Japan, Quiet Life

By Less Lee Moore

Duran Duran have often been accused of shamelessly plagiarizing from Japan, via their sound as well as Nick Rhodes’ makeup sensibilities. Both accusations are true; however, the Fab Five at least had the good sense and manners to acknowledge the influence of Japan on their own music.

The first time I ever heard of Japan was in 1983, when Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes hosted MTV’s Guest VJ program. They played Japan’s “Visions Of China” video and talked them up. Naturally, as a Durannie, I was intrigued. Also, David Sylvian was the most beautiful man I had ever seen, period.

But before “Visions Of China,” there was Quiet Life. Released in 1979, it straddles the line between the trashy glam of Japan’s first two albums—Adolescent Sex and Obscure Alternatives—and the suave Europop of their later releases. It’s moody and enchanting, and if any album could sonically evoke what French actor Alain Delon looks like, this would be the one.

Quiet Life is a departure from the post-Bowie stylings of its predecessors. For one, David Sylvian abandons his snotty snarl for a startlingly gorgeous baritone, a voice so beautiful and captivating it nearly hurts one’s heart to listen to it. In addition, the album is decidedly less funky than Japan’s previous work, embracing instead keyboards, saxophones, and more exotic percussion.

The title track is probably the best known of the songs from the album; its repeated vocal of “boys” is nicked from Bowie’s own “Boys Keep Swinging.” The next song, “Fall In Love With Me,” was actually the second song of Japan’s I remember hearing. I taped it from WTUL New Orleans and listened to it obsessively during a trip to Florida in 1985. It has a creepy, sexy vibe which seems to be one of the constants in most of the music I love from the late 70s and early 80s, a vibe which seemed to disappear after the “Big! 80s!” coup of 1985, with its resulting crap and circumstance.

“Despair” is mostly instrumental, with melancholy piano, tragic saxophone, and spooky keyboards, its scant lyrics sung entirely in French, perfect for quoting in the margins of one’s Math notebook or listening to on candlelit winter nights whilst smoking clove cigarettes.

Doucement, ne les derangez pas
II y a des gens qui vive comme ça
Les artistes de demain
En desespoir agréable

“In Vogue” and “Halloween” are practically two interpretations of the same song, with the former being both sexy and creepy and the latter being more “rocking” (if “rocking” is a term one could feasibly apply to Japan in 1979). It shows off both Sylvian’s voice and the peerless fretless bass of Mick Karn (though Pino Palladino would put forth valiant efforts to imitate it on Gary Numan’s 1982 I, Assassin album). With both of these songs we can see yet another influence Japan had on Duran Duran: the guitar sound of Rob Dean. “All Tomorrow’s Parties” is a Velvet Underground cover and since I heard Japan’s version first, I vastly prefer it, not being the world’s biggest Nico fan (blasphemy!).

“Alien” is next, another tune that the members of Duran Duran undoubtedly listened to in their formative years. The last song, “The Other Side Of Life,” is a slower track, which features Sylvian’s wonderful vibrato and sets the tone for Japan’s next studio release, Gentlemen Take Polaroids.

Quiet Life is probably my favorite of all Japan’s albums because it’s the sound of a band shedding the old and forging ahead into the new but not quite completing either task. I find that many albums of the late 70s sound this way; it’s that specific quality that continues to draw me in to them again and again.

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