Not to start off with bad news, but: RC Succession vocalist Kiyoshiro Imawano, sadly, ended his struggle with lymphoma on May 2nd, 2009, in a Tokyo hospital at the age of 58. His career was one of the most distinctive and successful in Japanese rock history. When I say "distinctive," I'm not simply being polite. Imawano was out there, part clown, part soul screamer, part hyperactive four year old. His biggest success (of which there were many) was undoubtedly his time with RC Succession.

In 1966, while still in high school, Imawano was in a band known as The Clover. When that trio split, he formed the imaginatively named Remnants Of Clover, adopting an intriguing blend of acoustic soul and folk music. That band collapsed in 1968, after which Imawano shortened Remnants Of Clover to RC and, along with bassist Yawao Kobayashi and guitarist Reiichi "Chabo" Nakaido, put together the appropriately named RC Succession. Their 1972 debut, "初期のRCサクセション" ("RC Succession In The Beginning") was a hit, but they were in a bit of a commercial holding pattern until the release of the live "Rhapsody" in 1980.

The band's sound has always been as difficult to describe as it is easy to recognize. Blessed / cursed with the "Japanese Rolling Stones" tag, that comparison isn't totally off, but it doesn't do the band justice, nor does it prepare anyone for Imawano himself. If Mick Jagger is a peacock, Imawano was a demented Muppet that was by turns obnoxious, soulful, ecstatic, cocky, glam, grunge, barking, cartoonish, real, and riveting. You either love or hate his voice, a high, strained, yet often powerful warble that doesn't sing so much as charge around the stage with both middle fingers held aloft. In many ways, he was an anti singer, often gleefully ignoring the tune in favor of a vaudevillian vocal flourish or exaggerated, mocking tone. "上を向いて歩こう" ("Walk And Don't Look Back") is a manic soul rocker in the mold of early (pre-radio fodder) J Geils Band, a horn driven blend of 50s goofiness and drunken R&B with an Imawano vocal that wavers between slapstick and the kind of scenery chewing one might expect in a stage production of "Grease." The surreality deepens considerably when one discovers it's a virtually unrecognizable cover of Kyu Sakamoto's hit, known in the West as "Sukiyaki"(a video of a non-"Rhapsody" live performance can be found here.) Although he sounds nothing like the man, Imawano's a bit similar to Tom Waits in that his style is so confrontationally abrasive, yet becomes oddly alluring with repeated plays.

The music isn't always as bouncy, although it's never anything less than powerful.  "よォーこそ" ("Welcome," abbreviated version here) is the Stones' "Bitch" as played by "Machine Gun Etiquette" era Damned. Imawano shouts for Chabo as he unleashes a brief but somehow arrogant guitar slide, just one of several displays of his ongoing attack throughout "Rhapsody." He's much more than the Keef to Imawano's Mick: there are times he comes off as a less doom obsessed Tony Iommi, full of Chuck Berry asides that dovetail into intricate filigrees that nonetheless maintain a nimble speed. He tends to color within the lines, but positively burns while he's there. The rest of the band is airtight, moving from beer soaked frat soul ("Energy Oh Energy") to the thoroughly weird reggae cum pleading soul slow burn of the title track. Like many bands that start with a party and grow from there, RC Succession's inventiveness is subtle, unobtrusively introducing new directions that tug against the more traditional elements without calling attention to their novelty, or distracting from the aerobic workout of their tight grooves.

At the end of the day, "Rhapsody" is a good, strong, live rock 'n' roll album, one which has a huge reputation in Japanese rock: Rolling Stone Japan ranked it as the second greatest Japanese rock album of all time, behind the mammothly influential "風街ろまん" ("Like Wind Through The City") by Happy End. It, like Imawano, is impossible to ignore, a cocky, energetic rumble. The album's liner notes feature a 60s style testimonial, in addition to a rant from Imawano himself. He summed it up best:

"Everyone says I'm so vain. But when I go out, I feel people look at me. I feel that way when I cross an overhead bridge - when I kick a guardrail. Only certain people can get this feeling, you know. I think, perhaps, it depends on your aura. So, I was a star before, I am now, and will be for a long time."


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