Yellow Magic Orchestra: Us Edition CD - Import

The groundbreaking Japanese electronic music trio Yellow Magic Orchestra initially caused few ripples of excitement when its debut album--complete with computer game bleeps and arch synthesizer renditions of faux-Oriental musical themes set to pointedly fake-sounding R&B rhythms--was released in 1978. The western music cognoscenti were still trying to accommodate the seismic artistic shifts of punk rock.
But in retrospect these purposefully plastic-sounding tracks, particularly the eastern cadences and synthetic funk of "Firecracker," the jazz-fusion of "Tong Poo," and the grinding, George Clinton-influenced "Simoon," foreshadow much of the European electronica-based dance music of the 1980s and '90s, including Depeche Mode, New Order, and the Human League. In addition, the band's fetish for the idiosyncratic sounds of popular computer games of the day demonstrates its perceptive realization that future listeners would one day view these seemingly insignificant sonic twitches as an important part of their formative years.
Leading off with their only British hit, the Top 20 entry "Computer Game," Yellow Magic Orchestra's debut album launches the group as a Japanese novelty act in keeping with Kraftwerk. "Computer Game" is about what it sounds like, while "Firecracker" and "Cosmic Surfin" drift along with Oriental melodies playing over the top of an unobtrusive synth-pop backing. The disco bass on "Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)" shows that YMO were beginning to expand their base, but for the most part Yellow Magic Orchestra never strays from its influences. ~ John Bush
Posturing themselves as the synth-pop stars they already were (though only strictly speaking), Naughty Boys is more of a landmark for Japanese pop than electronic music. Beginning with the synth-pop hit "Kimi Ni Mune Kyun" (featuring vocals just as accomplished as its production), the album clearly sounds different; previous YMO material had never sounded explicitly like Asian pop music before. That said, it's still a solid album of commercial synth-pop and showed the group was still cultivating their Western connections, with help from guitarist Bill Nelson. ~ John Bush

Japanese reissue of 1978 album. Sony. 2003.Uncut (3/04, p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[G]alvanising, unabashed, floppy-haired '80s pop, all big hooks and tumbling, boxy electro-rhythms..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/04, p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[With] breathtaking flights of melodic fantasy and speedy percussive insanity..."