Blues Creation-Demon & Eleven Children (1971)

Another interesting project to emerge from Japan was Blues Creation, a band led by guitarist Kazuo Takeda, who secured the valuable collaboration of Cream producer Felix Pappalardi. This band followed the typical evolution of the British blues-rock sound of the late 1960s. Besides Takeda, Blues Creation consisted of vocalist Hirami Ohsawa, bassist Masashi Saeki, and drummer Masayuki Higuchi. Much of the band's power stemmed from the guitarist's virtuosity; he came to be revered as a major influence on the development of Japanese rock and enjoyed a long career as a session musician in both Japan and the United States. In 1971, under the Denon label, a subsidiary of Columbia Nippon at the time, they released their second album, "Demon & Eleven Children", showcasing a powerful, heavy hard rock sound with hints of psychedelia, heavy rock, and blues. They had previously released a self-titled debut album composed entirely of rock covers. Not as eccentric as their compatriots Flower Travellin' Band and less heavy prog than Murasaki, Blues Creation focused on heavy sounds very close to what their British contemporaries like Black Sabbath or the American band Blue Cheer were doing at the time. This second album features incendiary hard rock tracks like the opening and powerful "Atomic Bombs Away", psychedelic boogie-rock cuts like "Mississippi Mountain Blues", progressive blues like "Sorrow", and the guitar tour de force of "Demon & Eleven Children".