Electronic music from over 30 years ago that will blow your socks off. A dear friend lent me this on vinyl when I was just getting started with techno in 1991. I thought it was good, yet funny & cheesy. I had never heard much from Japan, living in central Canada. We both liked the "bad" signing on Tong Poo, and snickered at the name.

Somehow it grew on me to an unbelievable extent and today I own nearly every YMO album. This first one is still my favorite. The melodies and intricate flourishes are timeless and addictive. The styles are all over the map, from Simoon that sounds like it's out of a Super Mario 3 cave level (probably the other way around!), to the eclectic Femme Chinoise with the wonderfully cheesy electric guitar chords.

Seriously, if you can't fathom it on the first listen, try it a few more times.

And, oh ya, I no longer find any of the singing bad! In fact, I love YMO vocals as they're so Japanese and distinctly different from typical American pop vocals.

Be sure to check out Atom Heart's Senor Coconut revamp of YMO's tunes in Yellow Fever. And the 90's remix CD Hi-Tech/No Crime is good too!