| Obscure Alternatives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 October 1978 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 1978 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:17 | |||
| Label | Hansa | |||
| Producer | Ray Singer | |||
| Japan chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Obscure Alternatives | ||||
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Obscure Alternatives is the second studio album by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1978 by record label Hansa. [2] [3]
Japan's first album, Adolescent Sex , had been unsuccessful on the British charts, and their record company required another album, this time aimed at the lucrative US and European markets where rock was dominating the airwaves. Still working with Ray Singer as producer, singer and songwriter David Sylvian in particular found it difficult to take a back seat and began to demand more control over the eventual presentation of the material. The band's response was to record Obscure Alternatives in 10 days, most definitely a rock album, but one with a twist, as Japan gained the courage to assert themselves as artists and individuals. The crucial track concerned was "The Tenant", a very important piece for Japan as it changed their direction. Taken as a whole Obscure Alternatives is a pivotal work as it bridges two phases of the group. The order of the tracks was very important and intentional. The first half featured material that was mostly part of the group's live show including "Love is Infectious" which was written prior to their debut album. The second includes newer material, displaying greater maturity both lyrically and in arrangement. The title track "Obscure Alternatives", was a feature of their live set until 1981; its arrangement became more and more abstract tour after tour. On the album, it is slow and brooding building to a climax as Sylvian literally screams in anger at the situation he was in. Also notable is "...Rhodesia", again performed live in 1981. With its solid reggae groove and Sylvian beginning to use the lower range of his voice in places. His deeper voice also appeared on "Deviation", a single in Europe, and "Suburban Berlin". The album still included some pop material as "Automatic Gun" and the single "Sometimes I Feel So Low". [4] [5] It was appropriate that "The Tenant" ends the album, as it closes a chapter in the groups career. Japan were emerging as recording artists, as opposed being rock stars. The following chapter was their third album Quiet Life . [6] [ citation needed ]
Trouser Press wrote that the album "adds more keyboards but still relies on Rob Dean's buzzing guitars and David Sylvian's sneery vocals for its sound". Certain tracks contain elements of funk and reggae. [7] AllMusic's Amy Hanson described "Automatic Gun" as "a spit-shined punk shocker backed by bright pop guitar". The title track is described as "wonderfully atmospheric and slightly menacing", while "Love Is Infectious" "put the band completely into discordant post-punk art house-dom". "....Rhodesia", Hanson writes, "brought the funk back and infused it with a Caribbean essence. [2]
The final track, "The Tenant", a piano based instrumental, was the first notable shift towards the direction their later material would take. [8] "The Tenant" also marks bassist Mick Karn's recording debut on saxophone.
Obscure Alternatives was released in October 1978, only seven months after Adolescent Sex. As with the first album, Obscure Alternatives was commercially unsuccessful in the UK, but garnered moderate success in Japan, where it peaked just outside the Top 20.
The tracks "Deviation" and "Sometimes I Feel So Low" were released as singles in certain countries, the latter as a double A-side with a re-recorded version of "Adolescent Sex" (the title track of their first album, re-recorded during the sessions for this album). It became Japan's first European hit single, and the re-recorded version of "Adolescent Sex" is featured on the 1981 compilation album Assemblage . Both tracks were mixed together to form "I Can't Wait", which was club hit for L'il Devious in 2003. [9]
The album was remastered and re-released in 2004, and included a video for "Sometimes I Feel So Low".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [11] |
Trouser Press' review was unfavourable, writing: "The songs are fairly unmelodic, the production nondescript. With a quick listen, you might mistake this for a junior-league Stones imitation." [7]
AllMusic was more positive, writing retrospectively: "Although the set isn't quite up to par with its predecessor, Obscure Alternatives is still a challenging listen." [2]
Sylvian has gone on record saying that Obscure Alternatives would have been a better debut album than Adolescent Sex was. [12]
All tracks are written by David Sylvian
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Automatic Gun" | 4:07 |
| 2. | "... Rhodesia" | 6:48 |
| 3. | "Love Is Infectious" | 4:10 |
| 4. | "Sometimes I Feel So Low" | 3:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Obscure Alternatives" | 6:50 |
| 6. | "Deviation" | 3:23 |
| 7. | "Suburban Berlin" | 4:59 |
| 8. | "The Tenant" | 7:14 |
| Total length: | 41:17 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Deviation (Live)" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Obscure Alternatives (Live)" | 6:05 |
| 11. | "In Vogue (Live)" | 6:12 |
| 12. | "Sometimes I Feel So Low (Live)" | 4:06 |
| 13. | "Sometimes I Feel So Low" (video) |
| Chart (1978–79) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [13] | 41 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) [14] | 21 |
Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian, Steve Jansen (drums) and Mick Karn, joined the following year by Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Rob Dean. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate art rock, 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 wave 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 was 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 the group's final studio album to feature Bruford or Levin.
Tin Drum is the fifth and final studio album by English band Japan, released in November 1981 by Virgin Records. 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.
Adolescent Sex is the debut album by the English band Japan, released in March 1978 by record label Hansa. To avoid controversy over the title, the album was renamed simply as Japan in some countries.
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 7 December 1979 in Canada, Japan and The Netherlands by record label Hansa and on 18 January 1980 in the UK.
Rain Tree Crow is the sole album released by English band Rain Tree Crow, a reunion project by the members of the new wave band Japan. Recorded in 1989 and 1990 and released in April 1991, it was the first time that members David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri had collaborated as a four-piece since 1982. The album peaked at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart.
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.
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.
Assemblage is a compilation album by the British band Japan, released in September 1981 by Hansa Records.
Japan is an album by the British band Japan, released in the United States in March 1982 on the Epic Records label. It was the first US release of the band's material recorded for Virgin Records in the UK, and was a combination of most of Tin Drum with three tracks from Gentlemen Take Polaroids. It was released at a time when the band was beginning to break up. Despite the group's popularity in Europe and Asia, and a cult following in the US, the album did not break into the Billboard 200 chart. However, it did peak at number 204 on the Bubbling Under the Top LPs chart.
"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.
