"Jigoku No Tenshi Akai Bakuon"
| Killing Melody - Instrumental Music From Japanese Pinky Violence Movies |
| In
the 60s, Japanese rock was still in its imitative state. Group Sounds
bands had plenty of great pop music, but were nonetheless highly
derivative of American and British acts, often intentionally so. The
film industry, on the other hand, was a bit quicker in terms of
injecting a uniquely Japanese spin on western forms; witness the late
60s rise of the koshoku rosen (pinky violence films.) While based on
typically American exploitation fare (i.e. hot chicks who like to
fight, etc.) the films themselves adhered to a subtly different ethos,
one
which closely followed the fatalistic melodrama so beloved of Enka fans. This flavor extended to the soundtracks as well. They might not have been as insanely psychedelic as the euro sleaze put forth by such luminaries as Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab (Vampyros Lesbos,) but its roots in Enka and Kayōkyoku gave it an edge that accented the fatalistic sadness of many koshoku rosen. Killing Melody, a compilation of music from the golden age of pinky films (from the late 60s to the early 70s,) is all over the map, yet strangely coherent. Enka, jazz, and (of course) rock rub shoulders in these three minute or less nuggets, and while nothing jumps out as being deliciously ludicrous as the best of what was coming out of Europe at roughly the same time, it's nonetheless a fascinating ride that offers nostalgia, cheese, and history in equal measure. Unsurprisingly, the orchestrated chaos of what was happening on screen is reflected in the compositions themselves. Take opener "Futengurashi;" starting off with splashy, big band glitz, it quickly slows into a mournful, multi colored run through harpsichord, flute, spaghetti western guitar, and creepy lounge organ, somehow managing to make an atmospheric, coherent tune out of all these ingredients in less than two minutes. "Kinjirareta Ichiya" is straight up Enka, bearing a strong resemblance to Meiko Kaji's iconic "Urami Bushi" (Kaji, of course, made her name in the pinky series Female Convict Scorpion. That's her in the hat on the album's artwork.) "Sex Hunter" closes the album with a perfect distillation of what makes this music so compelling, its blend of rock energy and underlying sadness as complete a summation of the aesthetic as one could hope for. That said, the album isn't above including the occasional well executed imitation. The snappily titled "Jigoku No Tenshi Akai Bakuon" ("Hells Angels, Crimson Roar") is straight up Blaxploitation groove, and the only thing identifiably Japanese about "Bakudan Otoko To Iwareru Aitsu" is its title; the track's rumbling "Girl From Ipanema" shuffle sounds like nothing so much as the opening to a Matt Helm flick. What sticks out for Japanese rock fans is the inclusion of two legendary bands from the period: The Jacks (!!?!) contribute the atypically bouncy "Omae Ni Muchu Sa" (along with The Carnabeats' Keikichi Usui and someone named B. Schnare,) and The Flowers (along with actor Jun Hashimoto and multi instrumentalist Tadao Inoue) join up for the jazzy "Last Chance." Neither track sounds like either band's more well known output, but they're both great tracks on their own, sitting seamlessly into the dynamism of the whole. Pinky violence soundtracks were (ironically, given the severity of the films themselves) less musically insane than their western counterparts, but Killing Melody is still a pretty funky ride. It's limited edition vinyl only, unfortunately, so getting your hands on the films themselves is a considerably easier proposition. Nonetheless, pick this one up if you can. |