KAZEMACHI ROMAN

One of the most innovative, important rock / blues / folk combos in Japan HAPPY END are a short-lived (substantially active for a few years) quartet around 1970 and released two rock cornerstones - "Happy End (aka Yudemen)" (1970) and "Kazemachi Roman" (1971) - in Japanese rock world. They say by themselves US rock acts Buffalo Springfield and Moby Grape would have exerted much influence upon them, but their soundscape full of Japanese folk experience built up by e.g. The Folk Crusaders, and mysterious, introspective Japanese poetic view were veiled in quite unique, original ambience. Their second full-length creation "Kazemachi Roman" sounds as introspective and bluesy as their previous eponymous album, but on the other hand, more creative and energetic intention around them can be heard all over.

Kind of characteristic they used Japanese traditional music and sound here and there in a fantastic manner, or they usually launched melodic / rhythmic bizarre we cannot imagine nor expect. A funny, mischievous word play "Ai Ue Wo" (the Japanese syllable table is applied for the lyrics, just as it is), or the ethnically percussive breaking shot of the fourth track "Haikara Hakuchi", is sorta good example (anyway the middle and latter parts of "Haikara Hakuchi" is of cool rock really, instead of the beginning). 30 second repetition "Haikara Beautiful" shoots psychotropic agents under the cloudy but "beautiful" sky.

But mind you please, their real trademark can be touched in "Ashita Tenki Ni Naare (hope it'll be sunny tomorrow)" featuring their falsetto chorus or the first track "Dakishimetai (wanna hold you)" altogether flooded with the four intensive instrumental techniques synchronized completely. "Sorairo No Crayon (skyblue-coloured crayon)" is another pleasure seasoned with freakout yodel-like texture ... suppose we should call such an eccentricity progressive. And one of their masterpieces "Kaze Wo Atsumete" (already covered again and again by plenty of artists in Japan) sounds quite fragile as for the combination of gentle melody lines and introspective lyrics and simultaneously perfectly crystallized in a sensitive manner. This splendid gem of theirs might be all for me, I guess.

They always say, through "Kazemachi Roman", they would have completed all they wanted to do in those days (and this is the reason they had almost been disbanded after the album released ... Look at the front sleeve pic where every genius gazes at his future obviously different from others'). Regardless of their short activity, Japanese Rock Innovation in that they had taken the initiative must be mentioned all around the world eternally, and in conclusion, their two monumental stars we will never forget forever.

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