Melodies (album)

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Melodies
Melodies tatsroyamashita.jpg
Studio album by
Tatsuro Yamashita
ReleasedJune 8, 1983
Studio Onkio Haus
Genre J-pop, funk, R&B/soul, pop
Length39:57
Label Alfa Moon
Producer Tatsuro Yamashita
Tatsuro Yamashita chronology
Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita
(1982)		Melodies
(1983)		 Big Wave
(1984)
Singles from Melodies
  1. "Koukiatsu Girl"
    Released: April 23, 1983
  2. "Christmas Eve"
    Released: December 14, 1983

Melodies is the eighth studio album recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in June 1983. It was his first LP issued under the Moon Label which was distributed by Alfa Records at the time.

Contents

Unlike his previous albums, where Minako Yoshida wrote most of the lyrics, most of the songs heard on Melodies are penned by Yamashita alone, except for "Blue Midnight" (co-written by Yoshida) and a cover version of "Guess I'm Dumb" (composed by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman and originally recorded by Glen Campbell in 1966).

Before the album came out, "Koukiatsu Girl" was released as a lead single. It features chorus by Mariya Takeuchi, who married Yamashita in 1982 and then temporarily suspended her recording career. The most well-known song in this album is "Christmas Eve". The song did not receive much attention when it was released on 12-inch single in December 1983, but it was widely recognized through a series of television advertisements by the Central Japan Railway Company aired during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The CD single of "Christmas Eve" reissued in 1986 subsequently became a huge commercial success, topping the chart in December 1989. The song was repeatedly reissued in later years and became a hit throughout the decades, entering the Oricon chart for over 20 consecutive years with sales of more than 1.8 million copies in total. [1] [2]

Because of the massive success "Christmas Eve" gained, the album also enjoyed long-term commercial success. Melodies is Yamashita's best selling studio album, retailing over 992,000 copies during its two first chart runs. In 2013 the 30th anniversary reissue sold 28,000 more copies, pushing the album total to 1 million and 20,000 copies.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Tatsuro Yamashita; all music is composed by Tatsuro Yamashita, except where noted

Side A
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Kanashimi no Jody (She Was Crying) (悲しみのJODY)"  3:50
2."Koukiatsu Girl (高気圧ガール, Koukiatsu Gāru)"  4:20
3."Nightfly (夜翔)"  4:23
4."Guess I'm Dumb" Russ Titelman Brian Wilson 3:12
5."Hitotoki (ひととき)"  4:00
Total length:19:45
Side B
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Merry-Go-Round (メリー・ゴー・ラウンド, Merī Gō Raundo)"  6:18
2."Blue Midnight" Minako Yoshida (ja)Tatsuro Yamashita4:15
3."Ashioto (あしおと)"  3:54
4."Mokusou (黙想)"  1:30
5."Christmas Eve (クリスマス・イブ, Kurisumasu Ibu)"  4:15
Total length:20:12

Personnel

According to Discogs' listing of vinyl release: [3]

Kanashimi no Jody (She Was Crying) (悲しみのJody)

Koukiatsu Girl (高気圧ガール)

Night Fly (夜翔)

Guess I'm Dumb

Hitotoki (ひととき)

Merry-Go-Round (メリー・ゴー・ラウンド)

Blue Midnight

Ashioto (あしおと)

Mokusou (黙想)

Christmas Eve (クリスマス・イブ)

Production

Chart positions

Weekly charts

YearCountryChartPositionSales
1983JapanOricon Weekly LP Albums Chart (top 100)1367,000 [4]
1992Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (top 100)8477,000

Year-end charts

YearCountryChartPositionSales
1983JapanOricon Yearly Albums Chart (top 50)7515,000 [5]

Awards

Japan Record Awards
YearTitleCategoryWinner
1983 (25th)Melodies [6] Best 10 AlbumsTatsuro Yamashita

Release history

CountryDateLabelFormatCatalog number
JapanJune 8, 1983Alfa/Moon LP MOON-28008
November 28, 1983CD38XM1
December 21, 198632XM27
November 10, 1992MMG/MoonAMCM-4150
June 2, 1999 Warner/MoonWPCV-10020

See also

References

  1. ↑ 山下達郎、「クリスマス・イブ」で大記録樹立！　20年連続TOP100入り！ ニュース-ORICON STYLE- "Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Eve" set a record! : entering the top 100 on the chart for 20 consecutive years". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Original Confidence . Retrieved June 26, 2009.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ↑ List of number-one singles on the Japan's Oricon Weekly Charts (1968–) Archived December 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/2053580-Tatsuro-Yamashita-山下達郎-Melodies?srsltid=AfmBOopacFRdirJN82vqZMpGaO9HSHPnw9zi20Qs87fP6eGepg8rXXgx
  4. ↑ "Tatsuro Yamashita" (in Japanese). Archived from Yamachan Land (Japan's charts archives) – Albumd Chart Daijiten – the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2008.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. ↑ "年間アルバムヒットチャート 1983年" (in Japanese). Private Life エンタメデータ＆ランキング. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ "History of the Japan Record Awards – List of the 25th Award Winners" (in Japanese). Archived from Japan Composer's Association the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2009.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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