| Japanese Tears | |
| Type: | Studio Album |
| Artist: | Denny Laine |
| Cover: | japanesetears.jpg |
| Released: | December 6, 1980 |
| Recorded: | March 1973 – June 1980 |
| Studio: | Rock City, Nashville, Startling Studios, Lympne Castle |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Length: | 49:09 |
| Label: | Scratch (UK) Takoma (US) |
| Producer: | Denny Laine |
| Prev Title: | Holly Days |
| Prev Year: | 1977 |
| Next Title: | Anyone Can Fly |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
Japanese Tears is the third album by guitarist Denny Laine, released shortly before the demise of Paul McCartney's band Wings, of which Laine was a member. The album was released in 1980.
In January 1980, Wings planned a tour of Japan. However, upon the band's arrival at the airport in Japan, Paul McCartney was arrested for marijuana possession. The tour was cancelled, and McCartney then decided to release a solo album (McCartney II) instead of touring, putting Wings on hiatus.
Laine decided to work on his own solo project (his third since joining Wings), and he released a single, "Japanese Tears". It became the title track of his album.
The album also included three previously unreleased Laine compositions—"Send Me The Heart" (co-written by Paul McCartney), "I Would Only Smile", and "Weep for Love"—that had been recorded by different versions of Wings between 1972 and 1978 with Laine singing lead. In addition, it featured remakes of the Moody Blues' 1965 hit "Go Now", which was originally sung by Laine and which Laine with Wings performed on tour, and a 1967 Laine composition, "Say You Don't Mind", that had become a top-20 UK hit in 1972 for Colin Blunstone. Two other songs featured the short-lived Denny Laine Band, which included fellow Wings member Steve Holley on drums, Andy Richards on keyboards and Laine's wife Jo Jo on backing vocals.[1]
This album has been re-issued several times, under a variety of titles, on an assortment of labels.
AllMusic gave the album a generally positive retrospective review, calling it "a look at one of rock's minor league players done well." They remarked that the album lacks coherency due to the tracks having been both written and recorded during wildly divergent periods of Laine's career, but found that it nonetheless has "charm", singling out the title track and "Go Now" as highlights.
All songs written by Denny Laine, except where noted.
The Denny Laine Band