Sleazy, but fun.
David Goodwin | Westchester, NY United States | 01/07/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"What a strange idea for a band! Original Love's 1988 debut album (released on an indie label, apparently before singer Takao Tajima had joined the Pizzicato Five) is a great slice of indie pop. This, the band's major-label debut...well, isn't. "Love Love Love" begins the era that Original Love are known for, and one that would last until around 1997.
"Love Love Love" is, to put it simply, a collection of slightly jazzy, slightly bossa-nova, slightly MOR, but very *smooth* songs sung by the ever-so-emotive Tajima. I've heard that the lyrics are absolutely ridiculous, and that might be true; to someone who doesn't know Japanese, though, they certainly sound convincing!
Main-period Original Love is something of an acquired taste. This isn't the sort of music I normally like, but Tajima and co pull it off so well that it's oddly irresistable.
Standout tracks: "Body Fresher" might be the band's flagship song, and it deserves that place; it's a bit if utterly incomprehensible, catchy nonsense that sets the tone of the album perfectly. "Giant Love" has one of Tajima's best performances on the record. It's a blast to hear the solo take of "Let's Spend the Night Together" before the remix that shows up on every compilation. "Darling" is a really nice, straightforward re-take of the track from the debut album.
Cons: The version of "Orange Mechanic Suicide" here is no match for the excellent, powerpop version on the indie debut (and more easily obtainable on the "Henshin" collection).
Verdict: I find this thing to be very fun, and it will no doubt delight P5 fans of the kitsch-pop variety. If I'm going to own sleazy smooth-talk records, they might as well be Japanese, neh? That said, I advise anybody else to buy a "main-period" compilation first, to sort of get an idea of what Tajima's about during this era, or get "Soul Liberation," which is much the same album but tends to be cheaper by virtue of being a single-disc. I personally prefer his less-characteristic, more experimental late-nineties albums (Eleven Graffiti, and especially the I-have-suddenly-decided-that-I-want-to-be-Beck-"L"), but this definititely fills a niche."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1