The king of city pop, Tatsuro Yamashita to re-release several of his album on cassette and vinyl in 2023
![The king of city pop, Tatsuro Yamashita to re-release several of his album on cassette and vinyl in 2023 | Random J Pop A stack of Tatsuro Yamashita albums. Including Ride on Time, Go Ahead, For You and Spacy.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSM1YzX3wxCq1ARx-Pt-M-iDxEsTBjwGYjxWAUcPC9APWODS8QnrAe-1RUx8sYuN6hPF4oRXGgV72pgcsYuqRaYnEnUBUZ8pO1gFuHzfMzWUATVCjH3qrCO74TH5r-X-mfC6JDZG7r5az2PQ0QZMU_SUOjvTwYzBiVfTckY7FVKqfaF_CHvRLwupq_Q/s16000/20230129%20Random%20J%20Pop%20(News%20on%20a%20ting)%20Tatsuro%20Yamashita%20vinyls%20%233.png)
The eBay sellers ‘bout to be real mad. Because some of these albums are on marketplaces going for hundreds, and in some cases thousands of dollars.
For You
May 3, 2023
Ride on Time
June 7, 2023
Moonglow
Go Ahead
July 5, 2023
Spacy
Circus Town
August 2, 2023
It’s a Poppin Time
Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita
September 6, 2023
May 3, 2023
Ride on Time
June 7, 2023
Moonglow
Go Ahead
July 5, 2023
Spacy
Circus Town
August 2, 2023
It’s a Poppin Time
Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita
September 6, 2023
This is not the first time that these albums have been re-released. 2002 saw the first re-release of these albums as package; The RCA / AIR Years 1976-1982. But this did not include Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita. So I guess we can expect Sony to keep re-releasing these albums every 20 years or so.
I’m gonna have to text my plug in Japan and get them to send me the cassette and vinyl of Moonglow.
So, why aren’t all of Tatsu’s albums being released? Well, there’s nothing to say that the rest won’t be. But these specific albums were all released when Tatsuro Yamashita was signed to RCA / Air Records. His first three albums Circus Town, Spacy and Go Ahead were all released on RCA Records, with Moonglow, Ride on Time and For You being released on Air Records. Both labels of which are now under Sony. Strangely, Tatsuro’s 1980 cover album On the Street Corner is not getting a re-release, despite also releasing on Air Records.
All of Tatsuro’s albums from 1983’s Melodies onward were released through a label which is now owned by Warner Music. So if Warner Music were smart, they would woo Tatsuro, keep the momentum going, and plan to release their chunk of his catalogue in 2024, starting with a December 2023 vinyl and cassette release of Season’s Greetings.
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Tatsuro Yamashita vinyl’s | Face Records, NYC |
I really hope he comes around on this, because it seems such a shame. His discography alone is a massive part of Japanese music history, and it’s on none of the platforms that most now use to listen to music. Hopefully these vinyl re-releases and the responses to them will trigger a change of heart. They probably won’t. Because, Japan. And also old Japanese men. But one can still hope.
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