Tokyo Bliss: Japanese Funk, Boogie and City Pop from King Records 1974-88 in Bloomington, MN

Tokyo Bliss
follows
Tokyo Dreaming
,
Tokyo Glow
, and
Funk Tide
as the fourth digital/vinyl/compact disc compilation of '70s and '80s Japanese music released by France's
Wewantsounds
label. Tokyo native
DJ Notoya
selected the latter two and returns here to present a deep exploration of
King Records
. It's more eclectic than its full title indicates, extending to
Buzz
's tremulous soft rock/folk-rock hybrid (featuring the then rhythm section of
Sadistic Mika Band
, therefore future
Yellow Magic Orchestra
member
Yukihiro Takahashi
), straight-up AOR disco from
Kimiko Sawada
(with Synare lasers and an intro that recalls
Steely Dan
's
Aja
), and
Fujimaru Band
's ready-made substitute for
Bob James
' "Angela (Theme from Taxi)." Funk is not on tap, but some tracks do have funky qualities. A thick bassline helps place
Yuji Mitsuya
's "After Five at Café-Bar" somewhere between
Slave
's "Watching You" and
Patrice Rushen
's "Forget Me Nots."
Johnny Yoshinaga
's crisp jazz-funk-rock fusion from 1978 wouldn't be out of place beside certain songs off the albums
Steve Winwood
and
Jan Akkerman
released the previous year. There's also more pop-flavored material, like
Mami Ayukawa
's "Sabita Gambler," a bubbly second cousin to
Nona Hendryx
's "Why Should I Cry." All ten of these songs have been widely accessible on streaming services, but
Notoya
charts an inviting path through a vast catalog that would require countless hours to locate and scour as an outsider. What's more,
's liner notes provide illuminating context, observing that
King
's lucrative licensing of other songs to TV commercials and programs bankrolled the sessions that yielded these largely sumptuous recordings. ~ Andy Kellman