Suzuki Syoko
13th Album
Wonderground Music WRCD-33
Released 1.25.2006
Track listing
- Ai no Namae (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Love is a sweet harmony (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Nani ga Shitai no? (naked mix) (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Passion (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Keiyaku (Spellbind) (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Radio no Youni (words: Masumi Kawamura/music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Frederick (words & music: Patti Smith)
- Boukyaku (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Love/Indentified (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Blonde (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
- Michi (words & music: Shoko Suzuki)
Shoko's first studio album as an indies artist is one of my favorite albums ever. The sound is very piano heavy (only one track does not feature the instrument), and often songs will only contain keyboard and Shoko's voice -- nearly half the album is like this -- which is very much like Shoko's solo live conerts. There are full band performances, though: three-piece rock band Carnation plays on and co-produces three songs (including "Boukyaku," my favorite), while various members of the band Rovo provide backing on other songs (violinist Yuji Katsui is on a quarter of the album, while much of the rest of the band appears on "Love/Identified"). Perhaps working with these indies bands led Shoko to more experimenting on her songs: "Nani ga Shitai no?" and "Passion" both have cacophonic arrangments where it seems that nobody is playing in time with each other ("Passion," in particular, has two separate drums tracks, neither of which really plays on the beat), yet everything still comes together in the end. Interestingly, two of the three tracks Carnation plays on are covers: Patti Smith's "Frederick" and a re-take of Shoko's own "Radio no Youni" (the latter is much more rocking than the 1993 version, though the vocals are a bit rough in spots).
This album marked the longest break between studio albums for Shoko ever, coming over five years after Love, painful love. Preferring to work at her own pace, Shoko recorded this album in bits over three to four years: "Keiyaku" was written as early as 2002 (it appears on the live album I Was There, I'm Here); "Ai no Namae" was released in early 2003; "Blonde" and "Passion" were released as a single in 2004; and "Love/Identified" and "Nani ga Shitai no?" were on a single in 2005. Despite this, the album has a very cohesive sound -- everything flows together nicely without any oddities sticking out. This is definitely one of my favorite records.
Syoko Suzuki / Syoko Suzuki - Purchase album at CDJapan
Favorite songs:
Nani ga Shitai no?
Keiyaku (Spellbind)
Radio no Youni
Boukyaku
Love/Identified
Michi
Credits:
Shoko Suzuki: vocals, harmony vocals, piano, cembalo, drums, tambourine
Masahiro Naoe: guitar, harmony vocals
Mamoru Ota: bass, harmony vocals
Hiroshi Yabe: drums, harmony vocals
George Okamura: guitar, bass
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: drums
Youichi Okabe: drums
Akira Sotoyama: drums
Yuji Katsui: electric violin
Hiromichi Sakamoto: cello
Hiroyuki Minami: horn
Produced and arranged by Shoko Suzuki (M-1-5, 10, 11)
Shoko Suzuki and Carnation (M-6-8)
Shoko Suzuki and George Okamura (M-9)
