This album "San" from the band TOKYO doesn't just sound like you're arrived in 1980, it is from that time and was released originally in 1983 on vinyl. Now, almost 30 years later it's released for the very first time on CD by Yesterrock Records, but with some old unreleased demo's added as bonus tracks. The bonus track "Too High" however is a newly recorded version of the original song in a today's coating. "San" is the third album from TOKYO that came after "Tokyo" (1981) and "Fasten Seat Belts" (1982). So I would say: Buckle up for this AOR / Hard Rock journey to 1983.

1983 was a different era. No computers and no internet like nowadays, no YouTube, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter and even today the German band TOKYO is hard to find on the internet and so is information about them, but then again one doesn't need all that knowledge to enjoy the sound from that time brought into today. After all it's the music that counts and in this case also the strings that are attached to the recognizable 1983 sound that did make me think about TOTO, YES, ASIA and quite some other bands from that time.

The album "San" is all about love, betrayal, jealousy, lies and goodbyes dressed by one drummer, one bassist, two guitar players and three vocalists. The sound on this album made me think that I was listening to a new band, playing old school tunes with a modern touch. It took me some research to realize that this album is old school, but not simple, so my guess is that despite their typical 80s sound, they were also ahead of their time making this release also fit inside this time.

What did get to me first was the feeling of flying. Flying through music lines filled with memories, hopes, dreams, desire, love, pain and lessons learned. Not a heavy flight, but a lighthearted one with serious notes, carried by melodies brought through bass, drum, guitars, keyboard and voices, clean voices with sing along possibilities if you're in the mood, but if not, the work of the rest of the band does hold water and stands strong enough to enjoy their flight. For some this album will bring up childhood memories, for the younger ones this album's a cool way to hear how 'it used to sound', way back in 1983.

Can't tell if this album "San" is better or lesser than TOKYO's former albums, but I can tell you that I did enjoy listening to this album.