''Exorcising Ghosts'' is a compilation album by the British band

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, released in November 1984 by record label

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

Content

''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 Hansa Records (also known as Hansa, Hansa Musik Produktion or Hansa International) was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany. Profile The label's most successful act commercially was the German-based band Boney M. with mil ...

label (such as 1979's ''

Quiet Life ''Quiet Life'' is the third studio album by English new wave band Japan, first released on 17 November 1979 in Canada by record label Hansa (it would be released in the UK some weeks later). The album was a transition from the glam rock-influ ...

'') 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 "

", "

Visions of China Visions of China is a song by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1981 as the second single from their 1981 album '' Tin Drum'', which was released on 13 November. The single reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. Content ...

", "

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

", and "

Nightporter "Nightporter" is a song by English new wave band Japan. The song originally featured on the band's fourth album ''Gentlemen Take Polaroids'' in 1980. However, it was then remixed by Steve Nye and released as a single in November 1982. The singl ...

", 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 The Art of Parties is a song by the British band Japan. It was released as a single in May 1981 and reached number 48 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-recorded version was subsequently included as the opening track on the band's album '' Tin Drum'' ...

". 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".

Release

''Exorcising Ghosts'' reached No. 45 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

Japan albums
Official charts and was certified Gold (100,000 copies) by the BPI in February 1997. Seven years after the release of ''Exorcising Ghosts'', Japan recorded a new studio album, but under the new moniker

Rain Tree Crow ''Rain Tree Crow'' is the sole album released by English band Rain Tree Crow, a reunion project by the members of the new wave band Japan. Recorded in 1989 and 1990 and released in April 1991, it was the first time that members David Sylvian, ...

Track listing

CD release (1984)

References

External links

*
''Exorcising Ghosts'' at allmusic.com
{{Authority control Japan (band) albums 1984 compilation albums Albums produced by John Punter Virgin Records compilation albums Albums with cover art by Russell Mills (artist)