Cross My Palm

Cross My Palm
Studio album by Akina Nakamori
Released	August 25, 1987 (1987-08-25)
Recorded	April 1987 (New York)
Genre	J-pop adult contemporary pop rock synth-pop
Length	46:46
Language	English
Label	Warner Pioneer, Atlantic Records
Akina Nakamori chronology
CD'87 (1987) Cross My Palm (1987) Stock (1988)

Cross My Palm is the eleventh studio album by Japanese singer Akina Nakamori, released on 25 August 1987 by Warner Pioneer. It was Nakamori's first English-language album.

Background

Cross My Palm is the second studio album to be recorded in the United States, five years after her debut album Prologue (Jomaku) and the first studio album to be produced by western musicians and writers as David Batteau, Tony Humecke, Roger Daltrey, Julia Downes and Sandy Stewart. ^{[1] [2]}

Nakamori's inspiration for album came from American films such as Top Gun and Footloose . ^[3]

"Modern Woman" is a cover of "Femmes d'aujourd'hui" by French singer Jeanne Mas and the title track is a cover of the song by British writer Chris Morris.

"The Look That Kills" is an English-language self-cover of her 1987 No. 1 hit "Blonde". The single was released two months before the album's release. While the melody line resembles to the original, she performs it in the higher key tune than original, arrangement is slightly renewed and is sixteen seconds shorter. ^[4]

Marketing

Pioneer Corporation's television commercial

"Modern Woman" was used by Pioneer Corporation in a commercial to promote the Private CD770D mini component stereo system.

Music video album

Four months after the release of album, a companion music video album was released on 21 December 1987. The video album features Nakamori as a musician who aims to go professional. It was filmed in New York City between 13 and 24 April 1987. ^[5] "No More" includes a new remixed intro not found in the album version. ^[6] The video received an award at the AVA Digital Content Grand Prix in 1987.

Photo book

The companion photo book Akina Nakamori Visual Book Cross My Palm (中森明菜写真集 VISUAL BOOK Cross My Palm, Nakamori Akina shashin-shū Bijuaru Bukku Kurosu Mai Pāmu) was released on 24 December 1987. ^[7]

Stage performances

On Fuji TV's music show Yoru no Hit Studio , Nakamori performed "Soft Touch" in Paris in 1989. She performed "The Look That Kills" on the 25 December 1987 episode of TV Asahi's Music Station . ^[8]

Some tracks were performed in her live shows as well: During the live tour for A Hundred Days in 1987 she performed "Soft Touch", "Political Moves", and "The Look That Kills". ^[9] She performed "Cross My Palm", "My Position", "Soft Touch", "The Look That Kills" and "No More" in the 1991 special live show "Yume". ^[10]

Chart performance

Cross My Palm hit No. 1 on Oricon's weekly albums chart and sold 347,700 copies. The album remained at number 19 on Oricon's yearly albums chart in 1987. ^[11]

The album was released in the United States in 1989 under Atlantic Records; however, it sold poorly in the country, peaking at No. 90 on the Billboard 200 . ^{[12] [13]}

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Cross My Palm"	Barrie Corbett John De Plesses	Chris Morris	3:42
2.	"Political Moves"	Julia Downes Roger Bruno Ellen Schwartz	Downer Bruno Schwartz	4:27
3.	"Slave for Love"	David Batteau Don Freeman	Batteau Freeman	3:54
4.	"Easy Rider"	Batteau Danny Sembello Gardner Cole	Batteau Sembello Cole	4:13
5.	"Modern Woman"	Jeanne Mas	Romano Musumarra Roberto Zaneli	4:12
6.	"The Look that kills"	Biddu Winston Sela	Biddu Sela	3:38
7.	"Soft Touch"	Steve Skaith Steve Jeffries	Skaith Jeffries	3:34
8.	"My Position"	Humecke Batteau Robin Lane	Humecke Batteau Lane	3:37
9.	"The Touch of Heartache"	Jill Colucci Bruno Schwartz	Colucci Bruno Schwartz	4:13
10.	"House of Love"	Sandy Steward	Steward	4:51
11.	"No More"	Skaith Jeffries	Skaith Jeffries	3:10
12.	"He's Just in Love with the Beat"	Roy Freeland Bruno Schwartz	Freeland Bruno Schwartz	3:15
Total length:				46:46

2023 remaster reissue

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
13.	"Cross My Palm" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Barrie Corbett John De Plesses	Chris Morris	3:27
14.	"The Touch of Heartache" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Jill Colucci Bruno Schwartz	Colucci Bruno Schwartz	4:07
15.	"Easy Rider" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Batteau Danny Sembello Gardner Cole	Batteau Sembello Cole	4:19
16.	"House of Love" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Sandy Steward	Steward	4:30
17.	"Political Moves" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Julia Downes Roger Bruno Ellen Schwartz	Downer Bruno Schwartz	4:16
18.	"The Look that kills" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Biddu Winston Sela	Biddu Sela	3:35
19.	"Soft Touch" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Steve Skaith Steve Jeffries	Skaith Jeffries	4:33
20.	"No More" (movie Cross My Palm version)	Skaith Jeffries	Skaith Jeffries	3:58
Total length:				79:00

Notes:

• "Modern Woman" is titled as "Modern Woman (Femme d'aujourd'hui)" in the album liner notes.

Release history

Year	Format(s)	Serial number	Label(s)	Ref.
1987	LP, CT, CD	L-12651, LKF-8151, 32XL-192	Warner Pioneer	[14]
1989	LP, CT, CD	82037-1, 82037-4, 82037-2	Atlantic Records	[15]
1991	CD	WPCL-423	Warner Pioneer	[16]
2006	CD, digital download	WPCL-10288	Warner Pioneer	[17]
2012	Super Audio CD, CD hybrid	WPCL-11147	Warner Pioneer	[18]
2014	CD	WPCL-11733	Warner Pioneer	[19]
2018	LP	WPJL-10095	Warner Pioneer	[20]
2023	2CD	WPCL-13492/3	Warner Pioneer	[21]

Notes:

• 2006 re-release includes 24-bit digitally remastered sound source
• 2012 and 2014 re-release includes subtitles in the tracks "2012 remaster"
• 2023 re-release includes lacquer remaster which includes subtitles in the tracks "2023 lacquer remaster" along with original karaoke version of the tracks

References

1. "CRUISE (中森明菜 ) ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン - Warner Music Japan". Warner Music Japan. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009.
2. "中森明菜 Cross My Palm". CDJournel.
3. Tooru Fujii (24 August 1987). "Oricon Weekly 3rd August Week 1987". Oricon Weekly. 411 (33): 11.
4. 堤昌司 (10 June 2009). Complete Single Collection: First Ten years (Akina Nakamori) (Media notes). Warner Music Japan. p. 24. WPCL-10681/84.
5. "中森明菜 Cross My Palm DVD". CDJournal.
6. While the original version is 3:15 in length, the video version is 4:00
7. 柴田, 敬三 (1987). 中森明菜写真集 VISUAL BOOK Cross My Palm. New York: Hontoki. ISBN   4-938568-03-9.
8. "Artist Line-up 1987.12.25. Nakamori Akina. The Look That Kills". Music Station Official Website. TV Asahi.
9. "中森明菜/ライヴ・イン'87～ア・ハンドレッド・デイズ". cdjournal.com.
10. "中森明菜/～夢～'91・アキナ・ナカモリ・スペシャル・ライヴ". CDJournal.
11. Oricon Album Chart Book Complete Edition 1970-2005. オリコン・マーケティング・プロモーション. 25 April 2006. pp. 3, 455–457, 883. ISBN   4871310779.
12. Vago, Mike; Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy; Eichel, Molly (1 February 2016). "America will love Heintje: 11 failed English-language crossovers". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 26 October 2020.
13. Record Certification Council (31 May 2007). "Akina Nakamori". Music CD official official guidebook（下） - Chapter CD Journal. Ongaku Shubbansha. p. 135. ISBN   978-4861710308 . Retrieved 15 March 2012.
14. "Cross My Palm (中森明菜)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
15. ASIN   B00000DP1B , Cross My Palm (10 October 1989)
16. "中森明菜 / Cross My Palm [再発] (1991)" (in Japanese). CD Journal. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
17. "中森明菜 / Cross My Palm (2006) (Archived)" (in Japanese). WMG.JP. 30 July 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015.^{[ dead link ]}
18. "中森明菜 / Cross My Palm [SA-CDハイブリッド][紙ジャケット仕様][限定]" (in Japanese). CD Journal. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
19. "Cross My Palm" (in Japanese). WMG.JP. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
20. "Cross my palm＜LP（180g重量盤）＞【初回生産限定】" (in Japanese). WMG.JP. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
21. "中森明菜 / Cross My Palm【オリジナル・カラオケ付】〈2023ラッカーマスターサウンド〉 [2CD]" (in Japanese). cdjournal. Retrieved 31 October 2023.