Snapshots
8th Album
Epic/Sony ESCB-1597
Released 6.21.1995
Track listing
- Happiness? (words: Shoko Suzuki/music: Shoko Suzuki & Hiroaki Sugawara)
- Tsuki to Snapshots (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Kinou Yume no Naka de (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- In the Kitchen ~ Close to You (words: Hal David/music: Burt Bacharach)
- True Romance (words: Masumi Kawamura/music: Shoko Suzuki & Hiroaki Sugawara)
- Umibe to Radio (words: Shoko Suzuki/music: GREAT3)
- Crying in the Sunshine (words & music: Mark "Moogy" Klingman)
- #7 Shuffle (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Ajisai (words: Shoko Suzuki/music: Shoko Suzuki & Hiroaki Sugawara)
- Friends (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Goin' Home (words: Masumi Kawamura & Shoko Suzuki/music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Yoru no Naka e (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Good Old Dusty Road (words: Shoko Suzuki/music: Shoko Suzuki & Hiroaki Sugawara)
This album marks a departure from Shoko's previous recording methods. Deciding to work with Hiroaki Sugawara and Takeshi Namura further, the trio formed a rock band for this record (dubbed "Snapshots"), augmented by outside musicians on various songs. Working in a band setting (and often co-writing with Sugawara) led to Shoko's songs becoming a bit more rock/pop-based than they generally had been (not that she didn't have rock songs before, but they became more common with this album). Perhaps reflecting her taste in '60s and '70s popular music, the album has a slight '60s/'70s sound to it, though not truly retro sounding (except on a couple of songs like "Friends" and "Good Old Dusty Road," which continue the '60s-orchestrated pop style of the Sings Bacharach & David album). The leadoff single "True Romance" is a great rock song with a stellar drum track, augmented by Philly style strings and a blues harp solo. My favorite track is "Tsuki to Snapshots," with a harpischord part that makes the song sound like it would fit right in on the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle LP; but tracks like the psychadelic rock song "Happiness?" and the rock-jazz of "#7 Shuffle" (with Shoko playing most of the instruments) are also very memorable. This album is probably the point where Shoko set out on her own musical path, away from the acoutstic/ballad style that was present on so many of her early albums -- she would still write and perform ballads, of course, but from this point on her music seems to be rooted more in rock and pop/rock than big ballads (though even that observation is probably inaccurate, since Shoko really draws from all sorts of musical styles to make her music). As much as I love Shoko's earlier albums, I think it was here that she really began to hit her stride; from this point on, her albums have few -- if any -- weaknesses (at least in my opinion).
This album is out of print on its own, but is available in its entirety on the SHO-CO-SONGS collection 3 set.
Favorite songs:
Happiness?
Tsuki to Snapshots
Kimou Yume no Naka de
True Romance
Crying in the Sunshine
#7 Shuffle
Goin' Home
Credits:
Shoko Suzuki: vocals, background vocals, drums, reverse cymbal, piano, synthesizer, electric guitar, tambourine, vibraphone, handclaps, strings & horn arrangement
Hiroaki Sugawara: electric guitar, acoutstic guitar, electric slide guitar, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer, synthesizers, vibraphone, vocals, background vocals, strings arrangment & horn arrangemenet
Takeshi Namura: bass, electric guitar
KYON: mandolin
Tsunehiko Yashiro: piano, harpsichord, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer
Fumio Ishikawa: blues harp
Miwa Satomura: congos, guiro, triangle, bell tree, handclap
Tomoyuki Asakawa: harp
Yoichiro "Youkan" Mizue: trumpet
Yuhei Takeuchi: flute
Nargo: trumpet
Masahiko Kitahara: trombone
Tatsuyuki Hiyamuta: alto saxophone
Gamou: tenor saxophone
Atsushi Yanaka: baritone saxophone
Great3: background vocals
Asuka Kaneko Strings: strings
Hijiri Kuwano Strings Group: strings
Produced and arranged by SNAPSHOTS
Recorded, Mixed & Co-Produced by Shuji Yamaguchi
