Eiichi Ohtaki-NIAGARA CONCERT '83

Eiichi Ohtaki (1948-2013) was a towering musical figure in Post-WW2 Japanese music.  One of his foremost strengths was his ability to ingeniously unify a multitude of musical and non-musical influences into a captivating and cohesive whole. Many of his musical achievements were seemingly impelled by his natural ease and resolve to manifest, express and share his own envisioned artistic world. In addition, his overall passion for music was second to none. Inspired by his surname which means “Big Waterfall,” he established his Niagara label to release his own music along with the music of counterparts like Taeko Onuki and Tatsuro Yamashita, who both would go on to renown in the Japanese mainstream during the late ‘70s and ‘80s. Collectively, their releases have gone on to be considered the core recordings of what is now known retroactively as City Pop. This music has been at its heights of popularity this decade as it has found a worldwide audience thanks to streaming.

Ohtaki himself has been called many things: Super Producer, the Japanese Phil Spector, and the Pioneer of City Pop. Unlike Phil Spector, the more you learn about Ohtaki, the better you like him as a person and artist. As a producer and composer, he deserves to be considered in the same visionary musical realms as Brian Wilson, Gregorio Paniagua (Spain), Sohail Rana (Pakistan) and Joe Meek. In fact, he's the most Beach Boys and ‘50s & ‘60s-influenced musician of the so-called City Pop musicians as some City Pop has a little too much Miami Vice Soundtrack-ish gleam on it for my ears. Some of Ohtaki’s notable productions include Celia Paul’s Yume De Aetara from 1977 and 1981’s Kaze Tachinu by Seiko Matsuda, which both shine with their ‘60s leaning production styles. Another aspect of Ohtaki’s immense talents was his ability to compose instantly catchy songs and create art on demand. In similar fashion to Roger Nichols in the United States, Ohtaki was commissioned to compose catchy commercial jingles (known as CM songs in Japan) for iconic Japanese products like the Sony Digital Handycam, Maxim Instant Coffee, Suntory Lemon, and Mitsuya Cider. Further, I can envision Haruki Murakami writing to this music as the Waseda University alumni seemingly share a similar pop culture aesthetic that encompasses a love for baseball, real & imagined travel and a deep knowledge of Western music, all which informs and inspires their respective art forms.

Tokyo City Pop in the record store wilds of Osaka

Arrivals & Departures One can jump into Ohtaki’s catalog at any point and discover if it’s not immersive, it is intriguing at the least.  Some of his ‘70s material could be pastiche-almost to the point of a Zappa-esque mishmash where he combines elements of doo wop and the Beatles in one song and generally works depending on one’s mood. He was indeed a musical omnivore as he incorporated, assembled and arranged elements of Okinawan folk music, Gershwin, exotica, Roy Wood’s Wizzard as well as Caribbean and New Orleans rhythms besides the aforementioned ‘50s & ‘60s pop influences. By the early 80s, he was able to transition from the idiosyncratic sound of his own private musical jukebox in his head, which can be a wonderful and whimsical place, and breakthrough to a more wide-open, boundless and universal sound. By evoking and expressing the feelings of departures, new experiences and returning home filled with newfound insights and inspiration, he found a memorable sound that had the most widespread appeal in Japan. His most highly-regarded and commercially successful release also happened to be his most fully-realized. A Long Vacation lives up to its hype as a Japanese masterwork and I consider it one of the best conceptual albums ever released. The album’s opening song “You Are a Natural Color/Kimiwa Tennenshoku” is even used as a departure song on the East Japan Railway (JR East). By connecting the Brill Building to City Pop with his own Wall of Sound, he suddenly became a Japanese hit maker in the process.

NIAGARA CONCERT '83 LIVE JAM 1983/7/24 Seibu Lions Stadium At the time of this concert, Ohtaki was riding the momentum of A Long Vacation (1981) and preparing for his subsequent successful 1984 follow-up Each Time. In this period between his two most popular releases, he also recorded two albums consisting entirely of orchestrated renditions of his compositions under the name the Niagara Fall Of Sound Orchestral. While these instrumental albums, Niagara Song Book & Niagara Song Book 2, are good as airplane boarding music, they are not great because their overall production comes across as a little too clinical, which is generally not typical of Ohtaki’s studio recordings. Things are rectified in the live setting as this album features both the Niagara Fall Of Sound Orchestral and Eiichi Ohtaki himself. Both musical acts were accompanied by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra for the concert. The live version of the Niagara Fall of Sound Orchestral transverses somewhere in the vicinity of the Hollyridge Strings, the Surf Symphony, the Beach Boys’ Stack-o-Tracks & The Smile Sessions and Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks. “Water Color” in particular sounds like the Pet Sounds instrumental “Let’s Go Away for Awhile” converging with some soft-focus lounge pop found on a ‘60s film score. 

The cheerful “Like a Blue Sky” presents a lovely and sweeping melody perhaps inspired by “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “Navy Blue” by Diane Renay.  “In the Canary Islands” seemingly foreshadows Van Dyke Parks & Brian Wilson’s Orange Crate Art collaboration from 1995. These instrumental songs come across as alive and dimensional as the stellar recording captures the music moving through the open air of Seibu Lions Stadium on a joyous July night almost 40 years ago. 

Ohtaki then steps to the forefront to offer “Detective Story” from A Long Vacation which could be described as the Zombies’ “Leave Me Be” meets “Hurt So Bad” by Little Anthony and the Imperials suffused with Bacharachian inflections. “Just A Little Gentle'' channels “Cara Mia” by Jay and the Americans, while revealing Ohtaki’s knowledge that Brian Wilson based “Surfer Girl” on “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Another song from A Long Vacation, “Karen in Love” more than hints at “Where Have You Been All My Life” written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded by Arthur Alexander and the Searchers. Next, “Funx4” starts off new wavey before becoming just playfully fun. The abundant and sweeping Spectorian melodies of “You Are a Natural Color/Kimiwa Tennenshoku” cascade down from the musical heavens as the concert reaches its pinnacle. Ohtaki’s signature number offers melodies that will keep swirling in your head for a week. As a consummate musician with excellent intonation, Ohtaki performs all of these songs with apparent ease on what would be his final live performance. The Niagara Fall of Sound Orchestral returns to properly close the musical evening on a lush note that was fortunately recorded for posterity. 

Ohtaki’s small musical enterprise has gone on to become an entire City Pop empire in Japan. By integrating some of the best aspects of Eastern and Western music, he settled on a sound all his own which was integral in the eventual rise of the City Pop movement. This sound would go on to inspire the High Llamas’ Sean O’ Hagan, Shibuya-kei along with contemporary Japanese groups & producers operating along similar wavelengths. These highly influential sounds are still continuing to ascend and radiate both in Japan and around the world.

Photo from Monari Wakita's Passing By single

The Volebeats-Lonesome Galaxy

Being that it has been 12 years since their standout self-titled double-album, it was hard to say if the Volebeats were still an active musical entity. There would be signs of life here and there like a live appearance at some place in Pontiac when Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary series premiered in 2019. Surprisingly, things began to stir again in early 2022. Still, it was unexpected and seemingly incongruent to hear they were signed to Ben Harper’s Mad Bunny Records. In a way, these unanticipated turns of events seemed characteristic as the Volebeats have always been consistently unpredictable.

For 35 years, they have been offering up their distinctive and melodic slant on Americana, while also transcending the genre. Along the way, they have amassed quite an extensive and enduring back catalog filled with a wide-ranging spectrum of sounds connected to a timeless past, which frequently strike the perfect tone. In other words, their recordings play like a magic transistor AM radio pulling in lost signals from CKLW-Windsor that are still swirling around in the atmosphere above the Great Lakes and the glacier-made flatlands.

“The Big 8”

The album is not just a continuation, which would have been just fine, but an exploration of some previously unexplored paths and new sonic regions. Their current landing spot overlooks a distinctive realm of twangy pop/rock/country/psych that could have only been made in the heartland under the Midwestern tinted skies. “Lonesome Galaxy” was originally slated to be a double-album (which would make two in a row), until Ben Harper became involved. Supposedly all the grade A material was gleaned and the sequencing was sorted out by the skateboarding acolyte of Robert Johnson.  Nonetheless, I would love to hear the material that didn’t make the cut.

Shopgirl at Spaceland

While being almost completely unknown by the general population and even in some of the most knowledgeable musical circles, the Volebeats occupy an unique position in that they are followed by a devoted contingent of listeners across the globe, with the largest concentrations of their audience naturally found in Spain. Still the band has almost always been alluringly somewhat removed as they seemingly exist and create in self-imposed obscurity somewhere between Hamtramck and Howell. You might be thinking, “Weren't they the band in Steve Martin’s Shopgirl playing at Spaceland?” I would respond that appearance did not really move the needle as it was fiction over the fact they did not really extensively tour in the first place. Certainly, they would have more crossover appeal if they were not so willfully obscure. Even in their native Detroit, live appearances are a rare thing.  Obligations and jobs probably prevent any extensive touring, which one can and should respect. I did see them play a short stack of songs at the Ghettoblaster CD release show in 1997 at the Magic Stick. Yet, this approach of no approach can stall out at times and even backfire. I could go on and on about their disproportionate lack of recognition until the cow/punks come home.

The biggest factor probably holding them back is probably their biggest asset in that they are not the dad rock of Wilco or the Old 97’s, but are more aligned to the Long Ryders, the Silos or their Canadian counterparts the Sadies in the loosely defined genres of what was once known as insurgent country or roots rock. These twangsters certainly deserve wider recognition and a larger listenership, but for now they continue to be a tried, true and timeless band for a small, but appreciative audience.

What Year Is This and Who Are They Playing for?

“Country-influenced R n' R, with Motown hooks and British Invasion harmonies” As the group has always been seemingly around, their own experiences stretch back decades through several interstitial layers and iterations of the Detroit scene, while their influences go back even further into the core and trace elements of 20th century music. Deep knowledge runs through their music as they draw their musical current from many tributaries. They have compiled an enduring stack of recordings over the years that are filled with memorable songs and some unexpected covers. The band is certainly versatile as several of them played on those three exceptional, but unsung Denise James releases and also bit of a wild card as who else is going to cover “See You Tonight” from the Gene Simmons solo album? The compelling results of their rendition lands somehere between the Byrds, George Harrison and the power-pop era of the Searchers.

“Lonesome Galaxy” does indeed go off in some unanticipated directions, but overall the group maintains their identifiable sound, while coming across more open, expansive and spacious than ever. In addition, they deliver these songs with the most dynamic tension since Solitude. The band has been a proverbial revolving door of musicians, but the two core/integral founding members, Jeff Oakes and Matthew Smith, crucially remain intact at the epicenter. In addition, Scott Michalski (drums) and Russell Ledford (bass) have been holding down the rhythm section for years. The frequent personnel shifts outside the core four gives each of their albums a distinctive overall feel and mood.  Keeping this theme, the advanced first single “Diamond Ring” didn’t do it for me, However, credit should be extended to their valiant attempt to try something different with their attemp to establish a looping groove in an experimental disco sense. The effort ends up sounding like reheated Dennis Coffey with perhaps a reference to “Smiling Faces Sometimes” by the Undisputed Truth. Mountain Top Pop With its layer of acoustic dust over a sparkle finish, “All I’m Asking” brings “Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing” and the Forever Changes sound of Love immediately to mind. This is the Volebeats’s first album to feature the guitar dualing of Matthew Smith and Peter Andrus. Andrus came up through Los Angeles’ late 80s/early ‘90s punked-up rock 'n' roll scene centered around Al’s Bar and labels like SFTRI. The two are free to branch out into West Coast Rustic Rural Rock like the aforementioned Buffalo Springfield, along with the Beau Brummels, Hardwater, Moby Grape, West and the California Bloodlines of John Stewart. The intertwined guitars and blended vocals makes this their most California-centric record of the Southern, Northern and the Central Valley varieties. 

“I Needed Someone” begins with the shuffling chords drenched in abundant reverb that immediately puts on a big smile on the face and we know it's going to be the most Outrageous Cherry-sounding song on the album. (There is usually one of these poptastic numbers on each Volebeats release.)  It just needs one more turning corner melody or bridge to be the perfect song on par with “Pale Frail Lovely One”  and “I Just Want Someone to Love (For the Summer).” Further clicks reveal the Matthew Smith-ish styled song was surprisingly written by Jeff Oakes. If you like the buoyant pop side of the Volebeats, be sure to check out Mosquito Spiral and their outstanding 2010 double-album which takes several harmonic turns towards the Turtles. 

Buckskin Beat

As much as I adore their pop-rock-country template, there are daring and enthralling moments where it has seemingly been removed. “Whisper to Me” and “Numbers'' are punctured with pinpoint notes against a splotched backdrop of guitar drone tones spilling over adventurous arrangements. These two songs are the Volebeats at their most psychedelic as it’s Kaleidoscope (the Claremont, CA ones featuring the talented Chris Darrow) that the band cites as a major inspiration for this record. This pair sounds somewhere along the fault lines on the verge of earthy raga tones and the early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Back to the flattened lands, “Learning to Get it Wrong” features multi-instrumentalist and singer Matthew Smith on trumpet and comes across as Mo Tucker playing drums for Saturday Looks Good to Me.

Jeff Oakes' baritone vocals of ”The Third Time” brings forth a larger than life persona like Waylon Jennings or Lee Hazlewood narrating a wide-screen tall tale bolstered by a swelling showdown organ. It’s terrain where Orville Peck and Charley Crockett have been continuing the tradition in their own ways and gaining traction. The album ends with a flash of brilliance. The closer “Stranger” contains ambitious harmonies imbued with burnished guitar tones echoing early Bread, Seals & Crofts and even “Ventura Highway.” It’s a bonanza of bright and dark tones and highly evocative of the rustic canyon era right before the dream faded. Overall, Lonesome Galaxy presents the band skillfully and successfully playing the same, but different card.

Scaling the Summit

While Mad Bunny Records initially appeared to be a mismatch as compared to their seemingly perfectly paired ex-label Turquoise Mountain, I do hope these accomplished musicians receive the best support of their careers. It’s hard to say if their association with Ben Harper will raise their profile, get them on the stage at Stagecoach or introduce them to entirely different audiences that will appreciate what they are doing. Theoretically, they are certainly now in a better position to reach a wider audience. Moreover, the Volebeats are now free to just focus on making music between the shadows and sunshine for the long-term. This has always seemed to be their sole concern all along.

L to R: Pete Andrus, Scott Michalski, Mattthew Smith, Jeff Oakes, Russell Ledford