Tokyo New York

The band was formed in Japan by Alan Merrill, whose mother was world-renowned jazz singer Helen Merrill and famous for writing the US No 1 hit 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll', and Hiro Oguchi of the popular GS roughneck band The Tempters, who invited Takeshi (Takeshi Yokouchi), who later formed Tensaw, to join them. Vodka Collins released this album in 1973. The band's all-too-short activity, which ceased to exist after the release of just one album, conversely became a glittering legend and was stamped as the history of the early days of rock in Japan. One of the greatest albums in Japanese rock history.

As the landmark reputation of "Japan's first glam rock" suggests, this is simple, pop rock 'n' roll with a strong 70s glam rock flavour, with a feeling similar to David Bowie and the New York Dolls, but with a good amount of looseness overall. The album has a good balance and variety, including the typical glam M-1 and M-5, the tight and fast M-2 and the folky M-7. Alan's voice is not glam-rock metallic, but rather masculine and soulful, and his fluent Japanese vocals can be heard without discomfort. The tempo of the songs is also good, with a live feel, and the total of 28 minutes runs through in one fluid motion. This sense of style may have been too early at the time, and the band was short-lived, but this light, cool coolness has not faded away at all, even half a century later.