The Rainbow Goblins is the ninth studio album by Japanese musician, producer, and composer Masayoshi Takanaka, released by Kitty Records on March 10, 1980.
Inspired by the picture book of the same name by Italian artist Ul de Rico, Takanaka set out to create a fully realized concept album. Influenced by progressive rock bands like King Crimson and Pink Floyd,[1] he blended his signature guitar work with layered arrangements and vivid soundscapes to match the book’s visual and narrative depth. The result is one of his most ambitious and imaginative works.
Background
The Rainbow Goblins tells the story of seven goblins who each survive by stealing the colors of rainbows. We follow them as they journey through valleys, forests, and mountains in search of the legendary Valley of Rainbows. As they close in on their goal, nature turns against them. In the end, the rainbow pulls its colors away, and the goblins are defeated, ending with the powerful final track, "You Can Never Come to This Place", featuring a soaring guitar solo often considered one of Takanaka's greatest moments.[citation needed]
The album creates a rich musical journey that follows the arc of the original picture book, capturing its eerie illustrations and poetic tone. Each track reflects a stage in the story, and short spoken narrations between songs help tell the tale.
On release day, March 10, 1981, the album was performed live in full at Nippon Budokan and released on video. Unfortunately, several songs were cut from the final footage.
In recent years, The Rainbow Goblins has gained new recognition as interest in city pop and jazz fusion has grown, with many listeners now viewing it as one of Takanaka's most creative and iconic works.[citation needed]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
