Assemblage (album)
Encyclopedia
Assemblage is a compilation album by the British band Japan
, released in 1981 by Hansa Records
.
Assemblage collects recordings from the band's early career (1977-1980) and Hansa Records re-released no fewer than six singles from Assemblage and Japan's back catalogue between 1981 - 1983. Both "Life In Tokyo", a collaboration with renowned disco
producer Giorgio Moroder
, and "European Son" were remixed and re-issued twice.
Assemblage was the first of numerous Japan compilations issued by Hansa Records/BMG Ariola/Sony BMG Music Entertainment
but remains the only one originally released in consultation with the band members themselves. Coincidentally, the titles of six of the ten songs refer to geographical places (namely stateline
s, Communist China
, Rhodesia
, Berlin
, Tokyo
, and Europe
).
The compilation reached #26 in the UK and spent 46 weeks on the album chart, being certified Gold by the B.P.I. in January 1983.
Assemblage was re-issued on CD by Sony BMG Music Entertainment
in 2004, then including four bonus tracks as well as two videos. Initial pressings of this reissue accidentally omit the first bass note of "Adolescent Sex" and include an incorrect bonus version of "Life in Tokyo." Subsequent pressings correct these errors.
"Quiet Life"/"A Foreign Place" (UK #19) 1981
"European Son (remix)"/"Alien" (UK #31) 1981
"I Second That Emotion (remix)"/"Halloween" (UK #9) 1982
"Life In Tokyo (remix)" (UK #28) 1982
"All Tomorrow's Parties"/"In Vogue" (UK #38) 1983
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
, released in 1981 by Hansa Records
Hansa Records
Hansa Records was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany....
.
Assemblage collects recordings from the band's early career (1977-1980) and Hansa Records re-released no fewer than six singles from Assemblage and Japan's back catalogue between 1981 - 1983. Both "Life In Tokyo", a collaboration with renowned disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
producer Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, and "European Son" were remixed and re-issued twice.
Assemblage was the first of numerous Japan compilations issued by Hansa Records/BMG Ariola/Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG...
but remains the only one originally released in consultation with the band members themselves. Coincidentally, the titles of six of the ten songs refer to geographical places (namely stateline
Stateline
State Line or Stateline may refer to:* borderSpecific places:* Stateline, California, near Lake Tahoe* State Line, California, former settlement in Mono County* State Line, Idaho* Stateline, Kansas* State Line, Mississippi* Stateline, Nevada...
s, Communist China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
).
The compilation reached #26 in the UK and spent 46 weeks on the album chart, being certified Gold by the B.P.I. in January 1983.
Assemblage was re-issued on CD by Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG...
in 2004, then including four bonus tracks as well as two videos. Initial pressings of this reissue accidentally omit the first bass note of "Adolescent Sex" and include an incorrect bonus version of "Life in Tokyo." Subsequent pressings correct these errors.
Side A
- "Adolescent Sex" (Re-recorded version) (SylvianDavid SylvianDavid Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
) - 4:15- Original version appears on 1978 album Adolescent SexAdolescent SexAdolescent Sex was the first album from the British glam rock/new romantic group Japan, released in March 1978. To avoid controversy over the title, the album was renamed Japan in some countries...
. Re-recorded Spring 1978 and released as B-side of UK single "The Unconventional". A-side single in Continental Europe in 1979.
- Original version appears on 1978 album Adolescent Sex
- "Stateline" (Sylvian) - 4:48
- Released as B-side of UK single "Don't Rain on My Parade", 1978. Originally recorded in late-1977 but not included as an album track.
- "Communist China" (Sylvian) - 2:43
- From 1978 album Adolescent SexAdolescent SexAdolescent Sex was the first album from the British glam rock/new romantic group Japan, released in March 1978. To avoid controversy over the title, the album was renamed Japan in some countries...
- From 1978 album Adolescent Sex
- "...Rhodesia" (Sylvian) - 6:48
- From 1978 album Obscure AlternativesObscure AlternativesObscure Alternatives is the second album by English band Japan, released in October 1978, the follow-up to their debut album Adolescent Sex from seven months earlier. Lead singer David Sylvian has gone on record saying that this should have been their debut album...
- From 1978 album Obscure Alternatives
- "Suburban Berlin" (Sylvian) - 5:01
- From 1978 album Obscure AlternativesObscure AlternativesObscure Alternatives is the second album by English band Japan, released in October 1978, the follow-up to their debut album Adolescent Sex from seven months earlier. Lead singer David Sylvian has gone on record saying that this should have been their debut album...
- From 1978 album Obscure Alternatives
Side B
- "Life in Tokyo" (MoroderGiorgio MoroderHansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, Sylvian) - 3:33- Originally released as UK A-side single in 1979. Original version re-issued as A-side single in 1981. Remixed by Tin Drum producer Steve Nye and new bass overdubbed by Mick Karn (Remix #1 a.k.a. Special Remix), re-issued as A-side single a third time in October 1982. Remix #2: late 1982 - producers unknown, with synths/drum machine overdubs, appearing on various subsequent Hansa/Ariola compilations.
- "European Son" (Sylvian) - 3:40
- Originally recorded and produced by Simon Napier-Bell and Japan in 1979. Remixed by Quiet LifeQuiet LifeQuiet Life is the third album by the British band Japan, released firstly in Japan, Germany, Canada and other countries in December 1979, then in the UK in January 1980...
producer John Punter before release (Remix #1). First released as B-side of Japanese single "I Second That Emotion", 1980. First UK release B-side of re-issued single "Life In Tokyo", 1981. Remixed by Steve Nye (Remix #2) and new bass overdubbed by Mick Karn, re-issued as A-side single in the UK in January 1982.
- Originally recorded and produced by Simon Napier-Bell and Japan in 1979. Remixed by Quiet Life
- "All Tomorrow's Parties" (Alternate version) (ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
) - 4:15- Original version included on 1979 album Quiet LifeQuiet LifeQuiet Life is the third album by the British band Japan, released firstly in Japan, Germany, Canada and other countries in December 1979, then in the UK in January 1980...
. Alternate (early) version recorded and produced by Simon Napier-Bell and Japan. Remixed by Steve Nye and issued as A-side single in the UK, February 1983.
- Original version included on 1979 album Quiet Life
- "Quiet Life" (Sylvian) - 4:53
- First released as A-side single in Japan, 1979 ( - 4:14). Included on 1979 album Quiet LifeQuiet LifeQuiet Life is the third album by the British band Japan, released firstly in Japan, Germany, Canada and other countries in December 1979, then in the UK in January 1980...
( - 4:53). Released as A-side single in the UK 1980 (fade-out - 3:54). Edited version ( - 3:34) re-released as A-side single in the UK, August 1981 and was a Top 20 success.
- First released as A-side single in Japan, 1979 ( - 4:14). Included on 1979 album Quiet Life
- "I Second That EmotionI Second That Emotion"I Second That Emotion" is a 1967 song primarily composed by Smokey Robinson and originally released as a single from his band Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Motown label. The song peaked for three weeks in the United States at #4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in December 1967...
" (Cleveland, RobinsonSmokey RobinsonWilliam "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
) - 3:46- Originally released as A-side single in Japan, 1980. Released as A-side single in Continental Europe, 1981. Remixed by Steve Nye and released as A-side single in the UK in July 1982 where it became the band's second biggest hit, reaching the Top 10.
Bonus tracks 2004 re-issue
- "European Son" (John Punter 12" Mix) (Sylvian) - 5:02
- "I Second That Emotion" (12" Remix) (Cleveland, Robinson) - 5:17
- "Life in Tokyo" (Pt. 1, Special Remix) (Moroder, Sylvian) - 4:03
- "Life in Tokyo" (1982 12" Remix) (Moroder, Sylvian) - 6:17
- "I Second That Emotion" (multimedia track) (Cleveland, Robinson)
- "Life in Tokyo" (multimedia track) (Moroder, Sylvian)
Singles
"Life In Tokyo"/"European Son" 1981"Quiet Life"/"A Foreign Place" (UK #19) 1981
"European Son (remix)"/"Alien" (UK #31) 1981
"I Second That Emotion (remix)"/"Halloween" (UK #9) 1982
"Life In Tokyo (remix)" (UK #28) 1982
"All Tomorrow's Parties"/"In Vogue" (UK #38) 1983
Personnel
- David SylvianDavid SylvianDavid Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
: vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, synthesizers. pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Mick KarnMick KarnAndonis Michaelides , better known as Mick Karn, was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter, who came to fame as the bassist for the art rock band Japan, from 1974 to 1982....
: bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, recorderRecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple... - Steve JansenSteve JansenSteve Jansen is an English drummer, percussionist, singer and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London, where he failed academically, leaving at 16....
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Richard BarbieriRichard BarbieriRichard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
: synthesizers, sequencerMusic sequencerThe music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Rob DeanRob DeanRob Dean is a British musician, who rose to prominence playing guitar as a member of the British band Japan.-Biography:He is from Clapton, Hackney, London, England.-Japan:...
: guitar, ebow
Production
- Ray Singer - record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
tracks A1-A5 - Pete Silver - sound engineer tracks A1-A3
- Tracks A1-A3 recorded at Audio International Studios
- Chris TsangaridesChris TsangaridesChris Tsangarides is a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer. He is best known for his work with many heavy metal bands, including Judas Priest, Anvil, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy, Helloween, and Yngwie Malmsteen...
- sound engineer tracks A4-A5 - Tracks A4-A5 recorded at Morgan Studios
- Giorgio MoroderGiorgio MoroderHansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
- producer track B1 - Jürgen Koppers - sound engineer track B1
- Track B1 recorded at Rusk Sound Studios, Los Angeles
- Simon Napier-BellSimon Napier-BellSimon Napier-Bell has undertaken many jobs in the music industry, including bandboy, manager, producer, songwriter, journalist and author and gourmet...
- producer tracks B2, B3 - Japan - producers tracks B2, B3
- John PunterJohn PunterJohn Punter is an English music producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music and Slade. His career in music spanned over 30 years and many different genres...
- remix tracks B2-B3, producer tracks B4, B5 - Keith Bessey - sound engineer tracks B2, B3
- Tracks B2-B3 recorded at DJM Studios
- Colin Fairley - sound engineer tracks B4-B5
- Tracks B4-B5 recorded at AIR Studios