is the second album released by the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese band
The Blue Hearts
was a Japanese punk rock band active from 1985 to 1995. They have been compared to such bands as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Ramones. . Along with
Dug Out
was the seventh studio album released by the Japanese rock band The Blue Hearts and the eighth album released overall.
Tracks
#"Tegami" (手紙 ''Letter'')
#"Midori no Happa" (緑のハッパ ''Green Leaf'')
#"Torch Song" (トーチソング ' ...
, it is one of only two studio albums consisting of a cover actually showing members of the band.
Album history
About half of the songs on this album were originally written while the band was an amateur independent band. The new songs were produced by Masahide Sakuma (佐久間 正英 ''Sakuma Masahide''). Other changes include
Masatoshi Mashima
is a guitarist who has performed with Japanese rock bands such as The Blue Hearts, The High-Lows and The Cro-Magnons.[Hiroto Kōmoto
is a Japanese rock singer who has fronted bands such as The Blue Hearts, The High-Lows and The Cro-Magnons.
Early life
Kōmoto was born in 1963 in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture and graduated from the junior high school attached to the School of E ...](_blank)
playing a blues harp, and the addition of a keyboard.
The three songs that were written specifically for this album are "Tōku Made", "Hoshi o Kudasai", and "Eiyū ni Akogarete". They announced that they were going to include two other songs from their time as amateurs, "Mado o Akeyō" (窓をあけよう ''Open the Window'') and "Hon no Sukoshi Dake" (ほんの少しだけ ''Just a Little Bit''), but these songs were never released.
Because there were a number of songs that stepped away from the normal eight-beat rhythm, recording was a problem. When Sakuma would not allow the recordings to be finalized, Kōmoto said, "This is a Blue Hearts record, so shouldn't our own abilities be enough?" Looking back, though, the group realizes that their own recording knowledge was insufficient for this record.
Songs
The first song, "
Kiss Shite Hoshii
was the third single by the Japanese band The Blue Hearts. It was released on November 21, 1987, the same time that the band's second album, ''Young and Pretty'', was released. Lyrics and music were written by Hiroto Kōmoto, the band's lead voc ...
" was released as a single at the same time the album was released. "Chain Gang" was the single's B-side.
"Roku de Nashi II", which has a subtitle "Gitaa Hiki ni Heya wa Nashi" (ギター弾きに部屋は無し ''No room for a guitar player'') describes the many refusals Mashima received when searching for an apartment.
"Romantic" is the oldest song that The Blue Hearts play, as it came from Kōmoto's time with his previous band, Za Kōtsu. "Scrap" is the next oldest song.
"Restaurant" is the band's first
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
tune.
Track listing
References
{{Authority control
The Blue Hearts albums
1987 albums