Tatsuro Yamashita = Record Collector

Musician Tatsuro is also known as a record collector and owns over 60,000 records at home.
He is also a music fanatic with many record-related sagas (?), such as wearing rubber gloves and digging around at record stores. He is a genuine music fanatic with a wide range of knowledge and tastes in music.
He has a wide range of knowledge and tastes in music, and his depth of nostalgia is often surprising.

In this page, we have selected some of Tatsuro's favorites, from the familiar to the unexpected!

Index


The Beach Boys: deluxe (Original Release Year: 1967)


Tatsuro Yamashita is well known as one of Japan's leading Beach Boys enthusiasts.
Tatsuro-san once wrote the liner notes for the domestic reissue CD of the Beach Boys' masterpiece "Pet Sounds."
The B-sides of Tatsuro's 1984 OST "Big Wave" are all covers of songs related to the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson.
Also, in "ADD SOME MUSIC TO YOUR DAY," which Tatsuro produced when he was a student, the A-side is all Beach Boys covers! Both works are excellent covers, as if he were a maniac.

The work we have chosen this time is the original compilation of the greatest hits album from the Beach Boys', which originally released in 1967.
It is a compilation of classic songs from the early to mid-period including "Surfing U.S.A.," "Good Vibrations," "God Only Knows," and many more.
The beautiful and joyful chorus is a strong influence on Tatsuro's work.

　

Harpers Bizarre: The Complete Singles Collection


Next is Harper's Bizarre, a famous soft rock band from the U.S. in the 1960s.
In Japan, they were reevaluated in the 1990s with the Shibuya-kei trend .
They were produced by Lenny Waronker, a talented Warner Brothers producer known for his Burbank Sound.

The Burbank Sound is a genre of music from the 60s that incorporates forgotten musical elements from the 50s, such as folk music, country, and R&B, also known as good-time music.
Harper's Bizarre, in particular, is a band that sounds directly like the Burbank Sound and gives you a sense of "good old America.
The band is a milestone in soft rock music, and many important West Coast musicians, such as Van Dyke Parks and Leon Russell, have been involved with the band.

Their sound was greatly influenced on Tatsuro, especially around the time of he belonged to Sugar Babe.
This disc is a compilation of classic singles that will delight fans.

　

James Brown: Super Bad Live!

JB, the king of funk, is one of Tatsuro's favorites.

This is a compilation of good takes from James Brown's live performances in the 80s.
The compilation includes some of the best performances by the mature James Brown, including songs from the 60's.
The powerful performance makes you realize that Tatsuro is a big fan of James Brown.

　

The Fifth Avenue Band (Original Release Year: 1969)


Here you go! The top disc related to Peter Galway, whom Tatsuro calls one of the three sacred treasures.
Fifth Avenue Band's only album from 1969, a soft folk masterpiece.


It is one of the most well-known records influenced on Happy End, one of the originators of city pop/new music.
This work may not have a large popularity worldwide. However, in Japan, it is treated as a treasure of the US ROCK and a work that has had a great influence on the subsequent history of Japanese music.
The stylish singing and playing is excellent, absorbing jazz and rhythm-and-blues and putting it all together with a late 60's flair.
Highly recommended for all SSW and soft rock fans.
Especially for those who like Sugar Babe and Happy End.

　

Jackson Browne: Saturate Before Using (Original Release Year: 1972)


This one may be a little surprising.
This is the first album released in 1972 by the great SSW Jackson Browne, who recently had a concert in Japan.
It was released on the prestigious Asylum label and features many great musicians such as David Crosby and Jesse Davis.

The sound is acoustic, simple, sophisticated, fine West Coast music.
The top three concerts Tatsuro have ever seen include the Hollies, Free, and Jackson Browne.

Today, Tatsuro is still the pinnacle of live performance.
The quality of the live show may have been influenced by the quality of the music.
Jackson Browne is also still active and performing live, if you have a chance to see him.
The show is full of moments of influence, such as his light soulful singing voice.

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Van Morrison: Moon Dance (Original Release Year: 1970)


Van Morrison, a lone singer from Ireland, known to Tatsuro as a collector.
He debuted in the 60's with the rock band THEM and continues to be a musician's musician at the forefront with some of the best singing and music today.
Van Morrison released his second solo album in 1968, "Astral Week," a masterpiece that will go down in the rock history. However, unlike today's reputation, sales were slow at the time, and it took 33 years for the album to be certified as a gold disc.
Sugar Babe, who is popular all over the world today, also did not sell well in 1975, and it took time for many people to understand their music.

I wonder if there is a sense of familiarity in that.
Please enjoy the 3rd solo masterpiece of a rare soul singer.

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The Isley Brothers: Brother, Brother, Brother (Original Release Year: 1972)


Tatsuro Yamashita has been influenced by the Isley Brothers, a proud American band that has produced many masterpieces since the 1960s.
From their many masterpieces, we have selected "Brother Brother Brother", a masterpiece from the golden era of T-NECK in 1972.
The sound is a mixture of funk/contemporary R&B and black music.
The album is packed with pop atmosphere and quality songs, including the over 10-minute classic "It's Too Late" and other songs provided by Carole King.
The balance of rock, black music, and pop reminds me of Sugar Babe's "SONGS."
In particular, Sugar Babe's popular song "Down Town" was produced with Eisley in mind.
Tatsuro's favorite Isley song is "HURRY UP ANDWAIT."
I feel the strong influence of Tatsuro's disco numbers such as "BONBER" from the 80's.

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Nick Decaro: Italian Graffiti (Original Release Year: 1974)


Next is Nick DeCarlo, the famous arranger who is called the creator of AOR and whom Tatsuro admires.
He has been involved in many famous soft rock albums, including Roger Nichols' first album, as well as the Burbank sound of Harpers Bizarre, which was mentioned earlier.
Nick DeCaro's name was on the list of potential arrangers for Tatsuro's first solo album "Circus Town" in 1976, but it did not come true due to a lack of contact.
Nick DeCaro is a master musician whom Tatsuro trusts so much.
*This story is written in the April 2001 issue of a Japanese music magazine, "Record Collectors."
I sense that Tatsuro was also influenced by his craftsmanship in his music.


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Rickie Lee Jones: Rickie Lee Jones (Original Release Year: 1979)


Tatsuro raves about this 1979 female SSW masterpiece by Rickie Lee Jones, calling it "a masterpiece of all masterpieces.
Produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titleman, this one also features Nick DeCaro.
This is a masterpiece that lives up to its highly acclaimed reputation and is truly filled with the charm of West Coast AOR.
The way he sings on Yamashita's album "The Boy Inside Me (1988)" has something in common with the free spirit of this album!
The content, jacket, and sound quality are all top-notch.


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Tatsuro Yamashita: ON THE STREET CORNER 1-３(Original Release Years: 1980, 1986, 1999)


Tatsuro is also known for doo-wop fanatic.
Here is a series of masterpieces recorded by one person a cappella and in multiple recordings that made an impact back in 1980.
This is a collection of cover albums featuring Tatsuro Yamashita's favorite oldies, especially doo-wop songs.
Yamashita later commented on this album
I've been waiting for a long time to do something like this once 'Ride on Time' reached No. 1. This work is a typical example of the fact that if it sells well, I can do whatever I want. Anyway, I wanted to do doo-wop...
Description on Wikipedia ON THE STREET CORNER (Japanese)

This album is full of great covers of standard songs, and is a great lineup not only for learning about Tatsuro, but also for an introduction to oldies.
Included are songs such as "You Belong to Me" and "Close Your Eyes," which are still performed live on rare occasions.
The third album includes the famous cover "Stand By Me" by Tatsuro.
This is a work that we hope you will listen to on the Next Step.

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We have picked up a few works that Tatsuro Yamashita clearly stated he liked and was influenced by.
Not only does he have a wide range of tastes, but all of his works are masterpieces that will never fade away.
There are many more Tatsuro's favorite works that are not featured here.
We hope that this feature will help you dig further into the roots of Tatsuro Yamashita and enjoy his music even more.

Tatsuro Yamashita Related Titles


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