5 out of 5

Label: Tip Top Recordings

Produced by: Kristian Bell (EPs recorded by)

Combining JTs first two EPs onto one 2-sided LP is pretty perfect in the first place: JTVI is good but really just a palate-whetter, and is anted-up on in every by JTVII; having all these songs as an A-side and B-side makes it kind of the ideal way to experience the music. Add to that some excellent live tracks from a BBC session, which really show off how the band’s chops absolutely kick live, allowing in some edge and energy that the reverb-drenched studio recordings somewhat water down (in pursuit of a “surf” sound?), and the only real downside to this compilation is that it sets an absurdly high bar for whatever other Japanese Telvision listens are in your future.

Rated for its content and sequencing, which split the BBC session tunes to smartly align with the EPs (as best can be done with the runtime), and an extra bang-for-your-buck nudge to the ranking.