As I went through old storage boxes at home the other day, I came across two remnants of days in my younger teens that I had completely forgotten about: my very own music magazine that I had written by hand, and an LP (record) stashed in a gatefold album cover (not exactly an LP a handmade replica constructed of cardboard and cotton threads). Around that time I started my first rock band, and these artifacts remind me that, since a very young age, I always wanted to make my own record. In fact, I recall wishing so hard, all through my school days, to find my record displayed in the "Rock" section of record shop shelves. As many may already know, I am thankful to earn my living by means of a dental practice (at my own clinic), which I find very satisfying. However, if I may be entirely honest, it wasn't all according to my will to attend dental college, and the extremely busy days there were none less than exhausting, let alone having to cope with classmates who continually proved to have very different standards from mine though I admit that I was the stranger there. Amidst these hectic days I almost lost my dreams and enthusiasm about music, but the production of the first KENSO album, which was meant to be nothing more than a token of the last days in college, brought them back to me strongly.

Masayuki Tanaka recalls about this album, as he wrote in its liner notes, "I feel a nice sense of relief as one of my paths has been set and reached its end." He and I played music together since the days of the cardboard LP and for him, the release of the first KENSO album coincided with his first job-hunting activities, which more or less represented the time to step out into the real world.

On the other hand, there I was, still clinging on to my dream. It was at this time that I met Haruhiko Yamamoto, convinced myself that I was the only one who could create the kind of music I really wanted to listen to, and drove myself to producing the first real KENSO record.

The record came out in the winter of my fifth year in college. The following year and half found me buried in work as an intern and preparing for medical certification, and not playing much music at all. Nonetheless, my spirit rose as I yearned for the culmination of medical study, at last providing the freedom to pour everything I had into music. These were the days when I wrote some of the material found on KENSO II: "Sora ni hikaru," "Hyoto," and "Sayonara progre." Following my graduation in March, KENSO performed our first live show in April paired with ACQUAPOLIS at the SILVER ELEPHANT, the progressive rock shrine of Tokyo. After the show, rehearsals ensued in preparation for going into studio. And quite a studio it was, just a room for the music society of the college, located between the athletes' locker room and showers with no recording equipment except an 8-track recorder that I had just purchased. Equipped with this lone piece of studio equipment, I poured all that I had into the recording of what was to emerge as KENSO II.

What this album was to me back then is something that can only be described in the most passionate words that I have yet to find. When I play the album today, I am visited by the spirit of a youngster who would die for rock music, striving to materialize the burning desire to prove his love of the music which I find quite encouraging. It was a self-financed, amateur production after all, but apart from the lack of technical knowledge and skills, the album holds its own as a pinnacle of the early stage of KENSO, for many of the songs are still played at current live shows. Some fans call KENSO II the best album by the band. I do appreciate the praise, as I understand there are many bands that are not met with such positive feedback, but I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that, to me, it was only a starting point. Notwithstanding, this album indeed marks the high point of creativity in my youth, something which I will never be able to relive.

Now, 20 years after its original release, I am thankful for this opportunity to bring it once again to record shop shelves. In the meantime, as it must be with many other musicians, my mind is set on the new studio album, FABULIS MIRABILIBUS DE BOMBYCOSI SCRIPTIS, that was just released a few weeks ago. Also, I would be most delighted to find approval of dear fans for releases such as YUME NO OKA and ESOPTRON.

Lastly, a few words on the bonus tracks: I will never forget the impact when I first heard PFM's "Four Holes in the Ground." I used to regard this song as an ideal for what I sought in the new sound of KENSO's music. The live version of the song presented on the album COOK is one of the greatest performances, by any band, that I've heard. KENSO played this song for encores at several live shows. Although there are better performances from such concerts, many suffer from poor recording quality thus the performance on this CD was chosen.

On my 45th birthday,
April 19th, 2002
Yoshihisa Shimizu

As the remarkable memory of Yoshihisa Shimizu serves with regard to the production and release of KENSO II, the album marks a special place in the history of KENSO. It was released as a self-financed LP by Record House PAM, which is an independent label specializing in the altruistic service of releasing underground progressive/avant-garde music (besides functioning as a retail shop for import and second-hand records), in a limited pressing of 1,000 in December of 1982. (PAM had also released KENSO's first album in 1980.)

By the time of its release, as happened pretty much everywhere else, the Japanese music industry had labeled and filed progressive rock as a relic in the museum of popular music sub-genres, never to be seen again. Proof of this phenomenon can be seen in magazine reviews a reviewer of one of the major music magazines bluntly dismissed KENSO II for "merely flaunting instrumental skills when elementary school kids play synthesizers today," and stating "the music is nothing more than retrospective despite its label of progressive rock."

Nonetheless, progressive rock was not dead, as KENSO II so eloquently proves. True fans of progressive rock remained, though reduced in number, when the majority of listeners turned to punk and new wave. It is quite interesting to look at some of the comments that Yoshihisa Shimizu collected from people, including fellow musicians, fans, and critics, as well as reviews from music magazines.

On the March '83 issue of MARQUEE, the progressive rock magazine has a raving review of KENSO II. In the write-up KENSO is placed at the foreground of a number of bands that have a fusion-oriented edge to their progressive rock stylings, such as CAI and ITOIZ from Spain, and ACQUAPOLIS, NEGASPHERE and OUTER LIMITS of Japan while also being compared to PFM, WEATHER REPORT, and GENTLE GIANT. Another largely circulated progressive rock magazine was FOOL'S MATE. The record review in the February '83 issue places KENSO above BRAND X due to the tight rhythm section on this album and in reference to the rich melodies, comparisons are extended to CAMEL, GOTIC, and FINCH.

Hiroyuki Namba is known for his numerous contributions to both pop and progressive rock acts reaching all the way back to the '70s, including the role played in his long-lasting prog band SENSE OF WONDER. He recalls the tremendous sensation when he first heard an album created by a dentist (KENSO), as well as another by an umbrella shop owner (Mr. Sirius). He calls the two bands treasures and threats at the same time for, as a professional musician of long-standing fame, he cannot help but being excited by the creative energy of their music. A fan wrote about his impression of KENSO II as being much smoother and more dynamic than the first KENSO album, and would hold this album as his own personal favorite.

Norio Nakagawa of ACQUAPOLIS, who shared the first live stage of KENSO, remembers when he met a young and nervous-looking medical student with an air of genius about him, who ended up becoming a close friend with common interests in the pursuit of progressive rock. The two would meet in their apartments and talk through the night about progressive rock and their music, and listen to their own recordings as well as those by well-established progressive bands such as PFM and GENTLE GIANT. For him KENSO II holds an enthusiasm that was otherwise missing throughout most of Tokyo's live music scene during the '80s. One fan reports his rather amusing, literally moving, experience when he heard KENSO II as a teenager with no prior knowledge of progressive rock. He was so inspired that he ran out and bought a complete multi-track recorder setup, which cost a fortune at the time (back in '84).

Masahide Matsuzaki, a music producer who has worked with many progressive-rock acts such as King Crimson, PFM, Caravan, and Phil Miller's In Cahoots (to name just a few), admits that he was totally blown away when he heard this one album, which was forcibly recommended to him by a record shop owner in spite of the modest cover design. While he heard influence by the likes of GENTLE GIANT, PFM, and HATFIELD AND THE NORTH, a well-established identity was already present, which would later be referenced by calling a certain style of music "KENSO-like." He takes pride in recommending KENSO to overseas correspondents as one of the few Japanese bands that will appeal to the most discerning critics throughout the world. Osamu Sakamoto, a music writer known for his elaborate Canterbury Family Tree, was also quite touched by this album when it first came out. His impression is effectively summarized in the last sentences of his comments: "The biggest clue to analyze what makes KENSO is found on this album. For KENSO, which continues to progress ahead, KENSO II is a most important milestone that marks both the past and future of the band and, for the fans, it will always be the one to go back to." In December 1982, KENSO II was a novelty in more ways than one. Through the following two decades it became a valuable rarity sought by many fans around the world. In 2002 we are graced by two significant KENSO releases: the magnificent new studio album FABULIS MIRABILIBUS DE BOMBYCOSI SCRIPTIS, and KENSO II, the turning point of KENSO's everlasting progression. If this isn't coming full circle, it may well represent the formation of a great ongoing spiral one that radiates brilliant ardor for creative minds in music.

Tatsurou Ueda
KENSO International Aff,

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009
EAC extraction logfile from 6. August 2010, 18:52
Kenso / Kenso II
Used drive : SONY DVD RW DRU-840A Adapter: 0 ID: 1
Read mode : Secure
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Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
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Additional command line options : -hlm %s
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
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1 | 0:00.00 | 6:22.10 | 0 | 28659
2 | 6:22.10 | 2:05.33 | 28660 | 38067
3 | 8:27.43 | 4:20.57 | 38068 | 57624
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6 | 23:35.44 | 3:55.11 | 106169 | 123804
7 | 27:30.55 | 3:45.14 | 123805 | 140693
8 | 31:15.69 | 7:06.30 | 140694 | 172673
9 | 38:22.24 | 4:19.14 | 172674 | 192112
10 | 42:41.38 | 7:45.65 | 192113 | 227052
Range status and errors
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Filename C:\_EAC_tatuk\Kenso - Kenso II.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Range quality 100.0 %
Copy CRC 43998271
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No errors occurred
AccurateRip summary
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No tracks could be verified as accurate
You may have a different pressing from the one(s) in the database
End of status report