GO AHEAD!

ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Released in 1978, GO AHEAD! is one of the most important turning points in Tatsuro Yamashita’s early catalog because it contains the track that unexpectedly changed his commercial trajectory. “BOMBER,” originally placed on the B-side of the single “LET’S DANCE BABY,” found a strong audience in Osaka’s disco scene and became an underground dance-floor hit, eventually prompting the single sides to be reversed. That response revealed a market for the heavier funk side of Yamashita’s music that had not yet been obvious from album sales alone. The rest of GO AHEAD! is deliberately wide-ranging. “PAPER DOLL,” “潮騒 (The Whispering Sea),” “THIS COULD BE THE NIGHT,” and “2000t no Ame” move between funk, soft soul, harmony pop, and orchestral songwriting without settling into a single formula. That variety reflects an artist still testing how far his musical interests could coexist on one record. In retrospect, the album is the bridge between Yamashita’s cult early period and the momentum that would lead through MOONGLOW to his mainstream breakthrough with RIDE ON TIME.