I have to check it out when I have the time. Elsewhere, soon-to-be-ex JAPAN guitarist Rob Dean rose to his occasion as well with “The Width Of A Room.” His Satie-like, synth-laden effort formed a seamless unit with much the same mood as Barbieri had explored on the previous track. That is my suspicion. These cookies do not store any personal information. Album Rating: 4.5"Nightporter is the ultimate "looking out of the window while it's raining outside" song, reeking with sadness, but also beauty." Read More, " Talk about dedication! independant -> independent Has the ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ 7” edit ever been available on CD? Album Rating: 4.0Gud review, pos'd. ver. The real prize here was the alternate version of “Burning Bridges.” The version on the 7″ D-side here was apparently a demo version produced by David Sylvian, instead of John Punter! Searching for divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…. I had already noticed, some time ago, that this album has not been reviewed yet on Sputnik. Find Japan, Gentlemen Take Polaroids New Music Reviews at Review Centre. If so, you'll need to disable it when using this site, as it spams the websites you visit with fake requests. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. done anything to warrant a ban, this is most likely the case. The surprisingly upbeat pop song was the closest that this chronically disconsolate band ever came to sounding euphoric. The last single credited to Punter would be The Art Of Parties. It’s always best to experience the sublime glow of “Gentlemen Take Polaroids” in its purest LP form, with an extended coda to melt the staunchest of hearts even as it showcased the contrasting muscular fretless bass of Mick Karn against the delicate keys of Richard Barbieri, which descended on the song like a spring rain. First up was “The Experience Of Swimming,” an instrument of subtle delicacy. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Japan were an excellent band overall but Gentleman Take Polaroids represents the worst they had to offer. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. “Gentlemen Take Polaroids” will always be a standard bearer of my love of JAPAN. Album Rating: 4.0fuck me only just realised only Tin Drum had a review up until now, that's embarrassing, Digging: Natural Snow Buildings - Daughter of Darkness, Album Rating: 4.5About time this got a review. What makes Gentlemen Take Polaroids even more of a success is how the group, having reached such a polished peak, kept driving behind it, transforming their exquisite pop into something even more artistic and unique. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Musically, meanwhile, the swooning, hyper elegant Euro-disco sheen of Quiet Life was polished to an even finer edge throughout, the title track and the obvious descendant of "Quiet Life" itself, "Methods of Dance," in particular sheer standouts. now it's better, Album Rating: 4.0yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee boi We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. And the edit of GTP has been released as a remaster on this recent compilation https://www.discogs.com/Various-New-Gold-Dreams-Post-Punk-New-Romantic-79-83/release/5098081 along with the original mix of Karns Sensitive as is still available as a digital download. This is forbidden by our terms of service. Of course, now he looks like a grizzled Oakie dirt farmer! Regarded by many as the best album Japan ever did, "Gentlemen Take Polaroids was no doubt revolutionary, excitng, and quite different from anything Japan had done before. Like I said it may be the Sylvian demo tarted up by Punter [it sure sounds better] and with the intro not edited. Totally Classic Album I feel he always championed a brightness, maybe even a Pop sensibility, in the Japan sound. You requested a very large number of pages in a very short time, causing problems for our server (this can happen if you hit 'refresh' over and over). There was still no Mick Karn bass, just [presumably] Sylvian on the bass synths, but Karn still took a long,, soulful sax solo here. That 1981 BBC concert is gold! This company sells your internet traffic to other people, meaning that other people can use your IP address and can break some of the above rules, causing you to be banned from this site. It became something much more in its fully 7:00 album version, but the edited by half 7″ single was a pre-release ahead of the “Polaroids” album that followed a month later in November of 1980. By the way its not an oboe synth it is Karn playing the oboe on this track. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. I love all of those b-sides too,but I have to disagree about “Some kind of Fool”-for me it is the pinnacle of pre-Tin Drum Japan and when I first heard it I could not believe that it was excluded from GTP.It is still the song I play the most by the Duchess of Batt and cohorts. It, along with The Width Of A Room, were produced by Sylvian rather than Punter. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. This version has a clipped bright production. By the way, do you know that the keyboardist of Japan, Richard Barbieri, is the same keyboardist of Porcupine Tree? by "Nightporter," meanwhile, is a hyper ballad and then some; a slow-paced semi-waltz with Barbieri's piano taking the lead throughout with wonderful results. JAPAN: Gentlemen Take Polaroids UK 2×7″ [1980]. Review related links. Barbieri’s “The Experience of Swimming” is one of the most appropriately-titled musical compositions I’ve ever heard, and Dean’s “The Width of a Room” is the perfect soundtrack for GTP’s otherworldly album cover–my all-time favorite album cover, in fact.