| The Hit Parade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | November 26, 2003 (physically) September 4, 2024 (digitally) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 67:02 |
| Label | Vermillion Records |
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto |
| Singles from The Hit Parade | |
| |
| 2024 digital album cover | |
 | |
The Hit Parade is a covers album by Tak Matsumoto in conjunction with several guest artists. It was released on 26 November 2003 through Vermillion Records.
The album features cover songs,which were popular during the 1970s and 1980s in the Japan music scene from artists such as Momoe Yamaguchi,Candies,Akina Nakamori or Tatsuro Yamashita.
The album has been performed by young artists from Giza Studio such as Mai Kuraki or Rina Aiuchi,and veterans artist from the 1990s such as Keiko Utoku or Koshi Inaba. Originally 20 songs were recorded,however 17 were included. The recording started in 2002 and ended in 2003. [1]
The album jacket cover visually resembles the album The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions by Howlin' Wolf.
After a fraud scandal with Azumi Uehara is 2003,the album went out of print. However,on 31 December 2018,the album was re-printed and included a limited Kansai version of Koshi Inaba's Minano no Yoko,Yokohama,Yokosuka. [2]
In May 2024,a continuation of the album The Hit Parade II has been announced and released on 28 August. [3] On the same release day,it has been announced that first The Hit Parade album will receive digital download from 4 September with "selected 14 tracks",not including 3 tracks from the original release. [4] New artwork for the digital version of the album has been published at the same time. [4]
The first promotional cover single was Ihoujin,originally performed by Saki Kubota and covered by Zard . The single was released on 27 August 2003. The B-side song includes cover of Ame no Machi wo,originally performed by Arai Yumi and covered by Akiko Matsuda from Ramjet Pulley. [5] In the media,cover version of Ihoujin was broadcast as an insert theme song for Fuji TV television drama Anata no Soba ni Dare ka Iru. The single debuted at number three on the Oricon Weekly Single Charts and charted for sixteen weeks. The single has sold over 155,263 copies. The single was announced in 2003 as the 58th biggest selling single of the year.
The second promotional cover single was Imitation Gold,originally performed by Momoe Yamaguchi and covered by Mai Kuraki . The single was released on 8 October 2003. The B-side song includes cover of Watashi wa Kaze,originally performed by Carmen Maki &Oz and covered by Yuri Nakamura from Garnet Crow. The length of B-side song is over seven minutes,which makes the longest track from cover album. The single debuted at number one on the Oricon Weekly Single Charts. The single has sold over 75,000 copies.
The album debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart and sold 225,125 copies in its first week.
The album was announced in 2004 as the 27th biggest selling album of the year. The album sold more than 450,000 copies. [6]
The album has been rewarded with The Best Pop-Rock album of year by Japan Gold Disc Award in 2004. [7]
| No. | Title | Original performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Katte ni Shiyagage (勝手にしやがれ)" (by Koshi Inaba) | Kenji Sawada | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Ihoujin (異邦人)" (by Zard) | Saki Kubota | 3:28 |
| 3. | "Namida no Taiyou (涙の太陽)" (by Rina Aiuchi) | Emy Jackson | 2:37 |
| 4. | "Sono Ki ni Sasenaide (その気にさせないで)" (by Aiko Kitahara, Ai Takaoka and Yuuka Saegusa) | Candies | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Imitation Gold (イミテイション・ゴールド)" (by Mai Kuraki) | Momoe Yamaguchi | 3:45 |
| 6. | "Minato no Yoko, Yokohama, Yokosuka (港のヨーコ･ヨコハマ･ヨコスカ)" (by Tak Matsumoto) | Down Town Boogie Woogie Band | 4:34 |
| 7. | "Ame no Machi wo (雨の街を)" (by Akiko Matsuda (Ramjet Pulley)) | Yumi Arai | 4:58 |
| 8. | "Paper Doll" (by Fayray) | Tatsuro Yamashita | 3:49 |
| 9. | "Ichigo Hakushou wo Mou Ichido (『いちご白書』をもう一度)" (by Akane Sugazaki) | Ban Ban | 4:31 |
| 10. | "Foggy Night" (by Yumi Shizukusa) | Amii Ozaki | 4:05 |
| 11. | "Shōjo A (少女A)" (by Azumi Uehara) | Akina Nakamori | 3:30 |
| 12. | "Byun Byun (ビュン・ビュン)" (by Daria Kawashima) | Gedou | 2:12 |
| 13. | "Purple Town by (Shiori Takei)" (パープルタウン 〜You Oughta Know By Now〜) | Junko Yagami | 3:57 |
| 14. | "Toki ni Ai wa (時に愛は)" (by Keiko Utoku) | Off Course | 5:24 |
| 15. | "SPINNING TOE-HOLD" (instrumental) | Creation | 2:46 |
| 16. | "Hitori: I stand alone (一人)" (by Jeffrey Qwest) | Takayuki Inoue | 3:42 |
| 17. | "Watashi wa Kaze (私は風)" (by Yuri Nakamura (Garnet Crow)) | Carmen Maki & Oz | 7:15 |
| No. | Title | Original performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Katte ni Shiyagage (勝手にしやがれ)" (by Koshi Inaba) | Kenji Sawada | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Ihoujin (異邦人)" (by Zard) | Saki Kubota | 3:28 |
| 3. | "Sono Ki ni Sasenaide (その気にさせないで)" (by Aiko Kitahara, Ai Takaoka and Yuuka Saegusa) | Candies | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Imitation Gold (イミテイション・ゴールド)" (by Mai Kuraki) | Momoe Yamaguchi | 3:45 |
| 5. | "Minato no Yoko, Yokohama, Yokosuka (港のヨーコ･ヨコハマ･ヨコスカ)" (by Tak Matsumoto) | Down Town Boogie Woogie Band | 4:34 |
| 6. | "Ame no Machi wo (雨の街を)" (by Akiko Matsuda (Ramjet Pulley)) | Yumi Arai | 4:58 |
| 7. | "Paper Doll" (by Fayray) | Tatsuro Yamashita | 3:49 |
| 8. | "Ichigo Hakushou wo Mou Ichido (『いちご白書』をもう一度)" (by Akane Sugazaki) | Ban Ban | 4:31 |
| 9. | "Foggy Night" (by Yumi Shizukusa) | Amii Ozaki | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Byun Byun (ビュン・ビュン)" (by Daria Kawashima) | Gedou | 2:12 |
| 11. | "Purple Town by (Shiori Takei)" (パープルタウン 〜You Oughta Know By Now〜) | Junko Yagami | 3:57 |
| 12. | "SPINNING TOE-HOLD" (instrumental) | Creation | 2:46 |
| 13. | "Hitori: I stand alone (一人)" (by Jeffrey Qwest) | Takayuki Inoue | 3:42 |
| 14. | "Watashi wa Kaze (私は風)" (by Yuri Nakamura (Garnet Crow)) | Carmen Maki & Oz | 7:15 |
Credits adapted from the album booklet. [8]
| Region | Date | Version | Format | Label | Catalog No. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | November 26, 2003 | Standard edition | 1×CD | Vermillion | BMCV-8009 | [9] |
| Various | September 4, 2024 | digital download | Vermillion | |||
B'z is a Japanese rock duo consisting of guitarist, composer and producer Takahiro "Tak" Matsumoto and vocalist and lyricist Koshi Inaba, known for their energetic hard rock tracks and pop rock ballads. B'z is one of the best-selling music artists in the world and the best-selling in their native Japan by certifications, having released 49 consecutive No. 1 singles, 25 No. 1 albums, and 3 No. 1 EPs on the Oricon music charts, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Takahiro Matsumoto is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist and main composer of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan by certifications. He also has a successful solo career where, in addition to winning several Japan Gold Disc Awards, he won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album for Take Your Pick (2010), which he made in collaboration with Larry Carlton. Matsumoto is only the fifth guitarist in the world to have his own Gibson signature model guitar.
Koshi Inaba is a Japanese singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also has a successful solo career, with six studio albums and five singles topping the Japanese music charts. Inaba collaborated with Slash on the latter's 2009 single "Sahara", and with Stevie Salas on the albums Chubby Groove (2017) and Maximum Huavo (2020).
B'z is the debut studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on September 21, 1988, and reached #47 on the Japanese charts. The album sold 3,790 copies in its first week and eventually sold 338,360 in total.
Off The Lock is the second studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released on May 21, 1989. It was the second album they released for BMG Victor's Air Records imprint.
Break Through is the third studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. The album debuted at number 3 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, being their last studio album not to reach number 1. It sold 41,700 copies in its first week and sold a total of 724,640 copies during its chart run. It was eventually certified Million by the RIAJ in January 1994.
Bad Communication is the first mini-album by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released in 1989. The album was the first hit album for the band, debuting at number 15. The album also includes the band's first two English versions of previous songs—in this case, "Out of the Rain" and "Dakara Sono Te Wo Hanashite", both from their debut album—dubbed "Off the Lock Style". It peaked at number 12 on the Oricon weekly albums chart in 1991, and by 1993, was certified million by the RIAJ. It was eventually certified 3x platinum, selling over 1,200,000 copies. The song was used in a commercial for Fujitsu's FM Towns computers.
Wicked Beat is the second mini-album by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released on June 21, 1990. It consists of extended, English versions of previous hits. The album sold 1,111,230 copies in total, eventually being certified Triple Platinum by the RIAJ. It debuted at No. 3 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, being their last album of original material to not debut at No. 1.
"Love Phantom" is the eighteenth single by B'z, released on October 11, 1995. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart. The song was used as ending theme for The X-Files during the height of its popularity in Japan. The single sold over 950,000 copies within one week. It sold over 1,862,000 copies according to Oricon. The song won "the best five single award" at the 10th Japan Gold Disc Award.
"Real Thing Shakes" is the twentieth single by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released on May 15, 1996. The song is one of the band's many number-one singles on the Oricon chart. This is the first B'z single that was not produced by guitarist Tak Matsumoto since "Taiyō no Komachi Angel", instead opting for British producer Andy Johns. It sold over 1,140,000 copies according to Oricon, making it their thirteenth consecutive million-seller single. The band would hold the record for most consecutive million-seller singles for seventeen years until AKB48 broke it in 2013 with their single "Heart Electric". It was used as the theme song for the drama Oretachi ni Ki o Tsukero.. It was also the band's first English single.
"Kon'ya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni" is the twenty-seventh single by B'z, released on February 9, 2000. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart, and sold over a millions copies, with 1,129,000 copies sold. It was used as the main theme for the TV drama Beautiful Life.
Tak Matsumoto Group is a supergroup consisting of members from several bands around the world. It includes Tak Matsumoto, Eric Martin, and Jack Blades. From July to September 2004, they embarked on their "Dodge the Bullet Tour" of Japan.
Magic is the seventeenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released on November 18, 2009. A limited edition was released featuring a bonus DVD with the video "Magical Backstage Tour 2009".
Take Your Pick is an album by guitarists Larry Carlton and Tak Matsumoto that was released by Vermillion on June 2, 2010, in Japan, and later on 335 Records in the US and on Forward in Taiwan. The album debuted at number 2 on the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts. The album won an award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. It also won the "Jazz Album of the Year" award at 25th Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Yuri Nakamura is a Japanese musical composer and singer under Giza Studio label. In years 1999-2013 she was a vocalist and composer of Japanese pop band Garnet Crow.
enigma is the eleventh solo studio album by Japanese guitarist Tak Matsumoto, of B'z. It is mostly an instrumental album and it was released by Being Inc. on April 27, 2016 in Japan. The album debuted at #4 on the Oricon weekly album chart and at #18 on the Billboard Japan album chart.
"Shōjo A" is the second single by Japanese entertainer Akina Nakamori. Written by Masao Urino and Hiroaki Serizawa, the single was released on July 28, 1982 by Warner Pioneer through the Reprise label. It was also the first single from her second studio album Variation (Hensoukyoku).
Friends III is the sixth mini-album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on December 8, 2021. It's a concept album and is a sequel to their previous mini-album, Friends II, released in 1996.
"Oh Japan (Our Time Is Now)" (stylized as "Oh Japan ~Our Time Is Now~") is the only single by Japan-based supergroup Tak Matsumoto Group, released on March 31, 2004. It was used as the theme song for TV Asahi Network Sports 2004.
The Hit Parade II is a covers album by Tak Matsumoto in conjunction with several guest artists. It was released on August 28, 2024, through Vermillion Records, more than 20 years after The Hit Parade.
