Tusk of Jaguar

Tusk of Jaguar is the first solo studio album by Japanese guitarist Akira Takasaki, best known for his work in the bands Loudness and Lazy. It was released in 1982 only in Japan and reissued in 2005.[3] The album is actually a joint effort of Takasaki and keyboard player Masanori Sasaji, who composed three tracks and arranged and co-produced the recording. A large contribution was given to the album by Takasaki's bandmates in Loudness, who play in most tracks and collaborated to the musical arrangements. However, the music of Tusk of Jaguar is much more varied than in any Loudness' album, with its music ranging from hard rock to progressive rock to jazz fusion, reminiscing of some Dixie Dregs' and Al Di Meola's works.[2] The precise and fast guitar playing by Takasaki is anyway always present in every track and he even takes the lead vocal spot in the song "Ebony Eyes".

Tusk of Jaguar
Studio album by Akira Takasaki
Released	April 1, 1982 (1982-04-01)
Studio	Nippon Columbia Studio, Studio Birdman, Tokyo, Japan
Genre	Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length	40:00
Label	Columbia
Producer	Daiko Nagato, Masanori Sasaji, Akira Takasaki
Akira Takasaki chronology
Tusk of Jaguar (1982) Ki (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	5/10[2]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Tusk of Jaguar" (Akira Takasaki) - 3:54
2. "Steal Away" (Masanori Sasaji, Milky Way) - 6:13
3. "Macula (Far from Mother Land)" (Takasaki) - 4:46
4. "Ebony Eyes" (Takasaki, Milky Way) - 5:31

Side two

1. "Wild Boogie Run" (Sasaji) - 3:17
2. "Gunshots" (Takasaki) - 3:07
3. "Mid-Day Hunter" (Sasaji) - 4:28
4. "Show Me Something Good" (Takasaki, Milky Way) - 4:59
5. "Say What?" (Takasaki, Milky Way) - 3:44

Personnel

Musicians

• Akira Takasaki - electric and acoustic guitars, lead vocals on track 4, backing vocals, producer
• Masanori Sasaji - keyboards and synthesizers, producer
• Minoru Niihara - lead vocals on tracks 2 and 8, backing vocals
• Masayoshi Yamashita - bass on tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, backing vocals
• Munetaka Higuchi - drums on tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
• Takayuki Hijikata - bass on track 2
• Reuben Tsujino - drums on track 2
• Kazuhisa Takahashi - drums on track 4
• Poker Face - strings on track 5
• Toshihiro Nakanishi - electric violin on track 5
• Milky Way - backing vocals

Production

• Daiko Nagato - producer
• Seigen Ono - engineer, mixing

References

1. Eder, Bruce. "Akira Takasaki - Tusk of Jaguar review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
2. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 978-1894959315.
3. "Akira Takasaki - Tusk of Jaguar". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 2010-03-28.