Description
Artist: Masaaki Hirao |Label: Big Beat |Format:10″ EP |Genre:Rock| Album Condition: New | Jacket Condition: Sealed
Masaaki Hirao and His All-Star Wagon
Nippon Rock ‘n Roll – The Birth of Japanese Rokabirii
Ace HIQLP 013 – import10 track 10″ EP onRED vinyl
Nippon RocknRoll documents the rise of Masaaki Hirao. Dubbed The Japanese Elvis, Hirao was one of the famedRokabirii Sannin Otoko(Three Rockabillies), alongside singers Mickey Curtis and Kei-chan, Keijiro Yamashita. In early 1958, therokabirii buumu(rockabilly boom) was born, the first youth music tribe in the Land Of The Rising Sun.
Rokabiriimay resemble US rockabilly, but this Nipponese version is a more varied dish. Hirao and his bands covers of Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley and Little Richard are not kitsch renditions, but raw, desperate rockers. Hear a Paul Anka makeover, but put through a rocking mangle; a smattering of jazz; a twist of New Orleans; and some Japanese folk songs with a greased-down quiff. American occupation a distant memory, these boys wanted to party.
Country and hillbilly music was a mainstay of young Japanese musicians working the GI base and jazz caf circuit of the 1950s. Following the runaway success of a Japanese cover of Heartbreak Hotel (Hiraos version here has dynamite in its teeth), demand grew for more of this strange, new music. The need was met with a huge gala, the Nichigeki Western Carnival, which showcased the newrokabiriigroups to thousands of screaming Japanese teenagers. Wild footage of the concerts, alongside that of burgeoning radical student movements, put fear of a wave of delinquency into the heart of the establishment.
The studio numbers here are hardboiled, with unkempt live recordings that really rock. Tough drums back up honking sax, in a pedal steel pandemonium with slap bass. In the words of Elvis: these guys get real gone. — By Howard Williams
Contains:
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Itsuki No Komoriuta Rock
Hoshi Wa Nandemo Shitteiru Pt 2
Crazy Love
Jailhouse Rock
Jenny Jenny Ooh My Soul
One Way Ticket
Miyo-Chan
Blues de Memphis
NEW SEALED import10″ EP on RED vinyl
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