Push & Pull

Masaki Ueda had a gift for putting rhythm and blues, funk and reggae through a distinctly Kansai voice. He could sound like a rough-edged soul shouter, but there was always more to him than the force of that voice. Push & Pull brings his melodic side into particularly sharp focus.

The title fits the band's pull on the music: a close, deeply felt session with enough room for contrasting moods. “Mayonaka no Koibito” and “Like a Samba” have a light funk current; “Akai Tebukuro no Naka” holds back in a cooler mood; “Hikaru Umi, Nagareboshi” carries a trace of West Coast air. Over it all, “Chiisana Uchu” is an exceptionally poised, spacious groove. For me, this is Ueda's finest album.