TIME

ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Released in January 1977, TIME was Hiroshi Sato’s second solo album and reveals a very different side of his music from the electronic sophistication of Awakening five years later. Here, Sato is still working largely inside an organic studio-band setting, surrounded by an exceptional group of musicians including Haruomi Hosono, Kenji Takamizu, Tatsuo Hayashi, Shuichi “Ponta” Murakami, Nobu Saito, Pecker, Hirobumi Tokutake, and Chuei Yoshikawa. Sato himself plays piano, clavinet, Hammond organ, synthesizer, guitar, percussion, and other instruments, already demonstrating the multi-instrumental control that would become central to his later work. The album moves between mellow singer-songwriter material and funkier tracks such as “Bad Junky Blues,” while “Minami Kaikisen,” “Yamate Hotel,” and “Saigo no Tejina” show his gift for warm, harmonically rich songwriting. TIME is especially valuable because it captures Sato before drum machines and digital production reshaped his sound. The core musical qualities are already present—soft soul harmony, keyboard-centered arranging, and understated groove—but expressed through a looser, highly accomplished live ensemble.