quite a score today at End of an Ear...an original pressing of Wha-ha-ha's 1981 album "Shinu Toki Wa Betsu." (check out this review from Pitchfork (!?!) from way back when in 2005 of a reissue of this record). i will admit the only reason I picked this LP up to check it out is because Akira Sakata is part of the group! Sakata's name may be familiar to some as he's recently gained some noteworthy acclaim from his playing with Jim O'Rourke and Chikamorachi (Darin Gray & Chris Corsano). He's released excellent CD's and LP's on the Family Vineyard label (Live at the Hungry Brain is pretty great) and an amazing double LP on Presspop outta Tokyo which features a qartet of Sakata, Jeff Parker, Nate McBride and John Herndon! video of the show that's on the record here:
i digress...back to the record at hand....WHA HA HA.
judging by those recent outings by Sakata you might not be expecting Wha-ha-ha to be what it is...which is to say it's out there in a great way. this is definitely a pop record, granted a very odd pop record that only early 80's Japan could produce. mix together 70's Zappa-esque prog sensibilities with early synth/keyboard pop and occasional weirdo free-jazz breaks and lots of scat singing on top. it's definitely a bit cheesy but in a great way. what's even weirder is that Sakata is not the only japanese jazz star on this record. drummer Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami has played with Yosuke Yamashita (where he met Akira Sakata in the early 70's) and keyboardist Shuichi Chino has played with Otomo Yoshihide among others.
although this might not be the most amazing LP you'll hear, it's pretty damned interesting and especially considering some of the people playing on the record. "Inanaki," the lead track is worth it alone, but the album as a whole stands as a really pleasant fun pop record from the early 80's japan. a lot of hip kids with synths would kill to make a record like this now. this is the real deal. listen to it here.
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