Anzen Chitai -- Anzen Chitai ZERO (Part 2)

 

Last week, I posted an article on the Anzen Chitai（安全地帯） release that should have been their debut album instead of their official one as a major act, "Remember to Remember" (1983). "Anzen Chitai ZERO" consists of tracks that were probably made in the late 1970s when they had changed their name from Invader to Anzen Chitai as an amateur group. From what I could glean from a few Ameba blogs, the tracks were produced and performed during their concerts with tapes containing the songs being sold there only. For some reason, Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）and company perhaps decided that they were no longer worth the time and effort to bring them aboard for their major debut and jettisoned them to find that new sound that would come in the early 1980s; it might explain why Tamaki and/or the powers-that-be haven't really made any effort to take down the YouTube video showing these fascinating early works. However, listening to the first five tracks in Part 1 of the article, I have found them eminently listenable and worthy of the band name.

Anyways, let's start up "Anzen Chitai ZERO" again with Track 6 at 17:02, "Oki Tegami"（置き手紙...The Letter Left Behind）. Beginning with what sounds like a circus accordion, Tamaki tenderly tickles our ears with a lovely ballad that also utilizes a lot of strings, so I think the band was already showing some ambition in their arrangements and choice in musicians. Having the ability to draw tears from a piece of granite has always been Tamaki's stock-in-trade and "Oki Tegami" is one tablet to show his vocal ability.

At 21:24 is "Moegiiro no Snap"（萠黄色のスナップ）which was Anzen Chitai's debut single from 1982, and I actually wrote about it all the way back in 2019. Back then, I noted that this was the song that didn't get onto "Remember to Remember", but it is here on "ZERO" so its history does go back to at least 1980 perhaps. 

Track 8 is "ROMENAPONCHI" at 26:35. Try as I might, I couldn't find any rhyme or reason behind the meaning of the title; maybe it's Tamaki's version of Phil Collins' "Sussudio". In any case, it seems to have something to do with baseball with perhaps Tamaki himself playing the play-by-play announcer. The song begins with a saucy guitar solo and a stubborn bass beat before Tamaki has a bit of fun with his voice...perhaps in a New Wave sort of way? As the song continues, the arrangement decides to have that fun as well. I was even tapping my heel as I was listening.

At 31:09 is "Dakishimete mo"（抱きしめても...Even Holding You）, I got some cool Electric Light Orchestra vibes for this pop/rock track. There's a nice guitar solo and along with "ROMENAPONCHI", I thought that "Dakishimete mo" was an example of Anzen Chitai stretching out their wings a bit more from the typical Anzen Chitai sound, although admittedly, the members themselves may not have known what their sound was back at the time. Maybe it was more along their old Invader ways.

The final song at 34:49 is "Tsubuyaki"（つぶやき）and nope it has nothing to do with Japanese tweets as in the former Twitter (we're talking about decades ago, after all). Back then, the word meant "murmurs", and the short song here is an apt track to finish the album off as a calming guitar ballad backed by those shimmering strings and some wonderful harmonies. 

So, what do I think of "ZERO" overall? Well, it's no zero by any means, and if I had a chance to talk with Tamaki, I would probably say that he had been a bit harsh in ditching these nice early works, if that is indeed what did happen to them. It doesn't have quite that nocturnal moody sound that the band became famous for within their second, third and fourth albums, but it does contain what I would later hear in the epic multi-LP "V" on certain tracks in terms of their rocking-out tunes and ballads, so I have a different take on these songs that I'd assumed were them spreading their wings but now believe were them going back to their original stylings. Not surprisingly, they were also a bit experimental back then trying to search for their identity so just on that alone, it would be worth a purchase if "ZERO" ever gets an official release on streaming or even old-fashioned CD or vinyl.