The Times May 1971-April 1974

To celebrate the late, great Joe Yamanaka of Tokyo acid rock pioneers Flower Travellin’ Band, the good folks at TTW Records have reissued this amazing 1975 compilation. It culls the cream of the crop from the group's 1971’s epic debut (Satori), 1972's sophomore album (Made in Japan), and its 1973 double album (Make Up, which was half live and half studio recordings). It curiously opens with “Satori Part II” sequenced before “Satori Part I,” which might seem like a strange choice or even a mistake until you realize that this order lets listeners immediately hear and understand how Yamanaka’s wailing vocals and propulsive drumming fueled the engine that drove this band into psychedelia's nether regions. And while “Satori Part I” also highlights Yamanaka’s hellacious howls, guitar wizard Hideki Ishima holds court here with a versatility that effortlessly segues from muscled, winding leads to riffs dripping with a dark and Sabbathesque sludge. Speaking of which, the band's spot-on cover of Black Sabbath’s namesake tune isn’t here, but the Eastern-infused “Hiroshima” is just as doomy.