Monday's mp3: Those Japanese Blues

The Yoshida Brothers really are too young to be putting out a "best of" compilation, but that shouldn't stop you from checking out this album if you're not already familiar with the duo. Shamisen playing lads from Hokkaido, Kenich and Ryoichiro Yoshida are on the forefront of Japanese fusion music, and their efforts collected here run the gamut from folk to blues to rock.

The CD includes two previously unreleased tracks, the fairly traditional-sounding "Saiun" and the arena-rocker "Rising" (video)-- more to my taste is this blues-tinged track. I don't know what they've got to be blue about, since their accomplishments include musical credits for a Nintendo Wii commercial. Maybe they're happy blues, but somehow it all works.

[mp3] Yoshida Brothers: Overland Blues
from Best of Yoshida Brothers - Tsugaru Samishen

more Yoshida Brothers on YouTube...