David Sylvian and Mick Karn etc produced some great songs during their time together and this CD encapsulates that period brilliantly. And while I was always a bit dismissive of this compilation because I had all of the tracks, listening to it now, it's really well sequenced - it flows really well.

Japan’s 1984 compilation Exorcising Ghosts will be reissued as a half-speed mastered 2LP vinyl set, in October. Unfortunately, what was true in Japan was not true in the UK; therefore, the album's promotion, mentioning 'unreleased tracks', was incorrect for the domestic market, attracting criticism at the time. Besides top 40 hit singles like " Quiet Life", " Visions of China", " Ghosts", and " Nightporter", the double-album set includes album tracks like "Methods of Dance", "Talking Drum" and "Swing" alongside a selection of rarities such as the single B-sides "A Foreign Place" and "Life Without Buildings", the 1981 remix of "Taking Islands in Africa", the instrumental studio recording "Voices Raised in Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer" included on 1983's live album Oil on Canvas and the 12" mix of " The Art of Parties".Mastering on LP1 was warm but a bit murky (vocals), however the instrumentation definitely did seem crisper and more detailed - just a shame neither copy were playable throughout.

This career spanning ‘Best of’ features three recordings from the band’s early career on the Hansa Records label (including 1979’s Quiet Life) but mainly focuses on material from their two seminal studio albums on Virgin Records; Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981). It features three recordings from the band's early career on the Hansa Records label (such as 1979's Quiet Life) but mainly focuses on material from their two studio albums on Virgin Records; Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981). It features three recordings from the band’s early career on the Hansa Records label (including 1979’s ‘Quiet Life’) but largely focuses on material from their two studio albums on Virgin Records; Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981).The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Exorcising Ghosts' represents an interesting cross-section of much of the best material released by Japan in their all too brief career in the early 1980s.