Solid State Survivor

Artist: Yellow Magic Orchestra
Label: Restless Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 018777270120
EAN: 0018777270120
ASIN: B000003BJA

Release Date: 1993-07-01

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Listmania:

Favorite Synth Pops
Synth Music--A short list of strange bedfellows

Tracks:

Technopolis
Absolute Ego Dance
Rydeen
Castalia
Behind The Mask
Day Tripper
Insomnia
Solid State Survivor

Similar Items:

BGM
Yellow Magic Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Pioneering, but badly dated.......2005-08-11

"Solid State Survivor" is one of those frustrating albums that deserves to be called "ahead of its time," but is hardly the best example of its particular genre. The AMG calls YMO--the unit of Yukihiro Takahashi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Harumi Hosono and several second-level members, here on their second outing--a "trailblazing force behind the emergence of the Japanese techno-pop sound of the late '70s," and while "Solid State Survivor" breaks new ground, it's more than a little unsatisfying. Frankly, I think the album's reputation as a classic comes more from nostalgic hindsight and estimation of influence than it does from evaluation of the actual music contained therein.

As mentioned before, "Solid State Survivor" is the band's second album, and it finds them refining the YMO "concept" into a much tighter, less gimmicky sound. The arcade-game bleeps and bloops of "Yellow Magic Orchestra" are mostly gone. "Solid State Survivor"'s eight tracks are, for the most part, synth-driven, poppy numbers, and are mostly instrumental.

Note the "poppy" in the preceding paragraph, for while YMO may not be that well known to American audiences today, this was not always the case. They were *hugely* popular in Japan, and did in fact tour America. Their aspirations to international pop stardom worked, but can leave the music itself feeling more than a little orientalist and gimmicky.

And thus, on to the music itself. Some of the other reviewers here have mentioned that "Survivor" sounds an awful lot like video-game music. This is of course a slight inversion--more accurately, video-game music sounds like YMO--but is otherwise a fair charge. Yes, the band is about ten years ahead of its time; unfortunately, that plants us squarely in the era of the Sega Genesis, and more than one track sounds uncomfortably like the soundtrack to "Sonic the Hedgehog" ("Absolute Ego Dance" is particularly guilty in this regard).

Highlights, in my opinion, include the driving "Rydeen," and the oddly moody "Castalia" (the best track on the album, in my opinion, and the one that best presages best YMO's later development). I don't, however, particularly care for "Behind the Mask," which everyone and their mother seems to love; it's a bit of orientalist fluff that has an interesting riff, but doesn't really go anywhere. "Day Tripper" is fun in a let's-deconstruct-the-Beatles sort of way.

Verdict: "Solid State Survivor" isn't a bad record by any means, and there's a very good chance that little else on the planet sounded quite like it in 1979. Age hasn't been kind to it, however, and when you strip away the hyperbole, what you're left with is a handful of enjoyable but unremarkable happy-Kraftwerk technopop (emphasis on "pop") instrumentals. If you're a big technopop fan, go for it. Most others, however, are best off starting elsewhere.

the best video game soundtrack you never heard.......2003-03-05

maybe it's because i grew up playing more nintendo than anyone should, but Solid State Survivor is one of the funnest albums i've ever had the pleasure of listening to. on this album ymo manage to seamlessly blend the organic(bass, drums, piano, and guitar)with some of the oddest synth sounds ever recorded. the vocals, when present, are either ran through a vocoder("technopolis" and "behind the mask") or sang in english care of a thick japanese accent("solid state survivor" and a wonderfully quirky cover of "day tripper"). the rhythms are mostly upbeat in a disco-y sort of way, with the exceptions being "castalia" and "insomnia"(the two darkest tracks...both with slow ronnettes type beats). this is a tough one to find, but if by chance you're led here to read this, take my advice and track a copy down. fans of kraftwerk(who realize that they're joking more than half of the time)will be delighted with this.

Awesome technopop from Japan!.......2003-01-13

Often compared to Kraftwerk, and rightly so, Yellow Magic Orchestra displays however a much lighter and funnier tone, but never leaving the futuristic and technologic frame. It's incredible how this album has influenced... videogame music! Yes, I can name at least four Sega Genesis tunes which are, um, carbon copies of Technopolis! But, anyway, that's a good thing... everything on Solid State Survivor sounds clean, well produced, is catchy and well, if you like both Kraftwerk and videogame music, and have a preference for synth sounds, I don't see why you shouldn't enjoy this album!

THIS IS THE ONE OF MOST GREATEST ALBUM........1999-06-11

Check 'Rydeen' the third song of this album. You'll be blow out

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

A Bailar Cumbia Y Rancheras ~ Banda Clave Azul

Yonics ~ Los Yonic's

Homenaje a Don Santi ~ Flaco Jimenez

Solid State Survivor ~ Yellow Magic Orchestra

Desert Solitaire ~ Roach, Braheny, Stearns

New York Session ~ Hiroshi Hatake

La Voz del Poeta, Vol. 1 ~ Pablo Neruda

MDO - Greatest Hits ~ MDO

Decimo Aniversario ~ Los Terribles del Norte

Los 25 Mejores Exitos Con Banda ~ Various Artists