JapanSylvian.com

My older brother got me Adolecent Sex for Christmas. I had got a few singles I second that emotion and Nightporter I think and wanted an LP but couldnt afford it.

As I am sure you are aware I was unsure it was the same band at the start, but liked it imeadiatly anyway.

I still go back and listen. And it still sounds good

It was mine too, i was supposed to be buying myself a new coat with my birthday money ,came home with QL instead

Assemblage and Tin Drum roughly at about the same time, then Quiet Life, then a bootleg cassette of the familiar BBC show a few days before I got Polaroids, so I kind of preferred the live versions for a bit as they sounded a bit more exciting. I then got Obscure Alternatives and then Oil On Canvas, but didn't buy Adolescent Sex until a little later, I definitely remember it was the last original album by them I got hold of, even after I'd got bootleg tapes on markets of early shows.

I was that enchanted by Quiet Life that 3 days later i went and brought GTP, it cost £5.30 ,(1983) i remember because that was the remainder of the birthday money i had recieved ,with which i was supposed to buy a coat. I had just those two albums for aroung 6 months and a tape copy of oil on canvas, i then got Obscure Alternatives ,which was a bit of a shock on 1st listen to be honest. Then i busily collected the rest of the albums summer 84'.

it's my first post here, so why not talk about my first album?

my first exposure to the band was on a mixtape someone made for me, and after that i poked around online trying to find similar songs of theirs to see if they were good. after doing some research online i realised i should buy quiet life first so i did and loved it. i bought gtp second. pretty sure i got tin drum next.

i'll admit, after reading about their different sound and david's voice being different for their first two albums, i was kinda scared to listen to them. i'm not really into that kind of music normally, but...i like the first two albums. now i make it a mission to turn on any good friend to them. i can usually get everyone to at least admit they like an album or a few songs, sometimes more.

My first Japan-album was Adolescent Sex. I bought it on March 24 1979, a few days after I saw the band miming the title-track on TV. The first minutes I just thought I heard an interesting new band, but when the strings of Richard became more prominent I really got excited. Maybe this had something to do with my love for keyboards, especially in progressive music. Twenty days later I bought the then newly released Obscure Alternatives. Of course, at that time we didn't know the progression Japan would make, but I've played those albums a lot and still like the rawness, the despair in David's voice and songs like Television and especially The Tenant. Then Quiet Life came out which was the right record at the right moment for me. Gentlemen Take Polaroids was the first one I didn't buy at once, mainly because there was little progression compared with Quiet Life. But I did buy the Nightporter 12" and taped the album on cassette. Tin Drum grew on me quite quickly and Oil On Canvas was a beautiful bonus. When the CD came on the market Gentlemen was one of the first one I bought.

karnsculpture wrote:Assemblage and Tin Drum roughly at about the same time, then Quiet Life, then a bootleg cassette of the familiar BBC show a few days before I got Polaroids, so I kind of preferred the live versions for a bit as they sounded a bit more exciting. I then got Obscure Alternatives and then Oil On Canvas, but didn't buy Adolescent Sex until a little later, I definitely remember it was the last original album by them I got hold of, even after I'd got bootleg tapes on markets of early shows.

I'm sure you are my paradox twin Paul save for the fact we exist in the same world, outside of the the BBC bootleg, that was the exact same path i took when first listening.

The first time I became aware of Japan was seeing the' Quiet Life' promo video on TOTP, I was instantly hooked and on the following saturday purchased the 'Quiet Life' 12".

A work coleague was constantly playing 'Tin Drum' and I was struck by how original it sounded, and went out and purchased 'Assemblage' on cassette (with the extra tracks if my mind serves me well) and that was it.....'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' 'Tin Drum' and 'Quiet Life' LPs (in that order) quickly followed and I became well and truly hooked. I purchased as much of the back catalogue as I could get my hands on, although I never warmed (to this day in fact) to the first 2 LPs (with the exception of 'The Tenant') and before I knew it I was collecting vinyl imports, white labels, bootlegs (vinyl & cassettes) T-shirts and everything in-between.....and then in the blink on an eye 'Oil on Canvas' and the demise of the band....

I carried on collecting for several years afterwards and gathered a great collection of vinyl releases from accross the world (the Japanese imports were great with the sound quality and the packaging) and although I listen to music via my ipod these days, I did look through the vinyl vaults the other day and it brought back some memories of great times....