Vagabond Synth Nerd’s Journal Vol. 265 - MoMA Collection-Style Timeless Live Albums - Part 1: Japanese Edition

Thinking of the Permanent Live Album Collection As a Timeless Museum Archive

Starting from this installment, I would like to feature some of the greatest live albums ever made.
In past articles, I have occasionally introduced live albums or live tracks as part of other features, but I realized that I had never done a special feature focusing specifically on live albums.

On 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City, stands the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)—a museum that houses an enormous collection of modern art from the 20th century onward. While I was a student in 1980, I had the good fortune of visiting MoMA and seeing the Picasso Exhibition that was being held at the time. Tickets were sold out and I was at a loss, but by chance, a kind lady nearby said, “You can have mine,” and gave me her ticket. Thanks to that lucky encounter, I was able to enter. I still vividly remember being deeply moved by Picasso’s masterpieces such as Guernica and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

At MoMA, there exists a permanent collection known as the “MoMA Collection.” These are the museum’s so-called masterpieces, or works that have received MoMA’s official recognition and are sold as part of its certified collection. Being selected for the MoMA Collection is a great honor for any artist. Only works that are design-wise exceptional and possess timeless quality are chosen as permanent collection pieces.
In this feature, I would like to introduce some legendary live albums that are worthy of being compared to such a MoMA Collection, masterpieces that deserve to be called true “permanent exhibits” in the world of live recordings.

The Musician Known as Akiko Yano

At that time, my impression of Akiko Yano was that of a musician who played flowing piano while singing quirky and interesting songs, known mainly as the backup keyboardist for YMO. I had only listened casually to her first album Japanese Girl (recorded with Little Feat) and her second album Iroha ni Konpeitou.
I had seen her perform live once with Kazumi Watanabe’s KYLYN Band, but I wasn’t particularly an avid listener of her albums.
However, there was one song I heard on the bus ride back from a training camp during the summer of my freshman year of college that I could never forget. That song sank to the depths of my memory like the sediment of wine, and it has never faded away ever since.

■ Recommended Album: Akiko Yano – Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichiji (1979)

The other day, I came across a photo on social media that instantly caught my attention. The black-and-white picture showed Akiko Yano herself, along with Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums), Haruomi Hosono (bass), Masaki Matsubara (guitar), Shigeya Hamaguchi (percussion), and guest vocalists Tatsuro Yamashita and Minako Yoshida. This group shot was taken right after the concert.
My reaction was, “What is this lineup!?”
I had absolutely no idea that a live album featuring this incredible ensemble had ever been released. For someone like me, who prided myself on having listened to nearly every classic Japanese album, it was a genuine culture shock. And, realizing that I had never heard such an amazing live recording made me feel as though I had been missing out on something truly special.
As expected, when I finally listened to it, I was astonished by the phenomenal sound. A true masterpiece of a live album was right here.

Recommended Track: “Ike Yanagida”

The story goes back to that bus ride to my college summer training camp. The song that had remained in the depths of my memory like sediment was this very track, “Ike Yanagida.” I first heard it when a classmate of mine, who was a piano major in the music department and later became a professional musician, introduced it to me.
My impression at the time was that it was such a funny and quirky song, yet somehow cool at the same time. The song’s theme is based on Masahiro Yanagida, a player for the Yomiuri Giants baseball team.

The version I heard was the original recording included on her second album, Iroha ni Konpeitou (released in 1977). It was quite an advanced album for its time, featuring Hideki Matsutake as manipulator, and it served as a kind of pre-YMO era session base. Listening to it now, you can clearly hear that a Hohner Clavinet was used to accentuate the funkiness of the chorus.

On the other hand, in this live album, the rhythm section features Haruomi Hosono again on bass, but this time with Yukihiro Takahashi on drums and Ryuichi Sakamoto on keyboard. In other words, it’s essentially YMO.
What astonished me was the enormous difference in groove compared to the version recorded on Iroha ni Konpeitou, perhaps due in part to the live setting. The swing and movement unique to live performance are absolutely incredible. The groove in the latter half of the song, in particular, is nothing short of amazing. Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono, Shigeya Hamaguchi, and Akiko Yano’s acoustic piano blend together seamlessly, forming a powerful wall of sound that surges directly into the listener’s ears.
Although Takahashi, Hosono, and Sakamoto are known collectively as YMO, the 16-beat groove here is completely different from YMO’s—it’s wild, organic, and endlessly flowing. In the outro section, the brief guitar solo by Masaki Matsubara appears, and it evokes a clear echo of the KYLYN Band. This recording captures one of those most musically satisfying moments that exist in the world.

Recommended Track: “Waterway Backward Again”

When I first heard this song, I immediately assumed it was a KYLYN Band piece, but it wasn’t. It was actually a song by Akiko Yano, performed by the KYLYN Band. In KYLYN’s live shows, this tune was played as a duet with guitarist Kazumi Watanabe.

Recommended Track: “Imomushi Gorogoro”

With lyrics that go “Imomushi gorogoro, hyoutan pokkuriko,” the song carries a playful, almost nonsensical charm. Using just those words, Yano rides the groove while freely shifting her phrasing like an amoeba. Her ability to make the lyrics themselves groove is truly one-of-a-kind. It’s something that no one else could ever replicate.
The way Ryuichi Sakamoto’s synthesizer and Akiko Yano’s acoustic piano together shape the outline of the song feels like the roles are reversed compared to YMO.
The melody in the chorus carries a gentle sense of saudade, and Yano’s highly expressive piano solo that follows may be the most beautiful moment in the entire concert. Capturing such breathtaking fragments of music is precisely what makes a live album so special.

Musicians, Album, and Recommended Tracks Featured This Time

• Artists: Akiko Yano, Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hideki Matsutake, Masaki Matsubara, Shigeharu Hamaguchi, Kazumi Watanabe, and others.
• Album: Tokyo wa Yoru no 7-ji
• Recommended Tracks: “Ike Yanagida”, “Waterway Backward Again”, “Imomushi Gorogoro”

⇒ List of Synthesizers Used

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