Tatsuro Yamashita [山下達郎] - Let's Dance Baby (レッツ・ダンス・ベイビー)

“Go Ahead!” is the third studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in December 1978.

“A masterpiece third solo album that showcased the creativity of Yamashita’s brilliant and versatile writing style, setting the direction for his subsequent career.”

In the world of commercial music, there was high demand for Yamashita as an anonymous session musician. While his work as a contracted artist for a record company was well-regarded, he wasn’t achieving the sales figures that RCA had hoped for. Yamashita himself felt that the era of rock and folk he had been part of was entering a new phase. He believed that if things continued as they were, he might have to give up making records and performing live. He pessimistically predicted that this album would likely be his last.

The album was criticized by both critics and listeners for being disorganized. However, it can be said that the struggles of the artist’s creative principles during this period were the seeds of the production style that would define his later work.

Tatsuro Yamashita was later informed that “Bomber,” a track from Go Ahead!, had become a hit in a disco in Osaka. As a result, a promotional single was released in 1979 under the same title, “Bomber.”

The songs “Let’s Dance Baby,” “Bomber,” and “潮騒 (The Whispering Sea)” would go on to be featured in his 1982 greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita. Meanwhile, the song “This Could Be the Night” was re-recorded in 1984 for his soundtrack album Big Wave.

In 2002, a remastered reissue (BVCR-17015) was released as part of The RCA/AIR Years 1976–1982 series. This edition included remastered tracks along with three previously unreleased bonus tracks. It entered the Oricon charts, peaking at number twenty-five.

The playlist of the full album can be found here:    • Tatsuro Yamashita [山下達郎] - Go Ahead! ...  

This is not monetised, nor do I intend to monetise this. All credits go to RCA Records and BMG Records.

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