Mr. Ohtaki in '70s

Eiichi Ohtaki Discography part 1

Imagine if the DNA strands of Phil Spector (pre-crime, of course), Brian Wilson, George Martin, Joe Meek and any other record producing genius you'd care to mention were synthesized into a single human being ? a Japanese human being to be exact. Ohtaki Eiichi is a singer/musician/producer whose body of work is an encyclopedia of everything that was great about pop music in the 20h century. 

Eiichi Ohtaki : S/T (1972)

The majority of the first solo album by Ohtaki was probably just what record shoppers were expecting: tuneful folk-rock in the Happy End mold. There's a haunting beauty and simplicity to many of the songs, such as the slide guitar driven Track 2, but a restless ambition also leads to unexpected detours into McCarney-isms and even funk punctuated with James Brown grunts. Sadly, it's a short record, divided further by a second half of filled with alternate mixes disguised as Part 2s. As a debut, the disc may go off half-cocked, but never again would Ohtaki produce fuzzed out country rock nuggets ala Neil Young. And the opener Track 1 alone has the kind of laid back disarmingly simple groove that Teenage Fanclub would kill for. 
 

Songs : Sugar Babe (1975)

Wearing his producer's hat, Ohtaki twirled the knobs for this monster hit LP best known today for the single 'Downtown' which climbed the charts twice both in its original incarnation and in a bubble-economy era cover. Creamy vocals by Tatsuro Yamashita (known in cultural short-hand as "Japan's Brian Wilson"), and charmingly shaggy leads by a female singer lead
to high end MOR rock sun kissed by a wonderful cosmopolitan vibe. Imagine a hookier, more winsome Steely Dan or Chicago minus the horns and guilt. Play this on a lazy Sunday and the odds are you'll feel like you've been teleported back to mid-seventies Tokyo right before things got all poker-faced and
Blade Runner. 
 

Niagara Moon (1975)

Ohtaki's second solo LP begins with a lush orchestral
invocation of a tropical paradise before spiraling off into bonkers New Orleans piano boogie. A full bid for the title of "musical mad genius" is on the table, but Eiichi, as yet, lacks truly memorable hooks and his juxpositions are often more jarring
than impressive. The next few Ohtaki LPs to come would mine almost identical material to better effect, but on this one you can almost feel Ohtaki's joy as he unleashed his merenge salsa pastiches and Dr. John and Elvis vocal impersonations.
The insanely catchy ditty Tanashi-o is the  keeper here, but a lot depends on how you feel about records where the artist is clearly having more fun than the listener. 
 

Niagara Triangle Vol. 1 (1976)

In a retreat back to MOR supergroup territory, ala Sugar Babe, Ohtaki spearheaded a trio based around himself and delivered another mega-seller. Track one is a soaring reverb-drenched stunner built around a hooky as all hell start-stop rhythmic pattern. A fair amount of Ohtaki's hyperactivity and humor is tempered, but an impressive amount of ground is covered as the members of the Triangle switch leads and styles. There's a throw back to Happy End-esque country rock, more love letters to the Beach Boys and New Orleans, a slow burning Barry White soul croon (complete with sexy voice over), and a touch of latin-ness (especially on the Ohtaki standard Coconuts). Only an ill-advised stab at funk goes truly off the rails. The CD re-issue also features a B-side containing the first stab at what would soon become a major Ohtaki obsession: traditional Okinawan music. 
 

Go! Go! Niagara (1976)

The kitchen sink abandon of Niagara Moon is repeated, but this time Ohtaki hits a homerun every time. Instead of trying to simply evoke the beloved records of his youth, Ohtaki flat out recreates them, asking "why do fools fall in love" and demanding that we "do the twist" in a thrilling pair of retro doo-wop medlies. As for Ohtaki's originals, they frequently
sound like long lost Ronettes or Frankie Lymon classics, albeit ones sung by a Japanese guy channeling Dr John. There are too many highlights to list and every track has some delightful quirk or trap door to relish. Built around a baseball concept (the LP opens with the sound of a cheering stadium), Ohtaki must have known he socked the ball out of the park here. 
 

Niagara CM Special

This 41 track monster contains all of Ohtaki's radio jingles, most of them presented in two versions: as they were on the air during the seventies and eighties, and then in instrumental takes minus the vocals (the better to sample his now truly-dazzling productions). A bit hard to take in a single serving
- as many tracks are variations on a single theme or product (such as milk or make-up) - conceptually, the CM Special is on the money. It's The Resident's Commercial Album done for real and a few years earlier. After all, "pop music"  seldom gets more literal than Ohtaki's pitches for Mistuya Cider soda. 
 

Niagara Calendar '78 (1977)

Ohtaki's third true solo record is very much Go! Go! Niagara part 2 made up of more restless channel surfing through the 50s and 60s in search of the perfect sound. What's changed are Ohtaki's vocal abilities. His voice can now soar and deliver spectacular performances. One minute, he's shaking all over and libelously quoting from as many Elvis songs as he can. The next, he's Bobby Vinton in a blue mood. Even though Ohtaki has done nearly everything here before previously (merenge, wall-of-sound, Okinawan music, and odes to baseball) he hasn't peaked or run out, nor his inspiration run out of steam. The result is another completely dazzling LP. 
 

to be continue... 
 

Eiichi Ohtaki's home Pgae: Ami-go, Gara-ge