Toshiki Kadomatsu - ALL is VANITY (1991)

1991’s All is Vanity sees Toshiki Kadomatsu continue to evolve the sound he established with Before the Daylight and Reasons for Thousand Lovers. While he still has a huge cast of session musicians aiding him he decides to cut back on the electronic influences which had dominated most of his discography since the mid 80s, instead going for a more natural sound which is more akin to the music on his first three albums than it is to what had directly preceded this album. In addition to the change in production style this album is notably jazzier than the two vocal albums before it (excluding Legacy of You). The music often taps a very slick jazz-rock/fusion style for many of the tracks which is reminiscent of Steely Dan at times. Helping with that resemblance are some of the players on this album: Larry Carlton, Joe Sample, Rick Marotta, Paulinho da Costa, Jerry Hey, Lenny Castro and Buzz Feiten. While some of these musicians show up regularly on Dan albums others were just in the same 70s/80s LA/NY scene as them, regardless they help with the sonic similarities. Toshiki also recruits his usual cast of characters as well: Masato Honda, Hiroshi Sato, Shigeru Suzuki, Tsugutoshi Gato, Nobu Saito, Shuichi Murakami, Shingo Kobayashi and Tomohito Aoki. The album starts off with the most Steely Dan-esque track “夜離（よが）れ 〜You're Leaving My Heart.” It features a quasi-reggae feel which is similar to something like “Home at Last.” “夏回帰 〜Summer Days,” “この駅から… 〜Station,” “Up Town Girl” and “彷徨 〜Stray At Night” present the more upbeat and funky tunes on the album. “海 〜The Sea,” “ただ一度だけ 〜If Only Once,” “Distance” and “What is Woman” are in line with the adult contemporary/R&B oriented songs found on past projects. “海 〜The Sea” is notable though for some very tasteful and moody guitar work from Carlton. The title track that is “All is Vanity” is perhaps the best example of the blend of styles on the album. It starts and ends as a jazzy, slick city pop song but in the middle there is a rollicking jazz-rock solo break for Buzz Feiten. The title, the cover and the tracklist of the album hint that this LP is more cynical and biting than anything before it. Considering this came out only months before Japan’s economic bubble burst it’s not too far out of the realm of possibility that it’s a response to the indulgent and lavish 80s that Toshiki exemplified. This is only a thought though as I haven’t translated and read the lyrics. That being said, it still reached 5th on the Oricon, keeping Kadomatsu’s streak of success. Overall this is a solid effort and a unique addition into Toshiki’s discography that sadly gets overlooked frequently.