Description
Triple cd in a trifolded digipak cover
Some bands make records that exist in spaces of their own, every release a separate musical and philosophical statement. Half Japanese, on the other hand, often seem to be creating one big album that they’ve been delivering to the public in periodic episodes over the space of three decades, each chapter devoted to the obsessions of Jad Fair as he talks/sings over music created in bursts of passionate inspiration unfettered by the rigors of technique or melody. While the third installment in Fire Records’ impressive series of Half Japanese reissues features three albums in full from the band — 1990’s We Are They Who Ache with Amorous Love, 1993’s Fire in the Sky, and 1995’s Hot — between the stylistic push and pull taking place on all three records and the consistency of Fair’s eccentric vision, dominated by women, rock & roll, various unexplained phenomenon, and (at least on Fire in the Sky) UFOs, the songs all seem like random passages from the great book of The Quotations of Chairman Jad. Which isn’t to say there aren’t occasional changeups along the way, such as the lo-fi covers of “Gloria” and “Shanty Town” (as well as an unexpectedly remake of “All of Me”) on We Are They, the 12-minute Dylan-influenced stream-of-consciousness ramble titled “Always” on Fire in the Sky, and the straightforward punky tone of Hot. If Jad Fair’s surroundings change, Fair himself stays very much the same, and that’s a big part of his charm — he’s an endless font of inspiration, swaying between despair and joyous optimism, and always determined to do battle with a world that cannot bring him down. Most of Half Japanese’s albums are well worth your time, and Fire’s efforts to bring them together under one roof are tremendously admirable; Volume 2: 1987-1989 may be a better starter for beginners, but Volume 3: 1990-1995 runs a close second, and the friendly chaos of this music is still bracing decades after it was first recorded.
Track list:
1. Every Hour
2. Elevator Boy
3. Gloria
4. Ear
5. The Titanic
6. Our Eyes
7. Spin
8. Up And Down
9. All Of Me
10. Hand Without A Body
11. Going Home
12. Three Rings
13. How Did You Know?
14. Then We Walk
15. Secret
16. Best
17. The House I Live In
18. Shanty Town
19. Run
20. UFO Expert
21. Tears Stupid Tears
22. Eye Of The Hurricane
23. This Could Be The Night
24. Possum Head
25. It’s A Clear Night
26. Frosty
27. Turn Your Life Around
28. I Love A Mystery
29. 12 Houses
30. Hangar 18
31. Magic Kingdom
32. It’s No Wonder
33. Fire In The Sky
34. Good Luck
35. Gates Of Glory
36. Drum Straight
37. True Believers
38. Well
39. Dark Night
40. Part Of My Plan
41. Vampire
42. Lucky Ones
43. Vast Continent
44. Guess Again
45. Black Fruit
46. Sleep Talk
47. Smile
48. Lucky Town