YMO* – BGM

smooth production very NICE. good to spend some time with your green friend listhing to THIS

A flawless release. Coupled with stellar mastering and production, you'll be in heaven if you're a fan. YMO/BGM may not be for everyone, but it certainly is for this household! Don't hesitate, buy with confidence.

No wonder why there are less than 300 copies of this album, when they want 10.000 people but only have 5.000 copies. Then makes no sense.

The song Cue is a total rip-off of Ultravox's Passionate Reply.

Timeless, absolutely beautiful music. YMO's pinnacle. I could listen to BGM forever.

The Early 80's - The Years Of T-Shirts My brother and I spent our teen years in a tiny crappy midwest town, and in order to survive we listened to such great albums like this one and put the album covers on t-shirts, which confused the towns people because all their shirts had Kenny Rogers' pictures on them. The music of YMO was a drug to us and we'll be forever grateful. Along with the 1980 Split Enz Lp TRUE COLOURS with it's amazing lazer-etched artwork on the vinyl LP, and who could forget the Patti Smith Group? Music saves lives. Trust.

BGM album was sure to sell over hundreds of thousands copies before launching in Japan.
Hosono, the producer, knew that, so he decided not to sell like music but to make music that everyone would like to listen to.
He hoped that he would choose such high quality music.
As a result, fans who were expecting music like before did not accept it and it was the last release from A & M.
But the quality of this album has also created new fans.

They are using the world's latest digital multi-recorder in this album but they are recording only rhythm tracks with analog tape for heavy sound.

Sakamoto did not get along well with member at this time and he was not actively engaged in production.
It is the reason why 1000 Knives of a past tune was played with a broken arrangement and Happyend of a solo tune was issued with a broken arrangement and it is aggressive with Music Plans.

Have you found any other differences between pressings of the albums other than the mastering?

There are 4 different versions of the track "Happy End" - 1) LP version appears on vinyl pressings from Japan, the UK, Europe plus all CDs from the Toshiba-EMI release in 1999 onwards (this is by far the most common version). 2) US LP version - slightly different version on US pressings of the album. 3) Alfa CD version - this is on all Alfa released CDs from 1984 to 1998 - it has a different middle section with much of the mettalic synth omitted until it suddenly drops back in. Sounds like an alternate take. This also appears on the Restless CD releases (NOTE this is an amendment, I was told that the Restless CD had the proper LP mix but upon getting the US and European CDs I discovered they use the same master as the Alfa CDs). 4) Sakamoto solo version, using the same basic track but with additional synth overdubs - this was the b-side to his single "Front Line" in 1981 and is included on the Alfa "Arrangement" CD.

BGM is where YMO grows up. Earlier releases were full of hyperactive silliness and simplistic melodies, and frankly have not stood the test of time. But BGM has a depth those records lack: a fuller sound and a more melancholy feel, thanks no doubt to the slower tempos and minor key arrangements being used. There's a lovely "warbly-ness" that runs through much of the music, as evidenced on lead track "Ballet" (which sounds a lot like Japan circa Tin Drum BTW). There are a few missteps to be sure (Rap Phenomena - big oops! despite the inventive instrumental track), but I could listen to songs like "Cue" and "Mass" all day long, over 30 years later...