Spike (U.S. Version)

As Puffy AmiYumi
1st U.S. Album / Stereo

Sony Music Imports 810186

Released May 1, 2001 (U.S.A.)
June 5, 2001 (Canada)

Produced by Tamio Okuda (M-1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11)
Sparks GoGo (M-3, 9)
Takashi Furuta (M-5, 12)
Andy Sturmer (M-2, 10, 13, 14)

After making their initial mark in America at the 2000 SXSW festival, Puffy's album from that same year - Spike - saw release the U.S. in mid-2001 (with the moniker "Puffy AmiYumi", due to there already being a "Puffy" in America - who later abandonded the nickname completely). Aside from a couple of bonus tracks (and a loud, somewhat cheesy cover that used a photo that was over a year old even then), the content of the album was untouched. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the album didn't make much of a mark on the U.S. market.

Nowadays this album is fairly tough to come by. Nobody apparently has the disc to order directly, though both Amazon and Amazon Japan generally have at least one used copy for sale through third-party vendors (however, the last one I saw offered through Amazon Japan was going for around $80US, while the Amazon.com had one going for around $13US).

Track Listing (* Bonus Tracks)

1. Boogie-Woogie No. 5 (words & music: Tamio Okuda) (4:10)
2. Sumire (Violet) (words: Puffy AmiYumi/music: Andy Sturmer) (3:57)
3. Montou Muyou (Shut Your Mouth, Honey) (words: Puffy AmiYumi/music: Atsuya Tachibana & Shinichi Yakuma) (4:15)
4. Cosmic Nagare-boshi (Cosmic*Wonder) (words & music: Tamio Okuda) (4:40)
5. Destruction Pancake (words & music: Ami Onuki) (3:16)
6. Su-i Su-i (words: Yumi Yoshimura/music: Tamio Okuda & Puffy AmiYumi) (2:34)
7. Sui Sui (words: Ami Onuki/music: Tamio Okuda & Puffy AmiYumi) (2:11)
8. Pool Nite (Swimming Pool) (words & music: Tamio Okuda) (4:29)
9. Aoi Ringo (Green Apple) (words: Puffy AmiYumi/music: Shinichi Yakuma) (3:07)
10. Sakura no Hanaga Saku Amai Amai Kisetsu no Uta (This Is the Song of Sweet Sweet Season When Cherry Garcia Blossoms Bloom) (words: Yumi Yoshimura/music: Andy Sturmer) (3:35)
11. Umi eto (Into the Beach) (words & music: Tamio Okuda) (3:10)
12. Puffy no Rule (Puffy's Rule) (words: Tamio Okuda/music: Takashi Furuta) (4:12)
13. Dec. (words: Puffy AmiYumi/music: Andy Sturmer) (4:21)
14. Love So Pure* (words & music: Andy Sturmer) (3:58)
15. Circuit no Musume (Wild Girls on Circuit/The Readymade JBL Mix '99)* (words & music: Tamio Okuda/remixed by Yasuharu Konishi) (5:15)

Notes:

• Not counting bonus tracks, this is the only Puffy album to have been released with identical tracklistings in Japan and America (so far).
• The cover photo of this album was originally used for the back of the PRMX tray liner.
• “Destruction Pancake” is (to date) the only song that either Ami or Yumi has written entirely by themselves. It, along with “Su-i Su-i” and “Sui Sui,” are the only songs Puffy have ever been credited with composing or co-composing the music for (not counting the snippets on Fever*Fever).
• Ami plays electric guitar on "Su-i Su-i" and "Sui Sui," and plays a trumpet on "Cosmic Nagare-boshi." Yumi plays electric guitar on "Puffy no Rule," and plays saxophone on "Cosmic Nagare-boshi."
• "Sumire" and "Love So Pure" are the same song. The former has Japanese lyrics and the latter English lyrics.
• "Love So Pure" was originally released on the Atarashii Hibi single in Japan a week before this album was released.
• "Circuit no Musume (Wild Girls on Circuit/The Readymade JBL Mix '99)" was originally released in Japan on the PRMX album.

Other

• Larger Image of Album Cover
• Image of CD