LAZY uchuusen chikyuu gou RHL-8011

Charting the Final Voyage: Lazy’s ‘Earth Ark’ (RHL-8011)

Today’s entry focuses on the final studio album released by the band Lazy during their initial run, a record that fully embraced their hard rock aspirations just before a major shift. We are looking at “Uchuusen Chikyuu Gou” (宇宙船地球号 – Spaceship Earth, often referred to as ‘Earth Ark’), released on the RCA label with the catalog number RHL-8011.

Issued on December 16, 1980, this 9-track, 12-inch vinyl LP arrived as the culmination of Lazy’s rapid evolution away from their pop-idol beginnings. Following “Rock Diamond” and “Lazy V” earlier the same year, “Earth Ark” represents the band – particularly guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi – fully committing to a hard rock sound. Produced by Koichi Fujita and Tasuku Okamura, and largely arranged by the band themselves (with some contributions from Kimio Mizutani), this album is their definitive hard rock statement under the Lazy name.

“Earth Ark” showcases significantly heavier and more complex compositions compared to their earliest work. Takasaki’s guitar work is prominent and powerful, Higuchi’s drumming is dynamic and driving, and the songwriting (with Takasaki credited on several tracks) clearly points towards the heavy metal direction he and Higuchi would soon take. The album features shared vocal duties, with Hironobu Kageyama handling most lead vocals, but also includes tracks sung by Takasaki and bassist Hiroyuki Tanaka, adding variety. Recorded at Rockwell and Hitokuchizaka Studios, the production captures this heavier focus.

RHL-8011 is historically vital. It’s the immediate precursor to the formation of Loudness, capturing Takasaki and Higuchi operating at a high level within a hard rock framework, ready to launch their next, much heavier, musical chapter. For fans tracing the origins of Loudness, “Earth Ark” is the final, crucial piece of the Lazy puzzle.