Melodies (Tatsuro Yamashita album)

Melodies
Studio album by Tatsuro Yamashita
Released June 8, 1983
Recorded at CBS/SONY Roppongi Studio A & B (Tokyo, Japan)
Genre J-pop R&B/soul, pop
Length 39:57
Label Alfa/Moon
Producer Tatsuro Yamashita
Tatsuro Yamashita chronology
Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita
(1982)
Ride on Time
(1983)
Big Wave
(1984)

Melodies is the studio album recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in June 1983. It was his first LP issued under the Moon Label which was distributed by the Alfa Records at the time.

Unlike his previous albums that Minako Yoshida mostly wrote lyrics, majority of the songs heard on Melodies are penned by Yamashita alone, except for "Blue Midnight" (co-written by Yoshida) and a cover version of "Guess I'm Dumb" (composed by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman and originally recorded by Glen Campbell in 1966).

Before the album came out, "Koukiatsu Girl" was released as a lead single. It features chorus by Mariya Takeuchi, who married Yamashita in 1982 and then temporarily suspended her recording career. The most well-known song appeared on Melodies is "Christmas Eve". The song did not receive much attention when it was released on 12-inch single in December 1983, but it was widely recognized through a television advertisement by the Central Japan Railway Company aired during the late 1980s. CD single of "Christmas Eve" reissued in 1986 gained huge commercial success, topping the chart in December 1989. The song was repeatedly reissued in later years and became a hit throughout the decades, entering the Oricon chart for over 20 consecutive years with sales of more than 1.8 million copies in total.[1][2]

Because of the massive success "Christmas Eve" gained, the album also enjoyed the long-term commercial success. Melodies has been the best-selling studio album for Yamashita, retailing over 800,000 copies to date.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Tatsuro Yamashita, except where noted

Side one

All songs arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita

  1. "Kanashimi no Jody (She Was Crying) (悲しみのJODY)" – 3:50
  2. "Koukiatsu Girl (高気圧ガール Koukiatsu Gāru)" – 4:20
  3. "Nightfly (夜翔)" – 4:23
  4. "Guess I'm Dumb" (Brian Wilson, Russ Titelman) – 3:12
  5. "Hitotoki (ひととき)" – 4:00

Side two

All songs arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita

  1. "Merry-Go-Round (メリー・ゴー・ラウンド Merī Gō Raundo)" - 6:18
  2. "Blue Midnight" (Tatsuro Yamashita, Minako Yoshida) – 4:15
  3. "Ashioto (あしおと)" - 3:54
  4. "Mokusou (黙想)" - 1:30
  5. "Christmas Eve (クリスマス・イブ Kurisumasu Ibu)" - 4:15

Personnel

Production

Chart positions

Year Album Country Chart Position Weeks Sales
1983 Melodies Japan Oricon Weekly LP Albums Chart (top 100) 1 33 367,000[3]
1992 Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (top 100) 8 39 477,000

Awards

Japan Record Awards
Year Title Category Winner
1983 (25th) Melodies[4] Best 10 Albums Tatsuro Yamashita

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalog number
Japan June 8, 1983 Alfa/Moon LP MOON-28008
November 28, 1983 CD 38XM1
December 21, 1986 32XM27
November 10, 1992 MMG/Moon AMCM-4150
June 2, 1999 Warner/Moon WPCV-10020

References

Preceded by
Utopia by Seiko Matsuda
Japanese Oricon LP Chart number-one album
June 27-July 4, 1983 (2 consecutive weeks)
Succeeded by
Plumeria no Densetsu (Soundtrack)
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