Too Much-Too Much (1971)

This band, formed in the late 1960s in the Japanese city of Kobe, was born under the influence of Western music, especially that of the United States and England, thanks to the albums that arrived on supply ships for the consumption of the American troops stationed there. Led by former The Helpful Soul guitarist Junio ​​Nakahara, who already had an extensive musical career encompassing psychedelia, hard rock, and late 1960s blues, Nakahara enlisted vocalist Juni Lush, drummer Hideya Kobayashi, and bassist Masayuki Aoki. After signing with the American label Atlantic Records in mid-1970, they wrote a wealth of material, many of them proto-Japanese anthems, some of which appeared on the band's only album, released in early 1971. The final result is a masterpiece of Japanese rock, featuring monolithic tracks like the hard rock anthems "Grease It Out," "Love Is You," and "Gonna Take You," powerful blues-rock pieces like "Love That Blinds Me," and moody, tearful ballads such as "Reminiscence" and "I Shall Be Released." Psychedelic hard rock exercises like the epic "Song For My Lady," a massive progressive piece brimming with acoustic guitars, flute, and mellotron. Shortly after this release, the band would definitively disband, each member going their separate ways, but leaving us with this formidable album of the best Japanese hard rock for posterity.