Last updated 05.4.20

(*) means I don't own this album

I included any catalog #s I know of. In general I only own one or two LPs or CDs of any given item.

Intro:

YMO was formed by producer Haruomi Hosono with session musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1978. They had already been working together. The initial concept seems to have been to set high tech Kraftwerk type arrangements to the sort of exotic faux orientalism of Martin Denny. The intent was to play up stereotypes, but in styles the members genuinely had a fondness for. While YMO gained a lot of attention and fans it's a mistake to consider them the dominant style of the day or a monster sucess. They were respected by the music industry and their popularity is proven by all the people still fans today (and continued spin off releases). It was originally supposed to be a sort of experimental project that wasn't supposed to be a permanant band but the popularity kept them together for some years. In 1983, after 1982 being a sort of hiatus to do solo work, they decided to wrap up the project and record their farewells.

On the 10th anniversary of the breakup they decided to reform as notYMO for a high profile one shot album and live show. Its generally understood that in 1993 all three realized they still weren't terribly compatible working together.

As of 2002, Takahashi and Hosono and sometimes Sakamoto have been recording as Sketch Show with the name recently changing depending on Sakamoto's exact involvement, it gets confusing, I'm waiting for someone to sort it out.

This is YMO's debut. This album has an exotica flavor that the latter albums don't have. The Big Moog sound struck me as having more of a Wendy Carlos sound than Kraftwerk, who they were styling themselves after. A good humored and impressive album. This album with its video game sfx and synth drums, along with Kraftwerk, was a big influence on early Hip Hop.

Restless re-issued most of the YMO albums a few years ago. The cover art is at times poorly reproduced. They could have printed the lyrics too. On the other hand they sound fine (better than 1980s Japanese CD versions) and are a great music value. (They sell for as little as $10 in the U.S. but have gone out of print)

Ivar de Vries writes about the "A&M Remix" version, the better known of the 2 outside Japan
Although this is the very first album released by the Yellow Magic Orchestra, it is immediately very good. Consisting of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, who were already experienced all-round musicians having various solo-projects to their names before getting together, YMO gets into the groove straight away. Humour is the word here (like Kraftwerk, though YMO are less minimalist), the sheer fun they must have had making it clearly shines through and, I find, is irresistible.
Both this and their second album have that initially disorienting blend of the old and the new, a theme expressed visually by the robot-girl in kimono on the cover. This means familiar pop-music forms dressed up in vaguely oriental synth sounds, which at the time were quite advanced technologically. At first hearing it can sound slightly kitschy, which perhaps it was meant to be, but repeated listening also reveals quite complicated and musically interesting, indeed orchestral arrangements. The vocoder-sounds may appear outdated, but the overall sound is still fresh and original after all these years.
A lot of the music almost parodies older music. Simoon, for instance, sounds like a futuristic version of something a Japanese jazz combo might have played on a rainy sunday afternoon in a Tokyo bar in the 1920s. And the middle section of Tong Poo has a sort of loose fifties musical style with Sakamotos piano and Minako Yoshidas singing set against a steady rhythm-track with bass-sequencer. The two short Computer Game tracks highlight another theme of the album, which is a kind of techno-optimism developing at that time in Japan, economically recovering after WW-II to export all kinds of new technological gadgets, cars, games etc. to the outside world.
To that outside world, this album provided a great first acquaintance with the self-appointed magicians from Japan, who would continue to give so much more, together and individually.

What's the deal?

A&M, when they got the US rights to this album reworked the material a bit via editing and mastering. Most notable is they made it a touch more American sounding, changed the cover art and removed the video game inspired final track which was more spare and calm than the others. I guess Alfa in Japan found it interesting enough to release in Japan. Or maybe fans were hungry enough for more YMO that they'd buy alternate versions. So both versions are out in Japan and can be differentiated by the tabletop cover or the woman cover.

The A&M mix was used for the US CD released in the 90s.

The current EU and Canada remastered version contains both versions on 2 CDs

---

Solid State Survivor

1979 Alfa ALR-6022, ALCA-288, current cd: TOCT-24234, Restless Records (USA) cd: 7 72701-2, Alfa/CBS? (UK) lp: ALF 85664 current MHCL 205

Not released intact in the U.S. until the Restless CD arrived in the 90s. Some of its contents wound up on the US LP of Xoo Multiplies (see below) but 3 tracks never came out in the US on LP.

Ivar de Vries writes:
The second YMO album, following quickly at the heels of the first, continues the style of that debut-album. Plenty of fun to be had although 'Castalia' is the first sort of serious track presented. Perhaps significantly, it was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto who appears to do more compositionally on this album, Haruomi Hosono having done more on the first.
The front cover shows the band in Red Army costumes having a drink with a chairman Mao-type character and what looks like a call-girl, who on the back cover reveal themselves to be a pair of dolls ! (There exists a heavy-metal YMO tribute album whose cover parodies this one). What this has to do with the music is not entirely clear, but the music is anyway quite good ' Takahashi's 'Rydeen' is a rocky track which was always a great opener of live-shows, Hosono's 'Absolute Ego Dance' must have done well in Tokyo discos and 'Behind the Mask' is a another great track which Ryuichi Sakamoto later (1985) made into a rock-song with Bernard Fowler. The only mishap is the Beatles-cover 'Day Tripper' which doesn't come near the original.
YMO took the first two albums on a world-tour in late 1979 and live albums like 'Public Pressure' and 'Faker Holic' contain quite agreeable live-versions of all tracks on these albums.

Whats the Deal?

Okay, this one is a perpetual source of confusion to new fans. In sequence:

1. The original 10" vinyl version comes out in Japan with comedy sketches relating to the songs. The first track of this version is a TV Commercial style YMO jingle.
2. The A&M album version comes out in the U.S. (first track "Nice Age"). This combines most but not all songs from the above 10" EP with 5 of the 8 tracks from of the never released in the US as an LP Solid State Survivor. All the comedy sketches and the Jingle are removed from the 10"EP and some tracks are edited.
3. The above A&M version gets released in Japan as a regular LP while the 10" EP remains in print too.
4. Both versions eventually were CD released in Japan. The 10" version usually has a red border similar to the red printed cardboard backing that the 10" was mounted on to better fit in LP bins.
5. When Restless released it on CD in the US they released the 10" version so as not to duplicate 2/3rds of Solid State Survivor which was making its U.S. debut. This confused a lot of US fans who had the 80s LP version which was quite different from the Restless CD. For whatever reason they padded their release out with Bonus tracks, which is to be commended -- But they were later period bonus tracks they could have put onto those later albums!! Its water under the bridge now since the Restless CDs are out of print
6. The recent JP, EU and Canadian remasters contain identical 10" contents

But hold the presses! :-)

dave.td mentions he has a yellow vinyl version A&M LP28004 and adds

However the tracks on the album are different, sides A and B are reversed, side B is on side A, side A is on side B, but the first track on side is A is
TECHNOPOLIS, then the proper track order of the original LP

And on side B, it begins with the YMO Jingle "Wolfman Jack" type radio voice, then goes straight into NICE AGE, the third track is the SNAKEMAN SHOW +
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, then the original LP track running order.

NK: I keep thinking perhaps this is an earlier promo attempt of A&M to re-package this material before going with even greater changes. But this is just a guess

BGM 1981 cd: ALCA-291, TOCT-24238, lp: ALR-28015, Restless (US) cd: 7 72703-2 current MHCL 208 Side A Ballet Music Plans Rap Phenomena Happy End 1000 Knives  Side B Cue U.T. Camoflage Mass Loom   One of the great electronic albums of all time. BGM is a Japanese music biz term for background music. They were trying to be ironic. It's far from "background, music". For once all versions of this album are the same.

---

Technodelic

1981 Alfa lp: ARL-28030, cd: ALCA-292, cd:TOCT-24239 lp: (Holland) ALFA 85621, Restless (US) cd: 7 72704-2 current remaster MHCL 209

Another of my very favorite albums. Has a Kraftwerk-like quality without copying them. This and later albums were not released in the U.S.on LP. It has lots of sampler use bedides impressive synth use. This is interesting as samplers were quite new and there was no body of work yet to be influenced by so their use of them is kind of like starting with a blank slate. This and subesequent albums did not get US LP releases until the CDs were reissued in the early 90s

---

Naughty Boys

1983.5.24 Alfa lp: YRL-28008 (also Hong Kong Records), cd: 38XA-6, 32XA-143, ALCA-293, ALCA-9045, TOCT-24240 Pick Up(Holland) lp: LPU 0014, Restless (US) cd: 7 72705-2 , Roadrunner (German?) cd: LS-9152-2

Currently both the 'regular' version and the instrumental are coupledin a lower cost 2 CD set current cat# MHCL 210-1

YMO came back after a hiatus working on solo projects for about a year. I think they decided they would wrap YMO up and do it with style by the end of 1983 so they put all their effots into it. For their first of several 1983 releases YMO developed a New Romantic feel while away that I don't go for as much as BGM and Technodelic. They used a 3M digital recorder, but the CD says "AAD". I guess they went for digital too early because it is no engineering marvel, kind of murky sounding. There are some super articulate synth lines, but they pile on too many parts for the material to remain lucid in the mix. Bill Nelson plays guitar becomming an integral part of this YMO sound. release The U.S. cover is reproduced like crap though it sounds better than prior '80s Japanese CD versions. (but probably not the latest remasters like the Hosono supervised ones)

Naughty Boys Instrumental

1983.7.27 Alfa lp: YLR-20002 (also Hong Kong Records), cd: ALCA-13, ALCA-9046, TOCT-24241, Pick Up (Holland) lp: LPU 0015

Here YMO dubbed out the vocals and added a new synth line in place of the vocals. Note that the single Chaos Panic without the vocals replaces Kimi ni mune kyun and the short instrumental You've Got To Help Yourself is replaced by a long version. You can sing along but it feels like the record company was cashing in. Never came out in the U.S. on LP or CD. Perhaps of extra interest to Bill Nelson fans though.

The 2003 Sony Music House reissue combines both the regular and instrumental albums into in one 2 CD package. The Epic/Sony Canada and EU does the same.

---

Service

Has Super Eccentric Theater comedy sketches between each cut. On the Dutch pressing the S.E.T. sketches are edited down to short sound bytes and not given separate tracks or credited. Considering I don't speak Japanese, I don't mind it. I'm sure the 2 YMO's albums with comedy sketches are real fun the first time around with the comedy sketches, but I suspect they grow annoying after many playings.

The sound quality is better than on the last one. The writing is more varried too. At this point YMO is sounding more like a very skilled and clever pop band than anything cutting edge.

Side A Limbo S.E.T. The Madmen S.E.T. Chinese Whispers S.E.T. You've Got To Help Yourself (vocal version)

Side B S.E.T.+YMO Shadows On The Ground S.E.T. See Through S.E.T. Perspective S.E.T.

YMO LP Box

1. Yellow Magic Orchestra
2. Yellow Magic Orchestra (remix)
3. Solid State Survivor
4. Public Pressure
5. X Zousyoku Multiplies (10")
6. X oo Multiplies (lp)
7. BGM
8. Technodelic
9. Naughty Boys
10. Naughty Boys (Instrumental)
11. Service
12. After Service
13. Bonus LP Haruomi Hosono Interview

Techno Bible has a disc of rare tracks See the "Best of" section for details.

YEN YEARS

OKV stands for Original Karaoke Version

1. Propaganda (Original Studio ver.) 5.33
2. Kimi ni Mune Kyun (OKV) 4.08
3. Chaos Panic (INST.) 4.08
4. YMO spot - YMO comment (promotion 7") 0.14
5. Kageki Na Shukujo (OKV) 4:07
6. See-Through (remixed by B.Eno) 3.36
7. You've Got To Help Yourself (okv) 4.08
8. Expecting Rivers (INST.) 3.34
9. Limbo (OKV) 3.28
10. The Madmen (OKV) 4.54
11. Chinese Whispers (OKV) 4.26
12. Shadows on The Ground (OKV) 4.20
13. Perspective (Non-vocal ver.) 5.14
14. Focus (Live)
15. Kai-Koh (Live)
16. See-Through (Live)

This was a full disc of rarities enclosed in a boxed set. The live material was left off After Service when it came out on CD, and use tapes of different concerts than on Complete Service. See YEN BOX 1 & 2 for some more material along these lines. Nothing over dramatic but all these variations were never released prior to this bonus disc.

Japanese Singles (*)

• Technopolis (single mix) / Solid State Survivor 1979 ALR-1016
• Rydeen / Cosmic Surfin' (Live at the Greek Theatre) 1980 ALR-701
• Tighten Up(Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please! ) / Nice Age 1980 ALR-725
• Cue / U.T. 1981 ALR -731
• Mass / Camouflage 1981 ALR-742
• Taiso / Key 1982 ALR-751
• Kimi ni munekyun / Chaos Panic 1983.3.25 YEN/Alfa YLR-704
• Kageki na shyukujo / See Through 1983.7.27 YEN/Alfa YLR-707
• You've Got To Help Yourself / Expecting Rivers 1983.9.23 YEN/Alfa YLR-709

Cubic YMO Single Box

1. Technopolis / Solid State Survivor
2. Rydeen / Cosmic Surfin'
3. Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please) / Nice Age
4. Cue / U.T.
5. Mass / Camouflage
6. Taiso / Key
7. Kimi ni mune kyun/Chaos Panic
8. Kageki na shukujyo / See-Thgough
9. You've Got To Help Yourself / Expecting Rovers
10. See-Through (Remixed By Brian Eno)(CD Box Only)

Other singles (Overseas)( all *)

• Tong Poo(Special Extended Version) / Cosmic Surfin' UK A&M(12")
• Tong Poo / Cosmic Surfin' UK A&M(7")
• La Femme Chinoise / Mad Pierrot UK A&M(7")
• Computer Game(Thme From The Invaders) / Firecracker / Techopolis UK A&M(7")(12")
• Behind The Mask / Tong Poo / La Femme Chinoise (12")UK A&M(7")(12")
• Jingle"YMO"(12") / Nice Age / Rydeen UK A&M(7")(12")
• Tighten Up / Rydeen UK A&M(12")
• Rydeen / Absolute Ego Dance UK CBS(7")
• Computer Game(Them From The Circus) / Tong Poo USA A&M (7")(12")
• Tighten Up / Citizens Of Science USA A&M(7")
• Computer Games(Theme From Circus) / La Femme Chinoise Spain A&M(7")
• Pure Jam / Light In The Darkness Spain CBS(7")
• The Madmen / You've Got To Help Yourself Holland PICK UP (7") SPU-0004
• Nice Age / Multiplies Portugal A&M(7")
• Taiso / Epilogue Australia CBS(7")
• Computer Game (Theme From Circus) / La Femme Chinoise Italy A&M(7")

Over Seas Collection / YMO

Produced by Haruomi Hosono

Disc 1 COMPUTER GAME/FIRECRACKER UK7" YELLOW MAGIC (TONG POO) UK7" COSMIC SURFIN' UK7" MAD PIEROT UK7" LA FEMME CHINOISE UK7" TECHNOPOLIS UK7" BEHIND THE MASK ITALY7" DAY TRIPPER ARGENTINA 7" JINGLE YMO/NICE AGE DUTCH 7" MULTIPLIES PORTUGUESE 7" TIGHTEN UP US12" CITIZENS OF SCIENCE US7" CUE PROMOTIONAL12" 1000 KNIVES PROMOTIONAL12"	Disc 2 RYDEEN UK7" ABSOLLUTE EGO DANCE UK7" PURE JAM SPANISH7" LIGHT IN DARKNESS UK7" TAISO AUSTRALIAN7" EPILOGUE AUSTRALIAN7" THE MADMEN EVERYTIME LOOK AROUND (I HEAR THE MADMEN CALL) GERMENY7"(sic) YOU'VE GOT TO HELP YOURSELF GERMANY7"
BONUS TRACKS (mail away bonus) FIRECRACKER [COMPUTER GAME] US7" COSMIC SURFIN' US7" TIGHTEN UP US MONAURAL7" YELLOW MAGIC (TONG POO) US7"

Originally typed up by Takeyasu "Ambie" Sasagawa

More a 'best of' than a release of non-CD singles

Another annoying collectable. Contains a booklet. There was a now expired trivia contest to win a bonus EP that appears to contain much more collectable material. I am told the foreign singles are of different lengths, but don't seem to be musically different. So my summary is the "gem" here is the bonus single which you can't get anymore if you buy the CD. The actual contents are just edits of very little interest presuming you have the regular old albums. Out of print.

YMO: Live Albums

Live At Kinokuniya Hall 1978

1. Firecracker
2. Behind The Mask
3. La Femme Chinoise
4. Tong Poo
5. Plastic Bamboo
6. The End Of Asia
7. Cosmic Surfin'
8. Wanted
9. 1000 Knives

---

Public Pressure (1979)

1980 Alfa lp: ALR-6033, cd:TOCT-24235 current MHCL 206

This and After Service were the only albums of live material issued during YMO's original lifespan.

With Akiko Yano. This album gained notoriety because Watanabe played guitar on the tour, but his record label could not come to terms with permission to use his performance. His performance was dubbed out and overdubed by Sakamoto on synths later in the studio.

Similar concert material was released years later in a more complete form on Faker Holic which restored Watanabe's playing.

Faker Holic-Transatlantic Tour '79

released 1991, Restless (US) 7 72702-2

Like an extended version of Public Pressure.

Restores Watanabe's guitar playing to the Public Pressure live recordings. There is some kind of 1 track difference between US and Japanese versions to annoy collectors or prospective import purchasers. Out of print.

Live at Greak Theater 1979

a shortish CD (mid priced), well recorded though. The above incorrect English is exactly what the label on the CD says, not "Live at the Greek Theater" as I guess they mean to call it. Out of print.

Behind the Mask La Femme Dhinose (incorrectly spelled) Cosmic Surfin' Rydeen Day Tripper 1000 Knives Tong Poo

Live At Budokan 1980

1. Riot In Lagos
2. The End Of Asia
3. Behind The Mask
4. Nice Age
5. Rydeen
6. Maps
7. La Femme Chinoise
8. Citizens Of Science
9. Solid Stete Survivor
10. Radio Junk
11. Kang Tong Boy
12. Firecracker
13. Cosmic Surfin'
14. 1000 Knives
15. Technopolis (Live at L.A.)

YMO World Tour 1980

(*) 1996 release Alfa cd(x2) ALCA - 5065/6, LP(x3) ALJA-7004/6

more live stuff with teaser items to annoy collectors on a budget. Out of print. I think this is the same show as Live At Budokan 1980 just repackaged by the reorganized Alfa/Toshiba-EMI

Winter Live '81

1. Loom
2. Prologue
3. Pure Jam
4. Light in Darkness
5. Camouflage
6. Stairs
7. Neue Tanz
8. Happy End
9. Music Plans
10. Cue
11. Taiso
12. Cosmic Surfin
13. Epilogue

---

After Service (1983)

YMO's farewell concert. * indicates album tracks left off the CD until 1999 with a 2 CD release

The compilation box Techno Bible has 4 songs not included on the lp.

What's the deal?

Okay, this was compiled from several live shows from this late tour. The (19 track) double LP release came out in the then LP era. When it was time to release it on CD several tracks were left off to condense it onto one 16 track CD much to the chagrin of collectors. Then in the early 90s several more songs not on the LP or CD came out in the collectors box YMO Techno Bible. This was followed by a Brian Eno supervised mix on double CD called Complete Service with 24 tracks of a longer, bigger selection of still different performances. Then in 1999 Hosono himself supervised the exact contents of the original intact LP version (19 tracks) remastered on 2 CDs which was reissued by Sony in 2003.

The concert video of this farewell tour is called Propaganda. There is also a minimal instrumental piece heard at the show and on the video, M-16, that hardcore got to hear everYMO track fans always get excited over but isn't all that much to actually listen to.

Watch out that someone doesn't sell you the one (not two) CD version. Unless you are a serious collector there is no benefit in getting it.

(Not) YMO

I've listed all the releases from this project here, instead of splitting them up in live and studio categories.

The "don" in Technodon can mean "rice" in Japanese or is a suffix added to a name to make it into a giant monster or dinosaur - like Iguanadon. Or even maybe the Italian meaning but thats the least likely - though there is a refrence to what I presume was Sakamoto's favorite NYC Italian restaurant (I Tre Merli) where they ate during NYC sessions and which translates as The Three Crows - which is an ironic self refrence to YMO in 1993

Technodon

1993 Toshiba/Eastworld cd: TOCT 8010, TOCT-24245 (current)

Be A Superman Nanga Def? Floating Away Dolphinicity Hi-Tech Hippies I Tre Merli Nostalgia Silence Of Time Waterford Chance Pocketful Of Rainbows (Japanese Version)

The original version had an optical decoder built into the case's lid to decode the Jenny Holzer quotes in the booklet which are unreadable without itt. Later pressings (seen above) left them visible and skipped including the decoder. Guest narration by William S. Burroughs and William Gibson.

Pocketful of Rainbows

• Pocketful of Rainbows
• Hi-Tech Hippies
• Pocketful of Rainbows (English Version)

Technodon Live

1. Be A Superman
2. Nanga Def?
3. Floating Away
4. Dolphinicity
5. I Tre Merli
6. Hi-Tech Hippies
7. Castalia
8. Behind The Mask
9. La Femme Chinoise
10. Waterford
11. Chance-Rydeen Ending
12. Tong Poo
13. Firecracker

Be a Superman

• Be a Superman
• Tong Poo (1993 Live Version)
• Firecracker (1993 Live Version)

(*) 1993 cd single

said to be no different from the album material

Technodon Remix I

1. Poketful Of Rainbows (Heavy Raibow Mix)
2. Be A Superman (Human Animal Mix)
3. Floating Away (Voltage Unlimited Mix)
4. Nostalgia (Jeux De Mixage)

Technodon Remix II

1. Waterford (A23 Diversion Mix)
2. Waterford (A303 One Lane Closed Mix)
3. Hi-Tech Ambience (Ariel Implosion Mix)
4. Hi-Tech Hippes (Ground Plane For Perfection Mix)
5. Nanga Def? (Hope You Choke On Your Whale Meat Mix)

Pre YMO

InDo

(@) 00.02.23 Re-wind cd: RWCL-20002

This was apparently an unfinished track created by YMO members very early on and was neither finished nor in their fully developed style. The name is presumably in refrence to its Indian flavor. Another "Pre-YMO" track is generally considered the first version of Cosmic Surfin' on the album Pacific but this track also has ties to Hosono's album Cochin Moon also from the same period as the latter has a strong synthesizer plays Indian music feel too. If it weren't for the YMO ties it would be an unfinished little oddity, so thats where the criticism lies I guess. Not that its an unforgivable crime, but it has a certain feel of maxing out on something not very substantial. Recently back in print.

"InDo"/Pre-YMO
Remixed by Junior Vasquez

(*) 2000 Rewind/HB cd5? single HBCD-002

01:Junior's Orchestramental
02:Junior's Magic Beats
03:Junior's Padapella

I don't know for certain but I've seen pre-release info saying a Junior Vasquez mix would be on the album proper (but wasn't). I guess it was saved for this set of mixes. He did a whole album of YMO Covers/Remixes called Junior's Magic Orchestra, but I've not heard it.(cat# KMCT-7006)

Twilo
Volume 1: Junior Vasquez Sampler

2000 Virgin Records America (Promo CD) DPRO-15720

This opens with an " InDo"/Pre-YMO remix billed simply as the "Junior Vasquez Remix" and clocks in at 6:50, don't know if it's a 4th mix by him or one of the above 3.
Many thanks to Gregor Meyer for the info!

To Subscribe to the YMO Mailing List (English language)

LINKS:
Kyong Il Lee's YMO Page
Yue Yaguchi's YMO Page
Jun Okamoto's YMO GALLERY photos page

more links on each member's page

Ryuichi Sakamoto
Harouomi Hosono
Yukihiro Takahashi

to the next page YMO (misc),

BACK TO MAIN MENU