2/03/2013

Tokyo Jihen - 'Sports'

Title: Sports (スポーツ)
Artist: Tokyo Jihen (東京事変)
Date: 2010
Genre: Jazz Rock, J-Pop

Total length: 47 minutes, 13 tracks
Top Chart position: 48 (yearly Oricon album charts)

Main personnel:
Ringo Shiina (椎名・林檎): Vocals
Ukigumo (浮雲): Guitar, backing vocals
Ichizo Izawa (伊澤・一葉): Keyboard
Seiji Kameda (亀田・誠治): Bass
Toshiki Hata (畑・利樹
): Drums


Rating: 8/10 - Very Good
Tokyo Jihen never stayed in one place, three years after the unorganized Goraku comes this well-structured concept album. This album has been my introduction to the entire world of J-pop, and I was oh-so-wrong to assume it was representative of the humongous Japanese pop-scene. Like TJ's previous albums and Shiina's solo works, this one doesn't quite fit in with the conventional J-pop scene.