This is a unique collaborative recording, being tracks from a concert AMT played in Toulouse France in 2012, in which they were joined on stage by octagenarian French folk singer Rosina De Piera.
Though perhaps this might seem to be a very unlikely musical collaboration - a Japanese noisy psychedelic rock band (of course, I would never classify them in such a narrow box, but for now, it's a convenient label for the sake of this review) with a very old french folk singer. However, anybody with a bit of knowledge of AMT will know that in reality this is a dream collaborative project, and on the recording this comes across wonderfully.
The band's affinity with French folk music is very strong, particularly with the music of the Occitan region (an area in the south of France with it's own language & folk music). A staple of AMT's live set is the song 'La Novia', which is a traditional Occitan folk song. Makoto Kawabata said in one interview that 'French troubadour music' was his favourite musical genre.
Bassist Tsuyama Atsushi is a huge fan of celtic music, and played in an Irish folk band in Japan. Tsuyama is also a master of folk singing voices - everything from Tuvan throat singing to styles that sound like British folk singers (he even named Scottish folk singer Dick Gaughan as his 'favourite singer', for which he gets a gold star from me). In many ways, this album is a real showcase for Tsuyama's vocal talents & he really shines on this recording, which is even more impressive when you consider he's not singing in his native tongue.
As AMT fans know, the band can play in a very wide range of different styles. How much you like any of their releases will depend on the particular musical styles that are highlighted on the individual album in question. This release is split between folk singing / chanting, & full-on psychedelic rock. The 'format' for each of the four long tracks is to have a quiet section on which Rosina & Tsuyama sing, and then go into a strong psychedelic rock section. What is notable is that, on each of these tracks, the band are playing really tight. When they start rocking, there's no derailing, no noodling, & no descending into abstract 'noisy freakout' sections. The band hit a rhythm, and stick with it, and sound all the better for doing so. They sound really inspired, and are playing at their very best.
Also, Rosina doesn't sound like she's just going through her 'routine' & then shuffling off. Instead, she's really gelling with the band, and particularly with Tsuyama's vocals. I'm not enough of a 'folky' to know if Tsuyama is up to 'professional' folk singer standards (though he sounds fine to me), but Rosina sounds really happy singing with him, so I reckon he must be up to scratch (& given AMT's touring schedule & the way they operate, there probably would have been next to no chance of rehearsing this, which makes it even more impressive).
The first track is 'La Novia' (9.54) with Rosina leading the acapella singing, and Tsuyama providing a deep bass harmony. After a few minutes, it goes into an instrumental version, with the rhythm guitar providing a great 'wall of string' sound, & Makoto playing the melody on lead guitar. Here they sound like a more hard-edged version of a classic British folk / rock band, such as Fairport Convention.
The second track is 'Pink Lady Lemonade' (28.36) which, as is often the way they play it, has the 'Om Riff' in the middle, before returning to the main theme. The opening riff is played a bit slower than usual, with Rosina adding some spoken word vocals (though, being in French, I've no idea what she's saying). The 'Om Riff' (which I've always found to be a highlight of their concerts) doesn't sound quite as sharp here as whenever I've seen them live, & at this point the sound quality gets a little bit distorted & muddy. Also, the vocals here are a bit ropey (I'm not sure who's doing them - possibly Tabata Mitsuru ?). One of AMT's problems, since Cotton Casino's departure, is finding one of their members who can provide a good vocal for when they're 'rocking out'.
The third track - La Le Lo' (15.00) has Tsuyma doing a folky vocal chant, sometimes accompanied by Rosina. I'm not sure if this is a traditional folk song or not, though it certainly sounds like one. The backing is slow psychedelic rock with some lovely slide guitar, sometimes hitting some noisier & faster sections. Despite this being a long track, Tsuyama keeps up a great quality of singing throughout. His enthusiasm is infectious. Whenever I've seen AMT live, Tsuyama sounds like he'd just be delighted to sing folk songs all night.
The final track - 'Cometary Orbital Drive' (13.55) starts with Tsuyama & Rosina harmonising on another French folk track (which must be a popular one as you can hear the audience joining in). Once again, it's a really spirited performance from Rosina & Tsuyama. This slowly blends into the main track, building to full scale rocking out, the riff getting faster & faster, till it hits unbelievable speed & intensity. The band sound incredibly inspired on this track (as indeed they do throughout the whole of this C.D). Makoto goes into some incredible lead guitar, Higashi generates some amazing synth whooshes, & whilst this is the only point in the C.D that hits full-blown 'freakout' territory (before a closing minute of the original vocal chant), it's the perfect climax to an amazing performance. The rapturous applause from the audience tells you that this has been an incredible night out.
This is a fantastic C.D - one of the very best I've heard from AMT. Ever since getting it a few weeks ago, I've lost count of how many times I've played it. I'm amazed that this isn't one of their better known releases, and it's certainly the best live recording I've heard by them.
Finally, a note on sound quality. I'm not sure how this was recorded. According to the sleeve notes, it was remixed for stereo. I presume this was recorded through the mixing desk, with the facility to readjust any levels (on any individual layer) afterwards. Everything sounds just fine to me, though I presume that youngsters weaned on digitally recorded fake 'live' albums (where parts are re-recorded later in the studio) might moan that this doesn't match up to modern digital sound quality - the same youngsters that spam Youtube with dreadful recordings of bands filmed on their bloody mobile phones, the audio quality of which is worse than the worst quality bootlegs of the 1970s / 80s. This obviously isn't an audience 'bootleg' recording (& the stereo separation is really good), though isn't quite up to contemporary digital standards (as I said, the 'Om Riff' section is a little bit muddy). However, it sounds as good as any classic late 60's / early 70's live album, and I love how it sounds like you're actually at the concert (complete with the clink of glasses & audience participation in the quieter sections).
I adore this C.D. It's actually so lovely, so enthusiastic & inspired, that it brings a tear to my eye & a big smile to my face.
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