Record Stores Of Shibuya, Tokyo

It's been half a year since my Japanese trip. It was really a great one: we visited Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Yokohama; we saw beautiful nature, impressive monuments, and futuristic cityscapes, we met nice people and tasted delicious, and often strange, food. Of course I went record hunting, too, and let me tell you this country is a goldmine for record hunters: quality Japanese pressings, some peculiar Japan-only editions, decades-old used vinyl looking as good as new because it's been handled with care and respect, huge record stores full of rare albums, and all for great prices - often half of what you'd pay in Europe or the U.S. I've written previously about my record store mapping session in Kyoto; I got to see a fair amount of that city's record shops, but Tokyo... Tokyo is a lost cause, unless one can spend weeks there, and dedicate a big chunk of their time to record hunting. I mean Tokyo City alone has 14 million inhabitants - and the Tokyo metropolitan area has 37 million! Anyway, I could never surpass this guy's work, which you can download here - what I can do is present the shops I visited at the Shibuya area, where we stayed. It's one of the most famous neighborhoods, a real hub where all the transportation lines meet: apparently, Shibuya Station is visited by 3 million people daily; the second-busiest train station in the world after Shinjuku Station which is right around the corner (around 4km away). It's also famous for the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world; 3000 pedestrians pass the crossing per green light, adding up to almost half a million people daily. So as you can imagine all of Tokyo plus legions of tourists end up here, which makes for an extremely lively area housing lots and lots of bars, restaurants, and shops. Before I start, some general rules about Japan record stores: firstly, many of them aren't front store businesses. You may find them inside shopping malls, or in residential buildings; some, like Disk Union, may even be scattered in different floors of different buildings a couple of blocks apart.

Secondly, buildings in Japan don't have a ground floor - or rather, the 1st floor is the ground floor. So when one tells you this record store is on the 2nd floor that means you go up one flight of stairs. Thirdly, unlike in the US, all prices are tax-inclusive BUT there's a neat little trick you may want to take advantage of: overseas travelers may have the tax deducted from their purchases provided they don't make use of them while they're on Japanese soil. This service will not be available in all shops, but some record stores provide it. Finally, the price of some records will be in the thousands, but don't let that scare you: as of 2025, ¥1000 is only worth roughly €6 or $7. Shibuya's Tower Records is the largest record store in the Asian continent - probably in the world, too. I mean there seem to be four contenders for this title, and one of them is Amoeba Records in L.A. which I've already visited; I can verify that it's freaking huge, but Tower Records Shibuya is even bigger (if not necessarily better). First of all, the building is literally tower-like in height. It's 8 floors high and 1 deep (so, 9 floors in total). Each one is dedicated to something else e.g. 3rd floor is Japanese music, 4th is anime and game soundtracks, 5th is K-pop, 6th is reserved exclusively for vinyl singles and LPs (jazz rock pop soul etc). New records cost around ¥5000, used ones ¥500-3000. Address is 1-22-14 Jinnan, a three-minute walk from Shibuya Station (Hachiko Exit). You know the story of Hachiko dog, right? Exactly opposite the train station, also accessible via the underground passage, you'll find the Magnet Department store (1-23-10 Jinnan). The rooftop lounge of the 8th floor offers one of the best views of Tokyo, including the Shibuya Scramble Crossing. One has to buy a ticket to get there, but the 7th floor is free, and one can get a good view of the crossing from there, too. 

Recofan, which is one of Tokyo's biggest, and more historic, record stores takes up most of the 6th floor.  Here, new LPs cost ¥4000+, used ones on average ¥2000, and used CDs ¥280-1000. Something I found very helpful was that records were arranged alphabetically; in Japanese of course, but next to the Japanese characters (each one is a syllable) there are the corresponding letters in the Latin alphabet. Still close to the station, on the 5th and 6th floor of the Shibuya Modi department store (1-21-3 Jinnan) one can visit HMV Music & Books. To be honest it didn't meet my expectations, as it seemed to focus on K- and J- Pop idols and boy/girl bands, and fan merchandise. There does seem to be an awful big market for those, judging from all the advertisements; these are all around Shibuya giving it that Blade Runner vibe. Huge screens with moving, and often talking, ads, not only on or above the towering buildings but also on street level as well as moving in the streets. I can't tell you how often I was surprised when I heard a voice seemingly addressed to me, and looked right to see the moving image of an androgynous Asian teen idol on a screen bolted on a moving vehicle's trailer. Thankfully, there's another HMV record store nearby (36-2 Udagawacho Noah Shibuya) this one focuses on international music (rock, indie, prog) as well as some J-rock. New LPs around ¥4000-5000, used ones mostly ¥3000 although there are also some for ¥1000. All the above shops (Tower, Recofan and both HMVs) allow for tax-free purchases, which isn't the case with the rest of the shops I visited. Still in the neighborhood, there's Manhattan Records which specializes in Hip Hop, R & B and classic soul. On the 1st Floor (ground floor to us Westerners) there are records in these genres as well as street fashion items, while the 2nd floor mostly has used records and CDs (mostly ¥770-2000) as well as some singles and cassettes. Another shop in similar music style is 2 Tight Music (35-4 Udagawacho, Oak Village Building). It's on the 5th floor, apartment 503. Small but packed with lots of hip hop CDs, as well as some singles and cassettes. On the 3rd floor (apt.305) there's another specialty record store: RnR Music Garden is dedicated to rockabilly. 

Which brings us to a back alley behind a very central street, while there are also a few night clubs in the area. Here there are two record stores opposite each other, Face Records (soul, jazz, funk - according to Google this is now "temporarily closed") and Next Records (2F Ryuko Building, 11-11 Udagawacho) (hip hop, R&B, disco etc). One floor above you'll find another record store called Mother's Record (jazz, rock, bootlegs). You can see it from the street but the entrance is somewhat hidden. I could hear some great rock music coming from a bar here (I think it was this one) - it sounded like The Clash with Japanese lyrics. Me and my girlfriend thought about going in for a drink but there were some very drunk customers at the staircase, singing the chorus of the song at the top of their lungs. They didn't look dangerous or something, they were just loudly enjoying themselves, but we weren't in a similar mood so we left. At the corner there was another bar; a young girl with a short skirt -as is the fashion there- at the door was inviting people to come in, but that's something you get used to in Tokyo, restaurants and retail shops have them too. What did catch my attention was a sign at the front with prices per 45 or 60 minutes. My first thought was they were renting karaoke booths or something similar, the second one was something less innocent. It turns out that this was a 'girls' bar', a popular kind of diversion for middle-aged Japanese men. Contrary to what happens in the West, this is about company, not sex: there's no touching, the girls don't dance for the men or take their clothes off, they're only there for conversation - on any subject except sex. Anyway, let's get back to the record stores, because I've kept the best for last, and that's Disk Union, the motherlode of all record stores anywhere in the world! The various departments of this shop are a bit scattered, yet close to each other. If they were gathered in one place, they'd probably surpass Tower Records. The extremely detailed guide I recommended earlier mentions that Disk Union takes up 5 floors of the Antena 21 building (30-7 Udagawachō), but that wasn't the case when I visited last April: only two floors were occupied by Disk Union at that time: 4F (Club Music) featuring techno, dance, hip hop as well as DJ equipment and 5F (Jazz & Rare Groove) that had jazz, reggae, and world music (prices starting at ¥380, mostly over ¥2000). 

Another shop is at the basement of the Parco department store (15-1 Udagawachō): a lot of jazz, indie, rock, metal, and J-rock. Good variety and prices, even though I couldn't understand the idea behind the pricing: I found two seemingly identical used copies of The Beatles' Blue album, in the exact same condition: one had a yellow label and cost  ¥4650, the other one had a blue label and cost ¥480 - less than €3 for a Beatles' double LP in VG+ condition - only in Japan, man! I could have filled suitcases full of vinyl - hell, I almost did when I visited Disk Union on the first day of the trip, buying all kinds of good-ish records that I nevertheless didn't need, just because they cost less than one third of their usual price. Then I imagined myself dragging those suitcases with me for the rest of the journey, on the shinkansen and in those subterranean cities that pass for metro stations in Japan. From then on, I only bought records from Japanese bands that I knew I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else. By far the most purchases were made at Disk Union Rock (at the basement of 32-7 Udagawa-cho). Huge huge variety in all rock subgenres (classic rock, J-rock, punk, metal etc.) both in vinyl and CD. There were some new LPs (around ¥5000) but crucially lots and lots of used LPs starting from ¥380, and mostly under ¥2000. Here too they have the system with different color labels corresponding to different price ranges. During my visit I also happened to catch an in-store gig, which I loved. I wouldn't know if it happens frequently, though. There are many more Disk Union branches in Tokyo, most notably in Shinjuku, where the various by-genre shops are also scattered among different apartment buildings in the same area. I'll stop at saying that these are also must-visit for collectors, and limit this post to the Shibuya region, with which I'm relatively more familiar; after all there's a lot of information online about record shopping in Tokyo, I'm only scratching the surface here. 

 

Gogol Bordello – Solidaritine 2022****

Yesterday I went to Tilburg NL to see Gogol Bordello play live, for the 2nd time. The first time I saw the band play was  16 years ago, when I was still living in Athens Greece. I was swept away by their energy, and became an instant fan. Now, with half of the original members gone, and with a much bigger back catalogue to choose from, I wondered what I should expect. Well, I needn't worry: Eugene Hutz still is a charismatic and energetic frontman, and the band keeps up well: hyperkinetic rapper/percussionist Pedro Erazo riled up the crowd even more; of course Eugene's trusted lieutenant Sergey Ryabtsev on violin still cuts an impressive figure, while special mention must be made for new girl Erica Mancini on accordion. Filling up the stage even more, and adding to the party atmosphere with their backing vocals and dancing were the two ladies from young New York band Puzzled Panther. All in all a fantastic night, full of joyous energy. Eugene didn't resolve to preaching, letting his politically charged lyrics do the talking; there was the Solidaritine emblem with the fist painted in Ukrainian colors, and the moving song "Solidarity" -not included in the Solidaritine LP reviewed here- which was written for Ukraine together with other artists; that was enough. Interestingly, the setlist was heavily based on older material; about one-third came from Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, only party anthem "Fire On Ice Floe" from Solidaritne, and nothing from the two albums that immediately preceded it. I guess this further signifies a return to their punk roots, something many reviewers noticed when their latest album first arrived. Also of note: support band Split Dogs was a good fit; these Bristolians sound very similar to Amyl And The Sniffers, and have a likewise dynamic singer/frontwoman. Originally the support band was to be Bob Vylan, but they are banned from Tilburg's 013 Poppodium for being too controversial. Now, let's proceed with the album presentation:

I've always loved to see bands combine the energy and politics of punk rock with the exuberance of folk music; I think The Pogues did it first, paving the way for many other Celtic punk bands (Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Mahones etc,). Joe Strummer added Latin elements to his records, followed by Mano Negra, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and others. And of course there are those who combine punk rock with Balkan music, like Kultur Shock and No Smoking Orchestra. The latter included award-winning director Emir Kusturica - their raucous concert on Lycabettus theater in Greece was my introduction to gypsy punk, but Gogol Bordello would become my favorite band in this style. Unlike all the previous, Gogol Bordello come from the USA - but really from all over the place. Their immigrant origins are an important part of their identity, together of course with their leader Eugene Hütz's Ukrainian Roma background. Apparently, his family left their village after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, relocating to Kiev first, then spending seven years in various refugee camps in Poland, Hungary, Austria and Italy, before arriving in Vermont USA in 1992 through a refugee resettlement program. Soon Eugene (born Yevhen Oleksandrovych Nikolaiev-Symonov) left for the great melting pot of New York where he would hook up with like-minded spirits; other members originally came from Russia, Israel, China, Ecuador, Brazil, and of course the US. Next to electric guitars, the band also make prominent use of the violin, accordion, sax and various percussive instruments. Their 8th album Solidaritine was recorded during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and although most of the songs were already written when the war broke out they seem to form a response it. Opener "Shot Of Solidaritine" introduces the central theme of the album, this mysterious essence that lies dormant in most people but is sorely needed in these difficult times. Gogol suggest that a therapeutic dose of this miracle drug could unite people in solidarity and help them cure the world from its ills. Starting with a strummed acoustic guitar, the song quickly works up a furious punk tempo; this is generally one of the band's fastest, punkiest albums. "Focus Coin" is a Rancid-like ska punk party tune, and "Blueprint" a cover of legendary Washington DC punks Fugazi, albeit with a ska rhythm, chanted vocals and violin. In another nod to his punk roots, Eugene invited H.R. (of Bad Brains) to guest on "The Era of the End of Eras", a fast rocker with sweeping violin. Ukrainian artists Serhiy Zhadan and Kazka guest on “Take Only What You Can Carry”  and “Forces of Victory”, two songs addressing the war in their homeland. The former is about the uprooting of people in wars. The lyrics can be heartbreaking, but there's nothing defeatist about it; along with the description of loss comes a small celebrational note in the form of the upbeat music and the hopeful conclusion "I'm not on the list of the dead". “Forces of Victory”, introduced with a swirling violin, is an older Gogol song, sung here in Ukrainian except for the chorus "I can't go on, I will go on". "I’m Coming Out" is a light-hearted, more rhythmic tune with snap-like instrumentation. Together with "Knack for Life" they slow the pace somewhat, while "The Great Hunt of Idiot Savant" and "My Imaginary Son" alternate mid-paced Balkan folk with punk. "Fire on Ice Floe" and "Gut Guidance" are upbeat party/ska tunes. The album closes with yet another punk-folk dynamite "Huckleberry Generation", Ramones-like both in pace and brevity. Reviewers commented that the Russian invasion of Eugene's homeland seems to have re-energized Gogol Bordello, resulting in a furiously paced return to their punk roots. I'd say their passion shows, though I'm not sure that the harder sound is directly connected to the war. I'd say that, after introducing Latin elements in Trans-Continental Hustle, which found the band living in Brazil, they sort of continued on auto-pilot: Pura Vida Conspiracy and Seekers and Finders, found the band in San Antonio Texas, still under Latin American influence. There was no lack of good tunes on those albums, but it probably was time to shake it up a bit. Solidaritine took them back to where they started, recording once again in New York and other East Coast places; probably their chosen music style here reflects their new surroundings as much as a more resolute political stance.

***** for Take Only What You Can Carry, Fire On Ice Floe

**** for Shot Of Solidaritine, Focus Coin, Blueprint, I’m Coming Out, My Imaginary Son, Forces Of Victory, Gut Guidance

*** for The Era Of The End Of Eras, Knack For Life, The Great Hunt Of Idiot Savant, Huckleberry Generation

The Golliwogs "Pre-Creedence" 1964-1967 (rec) 1975 (comp)****

Last summer I saw John Fogerty with his band (including his sons, Shane and Tyler) play a set full of great Creedence oldies. It was a celebratory occasion, seeing as he had just won in a 50-year struggle to regain ownership of his on songs. It was almost 10 years from the last time I saw him play, again at Ansterdam's Ziggo Dome, and I was once again surprised at how young he still sounds - and even looks, considering he's just turned 80. One more pleasant, as well as unexpected, surprise: the retrospective went further back than any other time, even including "Fight Fire", a garage rocker from his pre-Creedence time, when the band was still called The Golliwogs. His son (Tyler I think, the one with the moustache anyway) took center stage on that one, singing lead and playing the maracas. I don't know why John didn't sing it himself. Maybe because it was his brother/bandmate Tom who initially handled the vocals on this one? In those days they still shared group leadership.

I first heard "Fight Fire" in late 80's or early 90's, and that was a cover version by The Chesterfield Kings. It was decades later that I learned of the connection between the original band and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Still later, I learned that The Golliwogs had also recorded early versions of Creedence tracks like "Porterville" and "Walking On The Water", and I decided that I should search for their record. Indeed there was a posthumous LP called Pre-Creedence, which collects all of their 7' singles (recorded between 1964-1967). At some point, I came across a copy at a record fair. When I saw it, my first thought was: why does the cover depict an egg? If this was a compilation of pre-Byrds tracks, that might make sense (p.s. there is such a comp, it's called Preflyte (sic); but that's another story).  And then, immediately, I asked myself what is a golliwog anyway? Wikipedia provided, as usual, the answer "The golliwog is a doll-like character, created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton, which appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag doll. It was reproduced as a very popular soft toy... The golliwog is controversial, being widely considered a racist caricature of black people". Well, now at least I know why this comp doesn't feature actual golliwogs on the cover. A picture of the band would also have been a preferable choice, but by the time of this release (1975) they weren't on speaking terms any more, so maybe that had something to do with it. The roots of the band go back to the late 50's, when three highschool kids from El Cerrito, California (John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook) bonded over their love for New Orleans-style rock & roll, forming a band called The Blue Velvets. After the addition of John's older brother Tom as lead singer and guitarist, they started an upwards course, leading to a contract with Fantasy Records. The label's co-owner changed their name to The Golliwogs; the first couple of singles were Beatles pastiches, each featuring an upbeat pop side ("Don't Tell Me No Lies", "You Came Walking") and a ballad side ("Little Girl", "Where You Been"). That was nevertheless not the way to go, and soon the band took a more earthy direction: "You Can't Be True" is a tough R&B number with lots of harmonica, and "You Got Nothin' On Me" is Chuck Berry-style rock-'n-roll. "You Better Be Careful" is a moody Zombies-like garage pop, and "Fight Fire" a Yardbirds/Stones-inspired garage dynamite. All the aforementioned tracks feature Tom on lead vocals, but as time went by John's talent as songwriter, singer and guitarist began to eclipse that of his older brother. He's first heard here on the last track of Side One: "Brown-Eyed Girl" is a tough Animals-style blues rocker, and the band's most successful single - if by success one means reaching No.10 at the regional charts in Miami FL. "Fragile Child" is poppier, but still exhibits a band further distancing itself from the British Invasion sound. The next single "Walking On The Water / You Better Get It Before It Gets You" is recognizable as Creedence, and not only because the former was re-recorded (slightly slowed down) for their debut LP with the new name. It just has that swampy blues style and John Fogerty growl that would form the basis of the familiar Creedence Clearwater Revival sound. The last single (swampy soul rockers "Porterville" and "Call It Pretending") is CCR in all by name. It's credited to all four band members, while previous singles were credited to the two brothers only. Having perfected their own unique style, CCR went on to record six albums of new music in the next three years, play Woodstock, and tour Europe. Embittered to be sidelined in his own band, Tom left the band early in 1971. The rest released a seventh LP as a trio (Mardi Gras, 1972) and split acrimoniously soon after. Having been duped into signing a very exploitative contract with Fantasy Records, John Fogerty subsequently lost his publishing rights to label boss Saul Zaentz; it even got to the point that Zaentz took him to court because his new songs sounded too much like his old ones i.e. for plagiarizing himself. For many years, Fogerty refused to play his old songs publicly, because every time he did so it meant that he would have to pay royalties to his old boss, which he couldn't stand. The road back was long and tortuous, but seeing the man play his songs alongside his sons, reveling in the fact that he at last owns his life's work was an uplifting experience.

***** for Fight Fire, Walking On The Water

**** for You Can't Be True, You Got Nothin' On Me, Brown-Eyed Girl, You Better Be Careful, 

Fragile Child,  Better Get It Before It Gets You, Porterville, Call It Pretending

*** for Don't Tell Me No Lies, Little Girl (Does Your Mama Know?), Where You Been, You Came Walking

The Fuzztones "Friends & Fiends" 2024***

As I may have mentioned, I've been a big Fuzztones fan since my teens, so when I saw this (unknown, to me) LP at Amoeba Records in LA, I had to grab it and fly it back home to The Netherlands. It didn't matter that all of the songs were covers, because this is what The Fuzztones have always done: dig up obscure 60's gems and infuse them with their own esseence, at times even improving on the originals. This is what they do on the first track here "Strange Mysterious Sound" originally by The Spike Drivers (1967), a ghostly psychedelic track reminiscent of The Doors with an Electric Prunes-like guitar solo. From here on, though, things get weird. In the liner notes, Rudi writes about the artists he loved growing up and how lucky he has been to meet and share a stage with some of them, but most of the collaborations included here are obviously not real. It's not clear whether the Fuzztones ever played with  81-year old Ann Margret on the same-named track of her Born To Be Wild LP, or -more probably- just laid down a backing track for her to sing over. But their working method for the rest of the album seems pretty obvious: they sample vocals from older recordings and paste them over their own instrumental versions. The results are invariably fun, but this reverse karaoke thing seems pointless. I mean, I like The Fuzztones' playing here, but I'd prefer to listen to Rudi sing these songs rather than old vocal samples. I tried to get information on the origin of the vocals, with little success; for example The Grass Roots' "Let's Live For Today" comes from a various artists LP utilizing 1997 re-recordings of Grassroots hits by original singer Rob Grill (R.I.P. 2011). The Fuzztones have played with Screaming Jay Hawkins (R.I.P. 2000) in the past, and even released a live mini-LP together in '85, but their versions of "I Put a Spell On You" and "What Good Is It" use a vocal from 1972, according to discogs. Oldies like "Mary Lou" (With Sonny Burgess, R.I.P. 2017) and "Ain't Got No Home" (With Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, R.I.P. 2024) deviate little from the originals, while Association's sunshine pop hit "Windy" adds a groovy organ bit. It's not clear whether the vocal belongs to original lead singer Larry Ramos Jr. (R.I.P. 2014) or the current line-up. I quite like how the Fuzztones rework Blue Cheer's proto-metal cover of "Summertime Blues" to incorporate their own riff from "In Heat". Not sure whether the vocal belongs to original singer Dickie Peterson (R.I.P. 2009). No such doubts for their dirty blues version of "Messin' With the Kid" (with Junior Wells, R.I.P. 1998) containing, I believe, another recycled Fuzztones riff which I can't quite place right now. "Kicks" featuring Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere & The Raiders. Lindsay (alive and kicking at 83) has shared a stage with The Fuzztones in the past, but the provenance of this specific vocal is unknown. Last but not least, the LP closes with a cover of "Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?" taken from a 2023 Cramps tribute LP - the two bands were friendly when they were both part of the New York CBGB scene, and I remember Rudi telling us during a gig that he got his guitar from The Cramps' Brian Gregory (R.I.P. 2001). Friends And Fiends is a limited release: 250 copies in "coke bottle green" colored vinyl, 500 (mine included) in orange. The cover artwork features skeletons and zombies of sixties rockers rising from their graves - a variation on a theme Rudi seems to love, which is in this case only too appropriate, what with so many voices from beyond the grave. I will not deny that it makes for an entertaining listen, but I think it's a big misstep from one of my favorite bands. I never thought that Rudi would stoop as low as Paul McCartney did when he used old Lennon vocal samples and presented them as a "collaboration" without his dead former bandmate's consent. I just hope that Rudi that he'll use his own voice next time, or at least duet with a living person.

**** for Strange Mysterious Sound, Summertime Blues (With Blue Cheer), I Put a Spell On You (With Screamin' Jay Hawkins), Messin' With the Kid (With Junior Wells)

*** for Let's Live for Today (With the Grass Roots), Born to Be Wild (With Ann-Margret), Kicks (With Mark Lindsay), Mary Lou (With Sonny Burgess), Windy (With the Association), Ain't Got No Home (With Clarence 'Frogman' Henry), What Good Is It? (With Screamin' Jay Hawkins), Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?

Paul McCartney "Back in the World-Live" 2003***

With the exception of the famous rooftop performance for the Let It Be film in '69, The Beatles stopped playing live pretty early in their career, in '66. Even before that, they struggled to be heard above the legions of screaming fans. Their small live legacy consists of some live-at-the-BBC-studio recordings, plus Live At The Hollywood Bowl and Live At The Star Club Hamburg - all displaying their early pop/rockabilly side. The relevant performances aren't bad, but nothing special either. Since the band broke up, John and Ringo have barely ever played any Beatles songs live, and George has stuck to his own compositions for the band. So it fell to Paul to keep the Lennon/McCartney songbook alive. Only, in this case the billing is reversed: instead of Lennon/McCartney, here the songwriting credit goes to McCartney/Lennon. According to Paul, he only reversed the credit on songs written by him (the songwriting team had agreed to share credit 50/50 regardless of each song's principal songwriter). For this specific live album, mostly culled from his 2002 US tour, two thirds of the setlist is comprised by Beatles songs. Which makes it probably the closest one can get to a true Beatles live album. Is this how they would sound like at the beginning of the 21st century? Who knows, really? Truth is, there are Beatles tribute bands out there which sound more than the original than Paul's band does. I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing though. Would I prefer hearing Paul play with John, George, and Ringo impersonators? Honestly, probably yes. But that would have been a tribute band rather than Paul McCartney and his band. As it is, he doesn't get overly creative with the arrangements: songs either sound similar to the originals ("Hello, Goodbye", "All My Loving", "Fool On The Hill"), or starker ("We Can Work It Out", the ukulele version of George's "Something"). John's harmonies are notably absent at times. When harmonies are evident, as in "Getting Better" and "Hey Jude", they have a more soul/gospel feel. Then, of course, you have the classic McCartneyesque ballads ("Blackbird", "Yesterday", "Michelle") which were very stark and fragile to begin with. Somehow, these never sound great in a live setting. Orchestral arrangements on "Eleanor Rigby", "She's Leaving Home", and "The Long and Winding Road" are replicated; presumeably the orchestral parts are played on the synthesizer. Songs from Let It Be are among the best, with small differences adding to rather than subtracting from the song: some jazz piano on "The Long and Winding Road", sax on "Lady Madonna", an electric guitar solo on "Let It Be". The upbeat rockabilly-ish songs are loads of fun to listen to even if they don't deviate much from the originals ("Can't Buy Me Love", "Back in the U.S.S.R.", "I Saw Her Standing There"). The inclusion of a forgotten Beatles track ("Mother Nature's Son" from 1968's White Album) is a pleasant surprise. Three tracks taken from his then current solo LP Driving Rain ("Lonely Road", "Driving Rain", "Your Loving Flame") sound relatively weak among such company. Conversely, songs from 1973's Band On The Run ("Jet", "Let Me Roll It", "Band on the Run") still sound great. Other notable performances include the funky "Coming Up" (from McCartney II, 1980), "Maybe I'm Amazed" (from solo debut McCartney, 1970), and James Bond theme "Live and Let Die" (1973). There's also a poignant tribute to John Lennon composed shortly after his death ("Here Today" from Tug of War, 1982) while the CD closes majestically with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/The End". Back In The World is the international counterpart of 2002's Back In The US : it subtracts "C Moon" and "Freedom", replacing them with four tracks recorded in Mexico and Japan and uses a different performance of "Hey Jude", recorded in Mexico instead of New York. As a souvenir for Beatles fans, it's rather frustrating: on one hand, this is the closest one gets to listening to The Beatles live in the 21st century. On the other, it's disappointingly pedestrian. But who's to say that, had they stayed together and resumed performing, The Beatles would have been a great live band? Unfortunately, nothing except their crazy pre-fame Hamburg days points to that. Maybe it would have been better for McCartney to avoid comparisons altogether and stick to his solo stuff. But these songs deserve to be played live - and who's better equipped to do it than him?

**** for Hello Goodbye, Jet, Coming Up, Let Me Roll It, You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight, The Fool on the Hill, Eleanor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, Michelle, Band on the Run, Back in the U.S.S.R., Maybe I'm Amazed, She's Leaving Home, Can't Buy Me Love, Live and Let Die, Let It Be, Hey Jude, The Long and Winding Road, Lady Madonna, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/The End

*** for All My Loving, Getting Better, Lonely Road, Blackbird, Every Night, Mother Nature's Son, Here Today, Calico Skies, Let 'Em In, My Love, I Saw Her Standing There, Yesterday

** for Driving Rain, Your Loving Flame, We Can Work It Out, Something

The Smile "Wall of Eyes" 2024****

I read recently that Radiohead are touring Europe again; I honestly can't remember them ever playing in the NL in the 16 years I've been living here. Of course, maybe they did and it went by me, or I couldn't get tickets - otherwise I would have been there. Thankfully I did get to see them play live at Lycabettus theater in Athens some 25 years ago, around the time they escaped mainstream indie rock to delve into experimental electronic prog or whatever Kid A was. I just looked at the tour schedule and there aren't any NL dates planned. I don't know if I would go to their concert anyway, because of the boycott call by pro-Palestinian organisation Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS). Musicians like Roger Waters and Brian Eno are on the forefront of that movement, others like Patti Smith, Serj Tankian, Rage Against The Machine etc. have been vocal in their support for BDS. On the other side of the argument there are also some artists I respect, including Radiohead and Nick Cave. In the recent past, they refused to join the boycott arguing that “playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government”, or that one should not "punish" the citizens of a country for the acts of their government. They also cast reasonable doubts over the effectiveness of such measures: it took almost 30 years for the South African apartheid regime to fall, despite a successful boycott in culture, sports, etc. Of course, currently it goes deeper than apartheid: there's a recognized genocide under way, so the argument for a cultural boycott is way stronger now. Yet Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead and The Smile has spent part of 2024 and 2025 in Israel, collaborating with Israeli artist Dudu Tassa. Furthermore, according to BDS, Tassa "has repeatedly entertained genocidal Israeli forces in between these massacres of Palestinians in Gaza, willingly acting as a cultural ambassador for apartheid Israel". So Greenwood isn't just working with a random Israeli but a with supporter of IDF war criminals. Staying, I wager, politely silent while a few kilometers further, the IDF is involved in massacres. I myself am inclined to agree with BDS. I do think that by ignoring calls for boycott, artists are showing support, or at least, tolerance of the genocidal regime. Someone has to tell the Israeli people that shooting and starving children to death is not OK. And it can't be a perceived enemy. It has to be someone they love and respect, ideally one of their favorite artists. Issuing, as Thom Yorke did, a lukewarm statement condemning Netanyahu's "extremism" and asking for moderation by both sides (that is, the butchers and those trying to stop the slaughter) is a cop out, not brave resistance to peer pressure as Mr. Yorke wants us to think. 

Wow, it's been some time since I went off topic waxing political like that. Ι really did start writing with nothing but the presentation of this CD in my mind, but stream of consciousness brought me to the Gaza genocide topic. I guess it never completely leaves me, a sense of disgust for Western hypocrisy and the pampering of "our" war criminals. One expects it from the likes of Trump, but not from "sensitive" and "progressive" souls like Yorke.

Anyway, I may disagree with Mr. Yorke and Mr. Greenwood's artwashing of Israel, but I wouldn't put them in a box together with active supporters of Netanyahu's actions, so I'm not about to stop listening to their music. It would have been a pity to do so, when it's as interesting as their recent collaboration with drummer Tom Skinner (ex-Sons of Kemet) in The Smile. The three of them started playing together during the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing their debut A Light for Attracting Attention in 2022. The inactivity in the Radiohead front, combined with the appearance of this second Smile album, must have worried Radiohead fans - I'm sure they welcomed the announcement of this mini European tour with sighs of relief. But even if Radiohead's absence from recordings continues, The Smile have provided us with a great alternative: Thom Yorke's fragile falsetto and Greenwood's symphonic ambition and electric guitar outbursts, together with their willingness to experiment, are the main features of Radiohead's music anyway. Skinner brings a jazz-informed elasticity with complex, feel free-flowing rhythms, and constant time changes. "Wall of Eyes" opens the album with a soft bossanova beat and atmospheric strings. It's almost too pretty, so The Smile purposefully destroy the melody by adding some dissonant notes during the last half minute. "Teleharmonic" has a hypnotic quality with woozy synths and inventive drumming, while "Read the Room" is more tense with spiky post punk guitar and fluctuating speed and volume. "Under Our Pillows" shows the band's kraut rock obsessions: I liked its motorik beat, the electronic bleeps and Tangerine Dream-like synth coda not so much. In contrast "Friend of a Friend" is almost Beatlesy melodic, featuring nice piano, soft vocals and lush strings culminating in "A Day In The Life"- like crescendo. In contrast to the sweet music, the lyrics are an attack to corrupt politicians and their business friends using the pandemic for personal profit. "I Quit" is another atmospheric piece with a sampled guitar loop and cinematic strings. "Bending Hectic" is an 8-minute epic: an orchestral ballad with soft fingerpicked guitar for 5,5 minutes, it then ups the tension with screeching guitar and sinister strings. "You Know Me!" closes the album with Yorke's familiar falsetto, clanging piano and swirling strings. All in all, Wall of Eyes comes across a lot like a new Radiohead album - with a twist. Which tells you all you really need to know about it.

**** for Wall of Eyes, Teleharmonic,  Read the Room, Friend of a Friend, I Quit, Bending Hectic

*** for Under Our Pillows, You Know Me!

Paris Record Stores

Ten years ago, I wrote my first report on a city's record store scene (London) for this blog, and teased about offering some pointers to record-loving visitors to Paris. Although I've visited the city a few times in the intervening years, it's only now that I can make good on my promise. On our latest visit, we lodged for the first time in the Montparnasse, at a hotel that used to count painter Paul Gauguin and writer André Breton among its permanent guests. Don't get the wrong idea, it wasn't a particularly luxurious place. Just typical of the neighborhood; every other place displays a plaque about a famous writer or artist that lived there - in the early 1900's it probably boasted the greatest collection of talent in history since classical-era Athens. A very lively area, too, full of bars and restaurants that were open until late, and a large number of theaters and music halls. Not many record stores though, apart from the local Fnac branch. Most Europeans are familiar with those, but in case you're not it is a chain of department stores that mostly caters to your entertainment needs; so you'll find a lot of books, records, CDs and DVDs as well as games, laptops, mobile phones, TVs etc. The one on Rue de Rennes 136 is fairly big with a wide selection in vinyl (French and international, including jazz, rock and metal as well as pop and K-pop). As always, the biggest concentration of record stores and book stores is near the student areas, of which there is none more famous than the Quartier Latin. I remember, during my first visit to the city, having spent hours at the Gibert Joseph at the Boulevard Saint-Michel. It's nominally a bookstore, or chain thereof, but its music department consists of two floors of ample square footage full of LPs and CDs. French chanson, jazz, world music, rock, pop, rap and funk are all well represented, and there's even a corner of Japanese vinyl (10-40€). New LPs cost mostly 23-35€, and used ones 6-20€. It's not the best place for used vinyl, but the variety of used CDs (3-9) is really huge. There are also many offers on new CDs (prog, metal, rap etc), for 6,99€ or less. 20 years ago I spent hours looking for bargain CDs both new and used; they had to escort me to the cash desk at closing time. 

Close to the Sorbonne university, on Rue des écoles 40, one can find Crocodisc, one of the most famous Parisian record shops, supposedly good for used records and CDs in all styles of music. Alas when I visited, it was closed for the summer vacation. According to their website, the shop carries both collectors' items and sale bins with records as cheap as 1€. On number 26, one can find the local branch of French music/film chain O'CD. Lots of DVDs, as well as LPs (new 10-35€, used 5-15€) and CDs (5-10€).  Here in the Netherlands, La Dame Blanche signifies a dessert with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. But in Paris, it is the name of a charming record store, situated between the Pantheon and the École polytechnique (47 Rue de la Montagne Ste Geneviève). Both the shop and the street are highly instagrammable; which is not to say that the records aren't interesting. It just has a small rock selection; it's far better when it comes to classical, jazz, and French music. Most (used) LPs cost 5-10€, while the shop also sells CDs and cassettes. Leaving the Left Bank behind, you can cross the Seine and walk past the Notre Dame and Hotel De Ville to find a pedestrian street (Rue de la Verrerie). On your left, on number 66 there's Lucky Records - a veritable shrine to Madonna (the singer, not the mother of Jesus for whom a shrine would be more appropriate). Her whole discography seems to be here, be it rare singles, EPs or bootlegs. Other pop divas are also well represented, e.g. Mylène Farmer, Tailor Swift, and Lady Gaga. Also a few random CDs starting from 3€. A bit further, I was surprised to see a chain I was familiar with from Japan: Book-Off mostly deals in used books, including English and Japanese ones, as well as manga and other comics, pokemon cards, board games, and of course vinyl records and CDs.

Close to the Châtelet metro station, there's a shop called Monster Melodies. It has, I think, an unfairly low rating in Google. Sure, it's not cheap and neither is it browse-friendly, but it must be heaven for collectors: rare classic rock, psychedelia, and early punk/new wave records. Mostly original pressings, prices upwards of 30€. At the next corner (47 Rue Saint-Honoré) there's Parallèles, another great shop focusing on music and books. A big selection of music books, LPs (chanson, jazz, blues & rock, a few new around 25€ and lots of used ones starting from 3€) and CDs (used, mostly 6€). A bit to the north, there's a shopping mall (Westfield Forum Des Halles) containing another Fnac (good variety, many offers). Closeby there's another O'CD branch; compared to the one near Sorbonne, this had a better selection on vinyl (used and new LPs on offer 5-15€) and CD (under 10€) in all genres: Rock, rap, reggae, funk, jazz and French music. I also passed by another small record shop (at 187 rue St Denis) with the intriguing name Maquis Megastore. (the maquis were WW2 French partisans). It looked as if they'd gone out of business but Google says it's temporarily closed, so I thought I'd mention it here.

   

Big Smile Bazaar, at 6 Rue du Ponceau, is a small but sophisticated shop, specializing in used vinyl. All styles, but especially good for Funk, jazz, African and oriental music. LPs typically cost 20-30€ but there are also some offers for 5€. Superfly Records (53 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth) also deals in used records almost exclusively. As suggested by the name, there are many funk, disco, and hip hop records for sale. Also Jazz, Afro, Latin, and rock. Now, this round took me almost a whole day. I'm not complaining, I love walking around Paris, and any itinerary that takes you past the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville, and The Louvre is worth it. Not to mention the Seine, the banks of which at the time (late July) were converted to a plage, complete with imported sand, chaise longs, and beach bars. But, as I said, the day I had dedicated to record hunting was drawing to a close, and I still hadn't visited one of my prime targets: Born Bad Records is both a shop and a label dedicated to scuzzy rock'n'roll and reissuing rare 60's - 70's French rock (ye-ye, psych, punk, exotica etc). I'm very much into all these genres, so I turned towards the Bastille to check out this shop. Predictably, I wasn't disappointed. It's not huge but it has a very deep selection of garage, rockabilly, punk, and blues. Some CDs (8-15€) but mostly vinyl, both LPs (around 20€, some offers 5-10€) and 45s. Patate Records (57 Rue de Charonne) is another specialty shop: they only do reggae music, but they do it well. The last shop I visited that day was Plastic Soul (93 Av. Ledru Rollin). Not very browse-friendly, but the reviews say that the owner is very helpful. As I wasn't looking for something in particular, I didn't initiate a conversation with him - plus, I always hesitate to do that because my French is terrible, and not everybody speaks English. Although I was pleasantly surprised to realize that Anglophony has progressed in strides in France during the last few years. Time restrictions meant I missed some famous record stores in the area: Betino’s Records (32 Rue Saint-Sebastian) is supposedly a must. They specialize in house, soul, disco, jazz, Latin and African, and mostly sell new vinyl. Listen! lies a few meters from famous live venue Le Bataclan, and apparently has "a great selection of original pressings...soul, disco...obscure pop, prog, and psychedelic". Synchrophone Records and Techno Import, both Rue des Taillandiers, are well regarded by electronic music fans, but that's not my thing so I passed them by. Heartbeat Vinyl (26 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac) advertises itself as a "specialist on all quality music, including soul, rock, jazz, world, and techno". Le Silence de la Rue is a historic record store mentioned in many guides, but Google lists it as "temporarily closed". If, at that point, I had decided to head towards Père-Lachaise cemetery to pay a visit to my dear departed friend Jim Morrison, I might have passed by a couple more well regarded record stores: Music Fear Satan (4 Bis Rue Richard Lenoir) focuses on metal LPs and CDs, while Souffle Continu (22 Rue Gerbier) seem to be the place for eclectic finds "from jazz improv to harsh noise, indie rock to black metal". Finally, another place I missed in the region (23 Rue du Roi de Sicile) was Rock'n'Roll Voltage. Which is too bad, since this shop is dedicated to Hard Rock and Metal, which I really enjoy listening to. On the other hand, customers on google often complain about the prices.

I spent most of the next day walking around the Montmartre: I joined a walking tour, and visited a museum as well as the area's last surviving vineyard; well, that's not exactly true: that empty lot used to be a vineyard back in the 19th century when the area was full of them, but the vines were, of course, all long dead. Recently, the mayor of the 18th arrondissement decided to revive it as a tribute to that long gone era. The new vine varieties were chosen for sturdiness rather than taste, which as a result doesn't make for a great wine, but the profits from the small amounts produced go to local charities, so people buy it anyway to support the good causes. Well, one can fill pages upon pages writing about Montmartre: the cabarets, painters, revolutionaries, singers, movie locations, the good restaurants and the tourist traps. But that's not our subject here, so let's go back to record stores. At the foot of the hill (32 Rue des Trois Frères) I found a rather charming shop called The Mixtape. Small-ish, with a good vinyl collection, especially in indie rock. New LPs 25-35€ used ones 10-30€. The shop also sells T shirts and music-related souvenirs. I was familiar with Balades Sonores (8 Rue Pierre Picard) from their Brussels branch. The Parisian one (the mothership, so to speak) is way bigger. Although it initially gives off a chaotic vibe, the records are well catalogued per genre and browsing is easy. There are sections for rock, indie, funk, rap, world music etc. New LPs 25-35€, a few used ones 15-20€. Also on sale are music books and a few CDs. To the south of Montmartre (114 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière) I visited one last record store called Ground Zero. Only vinyl (indie, rock, rap and jazz). New 25-35€, used 14-20€. Had I exited Monmartre to the north, I might have come across Exodisc (70 Rue du Mont-Cenis): records, cassettes, and CDs spanning rock, reggae, jazz, soul and more. A bit further north (9 Rue André Messager), another shop with good reviews is Dizonord. It's billed as an "alternative record shop / cultural café". New and used records as well as books, toys, coffee and drinks.

So, that was my report on Parisian record stores. It's always nice to visit Paris, and it's only a 3-hour train ride from my home in Delft, so I hope to be able to go back soon and fill in the gaps. Now I need to sit down and write my report on the Tokyo vinyl scene while I still remember my trip there last April. Until then, if Japan's your thing, you can check out my piece on Kyoto, which was our next stop during the same trip.