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Rating: The third chapter of Japan, "Quiet Life" represents the album where their sound undergoes a metamorphosis. From the glam of "Adolescent Sex" and "Obscure Alternatives" (two works honestly not very transcendental), they transition to more polished and electronic sounds, exotic and rarefied atmospheres creep in, in short, it begins to outline what will become their trademark in the future.
In "Quiet Life," the future masterpieces of the band are in gestation.
It starts with the title-track, as it begins you feel like you're listening to "Methods Of Dance," then a disco club rhythm takes over, and carries the track through its five minutes. There are no ingenious ideas, the pace is overall monotonous, but the general sensation one gets from listening is that of a certain elegance.
"Fall In Love With Me" is more inconsistent, the rhythm is more varied and complex, with Barbieri's keyboards delineating a distinctive riff in the "chorus," and there begins to be a semblance, albeit slight, of experimentation.
With "Despair," the atmosphere becomes hazy and fragile, a languid piano evokes summer landscapes at twilight, superbly accompanied by the sax and the voice of a melancholic synth echoing halfway through the track. The pace is deliberately very slowed down, to emphasize the hypnotic component of the sound. A little gem.
The following "In Vogue" deserves to be remembered more. Worthy of the subsequent works, it is the true pearl of the album. A fantastic bass line by Karn, Sylvian's singing ambiguous and suggestive, the track seems to want to go in all directions, not choosing a precise path, so when you listen to it, you can't decipher it except after a long time.
It possesses all the best features of Japan.
"Helloween" is just filler, albeit not unpleasant. As they say, the trademark is always there.
"Alien" is the little sister of "Swing" (Gentlemen Take Polaroids). It doesn't fall below adequacy, though.
The closure is entrusted to "The Other Side Of Life," also guided by the sound of the piano. Unnecessarily long (seven and a half minutes), it ends up boring. Sylvian's singing is too languid and "new romantic," the arrangement monotonous and overly sweet, it's like listening to one of those typical summer hits of the '80s for couples looking for kisses at the jukebox. Insufficient.
"Quiet Life" is for Japan fans. Those who own nothing of this group are better off orienting themselves towards the two subsequent albums because THEY ARE BETTER. It hints at the wonders looming on the horizon but doesn't fully convince. Still a bit uncertain and unripe, it sometimes comes across as overly elaborate. It's the classic album that precedes the masterpiece.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Quiet Life (04:51)
Boys, now the times are changing
The going could get rough
Boys, would that ever cross your mind
Boys, are you contemplating
Moving out somewhere
Boys, will you ever find the time?
Here we are stranded
Somehow it seems the same, beware.
Here comes the quiet life again?
Boys, now the country's only miles away from here
Boys, do you recognise the signs?
Boys, when those driving hands push against the tracks
Boys, it's too late to wonder why
Here we are stranded
Somehow it seems the same, beware.
Here comes the quiet life again?
As you turn to leave
Never looking back
Will you think of me?
Will you ever, could it ever stop?
03 Despair (05:59)
Doucement, ne les dérangez pas
Il y a des gens qui vivent comme ça
Les artistes de demain
En desespoir agréable
(Translation)
Quietly, now, don't disturb them
There are people who live like that
The artists of tomorrow
In pleasant despair
05 Halloween (04:24)
The cottage is windswept
Now there's only sorrow here
Follow evacuation signs
You're detached and broken and so sentimental now
Remembering how we passed our time
Somebody waits for me
Far beyond our halloween
Germanic forces marching on concrete squares
Our love is just defenceless sound
And could we believe that all you said was true
We would be so determined now
Slowly emerging Dividing Germany
Everyone's lost in East Berlin
Only believing just what you want to hear
We're waiting at stations once again
06 All Tomorrow's Parties (05:42)
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrows parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrows parties
Where will she go
What shall she do
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrows parties
The silken trimmings of yesterday's gown
To all tomorrows parties
What shall she do
With Thursday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrows parties
Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
From whom no-one ever borrows
A blackened shroud
A hand-me-down gown of rags and silks her costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrows parties
07 Alien (05:02)
Everything's neat and compact
There's not much to shout about
But winter is breaking inside of me
Now life is so incomplete
But you're one of the boys again
But is that all you want to be?
Now that you feel the weather
Was it all in vain?
Now that we're together
We seem so alien
Slowly descend from heaven
Anyway we turn we win
But how can you always be so sure?
Nightporters sleep on weekdays
Living a lifetime too
Walking away without a cure
Now that you feel the weather
Was it all in vain?
Now that we're together
We seem so alien
The noise on the stairs disturbs me
Somebody walks my way
But can you rely on everything I feel?
Driving through endless buildings
The desert is so serene
But Mondays were never really my ideal
Now that you feel the weather
Was it all in vain?
Now that we're together
We seem so alien
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