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:: The Wild Ones - Mercy, My Love ::

I wasn't sure what to expect before I plopped this on my turntable, but I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be wild. First thing I noticed is that the vinyl, although not in the best condition, sounds great. I often hear that Japanese pressings are better, and this furthers that notion in my mind. The a-side, Bara-No-Koibito, didn't hold my attention much, but this track is pretty damn cool. It bounces from 60's chamber pop to slightly garagey to a full on psychedelic skating rink section towards the end. Most of the lyrics are in Japanese, save for the parts where they repeat the title of the song, and even then it sounds like Mussy, My Love. The drum sounds are great, the harmonies are just haunting enough to give it some edge, and the strings are arranged perfectly. I love this freaking song.

It's pretty hard to research this band unless you read Japanese. Fortunately, I am fluent thanks to my beautiful Japanese wife. OK, I made that up. A boy can dream. So, anyway I can't read all the juicy info that appears to be out there, but one of the members of The Wild Ones, Kunihiko Kase, was in a few other bands with names like The Spiders and The Tigers, back in a time when evidently lots of bands names were still available. Speaking of time, I couldn't even find out when this 45 came out. My guess is 1966 or so. What I can say definitively, however, is that I can totally see George Takei lip-syncing this song in a mirror using his sister's hairbrush for a microphone. Mercy!


Tony

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 08, 2005 at 10:42 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.