The Rainbow Goblins (album)

is the ninth studio album by Japanese musician, producer, and composer Masayoshi Takanaka, released by Kitty Records on 10 March 1981.

Inspired by the picture book of the same name by Italian artist Ul de Rico, Takanaka set out to create a fully realized concept album. Influenced by progressive rock bands like King Crimson and Pink Floyd, he blended his signature guitar work with layered arrangements and vivid soundscapes to match the book's visual and narrative depth. The result is one of his most ambitious and imaginative works.

Background The Rainbow Goblins tells the story of seven goblins who each survive by stealing the colors of rainbows. We follow them as they journey through valleys, forests, and mountains in search of the legendary Valley of Rainbows. As they close in on their goal, nature turns against them. In the end, the rainbow pulls its colors away, and the goblins are defeated, ending with the powerful final track, "You Can Never Come to This Place", featuring a guitar solo from Takanaka.

The album creates a rich musical journey that follows the arc of the original picture book, capturing its eerie illustrations and poetic tone. Each track reflects a stage in the story, and short spoken narrations between songs help tell the tale.

On release day, 10 March 1981, the album was performed live in full at Nippon Budokan and released on video. Several songs, however, were cut from the final footage.

In recent years, The Rainbow Goblins has gained new recognition as interest in city pop and jazz fusion has grown. The creator of "Takanaka Vibes" was inspired by the video.'Do what you really want to do while you're still alive': Masayoshi Takanaka, the Japanese guitar hero surfing a second wave in his 70s. The Guardian. 2 March 2026.

Reception The album has been described as an "iconic"Masayoshi Takanaka Adds New Shows to Australia and New Zealand Tour. Rolling Stone Australia. 11 December 2025. "touchstone".Masayoshi Takanaka adds extra shows to Australian tour due to overwhelming demand. Mixdown. 11 December 2025.

Track listing

Personnel Credits and personnel adapted from liner notes

高中正義 [Masayoshi Takanaka] — guitar, composer, arrangements 星勝 [Katz Hoshi] — string arrangements 田中章弘 [Akihiro Tanaka] — bass 宮崎まさひろ [Masahiro Miyazaki] — drums 井上茂 [Shigeru Inoue] — drums 村上 "PONTA" 秀一 [Shuichi "PONTA" Murakami] — drums Susumu Yamazaki — percussion Kiyosumi Ishikawa — keyboards 小林泉美 [Izumi "Mimi" Kobayashi] — keyboards 木村誠 [Makoto Kimura] — percussion 菅原裕紀 [Yuki Sugawara] — percussion Koji Satsuma — saxophone Roy Garner — narrator Producer — Masayoshi Takanaka Coordinator [Production Coordination] — Akira Inoue Cover Art, Design [Card] — Tsunemi Morimoto Engineer [Mixer – Assistant] — Masahiro Taira, Susumu Yamazaki, 清水高志 [Takashi Shimizu] Executive Producer — Hidenori Taga Management [Artist Management], A&R [Direction] — Choux Suzuki Mixed By — Susumu Ohno, Ken Takagi Photography By — 三浦憲治 [Kenji Miura], Yoichi Nagata

Charts The album Niji Densetsu reached number 4 on the Music Labo albums chart,"Japan" in "Hits of the World". Billboard. 4 April 1981, p 86. 11 April 1981, p 64. having debuted at number 7.Billboard. 28 March 1981. p 59. The album reached number 2 on the Cash Box LPs chart,Cash Box. 18 April 1981, p 76. and number 3 on the Oricon chart.Oricon

Awards The album won a planning award (企画賞) at the 23rd Japan Record Awards.第23回日本レコード大賞. Japan Composer's Association.

Use The track "Thunderstorm" was the theme music of pro-wrestler Genichiro Tenryu.高中正義、天龍引退興行で「THUNDER STORM」生演奏. Oricon News. 15 November 2015.昭和プロレステーマ曲大事典: Encyclopedia of Showa Pro-Wrestling Theme Music. 2021. Tatsumi Publishing. pp 101 & 102.全日本プロレス旗揚げ50周年！X世代に刺さる入場テーマ曲ベストテン（昭和編）. Re:minder. 22 October 2022.

Single "You Can Never Come To This Place" was released as a single in 1981.Kitty Records catalogue number 7DK 7008 In 2025, it was included in The Smashing Machine soundtrack,Every song on 'The Smashing Machine' soundtrack. NME. 2 October 2025. which caused it be streamed more often.Janelle Borg. "I gave it away... I thought I didn't need it any more": Cult Japanese guitar hero Masayoshi Takanaka gave away his iconic surfboard guitar. Now he's got it back for his first-ever world tour at 72 years old. Guitar World. 3 March 2026.

Release history + Release history for The Rainbow Goblins Region Date Formats Label Japan 10 March 1981 Kitty Records 1984 CD 25 July 1990 CD (reissue) Universal Music Japan

The Rainbow Goblins (album)

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