Nakagawa Takashi is an old school rock n roller with Neil Young sideburns and some zeal for Neil Young style political activism. He started as a post-punk musician in a band called Newest Model and graduated to a more blended sound in a new band called Soul Flower Union, combining elements of rock and roll, Irish folk music and traditional Japanese music. After the Kansai earthquake in 1995, he set up a side band called Mononoke Summit which played the pre-war ching dong style of music on old style musical instruments allegedly to raise money for earthquake victim and to steal pre-war Japanese culture back from the militarists and to give it to the Japanese people. On his latest release Kaidosuji no chakkuchi shinai buru-su (At the Roadside: No Touchdown Blues), Nakagawa revisits material from throughout his career and gives it the old acoustic guitar treatment. The photos in the booklet show a sunset, a small country road (with a rusty side rail) and an old farmer's house. These are the roots that Nakagawa clings to in the fast paced world of mass media and commercialised newsfeeds. Roots that inevitably take Japanese people back to the homeland of the heart, the furusato. Nakagawa is a reminder of the atavistic role the balladeer once played, a little too opinionated to be a chronicler he is more the conscience for a generation that want quality of life rather than endless growth and consumption. In a nod to popular Japanese culture and perhaps to distance himself from fanaticism, he plays a version of the theme song to the film series Otoko wa tsurai yo (It's Tough being a Man).
In the credits it says:
In the credits it says:
"To everybody who has been supporting Nakagawa Takashi and Soul Flower's activities, Thanks! Cheers! This album is dedicated to resistance all over the world with no touchdown blues and to children everywhere."
Every year in early December, Soul Flower Union do live shows in Osaka. These are a must-see for fans of live music that is aggressive, soulful and politically engaged. Japanese popular music has given us TAMA and it has given us Nakagawa Takashi.
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