Crazed Fruit (狂った果実)

I recently watched Crazed Fruit, a 1956 film from Japan directed by Ko Nakahira. Think Rebel Without A Cause, but with water skiing, skimpy bathing suits, and bad, bad attitudes.

A hothouse drama about wayward Japanese youth, Crazed Fruit concerns two brothers spending a summer at the beach and competing for the same girl - with tragic consequences. As reviewer Michael Buening (allmovie.com) notes, the film...

"...helped establish a post-World War II cultural template of first-world pampered, aimless, casually self-destructive youth - where the young women dangle their sexuality like a plaything and the boys store up puberty-driven reserves of testosterone until they explode with frustrated violence."

Like other classic youth films, Crazed Fruit caused outrage and hysteria among Japanese housewives, teachers, and politicians. The film may seem relatively tame by today's standards, but the finale still packs a dramatic punch. Crazed Fruit remains notable (and watchable) for its sharp cinemtography, its depiction of affluent Japanese youth just ten years after the war, a haunting jazzy-Hawaiian-esque score, and for being the break-out role for Ishihara Yujiro - as a long-legged bad boy in trunks.

Hosono Haruomi - Tropical Dandy

The cover painting sets the mood. Palm trees, an ocean liner, a glowing red sunset, with a tanned Harry peering out through a life preserver, looking every inch a tropical dandy in white suit and Hawaiian shirt. Yes, its Hosono Haruomi's 1975 classic album, Tropical Dandy.

The music varies between mid-tempo pop with stuttering rhythms to warm-beachy-evening ballads. Occasional lapping waves and bird calls add to the exotica feel. But it's definitely faux-tropicana-meets-Asia, with references to Peking ducks, old silk roads, and Yokohama's China town, and ironic sprinklings of Japanesque/Asiatic musical cliches.

The album kicks off with a cover of Carmen Miranda’s version of “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”, from the 1942 film Springtime in the Rockies. It hops and pops along at break-neck pace, blurring boundaries along the way. A one-time Americana big-band swing classic, it's performed in a samba-esque style with occasional boogie-woogie piano asides, and sung in Japanese-accented Portuguese. Guaranteed to make you smile, or at least to ask 'Whaaat!?'

For me, the highlight is “Hurricane Dorothy”, which begins with a slouching, squelching whup-whup-whup bassline. Harry then compares his love to the Caribbean winds ('kimi no hitomi wa, Caribou no kaze…”), supported by a soaring female backing vocals and loungey piano flourishes (those glissandos!). The slightly rum-slurred chorus rhymes ‘bolero’ with ‘odoru’ (dance), mingled with ‘la-la lu-la'. Take a sip, and then repeat.

The rest of side one is consistently strong, whereas side two lazily reworks a couple of instrumental versions of earlier tracks. Harry's rum-soaked drowsy vocals may take some getting used to, but he mixes some strong songs with kitschy, escapist fantasies and comes up with an enjoyable and original album. Right then, back to the marimbas!

The Crocodiles - Tears

I've been listening to a great LP by the Crocodiles, a kiwi pop group that recorded a couple of albums circa 1979-81. Portrayed by John Dix in Stranded in Paradise as part of the old wave striking back against the punk revolution, the Crocs were experienced pros with technical skill and ideas to burn. The line-up included graphic artist Fane Flaws on vocals and guitar and actor Bruno Lawrence as drummer. Their debut album Tears (1980) still sparkles with pop-gem ideas and biting wit, such as Flaws' opening track, "New Wave Goodbye"

New Wave Goodbye - I heard you were coming and now you've arrived
I've seen you before, but I did not recognise you in that see-thru disguise...
We'll get a new band, now lemme see... how 'bout the Crocodiles?
Roll out the limousines, we'll stack the bucks in piles

Jenny Morris, who went on to a  career as a solo artist in Australia, shines on lead vocal on a few cuts - including their enduring hit, the doo-wop-y piano ballad "Tears".

You said you were an agency for paradise (ooh-wah)
I went along - it slipped my mind to check the price
Tears... I feel them on my cheeks
Tears... I've been this way for weeks

Guitarist Tony Backhouse leads a great group vocal effort on the jazzy "Its the Latest", which comments amusingly on the fickle nature of the music industry.

Here's another melody we stole from the Beatles...
I forget which song
If you recognise it, you don't win any prizes
You been around too long

I don't think this album has been re-released on CD but it deserves to be remembered and replayed. It mixes classic pop with new wave guitar edge and touches of doo-wop irony. There's hardly a dud track here. Here's to the Crocodiles!