Consuming the Tangible

Here’s the thing about Japanese rock, especially in the 70s: they were of course responding to the popular sounds coming across from the West, but forever adding unique and cultural spins that immediately make the music stand out, even when it appears to be pure emulation and adoration of a particular vibe. Such is the case with the intentionally joke-named Flied Egg, whose 1972 debut Dr. Siegel’s Fried Egg Shooting Machine wonderfully captures the underground psychedelic and progressive rock popular at time, but with a wit and humor missing from the stars of the era. Deep Purple and Uriah Heep never sounded this much fun.

The band is the brainchild of Shigeru Narumo who handles guitars, keyboards of all types, vocals, and whatever else is lying around, and Hiro Tsunoda who takes drums, lead vocals, and everything not picked up by Narumo. Their previous incarnation as Strawberry Path resulted in one excellent release, 1971’s When the Raven Has Come to the Earth. Heavily indebted to the type of psychedelic dark rock Deep Purple was churning out, the band picked up bassist Masayoshi Takanaka and changed their name to Flied Egg, an intentional joke made clear right at the opening of the album’s title track, a psychedelic pop gem that explodes with a great gritty guitar tone, some wicked drumming, and a very up front bass. No surprise I love the album based on the band configuration, right? It’s a fun opener, switching up with a two-minute coda at the end that references The Beatles as much as anything else. The trio all have great voices, and their harmonies – while not John/Paul/Geroge caliber – work really well together.

It’s a fine track, but things pick up from there with the very Uriah Heep inspired “Rolling Down the Broadway” which can’t help but draw comparisons to Heep’s classic “Bird of Prey” which its falsetto vocals. Love the organ doubling up with the power chords. I also love picking out the homages: you can’t tell me that the opening to “Burning Fever” doesn’t take a cue from Led Zeppelin, specifically “Out on the Tiles”. The organs on “I’m Gonna See My Baby Tonight” are of a piece with any number of Deep Purple tunes, but there’s a glee to everything that – even on smaller, more generic ballads like “I Love You” and “Someday (We Meet Again)” – there’s a sense of fun present.

But when the band rips it’ they rip it in grand style. “Oke-Kus” goes full Yes-prog with sublime keyboard work and a driving rhythm that works as well anything they European peers were doing at the time, and the closer “Guide Me to the Quietness” takes everything that came before and wraps it up in one eight minute epic. Flied Egg would only stick around for more album, a live record appropriately titled Good bye Flied Egg, but taken as a whole with their work in Strawberry Path and Dr. Siegel’s Fried Egg Shooting Machine Narumo and co. put out some serious rock music that should be in anyone’s collection.