VA - Groovin’ 昭和 Archives 4. Disco & Soul 1969-1985 (2022)

Founded in 1965 as Minoruphone Records, Tokuma Japan Communications is a record manufacturer that has launched numerous labels and pioneered a cutting-edge and unique path from folk music to punk. This series, "GROOVIN' Showa Archives," focuses on Japanese pop music (in a broad sense) produced during the Showa era, selected from its past labels such as Minoruphone, Harvest, DAN, MAMA, Bourbon, Orange House, Climax, JAPAN, and WAX, and differs in style from best-of albums that mainly feature hit songs. For convenience, the albums are edited by genre so that they can be enjoyed from a modern perspective, and efforts have been made to avoid the use of licensed master recordings from other companies, which is common in omnibus albums (with the exception of a few tracks from Daiei Records). Originally released by Nippon Phonogram and Meldac, some of the original master recordings have now been transferred to Tokuma and are available for inclusion. This is also an expanded version of the "GROOVIN' Showa!" series released in 2010, so please forgive any overlap in songs. While there were some great and rare tracks that had to be reluctantly omitted due to various circumstances, this collection of 15 titles and approximately 300 songs, selected from a vast legacy spanning about 24 years, offers a glimpse into the B-side of the enormous mountain range of popular music. (Sammy Maeda)