 Japanese rock geeks, especially recent ones,
know Speed, Glue and Shinki, a band perhaps best exemplified by their gloriously primitive
debut "Eve." People familiar with more recent, mainstream Japanese rock
will doubtless know Char, a phenomenally skilled guitar wunderkind who
is one of the most well known and enduring musicians in the scene. And
those who dig deeper may know Yellow, an early 70s group
that have one well regarded album that is well nigh impossible to
actually get your hands on (at least as of this writing...there's a
reissue in the works.) Where Speed, Glue and Shinki were rough and
tumble rock clods, the other two worked with a sophisticated jazz/funk
rock, the kind that would occasionally spill over into what my friends
and I sometimes call "car commercial rock," but which often provided
some surprising twists, nestled in the smooth, flawless playing.
In the late 70s, Masayoshi "Glue" Kabe resurrected his Golden Cups
nickname of Louis Louis, and joined forces with Char and Yellow's
Nobuki "Jonny" Yoshinaga to form Jonny, Louis and Char. After three
well received albums of their particular brand of power trio fusion,
they changed their name to Pink Cloud. "Pink Cloud," the album, was
their third effort under the new moniker, and it's a quick, solid
listen, a welcome antidote to the idea that all worthwhile Japanese
rock was necessarily tripped out and overdriven.
It doesn't start out that way, though. Grand Funk, an American power
trio that would integrate soul and fusion into their sound in their
later years, is perhaps the best comparison. Grand Funk's legendary
live album opened with "Are You Ready?," whereas "Pink Cloud" cheekily
opens with "Why Aren't You Ready?," a Grand Funk-esque rocker that
builds to a glorious, driving-with-the-top-down climax that's worth the
price of admission alone. Pink Cloud are not a bludgeoning band,
however, and the latin-inspired groove of "Depression" takes us into
more typical territory, one which spikes the rock attack with a
smoother edge, approaching a place where Steely Dan isn't quite so
afraid of rocking out.
That perhaps sounds like a backhanded compliment, but Pink Cloud keep
things interesting with odd textures and a dark, almost mystical
undercurrent. Their headspace is less yacht rock, more dark
sophistication. When the tunes become more explicitly smooth, like
"Tripping Woman," the edge is welcome, giving it a misty, creepy
element that keeps the laser sharp musicianship from overwhelming the
tunes. Wisely, they roughen up as they brighten up: "Today Is The Day"
brings to mind The Band's "The Load," a leisurely positive sing along
that chugs along with tougher riffs and a winning chorus. "Gosh" gets a
little weird, Char's vocals given a squiggly layer of processing as the
band steers into a brief but intriguingly shadowy detour.
Pink Cloud walk a fine line, one which, as noted above, can very easily
spill over into style over substance, leaving an immaculately performed
corpse. That never happens here, and one of the impressive things about
this group is watching how close they're willing to get, always pulling
back at the last moment with a well placed, biting guitar solo, or a
moody, out-of-left-field passage. It's this tendency...this sneakiness...that elevates "Pink Cloud" above music to drink light beer by, into something altogether more substantial and polished.
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Available at Amazon Japan
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