| The Hit Parade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | November 26, 2003 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 67:02 |
| Label | Vermillion Records |
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto |
| Singles from The Hit Parade | |
| |
The Hit Parade is the 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 70's and 80's in the Japan music scene from following artist as Momoe Yamaguchi, Candies, Akina Nakamori or Tatsuro Yamashita.
The album has been performed by young artist from Giza Studio such as Mai Kuraki or Rina Aiuchi, and veterans artist from 90's such as Keiko Utoku or Koshi Inaba. Originally the 20 songs were recorded, however 17 were included. The recording started in 2002 and end in 2003. [1]
The album jacket cover visually resembles to The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions by Howlin' Wolf.
In 2010, after fraud scandal with Azumi Uehara is 2003 album version out of print. However, on 31 December 2018, after fifteen years the album was re-printed, which included limited Kansai version of Koshi Inaba's Minano no Yoko, Yokohama, Yokosuka. [2]
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. [3] 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. [4]
The album has been rewarded with The Best Pop-Rock album of year by Japan Gold Disc Award in 2004. [5]
| 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 |
Credits adapted from the album booklet. [6]
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, 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.
Mai Kuraki is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single "Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she released her debut album, Delicious Way, which debuted at number-one and sold over 2.2 million copies in its first week. The album has spawned four top-three singles, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". Eventually, the album sold over 3.5 million copies nationwide and became the best-selling album in Japan in 2000, and has been the ninth best-selling album in Japan of all-time.
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. 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.
Zard were a Japanese pop rock group, originally with five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as its only constant member. Zard's work was sold under the record label B-Gram Records, Inc. Their most popular and successful songs are "Makenaide" (1993) (負けないで), "Yureru Omoi" (1993) (揺れる想い), and "My Friend" (1996). As of 2023, Zard has sold over 38 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists in Japan.
Koshi Inaba is a Japanese vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He is best known as the singer and lyricist of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He has also had a successful solo career, with five studio albums and five singles topping the Japanese music charts. He collaborated with Slash on single "Sahara" which was released in 2009. In 2017, he released a collaborative album, Chubby Groove, with Stevie Salas under the name "Inaba/Salas".
Momoe Miura, known by her maiden name Momoe Yamaguchi, is a Japanese former singer, actress, and idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. Often simply referred to by her given name "Momoe," Yamaguchi is one of the most successful singers in Japanese music, releasing 32 singles, including three number one hits, and 21 studio albums. She also starred in 15 feature films and several television serial dramas. At age 21, Yamaguchi retired at the height of her popularity to marry her frequent costar, Tomokazu Miura; she has never performed or made a public appearance since. Therefore, she is called a legendary idol in Japan.
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.
"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.
"Liar! Liar!" is the twenty-third single by B'z, released on October 8, 1997. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart, selling 794,000 copies during its chartrun.
"Pierrot" is a Japanese-language song by Aya Kamiki, written by Koshi Inaba, Tak Matsumoto and was Kimiki's second single, released on April 12, 2006. The song is no relation to the 1983 song of the same name by Toshihiko Tahara, and begins with the lyrics "Momoiro ni somari yuku..".
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".
"Sono Ki ni Sasenaide" is the seventh single by Japanese music trio Candies. Written by Kazuya Senke and Yūsuke Hoguchi, the single was released on September 1, 1975.
Future Kiss is the ninth studio album by Japanese singer and songwriter Mai Kuraki. It was released on 17 November 2010, by Northern Music. The album was originally scheduled to be released on 20 October 2010; however, it was pushed back to 17 November 2010.
C'mon is the eighteenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on July 27, 2011.
Epic Day is the nineteenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on March 4, 2015, more than 3.5 years after their previous studio effort, C'mon, their longest gap between studio albums. It came after a hiatus in which the members released solo projects, including vocalist/lyricist Koshi Inaba's Singing Bird and guitarist/composer Tak Matsumoto's New Horizon.
Dinosaur is the twentieth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on 29 November 2017. It came after a hiatus in which the members released solo projects, including vocalist/lyricist Koshi Inaba's collaborative album with Stevie Salas, Chubby Groove, and guitarist/composer Tak Matsumoto's solo effort enigma and collaborative studio album with Daniel Ho Electric Island, Acoustic Sea.
Variation (Hensoukyoku) (Japanese: バリエーション〈変奏曲〉, Hepburn: Bariēshon (hensōkyoku)) is the second studio album by Japanese entertainer Akina Nakamori. It was released on October 27, 1982 by Warner Pioneer under the Reprise Records label. The album includes the controversial single hit "Shōjo A". It became Nakamori's first number-one on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart and her best sold album.
Japanese singer-songwriter Mai Kuraki has released twenty-five video albums and three video singles, and been featured in sixty-six music videos, two television series, and eleven commercials. Kuraki debuted in 1999, while she was still in high school, through Giza Studio. The label initially marketed Kuraki in the United States under the name Mai K, and released the single "Baby I Like" (1999). However, the single was a commercial failure which prompted the label to send her back to Japan. There, they released her single "Love, Day After Tomorrow", which peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAJ). The second single, "Stay by My Side" became her first number one single on the chart. Kuraki's debut album, Delicious Way, topped the Oricon Albums Chart and was certified triple million by the RIAJ.
"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.
