Submitted by UAR-mwfree on Aug 16
Japan photo

 

Oil on Canvas album cover

 

Japan – Oil on Canvas (1983):  Incorporating glam rock, synth pop, and art rock into a big sound, Japan was one of the more fascinating British progressive rock bands.  I knew nothing about the band when I came across this live double album, Oil on Canvas, which is their sixth and last album.  It took me a while even to realize that the splashes of color on the cover represent an abstract painting of a face.  Some of the tracks actually sound too good to have been played live; and indeed, what I have read about Oil on Canvas indicates that some of the tracks were re-recorded in a studio.