Exorcising Ghosts

Exorcising Ghosts was compiled and produced in consultation with lead singer David Sylvian two years after Japan dissolved. It features three recordings from the band's early career on the Hansa Records label (all from 1979's Quiet Life) but mainly focuses on material from their two studio albums on Virgin Records; Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981). Besides top 40 hit singles like "Quiet Life", "Visions of China", "Ghosts", and "Nightporter", the double-album set includes album tracks like "Methods of Dance", "Talking Drum" and "Swing" alongside a selection of rarities such as the single B-sides "A Foreign Place" and "Life Without Buildings", the 1981 remix of "Taking Islands in Africa", the instrumental studio recording "Voices Raised in Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer" included on 1983's live album Oil on Canvas and the 12" mix of "The Art of Parties". As to fit the album onto a single disc, the original CD release omitted five of the sixteen tracks; "Swing", "A Foreign Place", "Taking Islands in Africa", "Sons of Pioneers" and "Voices Raised in Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer". == Cover ==

The cover art is by Russell Mills, "A dark and expressive piece, recalling the rusty hues of the work of Frank "Head of Jym III" Auerbach and that so impressed Sylvian", according to his biographer Martin Power, that the musician bought the original painting. This marked the beginning of a long collaboration between the two artists. == Release ==

Exorcising Ghosts reached No. 45 in the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold (100,000 copies) by the BPI in February 1997. ==Track listing==

CD release (1984) == Reception ==

A review at All Music wrote, "It's not a true career overview, and given that the band only released two albums during its stint on Virgin, a collection that includes at least half of each of those efforts is ultimately a strange exercise in superfluity. That all said, though, if one needs to have a useful enough starting point for what made Japan so great, Exorcising Ghosts is a reasonable way to start." == References ==