The Eleki Boom - Blue Jeans, Bunnies and Bushi
Going back, way back, back before any of us were born - before Jpop, even before Pink Lady, there was Eleki! The word is the slang abbreviation of "electric", but what it really refers to is the “Electric Boom”. It was the early 60's and Dick Dale, Booker T., and the Ventures were scoring on the US charts with their beach rock guitar/organ led rehashes of the standards or simple guitar/drum riffs like Wipeout or Green Onion. It was mood music for the nouveau jet-set and not just in the USA.
Across the big pond in Oshima Nagisa's disenfranchised and disillusioned "Cruel Story of Youth" Japan of the early ‘60s, the kids were also plugging in their guitars. One guitarist in particular was to make a big splash in the Eleki Boom - Takeshi "Terry" Terauchi, and his bands, The Blue Jeans (1962-1966) and The Bunnies (1966-1968). I don't know how to describe the Bunnies except to say "What would've happened if Dick Dale would've grown up with enka and Tanko Bushi?? It's not hypothetical anymore. Just listen to the Bunnies.
The Bunnies first album, “Let’s Go Terry!” is decidedly Western Beach Rock – Mersey Beat Rock and Roll. But on their second release Terry and the band look East for their influence. “Seicho Terauchi Bushi” features such famous Japanese traditional melodies as Hanagasa Ondo,, Oedo Nihonbashi, Noue Bushi and more. But this record was never intended to be played at a Matsuri. This is just Rock n' Roll - Real Japanese Rock n Roll. Terauchi is a great guitar player and he has pure rock n' roll flowing in his veins. It's just that his rock n' roll is pentatonic. The album sold 100,000 copies, and bridged a gap between the older generation and the post-war youth.
3 more albums would come from the Bunnies before their break-up in 1968. The most interesting of which might be 1967’s “Let’s Go Classics” with eleki versions of Western classical music. This album also went on to sell big (100,000) in Japan. Terry and the gang do "Swan Lake", "Fur Elise", "flight of the Bumblebee" and other easily recognizable classic "hits".
After the breakup Terry put together The Blue Jeans again and released several more albums with them. While no album was ever released in the U.S. and Terry never toured here, Queen’s Brian May claims to have been influenced by Terauchi, and the Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, says the Blue Jeans Golden Album is the best instrumental album he’s ever heard. Word is he’s still out there somewhere. I hope so.
Put on a Bunnies record and your whole world turns black and white. Like a French New Wave movie, everyone looks young, all cars look cool, and sunglasses are required - even inside. The Bunnies are the ambassadors from a world in which we all want to live but no one actually can. It’s like catching Sean Connery in “Dr. No” at the Bijou, and afterwards catching a drink at the Tiki Terrace, and following that up with a late night burger at Mel’s – all in a sharkskin suit. It's way better than Zen, SUVs and Nintendo Wii.
So you want to strike out into the world of eleki? I can’t recommend it enough. But a word of warning… don’t go it alone. I have no idea where you can get any of these albums anymore, but a trip to
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog will at least yield some MP3s from Seicho Terauchi Bushi. Also check out this write-up on the Bunnies on
Fancy Mag. If you can get your hands on the film “Eleki no Wakadaisho” you can see Terry slug it out with Kayma Yuzo, Japan’s other Eleki guitar hero in the mid sixties. I believe that film is available on
TheVideoBeat.com. Otherwise, a few good searches on the web should yield a few YouTube videos and probably a few more MP3s. Good luck. If you find something leave a comment here for everyone else.
Amazingly you'll find Terry Terauchi on Amazon! And there were more than just Terry in the eleki boom. You can also check out other standouts such as The Royal Fingers, and Yuzo Kayama - all on Amazon for some strange reason. (You better pick them up before Amazon quits carrying them!) But for a true lesson in East Meets West, Rock n Roll meets Min'yo nothing beats that second Bunnies LP. I don't know where you're gonna get that album, but if you find it let me know.
Labels: Eleki, Terry Terauchi, The Bunnies
