IT'S A POPPIN' TIME

ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Released in 1978, IT'S A POPPIN' TIME is a crucial early live document because it captures Tatsuro Yamashita before his commercial breakthrough, performing for an audience already deeply familiar with his more rhythmically ambitious material. Recorded at Pit Inn in Roppongi, the double album includes extended versions of songs from CIRCUS TOWN and SPACY alongside covers and material that reveal his roots in soul, doo-wop, and American vocal music. The live setting changes the character of the songs significantly. Studio precision gives way to longer instrumental exchanges, more flexible grooves, and a stronger sense of interaction between the musicians. Yamashita’s voice is also more physical here, pushing against the band rather than sitting inside carefully layered production. That makes the album especially valuable for understanding how much of his later studio control was built on genuine live-band musicianship. IT'S A POPPIN' TIME is not merely a concert souvenir between studio albums; it documents the working musical language Yamashita and his band had developed in clubs, where funk, soul, harmony pop, and improvisation could stretch well beyond the limits of a single.