Invitation (1983)
This album here was a total surprise. It was given to me as a gift at the Waterslide/PopKid show at What's Up in Uguisudani. Everyone that night was so amazing, but this LP turned out to be one of the coolest and wackiest things I got while in Japan.
What's on this record you ask? Why it's an album filled with pro wrestling entrance music from Japan. You have a mix of Japanese stars like Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu and Jumbo Tsuruta as well as some of the top foreign stars of the era such as Hulk Hogan, Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. The songs are all so much fun and so cheesy in their own perfect way. "Sunrise," the Stan Hansen theme starts off with a country flair as you'd expect, but then takes a sharp and dramatic turn into disco. It's hard to imagine Hulk Hogan not coming out to "Real American," but "Theme from Galactica" is an interesting, spage-age substitute.
However, the best of the best belongs to Bruiser Brody. The version of "Immigrant Song" he comes out to, with all vocals replaced by a particularly gnarly horn section is simply one of the craziest things you'll hear. Go on, click the YouTube link below. You'll thank me.
Bruiser Brody Theme:
Stan Hansen Theme:
Hulk Hogan Theme:
I purchased a similar LP called Western Lariat. It's All Japan Pro Wrestling themes that was released in '82 on a label called VAP. Found your blog while doing a search for the track list. If only I could read katakana.
ReplyDelete