Jiro Inagaki and His Soul Media - Dosojin. 1972 Japan

We featured this title on the CDRWL a few years ago, and so it is with great pleasure to be able to bring it here to the UMR, now that we have a CD in hand. Dosojin is a collection of traditional Japanese folk songs, but in many cases distorted beyond recognition, and at times, very psychedelic. 

The AC sums it up nicely: "The songs, arranged by composer Yasuhiro Koyama (who also penned one side of Toshiyuki Miyama's "Tsuchi No Ne", another of Columbia's "Adventure In Sound" albums (and also now reissued)), are all actually variations and elaborations on traditional Japanese "minyou", old folk songs known to people all across Japan for countless generations. The whole album flows very nicely, running seamlessly from solemn folky songs to fuzz-guitar and piano led progressive pieces and back again, always maintaining a deeply Japanese atmosphere."

Ownership: CD: 2015 Nippon Columbia. Papersleeve.

1/5/12 (first listen / review); 6/18/15 (update / new entry)