''Artisan'' is the thirteenth studio album recorded by the Japanese singer-songwriter
Tatsuro Yamashita. It was released in June 1991, led by a string of hit singles he produced. ''Artisan'' became his first album that was not released on LP. Like his 1989 live album ''Joy'', illustration for a front cover of ''Artisan'' was drawn by Andre Miripolsky, who painted a cover art of
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
's 1983 ''
No Frills'' album. It debuted at the No. 1 on the Oricon, and spent 20 weeks on chart with sales of over 710,000 copies in total. In December 1991, the album won the 33rd
Japan Record Awards for "Best Pop/Rock Album" and "Excellent Albums" prizes.
Songs and composition
"Endless Game" was featured as the theme for
a TV drama ''Yūwaku'' aired on
TBS in 1990. It was released as a single in April 1990, and became his third top-5 hit as a performer on the Japanese
Oricon singles chart. Also in the same year, Yamashita contributed a song "
Without You" for
Debbie Gibson, which was issued as a Japan-only single and the
bonus disc
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
for Japanese edition of her third album ''
Anything is Possible''. Yamashita rewrote the song and recorded by himself, under the title "Sayonara Natsu no Hi". His rendition of the song was released as the second lead single for ''Artisan'' in May 1991. It gained a similar commercial success to its predecessor, though it couldn't reach the top-ten.
The lead-off track of ''Artisan'' is a song dedicated to the late
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
, a Japanese
manga artist
A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
who died in 1989 ("Atom" is a protagonist for ''
Astro Boy'', one of Tezuka's most prominent works). In 1992, it was released as the fourth single from the album. He also sings of a painting ''
Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway'' by
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...
on the third track entitled "Turner's Steamroller" which similarly became a single. Fifth track of the album is a cover version of "New York is a Lonely Town", a song written by
Anders/
Poncia and recorded by their group
The Trade Winds. Yamashita interpreted the mid-1960s U.S. top-40 charting hit, slightly changing the part of the lyrics. On the eighth track, Yamashita's spouse
Mariya Takeuchi wrote the lyrics to his composition. Aside from "Mighty Smile", the couple wrote three songs together for
Masayuki Suzuki's second solo album ''Radio Days'' in 1988.
Among them, Yamashita recorded "Misty Mauve" for ''Artisan'', although it was not released until 2002 on his ''
Rarities'' album.
The closing track of ''Artisan'' is a cover version of
The Young Rascals' 1967
U.S. number-one hit.
It has been also the ending theme for ''Sunday Songbook'', a weekly radio program that Yamashita has hosted since 1992.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Tatsuro Yamashita, except where indicated
#"" – 4:26
#"" – 4:36
#" -Turner's Steamroller-" – 4:34
#"" – 4:39
#"Tokyo's a Lonely Town" (
Vincent Poncia Jr.,
Pete Andreoli, lyrics adaptations by Yamashita) – 2:41
#"" – 1:48
#"Splender" – 5:25
#"Mighty Smile ()" (Yamashita,
Mariya Takeuchi) – 3:14
#" "Queen of Hype" Blues" – 5:15
#"Endless Game" – 4:10
#"
Groovin'" (
Felix Cavaliere,
Eddie Brigati) – 3:20
Bonus tracks for 30th Anniversary Edition
#"Morning Shine (モーニング・シャイン)" – 4:21
#"Atom no Ko" (アトムの子, Atomu no Ko)"
emix version– 4:28
#"Sayonara Natsu no Hi (さよなら夏の日)"
lternate vocal version– 4:35
#"Turner no Kikansha (ターナーの汽罐車, Tānā no Kikansha) -Turner's Steamroller-"
ingle version– 4:33
#"Sayonara Natsu no Hi (さよなら夏の日)"
riginal karaoke– 4:36
#"Endless Game"
riginal karaoke– 4:08
Personnel
*Tatsuro Yamashita – Lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
acoustic piano,
electric sitar, synthesizer,
hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
, glocken, percussion,
hand bells
A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle – traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic – and moves the arm to make the hinged cla ...
, drum programming, computer programming, effect
*Kouki Itou – Electric bass
*Hiroyuki Nanba – Acoustic piano
*Masato Matsuda – Acoustic piano
*Tōru Shigemi – Synthesizer
*Jun Aoyama – Drums
*Motoya Hamaguchi – Percussion
*Shin Kazuhara – Trumpet
*Yasuo Hirauchi –
Trombone
*Jake H Conception
Tenor sax
*Satoru Hirahara –
Baritone sax
*Tadanori Kogawa –
Trombone
*
Mariya Takeuchi – Background vocals
*Kazuhito Murata – Background vocals
*Masamichi Sugi – Background vocals
Awards
Chart positions
Album
Singles
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1991 albums
Tatsuro Yamashita albums