Takeshi Terauchi & The Blue Jeans - Rashomon (1972)

Takeshi Terauchi & The Blue Jeans - "Rashomon"
LP: Telefunken, Germany, 1973; #SLE 14699-P
- originally released by King, Japan, 1972; #4K-31

Terauchi Takeshi - electric guitar
The Blue Jeans - unknown members

Side 1
1. Rashomon
2. Chidori (The Plover)
3. Akegarasu (Miss Tojin Okichi alias Akegarasu)
4. Matsu No Midori (Green Pine Tree)
5. Takesu

Side 2
1. Taki No Shiraito (A Poor Woman Who Does Water Tricks)
2. Narayma Bushiko (Why Was An Old Woman To Be Abandoned?)
3. Dannoura (The Story of the Heishi)
4. Yakkosan (Servant)
5. Fukagawa
6. Hamachogashi

A1 + B2 composed by Terauchi Takeshi, A3 by Koka Sasa, all others are traditional Japanese songs arranged by Terauchi Takeshi.

Recorded by King Records, Tokyo, Japan, probably in 1972.


In the early 60s Takeshi Terauchi became on of the most popular artists, that gained the unbelievable success in eleki era. Playing with three fingers Chet Atkins' method, he raised to the top of Japanese surf, receiving the title King of the Guitar. In 1966 he quits from The Blue Jeans band and fromed the new outfit The Bunnys to play trendy Groups Sound. But the next year he split from his new band that was continuing to play without him until 1971. In 1968 Terauchi reorganizes The Blue Jeans playing with them in the style that could be described as the neo-surf: along with the traditional surf and respective sounds the stylistic of a 70s true rock is using, with a fuzz guitar connected to the acid organ and impetuous drum solo. In 1972 the instrumental album Rashomon was released, where the main theme was written by Terauchi for Akira Kurosawa's same titled movie. In the new processing we have something like surf/psych with a dark guitar and a soaring flute - pretty interesting. The other part of the disk is also nice, where excluding two self-written compositions Terauchi used an old Japanese melodies completely remade them not from the instrumental arrangement point of view but took them from Japanese scale to European with the help of his mother - she was a teacher of Japanese music. An old compositions began to sound so modern that even listening to them you can not believe about their exotic origin. Especially Dannoura (The Story of the Heishi) sounds thrilling - a composition about the battle between samurai clans Heishi and Gendji at the Dannoura field in 1185: a true hard rock with a mad pressure, hyperactive guitar, ominous drum staccato, anxious organ howling and the total reckless jam atmosphere. There was no such frankly mischief on any of his records throughout his career. In general this is a nice album: of course, it has some stylistic limitations but it is way more interesting than I was expecting.

(Russian review found in http://japan-old-prog.livejournal.com/36834.html)

LP RIP in m π III + artwork