Bob's Fish Market -- Bob's Fish Market

 

I gotta admit that as a YouTube uploader has put it, this Japanese band has one of the most interesting names that I've ever heard. Would like to know how this quintet of guys came up with the name Bob's Fish Market...and whether Bob gave his blessing to them to use the name of his fish market, wherever that may be.

There isn't a whole lot of knowledge about them but their 1979 debut album "Bob's Fish Market" has been described as folk rock with a touch of reggae depending on the song. I did discover from one Japanese blog that Bob's Fish Market has been seen as the Japanese version of The Band with Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson. The blog has also given the lineup as vocalist and guitarist Takashi Tsuruga（敦賀隆）, guitarist Toshiro Higurashi（日倉士歳朗）, pianist Toshihiro Kunimi/Kokumi（国見敏博）, bassist Tatsuji Yoshida（吉田達二）, and drummer Masaaki Maeda（前田政明）. According to Higurashi's own website (unfortunately, he passed away in 2021), the band has been around since at least 1976.

The above video from Hee Hyeong Moon has the first two tracks from the self-titled album. It begins with "Itsu datte Fuitekuru"（いつだって吹いてくる...The Wind Always Blows） and when I first heard it, I did get some of those Happy End vibes. As well, this song written and composed by Tsuruga rolls along with a sunny and bouncy beat that seems a bit anachronistic for 1979 when thinking about the grooving City Pop and the sparkly technopop that were rising at the time. It really does sound like something from the early part of that decade. 

At 3:55 above is "Mata Hoe Hajimeta yo"（また吠え始めたよ...I Started Barking Again） is a bit more growly and laidback roots rock. Just think of Grizzly Adams on his porch sipping his whiskey on the porch and you'll get the idea. I couldn't find the official songwriters for this one, but I'm assuming that it is Tsuruga again for this track and probably for all of the other tracks except one at least.

One more track that I'll show here should be familiar to all kayo kyoku fans since it is a light reggae cover of Kyu Sakamoto's（坂本九）classic "Ue wo Muite Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう) , i.e. the "Sukiyaki" song from 1961. It's also very sunny and airy which ought to draw out any folks out from the blues.

I'm not sure whether Bob's Fish Market released any more albums soon after their first album, but in 2011, the band did put out a CD called "Three Decades".