and most original work.
Gentlemen Take Polaroids is the fourth studio album by the English band Japan, released in November 1980 by Virgin Records.
Quiet Life is the third studio album by English new wave band Japan, first released on 17 November 1979 in Canada by record label Hansa.
Obscure Alternatives is the second studio album by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1978 by record label Hansa.
Oil on Canvas is a live album by the English band Japan, released in June 1983 by Virgin Records. It was released six months after the band had broken up, and became their highest charting album in the UK, peaking at number 5. It has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
Hollywood Vampires is the third studio album by the American glam metal band L.A. Guns, released in 1991. While no track from the album topped the charts, Hollywood Vampires presents various shades of the band and is representative of the late 1980s/early 1990s glam metal scene, with riff-laden songs and big choruses on every song. The meticulous production gives the album a sound typical of the period — a full sound, with many background harmony vocals, layered guitars and additional keyboard tracks.
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Everything and Nothing is a compilation album by David Sylvian. Released in October 2000, the album contains previously released and unreleased, re-recorded, and alternate versions of tracks from Sylvian's twenty years with Virgin Records. The record peaked at no.57 in the UK albums chart.
Assemblage is a compilation album by the British band Japan, released in September 1981 by Hansa Records.
"Nightporter" is a song by English new wave band Japan. The song originally featured on the band's fourth album Gentlemen Take Polaroids in 1980. However, it was then remixed by Steve Nye and released as a single in November 1982. The single peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Art of Parties is a song by the British band Japan.
"European Son" is a song by the British band Japan.
"Adolescent Sex" is a song by English new wave band Japan, released as a single from their debut album of the same name in 1978. It was the band's only single to chart in Europe outside of the UK and Ireland, as it was a Top-40 hit in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Dreams of Reason Produce Monsters is the second solo studio album by Mick Karn, released in February 1987. It peaked at number 89 on the UK Albums Chart.
Having begun life as a trashy glam rock band with Adolescent Sex (a name we should all feel guilty Googling),
