01. Jet Jive — 3:31
02. Must Say »Adieu» — 6:31
03. Blue Eyed Lady — 5:07
04. The Clown — 4:04
05. Rock And Roll Kid — 2:21
06. Fallen Leaves — 3:00
07. Heavy — 4:56
08. Sister Soul — 2:56
09. Behind The Mask — 4:51

Kyoji Yamamoto — lead guitar, lead vocals, percussion
Mitsuhiro Saito — guitar, lead vocals
Kenji Sano — bass, vocals
Toshihiro Nimi — drums, percussion, vocals

Despite the relative swiftness with which they churned out material during the infancy of their career, Japan's Bow Wow already sounded like seasoned veterans on their third studio album, Charge, released in late 1977, barely a year after their recording debut. This state of events largely resulted from the Tokyo-based quartet's untold hours of rehearsal woodshedding and never-say-no touring philosophy (recently highlighted by opening slots with both Aerosmith and Kiss), and so it was no wonder that the scattered focus of their first LP had so quickly given way to the unstoppable heavy rock juggernaut heard on their second opus, Signal Fire, and, subsequently, the increasingly refined and varied songcraft collected on Charge (where every bandmember contributed songs of his own). Sure, there were still enough balls-out hard rockers on hand -- "Jet Jive," "The Clown," "Heavy," etc. -- that were tailor-made to satiate the core headbanging contingent among Bow Wow's fans, but more surprising fare such as "Blue Eyed Lady" and "Fallen Leaves" found the band stretching in new directions like boogie rock (replete with Wishbone Ash-like dual guitar harmonies) and tender acoustic balladry, respectively. Still other highlights worthy of mention included the extended jamming of "Must Say ‘Adieu'," which prioritized the band's formidable instrumental capabilities along with a Kenji Sano bass solo, and album-capping power ballad "Behind the Mask," which captured the length and breadth of Bow Wow's range, from utmost subtlety to muscular power -- all of it devised by resident guitar hero Kyoji Yamamoto. All this solidified the band's reputation and has since guaranteed Charge pride of place at or near the top of Bow Wow's extensive career discography. --- Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

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01. Heart’s On Fire — 3:54
02. Brown House — 4:54
03. Foxy Lady — 3;05
04. Volume On — 3:48
05. A Life In The Dark — 1:24
06. James In My Casket — 9:48
07. Withered Sun — 5:22
08. Theme Of Bow Wow — 3:47

Kyoji Yamamoto — lead guitar, lead vocals, percussion
Mitsuhiro Saito — guitar, lead vocals
Kenji Sano — bass, vocals
Toshihiro Nimi — drums, percussion, vocals

Releasing a greatest-hits set only four studio albums into a band's career would seem rather premature under normal circumstances, but in the case of the hallowed Bow Wow -- Japan's foremost hard rock force of the late '70s -- that decision proved all too fitting, as it effectively marked the end of an era. Indeed, although the group would carry on releasing dozens of albums in a variety of guises and different lineups over the next few decades, none has matched the importance (some the quality, yes) of the band's pioneering early days, when they were spearheading Japan's homegrown heavy metal revival. Even more remarkable is how this "era" spanned a mere three years due to Bow Wow's exceptionally prolific production schedule, which literally saw them racing from their formative eponymous debut in 1976 to the following year's adrenalin-fueled masterpiece Signal Fire and equally essential successor, Charge, before culminating in the explosive in-concert document Super Live, released in early 1978. The first three are all generously represented in this 12-song collection (especially Signal Fire, with fully half of the chosen tracks), and a fun-filled encore of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" nods to the live opus, but it's telling that not a single track was cherry-picked from Bow Wow's already issued fourth album, Guarantee, as this had constituted an unfathomable departure into soft rock territory. In fact, it may well have been this career-stalling change of direction (pursued further on several subsequent albums before the band's red-faced metallic rebirth) that prompted this hasty act of anthologizing on the part of Bow Wow's record company. In any case, for a one-stop glimpse into why Bow Wow were so special and really mattered in the grand scheme of worldwide hard rock and heavy metal, there's no better CD to pick up than this one. --- Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

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01. Prelude — 1:24
02. Get On Our Train — 4:21
03. Just One More Night — 2:46
04. Silver Lightning — 10:22
05. Electric Power Up — 4:42
06. Rock ‘N’ Roll Drive — 5:14
07. Rainbow Of Sabbath — 4:23
08. Tell Me Tell Me — 5:08
09. Signal Fire — 5:24
10. Still — 8:00

Kyoji Yamamoto — lead guitar, lead vocals, percussion
Mitsuhiro Saito — guitar, lead vocals
Kenji Sano — bass, vocals
Toshihiro Nimi — drums, percussion, vocals

Mere months after their eponymous debut single-handedly rescued Japan from hard rock purgatory, Bow Wow were storming the gates of hard rock heaven with their forceful sophomore album, Signal Fire. Released in mid-1977, the record was sandwiched between experience- and fan-building tours in support of Aerosmith and Kiss, but the bulk of its improvements upon the previous year's first effort ultimately came down to Bow Wow's enviable work ethic, which saw them sharing the same house and devoting every waking hour to hammering songs into shape. This process yielded a wealth of powerful material, ranging from hook-laden heavy rockers like "Get on Our Train" and "Just One More" to mid-paced groove powerhouses like "Silver Lightning" and "Tell Me Tell Me" to blistering speed metal romps like "Electric Power Up" and the vocal-free title track -- all of which offered eye-opening evidence of Bow Wow's far more focused songwriting vision, fast-improving English lyrics (not that Bob Dylan had anything to worry about just yet), and astoundingly tight instrumental chops. In fact, such is the white-knuckled intensity provided by Mitsuhiro Saito (vocals/guitar), Kyoji Yamamoto (lead guitar, vocals), Kenji Sano (bass), and Toshihiro Niimi (drums) that it's not really until the bluesy intro licks and dreamy lull of album closer "Still" -- a dreamy ballad sung by Yamamoto -- that one remembers to inhale once again. Now keep in mind that Bow Wow were hardly reinventing the hard rock wheel here, but they already showed a flair for mixing and matching their influences into a signature sound of their own, and even a suspicious title like "Rainbow of Sabbath" barely hints at the sound of either of these British metal icons. Likewise, although it didn't quite light up the domestic pop music charts (certainly not overseas, where it caused measly ripples), Signal Fire helped solidify Bow Wow's standing as Japan's premier hard rock band, with many more triumphs still lying just over the horizon. --- Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

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