East

There are rock and roll oddities… and then there are rock and roll oddities. East, five Japanese transplants who released one self-titled album on Capitol Records in 1972, may well be the oddest of oddballs, the musical equivalent of the side show freaks at your local carnival. Best described as psychedelic folk rock, East is a rather somber, depressing collection of lilting ballads and acoustic-based, country-styled rock songs (see “Deaf Eyed Julie” and “Black Hearted Woman,” for example). There are exceptions. “Geese on the Road” and “Lumberer Moses” are slightly more upbeat takes on the band’s overall sound, and the group’s use of traditional Japanese instruments, including the shakuhachi, koto and taisho-goto, provides a nice touch on tracks like “Call Back the Wind” and “Jar.” Throw in some spoken-word bits, a traditional Japanese folk song called “Shin Shallonh” and five native Japanese gentlemen singing in English and you've got yourself one highly unusual collectable.

Notes: It would be a mistake not to mention the band biographies that make up the original liner notes, which have been faithfully reproduced for this cd reissue. For example, Ted Yoshikawa was “a whiz at impersonations,” Gen Morita “mastered Japanese flute, shakuhachi and koto in three days,” and Noboru Asahi was “interested in creating a feeling of Zen in his music, something that remains inside you… alone in the blind wall.” A strange addendum to one of the stranger artifacts of obscure ‘70s rock… blind wall and all.