I bought this second hand copy of "Tin Drum" from eBay in 2014 and it is in pretty good condition.
Of all Japan's back catalogue, I bought this album first as it featured the single "Ghosts". I originally heard this track on a compilation called "New Romantic Classics" in 1992. Whilst hardly any of the artists featured on the compilation actually belong to the New Romantic movement, it did have some great songs and sparked my interest in Japan.
I am aware this album is revered and lauded by many as the artistic peak of the band; but I'm not too keen on it. For my money "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" is a far superior piece of work and has aged much better than this album.
The opening track "The Art of Parties" relies on syncopated rhythms interspersed with wailing guitars and oriental sounding synth patches. Sylvian delivers his distinctive vocal, but the instrumentation is messy and nothing gels. Second track "Talking Drum" repeats the formula and fails to spark in the same way.
The afore mentioned "Ghosts" is a tense affair powered by a sparse arrangement that leaves the listener to fill in the blanks. Whilst I really like this song, it seems unfathomable that it reached
number 5 in the chart when it was released as a single. This song doesn't strike me as radio friendly but then 'synth music' was burgeoning in 1981 so maybe it did get some airtime. "Canton" is an instrumental that harnesses Mick Karn's superlative skills on fretless bass but it uses far too many cliched oriental synth sounds for my taste.
I hate "Still Life In Mobile Homes"; it is irritating beyond belief. I can't bring myself to say any more about it. "Visions of China" sounds bit twee in the context of this album but it is a good song nonetheless. Whilst the penultimate song "Sons of Pioneers" elevates Mick's bass and the cliched synth noises are toned down a bit, it doesn't really have a melody. "Cantonese Boy" is brilliantly produced but doesn't do enough to draw me in. 2/5
