Mizu no Kanmuri
2nd Album
Epic/Sony 32-8H-5082
Released 4.21.1989
Track listing
- Swallow
- Sunday Bazaar
- Mizu no Kanmuri
- Denpatou
- Get Back
- Saigo no First Kiss
- Tsuki no Ashioto
- Sweet Basil
- Moon Dance Diner de
All lyrics by Masumi Kawamura
All music by Shoko Suzuki
Shoko's second album starts out much like her first, with a gentle ballad -- this time it's "Swallow," the record's second single. Beyond that, though, this record is a bit more energetic than Viridian, with lots of really good uptempo pop-rock songs forming the heart of the album. "Sunday Bazaar" -- the album's first single -- is probably the heaviest song on the record (and probably in Shoko's early catalogue), with a pounding drum line from Shoko, and has a slightly ominous sound overall. The rest of the uptempo songs aren't like that, remainig firmly upbeat and poppy -- "Mizu no Kanmuri," "Get Back" (not the Beatles song, but a super song with an excellent drum break played by Shoko), "Saigo no First Kiss" (which was used as an ending theme for the anime Captain Tsubasa) and "Sweet Basil" are all examples of this. The ballads are well-done -- "Denpatou" or "Moon Dance Diner de" is my favorite among them -- but to me are overshadowed by the pop-rock tracks. This record is also noteworthy as the first one where Shoko has a large part in the instrumentation -- she plays most of the drum tracks on the album. Overall, this is my favorite of her early records.
This album is out of print on its own, but is available in its entirety on the SHO-CO-SONGS collection 1 set.
Favorite songs:
Sunday Bazaar
Mizu no Kanmuri
Get Back
Saigo no First Kiss
Sweet Basil
Credits:
Shoko Suzuki: vocals, background vocals, drums, snare drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, chorus arrangement
Yoshiyuki Sahashi: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, 12-string guitar, flat mandolin, autoharp, tubular bells, synthesizers, background vocals, chorus arrangment
Akira Nishihira: acoustic piano, synthesizers, Fender Rhodes, electric piano, Hammond organ, solina
Chiharu Mikuzuki: bass, stick bass
Hitoshi Watanabe: electric upright bass
Akihiko Noguchi: drums
Obao Nakajima: slit drum, conga, percussion
Koichi Suzuki: trumpet
Takao Matsui: synthesizer manipulator
Tetsuo Ishikawa: synthesizer manipulator
Shiro Sawa: Fairlight operator
Asuka Kaneko: Strings Concert Master
Arranged by Yoshiyuki Sahashi (M-1, 3-6, 8)
Akira Nishihira (M-7, 9)
Yoshiyuki Sahashi and Akira Nishihira (M-2)
