Tin Drum by Japan

It's bamboo music, an Oriental confection of the highest order. The combination of electronics, drums & percussion, snake charming bass and punchy songs make this a classic album. Hard to believe it is now over 25 years old; the remaster delivers a pristine sheen to what was already a well produced album. I remember the genuine excitement that was in the air when Ghosts was heard for the first time; a sense that we were listening to a group of musicians who were cutting new deals with their imaginations,who were walking into lands where creative ideas are just plucked from the trees,moulded into soundscapes that burnt into the memory whilst at the same time demanding to be played again and again. None of us knew it at the time but this was really as good as it was going to get for Japan as they split up not so long afterwards and never reformed. Their frontman David Sylvian embarked on a solo career which saw him release a couple of decent albums before he gradually became more and more serious and self-important, culminating in him releasing an extremely boring song in praise of his Indian guru on the Secrets of the Beehive album - a cardinal sin in my book. But let's end on a positive, Tin Drum is brilliant. Not perfect because nothing ever is, but great fun nevertheless.