Far East Family Band - 1976 - Parallel World

Far East Family Band

1976

Parallel World

01. Metempsychosis (4:47)
02. Entering / Times (15:54)
03. Kokoro (9:11)
04. Parallel World (30:08)
    - i. Amanezcan
    - ii. Origin
    - iii. Zen
    - iv. Reality
    - v. New Lights
    - vi. In the Year 2000

Fumio Miyashita / lead vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, flute, producer
Hirohito Fukushima / electric & slide guitars, electric sitar, mini-harp, percussion
Akira Ito / Hammond organ, Mellotron, electric piano, synths
Masanori Takahashi aka "Kitaro" / organs, Mellotron, synths, electric piano
Akira Fukakusa / bass
Shizuo Takasaki / drums, gong

With:
- Klaus Schulze / mixing

Like Vangelis, Kitaro had been involved in prog rock bands, in this case, Far East Family Band. At that time he was going by his real name, Masanori Takahashi. Parallel World was also produced by Klaus Schulze, as was their previous album, Nipponjin (which was mainly an English language remake of The Cave - Down to the Earth, and two songs removed for a version of a song off the Far Out album that now includes additional synths and Mellotron). Parallel World finds the band moving its furthest into electronic territory, it seems like Schulze's influence was undeniable. And even if you shy away from Kitaro thinking he's pretty much a lightweight, you'll be surprised how much this album will remind you of what Schulze was doing at the time, with extra guitar and drums. This was recorded in Oxfordshire, England, at Richard Branson's Manor Studios, in hopes for a contract with Virgin (since Schulze was recording for that label, which makes sense). For some reason, the label didn't like the length of the recording and didn't release it, at least it was released at home in Japan on MU Land, first with the boat cover, then later with the peering doll eyes cover. The original version came with a giant poster (the peering doll eyes cover comes with an insert), with a ton of stuff written in Japanese (not knowing Japanese, I'm unable to get much use of it). Naturally, this came with an Obi, as with just about everything made in Japan. I have noticed that "Entering" was to have lyrics (thanks to the poster that included what few lyrics there are on the album), but in reality it didn't. Instead those lyrics were used on "Timeless Phase" on their next (and final) album Tenkujin.

"Metempsychosis" is largely a percussion-dominated piece with lots of electronic effects. "Entering/Times" is very much in Schulze territory, starting off slowly, with lots of electronic effects, before things start kicking in with drums and guitars. "Kokoro" could easily fit on their earlier releases, more of a ballad, with singing in Japanese. The side-length title track really blows me away! A great jam dominated by synthesizers, but about halfway, the drumming fades and left with lots of electronic effects, some Buddhist chanting, and a wonderful synth solo that I am certain has to be from Kitaro himself. Of the four albums they done, this is without a doubt my favorite from them.