Artist: Hide Title: Hide Your Face Production Co: Cat #: Genre: Heavy Metal Date: 1994/2/23 Price: Y3000 Total Length: 78' 1 Psychommunity 2 Dice 3 Scanner 4 Eyes I Love You 5 D.O.D. (Drink Or Die) 6 Crime of Breen St. 7 Doubt (remix version) 8 A Story 9 Frozen Bug '93 10 T.T. Groove 11 Blue Sky Complex 12 Oblaat 13 Tell Me 14 Honey Blade 15 50% & 50% 16 Psychommunity Exit Goodies: Standard jewelbox. Rich 27-page booklet includes liner notes, lyrics and artistic photography. Comments: Hide is former member of X and this is his first solo project. The album is an epic by all means, running the gambit of styles within the so-called "Metal" genre. Its the fundamental glam-rock style of bands like X that is somewhat unappealing to me. There are a few songs that I liked immediately, but some of this left out due to a style that I don't particularly care for, and therefore can't judge well. Looking for a good home... Cover: "The Wraith Guardian" by HR Giger Grade: X Genre: Heavy Metal, Glam Rock, Grunge, Noise, Alternative Rock Bought at Asahiya Bookstore for around $41.00 including tax. (Benjamin List: list@scf.usc.edu) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Artist:Hirose Kohmi Title:Success Story Production co: Cat#:VICL-489 Release: 12.16.93 Price: Length: Track Data: 1.Introduction-Make me smile 2.Romansu no Kamisama 3.SUCCESS STORY 4.How to Love 5.Dear 6.Make me smile(reprise) 7.------? 8.Futari no Birthday(LA.Mix) 9.-----? 10.Tomorrow 11.Ohikkoshi Comments: This is the most recent album I have picked up from Hirose Kohmi. It contains her hit single for the Alpe CM "Romansu no Kamisama" and the TBS "shizen gaichiban! chikyushuku" theme song "Futari no birthday". The music in general is upbeat and uplifting just like romansu no kamisama. (Frank Chen: francc@ocf.Berkeley.EDU) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Artist: Hoppy Kamiyama Title: Ongakuou 2: Welcome to the Forbidden Paradise Production Co: Hon Fixx (Toshiba EMI) Cat#: TOCT-6487 Release: 92/5/20 Price: Y3000 Length: 64'27" Track Data: 1 E.S.T. (Electric Shock Treatment) 2 PUMP 3 A.M. 4 My Dear Sight 5 Naomi's Dream 6 Obsession 7 Sarari Mambo 8 Sleepy Blind Lemon 9 Happy Valley 10 Alter of Heaven 11 Giant D'jango 12 Jubilee 13 AU NATUREL Goodies: Standard Jewelbox Comments: This funk/junk/pop album features John Zorn and Mark Ribot as backup. This is apparently the second disk in the series, and it is good, but a little tiring. Cover: Large red kanji: "ONGAKUOU2" Small red letters: "Welcome to the forbidden paradise" "Hoppy Kamiyama" Somewhat overweight topless blond woman looks lustily at the camera. Grade: B Genre: Funk, Hardcore, Rock Bought at Tower Records on Sunset in LA. (Benjamin List: list@scf.usc.edu) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Release: 91/9/27 Price: 5000yen Length: disc 1: 52'32" (12 Tracks) disc 2: 53'21" (12 Tracks) Track Data: (2 (5") disc album) disc1 1 Guitarhythm Reprise 1'15" 2 Beat Emotion 4'55" 3 Prisoner 4'38" 4 Slow Motion 5'37" 5 Sphinx 4'15" 6 Mermaid's Dream 3'22" 7 Paradise 6'10" 8 Devil's Sugar 4'37" 9 Drivin' to Your Heart Tonight 4'15" 10 Angel Waltz 3'29" 11 You 6'13" 12 Guitar Loves You 3'24" disc2 1 Rock 'n' Rose 5'13" 2 Man + Woman in Love 4'24" 3 Libodo 4'48" 4 Fly Into Your Dream 6'00" 5 Wonderland 3'58" 6 Metropolis 3'41" 7 Merry-Go-Round 3'55" 8 Telephone Call 3'42" 9 Radio! Radio! Radio! 3'58" 10 Not For Sale 4'27" 11 City Lights 3'35" 12 Starman 5'20" Goodies: Velvet box with "3D" spherical representation of Hotei's trademark guitar pattern. 56 page "Visual Booklet" listing songs w/artwork for each title. Comments: Wow! Hotei Tomoyasu definitely "redeemed" himself with his second solo effort. In my own opinion, the original "Guitarhythm" was a disappointment, the songs being mediocre at best. "GII" gives the listener over 100 minutes of music bringing together a mix of sounds from Hotei's BO0WY, COMPLEX, and solo efforts. The songs range from, dreamy sounds in "Mermaid's Dream", pop tunes with "You", hard rock in "Devil's Sugar", peaceful guitar medleys in "Paradise", but driving in "Sphinx". And that's only in the first disc! The second offers Rock & Roll, pop-rock, orchestration(!), upbeat rock-guitar tunes, and ends with a cover of David Bowie's "Starman". Hotei does his own singing in all the songs. He fares decently in several tunes, sometimes does horrendously as in "Fly Into Your Dream", you just want to cringe. But he 'can be forgiven' as it was never his voice that made him famous. This is what the original "Guitarhythm" should've been! "Starfilled eyes with a heart of golden sun can make this metal bird fly. I could ride on a red hot shooting star just to have you here. GUITARHYTHM never gonna stop!" --Guitarhythm Reprise (Galen Komatsu: gkomatsu@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu, ar592@cleveland.freenet.edu) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Artist: Hysteric Organ Title: Sha-la-la-loo-rap! Production Co: Captain Records Cat#: GONG-6060 Release: 1991? Price: Y1800 Length: 23'24" Track Data: 1 FLOWER MONSTER 2 Sha-la-la-loo-rap! 3 PARANOIA 4 REVOLUTION #92 5 cocoa brown sky, forever 6 Aphrodite oodies: Standard jewelbox. Fold-out insert includes lyrics. Comments: Alternative music. Unlike anything I've heard elsewhere, but thats not good news in this case. Badly mixed with annoying vocal arrangement. Cover: "Sha-la-la-loo-rap!" "Sha-la-la-loo-rap!" "Sha-la-la-loo-rap!" "HYSTERIC ORGAN" "Sha-la-la-loo-rap!" "Sha-la-la-loo-rap!" "Sha-la-la-loo-rap!" Text superimposed over picture of pills and capsules in front of a glass of green liquid. Grade: D Genre: Indie Rock Bought at large video/cd store in Kawagoe, Saitama. (Benjamin List: list@scf.usc.edu)