Mentanpin / Country Breakfast (LP)

From Komatsu - Mentanpin's third album, which came to fruition in LA and expands the scale of Japanese rock.

Mentanpin is a legendary band that was also known as the "Japanese Grateful Dead."
Formed in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture in 1972, the band attracted attention from rock fans across the country after performing at the One Step Festival in 1974.
Three original albums that chart their trajectory - their debut "MENTANPIN," the evolved "MENTANPIN SECOND," and the LA-recorded "Country Breakfast" - will be newly remastered and released on vinyl over three consecutive months.

A one-of-a-kind album recorded at Warner Brothers Studios in LA in 1976.
Breathing in the dry air of the American West Coast, the album soars with the cool twin guitars of Ikeda Yoichiro and Tobita Kazuo, the double drums of Okimura Kohei and Terai Mitsugu, the groovy bass of Ishizaki Saburo, and the passionate vocals of Sasaki Chuhei.
The album is packed with highlights, including their signature songs "The Place It Begins With" and "Rock Guy," the over seven-minute masterpiece "The Sea," and "Let's Dance All Night Long with a Twist," a Japanese cover of Sam Cooke's classic song.
Their third album resonates across time as they take on the challenge of going from local to global.

● Comes with liner notes by Hisato Ainokura, included with the original version

*Customers who pre-order any of the three albums at the TUFF BEATS ONLINE STORE will receive one of three randomly selected postcards featuring unreleased photos as a special bonus.

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[Comments about the analog reissue]

After finishing recording the bass track at a studio in Tokyo, we arrived at Ito Port in the middle of the night. The ocean breeze was refreshing. Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart got out of his car and let the wind wash over his entire body.
"Shodaan (me), the wind is saying something. Can you hear the sound of the wind? The wind will always tell you something, wherever you are."
Mickey was very strict when recording the vocals: "Shodaan, don't shout! Just be a storyteller!"
He carefully taught us the Dead's way of doing things: "I learned harmonies from Crosby. I want you to learn that way."
How to take the rhythm. How to write lyrics for the chorus. How to write music. He was truly a missionary. Mickey played the newly completed sound for Jerry Garcia over the phone. "Garcia said Mentampin sounds like Dire Straits." I was so happy I jumped for joy. Garcia was the best musician to me.
February 1974. Toru Shibata and I were at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Growing up in the countryside, the Grateful Dead was my first experience with a foreign band. The concert lasted five hours. The wall behind the band was covered with countless speakers. We heard the best sound in the world. At that time, the concept for "Mentanpin" was almost complete.
My hometown is Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, the birthplace of the Komatsu bulldozer. My classmates at Komatsu High School were Yoichiro Ikeda, Saburo Ishizaki, and Toru Shibata, along with Kohei Okimura, who was a year younger than me, Kazuo Tobita, who was at Meiji University Nakano, and Mitsugu Terai, who joined us a little later.
We didn't belong to any band and walked our own path. We loaded our PA system into a 4-ton truck and toured all over Japan. A few years later, the band consisted of just me, Tobita, and Ishizaki. Then we met Mickey, and he invited us to come to the US, but we called it quits. I think we were mentally exhausted.
However, I decided to gather in Komatsu with the original members to mark the occasion of the record reissue. I wanted to continue the story that had been left unfinished.
I want to create an ending to the story of "Mentanpin." This will probably be our final journey. We will do what we love to the end. Because we are a rock band from the Hokuriku region. See you in Komatsu in December.
Thank you for your support.

September 2025 Tadahira Sasaki

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■Track list:
Side A
1. Where it all begins
2. Where the river flows into the sea
3. Dance the night away with the Twist
4. People who want to be understood
5. Where It Begins (Reprise)

Side B
1. Rock Guy
2. The Sea
3. We're all facing the same night

Artist: Mentanpin
Title: Country Breakfast
Label: Tokuma Japan Communications

Distribution: TUFF BEATS
Format: LP
CatNo.: TBV-0099 (TJJA-10073)
Barcode: 4580187181625
Price: 5,000 yen + tax Release date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025