Synthesizer Keyboard Mad Drifting Record - Electric Keyboards That Colored Music and Many Synth Masterpieces - Part 24

New guitarist Mitsuru Sato and new Yonin Bayashi

Last time, I went off the path of polyphonic synthesizers and talked about the second album from Japanese rock band Yonin Bayashi and the Roland monophonic (single note) synthesizer, the SH-5. This time, my theme is Mitsuru Sato, the new guitarist after Katsutoshi Morizono left Yonin Bayashi.

Withdrawal just before the release of the second album "Golden Picnics"

Katsutoshi Morizono, a guitarist and vocalist who was a core member of Yonin Bayashi, withdrew after producing the second album. Morizono’s departure was big news because he was the "face" of Yonin Bayashi. Mitsuru Sato from Hokkaido joined in as the new guitarist. Sato was a guitarist and vocalist of a completely different type from Morizono. Yonin Bayashi was regarded as a progressive rock band in Japan. However, as I mentioned in the last column, although they were influenced by progressive rock, it was not necessarily a band that was oriented towards progressive rock. Up to the second album, there were progressive songs such as "Bird's & Nessie", but from the third album, the long songs disappeared, giving the impression that they had separated from the progressive production approach.

■ Third album "Printed Jerry" (1977) / Yonin Bayashi

The third album from Yonin Bayashi, which has been controversial. The new guitarist is Mitsuru Sato, who was enrolled in "Marshall Road" in Hokkaido. Sato was a guitarist and vocalist with a stronger rock flavor than Morizono. With the addition of Sato, the world view of Yonin Bayashi changed drastically, and some old fans were disappointed with the new album. I was one of them. What should the band members and Yonin Bayashi be? It was a discussion that lasted deep into the night. However, by dropping the needle on the record many times, I found myself becoming more familiar with the newborn Yonin Bayashi.
Many of the songs on the album are by the pen of Masahide Sakuma, a bassist who later became a famous producer, and Mitsuru Sato's vocals are also familiar.
I think Yonin Bayashi became a completely different band with the addition of Mitsuru Sato. There is no intention of leaving the old touch, and I feel the pride of the new Yonin Bayashi around that. The songs are different from the previous Yonin Bayashi, and can be taken as a message from the new Yonin Bayashi that they had wiped out the shadow of Katsutoshi Morizono.

Recommended song: "Hare Sora"

The intro is a surprising development that begins with a mandolin. It's a Sakuma song with a producer-like feel. Sakuma's ideas are reflected in these parts as well. Mitsuru Sato's vocals also match the song well. No fine dust such as progressive rock shadows can be felt.
My friends and I covered "Hare Sora" when I was a student. Is the synthesizer solo in the middle part the Roland SH-5? Unlike Sakashita's solos so far, the theme has been moved up a scale with interesting effects. When Tajima of Urawa saw a live performance of Yonin Bayashi at an outdoor concert in Hara, Sakashita played this SH-5 keyboard solo on a Hammond. I've never seen Sakashita use the Minimoog, a must-have item for professional keyboardists, in any Yonin Bayashi shows, and it seems that the Roland SH-5 was his favorite.It is unclear what kind of model he was using because it is described as a synthesizer in the CD credits, but in the next album "Package", the Roland SH-5 and SH-7 and other Yamaha synthesizers are credited. This solo also has a sound that seems to be the SH-5./span>

Roland SH-5

■ Recommended LP "Package" (1978) / Yonin Bayashi

This is the fourth album from Yonin Bayashi, and the jacket resembles the Great Wall of China. Musically, it is an extension of the previous work "Printed Jerry". Yonin Bayashi has become a complete pop-rock band on this album. I'm not the only one who felt that the touch of "turning the toy box over" that drummer Daiji Okai had was gone. I think that the progressive scent of Yonin Bayashi was unique to Japan with a touch different from that of British progressive rock. That was the playfulness and humor of "turning the toy box over". Yonin Bayashi who was good at such production. I think this album is difficult for a band that has been so categorized. It's okay to compete in an ordinary pop-rock band, but it's undeniable that they've left behind their incentives. Mitsuru Sato's vocals are better than the previous work, and the interpretation and expressiveness of the songs are also improved.

Recommended song: "Like Farandall"

This epoch song includes Hidemi Sakashita's acoustic piano solo. He is developing a piano solo based on bebop with four beats for the first time in Yonin Bayashi. It became 4 beats in the form of a guitar solo, and when I listened to a jazzy solo, it was like the scales fell from my eyes. In a sense, the most playful part of this album may have been the record jacket and Sakashita's solo.

Musicians, albums, recommended songs, keyboards used this time

• Artist: Yonin Bayashi / Hidemi Sakashita, Mitsuru Sato
• Album: "Printed Jerry" "Package"
• Song title: "Hare Sora" "Like Farandall"
• Instruments used: Hammond organ, SH-5, SH-7, Fender Rhodes, acoustic piano

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