Les Rallizes Dénudés - 2012 - Mars Studio 1980

Les Rallizes Dénudés

2012

Mars Studio 1980

CD 1: Studio Session: Mars Studio 1980/09/04-06

101. Enter The Mirror 4:33

102. 遠い記憶 (Distant Memories) 6:30

103. Jam 1:36

104. Enter The Mirror 19:31

105. 夜、暗殺者の夜 (Night Of The Assassins) 2:54

106. 恋の物語 (A Tale Of Love) 11:40

CD 2: Studio Session: Mars Studio 1980/09/06-07

201. 恋の物語 (A Tale Of Love) 7:09

202. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ I (Otherwise Fallin' Love With I) 9:10

203. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ II (Othewise Fallin' Love With II) 9:23

204. 白い目覚め I (White Waking I) 2:09

205. 白い目覚め II (White Waking II) 7:54

206. 白い目覚め III (White Waking III) 2:45

207. 白い目覚め IV (White Waking IV) 7:50

CD 3: Studio Session: Mars Studio 1980/09/09

301. Guitar Jam 24:21

302. 氷の炎 (Ice Flames) 15:20

303. 夜、暗殺者の夜 (Night Of The Assassins) 12:37

304. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ (Otherwise Fallin' Love With) 10:59

CD 4: Double Heads September

401. 夜の収穫者たち (Reapers Of The Night) 11:40

402. 白い目覚め (White Waking) 6:36

403. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ (Otherwise Fallin' Love With) 11:05

404. Enter The Mirror 9:48

405. The Last One

Recorded at Mars Studio, September 4-9, 1980, except for track 3-4, recorded at Meiji Gakuin Daigaku, 1973, and tracks 4-1 to 4-5 recorded on September 11, 1980 at Yaneura, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Disk 4 is a bonus live disk, entitled 'Double Heads September' and only available with initial copies of the release.

The best-known studio recordings by Les Rallizes Dénudés is the legendary Mars Studio sessions from 1980. The tracks were laid down during the tenure in the group of guitarist Fujio Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi is one of the more notorious figures in the Japanese rock underground. He was born to a Japanese mother and a black British father, brought up in a reformatory before channeling his anger and energy into a series of rock bands including Group Sounds garage rockers The Dynamites and proto-glam stompers Murahachibu. Yamaguchi's sojourn in Rallizes lasted just over a year, from early 1980 to March 1981, but the weightless, languid weird-form blues created by the meshing of Mizutani's billowing feedback and Yamaguchi's acid-etched lines has been regarded by many Japanese fans as one of the group's peaks. The fourth disc in the set comprises a live show from the same period as the studio recordings. Recorded on September 11, 1980 at the Yaneura club in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, this show was previously released under the title Double Heads September, though it was not included in the Double Heads 6CD document of Fujio's tenure in the group. Numbered, limited edition 4CD box set including a booklet with liner notes. Digitally remastered.

The Mars Studio 1980 box set represents one of the most complete and interesting releases in the Les Rallizes Dénudés catalog. While most of the material on here is in my opinion better served on other bootlegs, the different versions of Otherwise Fallin' In Love With and White Walking are very interesting and provide a lot of insight into how the band improvised during their recordings. The studio chatter also gives this album a voyeuristic atmosphere I really love. It feels like you're right there, listening to the band crank out classic tracks no one's going to hear till decades later.

Those repeated songs, while good, are bound to turn a lot of people off. I know of only one person who's actually interested in listening to White Walking four times in a row - that person being me. It is for that reason that I advise those looking to start listening to LRD go for 77' Live (or Heavier Than a Death in the Family) first as that release is a lot more "accessible" in comparison to this. I hate to say it too but I much prefer 77's version of Enter the Mirror. The version on here just sounds too sloppy and quiet.

Les Rallizes Denudés is the finest band that never released a record. They began at Doshishi University in Kyoto, Japan, in late 1967 and after a horrendous and shameful experience in a recording studio, band leader Takeshi Mizutani decided to limit the band to live shows only. They spent the next three decades or so playing relentless, blinding, feedback-laden, caveman-simple, bumptious psych. In 1988, 17 years after the bassist helped highjack a Japan Airlines jet under the banner of the Japanese Red Army Faction, Les Rallizes Denudés recorded this version of their most thudding, doomy tune, “The Last One.” It sounds like an A&R guy’s night-sweat nightmare.

I’m less certain today that the track is from 1988, but it seems plausible. I'm also uncertain about track titles here, given the profusion of inaccurate information circulating online. Really, I’m less certain of everything now.

I was supposed to put out this record. This version of "The Last One" simply had to be on vinyl. It was going to be a two-song LP, with “The Last One” on one side and one other song on the other side, which as far as I can tell is untitled, recorded at Shibuya Yaneura on December 13, 1980 and released on the “December’s Black Children” CD. It was going to be a bootleg. I didn’t care about getting permission, which seemed impossible anyway. Others were releasing bootlegs of Rallizes right and left. There are so many that it becomes impossible to keep track, even less possible to afford to buy them all. My intention was to release the band’s two finest recordings on one record, a simple introduction for beginners and a celebration of the pinnacles of their achievement for experts. I never did put it out. Now someone has gone to the trouble of releasing “The Last One” not once but twice. Unfortunately, the label has wasted the rest of the vinyl on inferior tracks, without the sublime qualities of this untitled track that I love.

What seems to have occurred here is that someone pressed two of the three tracks from the supposed “France Demo Tape” on vinyl. That "tape," released as a CDR in 2007, was probably not a single recording, nor was it likely recorded in France. (Faux francophilia is part of the band's mystique.) It gathered together three relatively disparate tracks in terms of sound. I don’t know the truth, but I assume that the record was accidentally pressed with just two tracks and the bootlegger then released it for sale, making a sleeve for it that included minimal information. Really, what information could it include?

My guess is that then, after the LP sold out, and some reviews of it appeared, the bootlegger (or a colleague, or a competitor?), now under the ostensibly more legit imprint Bamboo, pressed it again. It now has all three tracks and heavyweight orange vinyl. It includes on the insert a review/distributor's blurb of the prior, two-track pressing. It’s weird. And it’s dumb, because now “The Last One” appears on the same side as an underdeveloped and incomplete, though decent, version of a song titled “Strung Out Deeper Than the Night” that is not actually “Strung Out Deeper Than the Night” but is actually “Ice Fire.” Who needs track titles anyway? Those two tracks, which total almost 30 minutes, fill one side, while the other side comprises only “An Awful Eternity,” clocking in under 20 minutes. It would have made more sense to pair "Eternity" with “Ice Fire,” for a slightly shorter and more sensible side, leaving the megalithic “The Last One” to stand on its own, as it will for eternity in the annals of fucked-up, shit-fi music.

Buy either version of the record. Both contain the one "The Last One" you need. I prefer the two-track bootleg, with its more spare presentation.

Back to the December 1980 untitled track. Rallizes was improvisational and unpredictable, rarely giving off the feeling of control. The band’s repertoire included not more than 20 songs, played differently every time, for a couple decades. It’s a form of devotion to a craft that seems impossible to grasp today, in an era of instant gratification and equally rapid obsolescence. This particular track, which I think has not really grabbed many listeners’ attention before, requires a close listen. It begins as one of the most pacific, anodyne, and calm Rallizes tunes. It’s springlike, west coast psychedelia. It’s nothing like the brooding night that usually inspires their sound. For over ten minutes, hardly anything happens. Past the ten-minute mark, a moment of feedback indicates that things might be changing soon. At 10:45 or so, the world explodes. It comes basically out of nowhere. Shattering feedback and noise cascade. Beneath it, the effervescent tune continues. It’s a juxtaposition that grabbed me the first time I heard it and has yet to let me go. That was around a decade ago, before the crisis of 2008, which I related to a song by Shotgun Solution that has similar aesthetic qualities of catastrophe: a smooth start and an infernal finish. Today, the present crisis, a new act of the ongoing crisis, holds different auguries. The attempt to hold on to normalcy amid the storm and stress is impossible. We are all enrolled, including and especially the ultra-rich, who hope to ride out the destruction they are enabling in their enclaves. It won’t happen. They’ll be engulfed too. Anyone who tries to hold on to the fading dream of it all going back to normal is simply playing the underlying tune here, while today, at the 10:45 moment, the klaxons sound, shreiks echo, and the world burns to death around us. It’s impossible not to hear it, as impossible as it was not to see it coming.

Les Rallizes Dénudés - 2011 - Great White Wonder

Les Rallizes Dénudés

2011

Great White Wonder

1974.07.13

101. 造花の原野 (Field Of Artificial Flower) 8:32

102. 心の内側 (Inside Heart) 10:04

103. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ (Otherwise Fallin' In Love With You) 7:42

104. 天使 (Angel) 10:01

105. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ (Otherwise Fallin' In Love With You) 4:50

106. お前を知った (You Were Known) 11:36

107. The Last One 20:27

1975.10.01

201. 夜より深く (Deeper Than The Night) 10:58

202. 黒い悲しみのロマンセ (Otherwise Fallin' In Love With You) 8:25

203. 造花の原野 (Field Of Artificial Flower) 6:10

204. 白い目覚め (White Waking) 5:33

205. 記憶は遠い (A Memory Is Far) 9:10

206. Improvisation 1:51

1977.07.22

301. 夢 (Dream) 5:57

302. 夜、暗殺者の夜 (Night Of The Assassins) 7:30

303. 造花の原野 (Field Of Artificial Flower) 5:16

304. 夜の収穫者たち (The Night Collectors) 6:31

305. 氷の炎 (Flames Of Ice) 14:06

306. 鳥の声 (A Voice Of Bird) 10:01

1980.11.07 (Bonus Disk)

401. 氷の炎 (Flames Of Ice) 16:17

402. 夜、暗殺者の夜 (Night Of The Assassins) 18:04

403. 夜より深く (Deeper Than The Night) 14:36

404. 記憶は遠い (A Memory Is Far) 13:29

405. 夜より深く Part 2 (Deeper Than The Night Part 2) 8:57

Contains three shows:

Disk 1: 13 July, 1974 at Hebon Bldg, Meiji Gakuin Daigaku

Disk 2: 1 October 1975 at Adan, Shibuya

Disk 3: 22 July 1977 at Nichifutsu Kaikan (Maison Franco-Japonaise), Tokyo

Originally released in 2006 on the Univive label, Phoenix Records presents this highly-collectable, numbered limited edition 4CD box set of three live gigs spanning 1974-1977 and one bonus disc of live material from a 1980 gig of legendary Japanese rock outfit Les Rallizes Dénudés. The group was formed in 1967 and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in 1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. As news of new rock music made it to Japan from the UK and the USA -- mostly via rock magazines and music papers, with most LPs tough to find even on import -- something was lost in translation in Japan that allowed it to mutate well beyond its original remit. Rallizes took rock music at its word while envisioning it as both unnecessarily complicated and too stupid by far. In doing so, they formulated an inspirational blueprint that would go on to have a marked effect on everything that came after them in Japanese underground music. It's a music that's as loose as it is uptight, as sophisticated as it is punk-primitive, as radical as it is simplistic. Digitally remastered. Includes a booklet with liner notes.

The best thing about this album is that it contains tons rarities. In my opinion, the rare tracks are worth the entire box set (not to say that the rest of the album isn't great because it is), plus it opens with one of the hardest rocking versions of "Field of Artificial Flower" I've ever heard (although still not quite as heavy as the version on Yodo-Go-A-Go-Go). From what I've gathered from other sources, this archival compilation is made up of four complete concerts from 1974, 1975, 1977 and a bonus disc containing a concert from 1980. all four are solid concerts (the only setbacks I see are that the bass is slightly out of tune on the second disc and the third disc sounds like it was recorded behind a wall). Overall, I think that it is an excellent album and a must for Rallizes fanatics. Highlights on the album include Field Of Artificial Flower (all three versions), inside Heart, You Were Known, A Memory is Far (second disc), A Voice of Bird and Deeper Than the Night parts one and two (fourth disc).

The whole compilation gives an idea of what the Rallizes were able to deliver on stage when they were at their best. Here the sets are really powerful... psych-noise power! The obvious drawback is the sound quality, which is rather average (still the best source possible, as always with Univive) - except for Disc 2. I think this one stands as one of their best live recordings out there. Just turn up the volume on "A Memory Is Far". This should have a 5-star ranking alone (I have always been reluctant to give high ratings for "bootlegs" when sound is not good enough). Cover art seems to be awesome, which makes it a very lovable box set.

Sets 1 and 4 are particularly strong. Set 4 sounds like songs I've heard before, things like Strung Out Deeper Than The Night. It concentrates on the minimal groove-riff side of things. By contrast Set 1 which contains (I think) more obscure stuff (other than The Last One) is much more on the heavy wailing acid I-wish-I-was-Lou-Reed guitar solos end of things. Happily these are the longest sets, between them taking up 6 out of 10 sides of vinyl, plenty to enjoy.

Set 2 is like Set 1 but shorter and not quite as good. The improvisation at the end is one of the best bits. This encapsulates the contradiction at the heart of this band, best expressed by reference to the Velvet Underground: when they set out to do Sister Ray they are awesome; even when they actually want to be doing Sweet Jane and Pale Blue Eyes, all the songs keep turning into Sister Ray anyway.

Near the end of set 4 there is a nasty bit of technical feedback, not guitar feedback but a white noise fizzing caused by a faulty connection, the sort of feedback not even its mother could love. It goes on ruining things for 3 or 4 minutes until someone notices and plugs in the loose cable, or whatever it was, and it promptly stops.

Les Rallizes Dénudés - 2011 - Double Heads

Les Rallizes Dénudés

2011

Double Heads

Live 14 Aug. 1980

101. 造花の原野 7:21

102. 夜より深く 16:16

103. 白い目覚め 6:24

201. 夜、暗殺者の夜 12:27

202. Fantastique 13:06

203. 夜の収穫者達 8:32

204. The Last One 27:50

Live 29 Oct. 1980

301. 夜より深く 15:43

302. 氷の炎 19:27

303. 夜より深く Part2 11:00

401. Enter The Mirror 12:20

402. 夜、暗殺者の夜 13:22

403. The Last One 19:23

Live 23 Mar. 1981

501. 夜、暗殺者の夜 16:00

502. 夜より深く Part2 30:41

601. The Last One 24:24

602. 氷の炎 20:57

Bass – Doronco

Guitar – Fujio

Guitar, Vocals – Mizutani

Percussion – Noma

6 x cd in individual card sleeves in box, numbered edition of 1000.

Contains 3 soundboard recordings from Yaneura, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Between August 1980 and March 1981, Les Rallizes Dénudés (or The Naked Larryz, as the long-lost acetate they are rumored to have recorded for Virgin Records in the mid-'70s dubbed them) played seven concerts in and around Tokyo. Never officially released, illicit ninth generation cassette copies circulated in Japanese fan circles for many years, attaining a whispered, Holy Grail status amongst initiates to the Rallizes cult. High quality soundboard versions were finally released by the secretive Univive label in 2005. Three of the best of these concerts are collected on Double Heads, all recorded at Yaneura, a small club in the teeming neon teen shopping mecca of Shibuya in Tokyo. Together, these three concerts comprise a singularly pivotal moment in Les Rallizes Dénudés' development -- as well as some of the most glacially psychedelic music of their long career. This numbered, limited edition 6CD box set contains a booklet with liner notes.

If you are reading this, then you probably know something about this band already. Various bootlegs circulate over the internet, and the physical copies are not that easy to find. But the British label Phoenix has made some of them available at a very reasonable price lately. Just like the band, the label is also covered in mystery and controversy: they don't have a website, people say the copies they sell are not really "limited" or "numbered" as advertised, they rip off the artists and do not pay them royalties, etc, etc... Well, considering the material they put out (obscure Japanese bands that no one ever hears about), not much can be properly judged. This is a 6-disc collection of a couple of concerts Les Rallizes Denudes played in 1980-81, featuring the guitarrist Fujio Yamaguchi (from the legendary band Murahachibu). The sound quality is from a great soundboard source and less "disturbing" than on other albums. And although you can actually hear the drums on most of the tracks - something that normally doesn't happen with this band - the noise and all that guitar work is still present and clear. The package is pretty cool, each CD comes in a separate cardboard sleeve with a few black and white pictures. But do not expect much: everything looks and sounds like a bootleg. However, for the price you'll pay, it is really worth it.

This is one of the main three contenders for the best ever release, official or unofficial, by Les Rallizes Denudes. It is a fantastically high quality recording that reveals in full glory the outstanding muscianship that underpinned the band in their prime. The interplay between Mizutani and Fujio Yamaguchi arguably reaches its peak in these three recordings and amounts to a masterpiece of experimental psychedelic blues that I think surpasses even Jimi Hendrix's Filmore East performances. If you are at all a fan of the band, or any of the subgenres encompassing psychedelia, noise rock, or late 60s/early 70s avant garde, then every show on this album is essential listening as they are up there with the very best live albums ever made.

The first show is a fan favourite and for good reason. The more heavy, noisy aspect of Mizutani's guitar is toned down here, allowing for a quieter and warmer show than usual while also allowing the more subtle notes of his musicianship to become more visible to the naked eye. The Krautrock influence on their sound is quite apparent here with the double bill of Fantastique/Reapers of The Night. There are a lot of highlights on here so I won't attempt to list all of them, its best to just listen to it and let it take hold of you.

The second recording, on October 29th, is, for me, a worthy contender for the best show they have ever put on. The back to back versions of Deeper Than The Night are up their with my favourite moments in their discography and honestly two of the most amazing songs I have ever heard. Every single track on this recording has a kind of magic to it. Mizutani is obviously fantastic here but its clear the band he is working with is particularly good. Yamaguchi and Mizutani play off each other so well but it is especially noticeable on this recording, creating an interplay between the avant garde improvisation and chaos of Mizutani's guitar and the more conventional psychedelic blues of Yamaguchi. It is magnificent, The Last One on this is probably my favourite as well. As great as the first show was, this is the one that made the biggest impression on me and I'm surprised it isn't talked about more.

The final recording is by far the least accessible. While the first show has a reputation for showcasing some of the more conventional (by Rallizes standards) aspects of their work, this is by far one of their most experimental. It is slow, builds gradually and works towards a prolongued, controlled explosion in the last two tracks. The sheer length of each track on this one makes it a more challenging listen than the others, but if you liked the first two then you'll almost certainly like this one too.

You know how they say every Yin has a Yang? I consider this band to be The Grateful Dead's Yang (or Yin, however you want to see it), and here's why:

-While Garcia was making inoffensive twinkly psychedelic country sounds for the American carefree hippies, Mizutani was unleashing otherworldly, yet blissful sonemic assault on Japanese over-burdened salary workers who just wanted to get away from it all, before returning back into the fray.

-At the GD concert, you look over to a flower field as you see a happy man with his girlfriend fast asleep in his arm. At the LRD concert, you walk into a bathroom and see on the floor that same man now fast asleep himself, girlfriend replaced with a heroin needle. You have to step over him if you want to take your piss.

-The Grateful Dead, forever loved, Treasured, and adorned by the people it shared it's generation with, now continues to fade a little closer and closer into obscurity with each coming generation due to the kids just not understanding or relating to the appeal and context of the band. Les Rallizes Denudes was shunned, ignored, and scorned by the people it shared it's generation with, due to them just not understanding the appeal or context of the band. Their Kids however, love it. Just like Marty McFly told them they would.

The first show alone is almost certainly the best performance they ever put on and one of the coolest things I've ever heard. Actually, this embodies a level of cool I find difficult to put into words. It's like the conventions of rock taken to the very limit, then cast in a nihilistic blackness that feels so charming in its relaxed extremity (the dark sunglasses help too of course). With an enigmatic presence realised long after its demise, this band left behind a mass of studio recordings and live performances pushing the very boundaries of psychedelic rock. The formula they settled on was simple yet entirely unique, a concoction of psych bass riffs and swirling strums cloaked in the violent lead guitar of Takashi Mizutani. Of all the tales I've read about this band, not once have I seen mention of the musicianship, so I'm going to say it. This fellow is one of the best guitar players ever. I'm not even sure how; when he freaks out I can't tell what the hell he's playing, on the other hand his calm strums and vocals are like a soothing dream extending into eternity. Not only that, he concocted an incredibly sturdy set of songs. Filler was a completely alien concept to this band, 'cause every track is a killer; with Rallizes it's all about the performances of said tracks. They could take songs like Flames of Ice, Deeper than the Night pt.2 and The Last One and play them anywhere from 7 to 40 minutes through a complete mastery of texture, while still retaining that essential dogged rock base. It's a perfect example of noise in context.

In 1980 they acquired guitarist Fujio Yamaguchi, whose catchy, traditionally-aligned playing provided a fantastic counterpoint to Mizutani's uproarious spells, rendering their sound utterly complete. Two legendary guitarists on the stage - the result is Double Heads, three sets that capture Rallizes in absolute prime condition in superior recording quality and boy did these guys know it, for they churn out a set-list like no others before it. From the very first strike of the guitar tone I was completely enthralled, not only with the clarity, but just how understatedly badass it sounds. It's the kind of twanging tidal wave that makes you tilt back in awe, a clarion call for a gig of monolithic proportions. Throughout, the guitars and Doronco's bass intertwine and battle it out in psychedelic bliss of the highest order, book-ended by Mizutani's declarative screeches of guitar feedback. His vocals were never better, they're echoed to the max, and the distinctive delivery of each syllable, consonant hisses flying everywhere only adds to the wasted atmosphere.

The threefold opening sequence of Field of Artificial Flowers, Deeper than the Night and White Waking is surely among the best moments in their entire discography. A strident opener of cyclical blues rundowns gives way to a slow creeping death trip, followed by a bittersweet melancholy dirge bathed in narcotic atmosphere. The initial culmination of this first show is The Night Collectors, a track filled with primal vigour like no other. It was certainly the most identifiably rocking track of '77 Live and Fujio takes full advantage of this, laying down that delicious rock 'n' roll lick against Mizutani's wild hysterics. All the nuances of this piece are perfect, from the urgent vocals to the guitar harmonies, even when the drums briefly drop out to a kick and snare. Really, there is no better example that displays the spirit of this band, you can feel the passion behind it.

After this initial accessibility however, the following two shows take a plunge into deep psychedelia. The second of these is the stepping stone between the two, but it still has its moments. Take Enter the Mirror, typically their most beautiful track. Yet something sounds slightly off here, perhaps the bass, and as a result it takes on an unnerving quality completely unique to this rendition. The opening sounds seriously cold.

The '81 show is the true gem of this set, reaching the peak of explosive psych riffs and spirit cleansing distortion. In terms of heaviness, this gives '77 Live and Volcanic Performance serious competition. It begins with a chilled out slow version of Night of the Assassins, which is some kind of pinnacle in itself, but it gets even better. Check out that 30 minute monster that follows it, when I say cool this is what I'm referring to. You can almost feel the relish as they draw it out, while Mizutani becomes increasingly deranged on the strings. I've always had some trouble with Flames of Ice and The Last One, they were certainly not my favourite when I first encountered Rallizes. The Last One in particular is the kind of track that smashes your face into the ground over and over with 'that' riff, but it compels you to endure all the same, because it's the conclusion of all conclusions, their ultimate statement of extremity. But this is something else entirely, these two closing performances I found absolutely jaw-dropping. I mean holy shit! An apocalypse of sound is an apt description, while Fujio's lively decoration keeps the groove in check. In the closing minutes of Flames of Ice you can almost feel the guitarists battling for space with their different styles. The most ridiculous thing? Both tracks just fade out... and I'm left thinking: wait, there was actually more?

Listening to this excessively I've come to accept that these bass riffs, especially The Last One, are going to haunt me for some time to come. As silly as it sounds, if you get too much into Rallizes you may have to trade a bit of sanity for it. Lardopirate was spot on, fire up the best hi-fi you can get your hands on, play this loud as hell and be damned, it's quite the experience.

Les Rallizes Dénudés - 2006 - Naked Diza Star

Les Rallizes Dénudés

2006

Naked Diza Star

101. Unknown (Nov 1973)16:36

102. White Waking (8 Apr 1975)5:53

103. A Memory is Far (8 Apr 1975)8:59

104. Field of Artificial Flower (3 Nov 1975)5:27

105. Strong Out Deeper Than the Night (3 Nov 1975)13:11

106. Flames of Ice (3 Nov 1975)13:02

107. Dream (8 Apr 1975)7:07

108. The Kindness That Kills (25 July 1976)9:18

201. Diza Star (25 July 1976)8:53

202. Night of the Assassins (25 July 1976)11:34

203. Enter the Mirror (12 Mar 1977)8:14

204. The Night Collectors (13 Aug 1977)10:04

205. Flames of Ice (13 Aug 1977)15:08

206. The Last One (13 Aug 1977)26:02

301. Flames of Ice (19 Dec 1981)18:30

302. Romance of Black Grief (19 Dec 1981)11:15

303. Unknown (2 Oct 1982)7:26

304. Night of the Assassins (9 Sept 1986)13:36

305. Field of Artificial Flower (13 May 1987)8:10

306. The Last One (13 May 1987)18:05

1-1 recorded November 1973 at Meiji University, Tokyo.

1-2 and 1-3 recorded April 8, 1975 at Hinamatsuri [Doll Festival], Gotemba

1-4, 1-5 and 1-6 recorded November 3, 1975 at Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo.

1-7, 1-8, 2-1 and 2-2 recorded July 25, 1976 at Yaneura, Shibuya.

2-3 recorded March 12, 1977, Tachikawa Shakai Kyoiku Kaikan, Tachikawa. This recording is also featured on Les Rallizes Denudes - '77 Live.

2-4, 2-5 and 2-6 recorded August 13, 1977 at Yuyake Matusri, Ishikawa.

3-1 and 3-2 recorded December 19, 1981 at Yaneura, Shibuya.

3-3 recorded October 2, 1982 at Keio University Hiyoshi Campus, Kanagawa

3-4 recorded September 9, 1986 at the Rokumeikan, Meguro. This performance is also featured on Les Rallizes Denudes - Cable Hogue Soundtrack (track 2-7).

3-5 and 3-6 May 13, 1987 at the Rokumeikan, Meguro.

Purportedly, this compilation originated from a request by a music critic in 2003 for Mizutani to produce a high-quality release from a master source.

A collection of live recordings by the very underground band Les Rallizes Denudes. I'd like to say that they're so underground and unknown that even Windows media player didn't recognise the cd.

Silly joke aside, the music is essentially psychedelic and avant-garde. What it means is that the entirety of the album follows the same formula as the Rallizes' other releases; the songs are long, loud, repetetive romps with almost incomprehensible singing and seemingly a oath to never release a ordinary studio album. While Naked Diza Star does not have the loud feedback heard in "heavier than a death in the family" or is as calm as "Mizutani" the cd collection is just great sounding to me.

Lot's of music for the low price, which made me very happy and satisfied with buying it. But that's me who has been a fan of theirs since before - I'd recommend you to listen to Les Rallizes Denudes on spotify or youtube before deciding to buy. It is a acquired musical taste.

I hear a bunch of you (in my mind) already calling me "spoiled",....and I mean that because I am going to write a not so glowing review of something most of you would say we are just plain "lucky" to even hear(and in a way that's true). But I am very disappointed to find that this set is recorded on CD-R media! Other Bamboo brand releases were at least real ,pressed CDs. What made this company go cheap and release this, of all titles, as a set of CD-R's?? Naked Diza Star is known as one of the best sets of Les Rallizes' recordings,.....and truly (although NOT stellar in sound) this has to have the best recording sound and performances I have heard from this fabled band(which IS a BIG positive!).

Various live tracks assembled circa 1973-1987. As news of the new rock music made it to Japan from the UK and the USA, mostly via rock magazines and music papers, with most LPs tough to find even on import, something was lost in translation that allowed it to mutate well beyond its original remit. Les Rallizes Dénudés took rock music at its word while visioning it as both unnecessarily complicated and too stupid by far. In doing so they formulated an inspirational blueprint that would go on to have a marked effect on everything that came after them in Japanese underground music. It's a music that's as loose as it is uptight, as sophisticated as it is punk-primitive, as radical as it is simplistic. As the old ESP-Disk banner used to promise, truly, you never heard such sounds. Digitally remastered. Includes an 8-page booklet in English and Japanese.