FRESH JAM
Judy and Mary
3059 yen (I paid $32.00)
released 3-23-00
Epic Records ESCB 2110

 
TRACK LIST
1.) Power of Love- words by Yuki, music by Yoshihito Onda
2.) Blue Tears- "
3.) Daydream- "
4.)Hello! Orange Sunshine- "
5.) Radio- words by Tack and Yukky, music by Takuya
6.) Chiisana na Koro kara (???)- words by Yuki, music by Yoshihito Onda
7.) Jitensha (Bicycle)- "
8.) Overdrive- words by Yuki, music by Takuya
9.) Kyoto- words and music by Takuya
10.) Doki-Doki (Thump-thump)- words by Yuki, music by Yoshihito Onda
11.) Sobakasu (Freckles)- "
12.) Classic- words by Tack and Yukky, music by Takuya
13.) Kujira 12-gou (Whale #12)- "
14.) Sanpo-michi (Sidewalk)- words by Yuki, music by Kohta Igarashi
15.) Music Fighter- words by Tack and Yukky, music by Takuya
16.) Lover Soul- words by Yuki, music by Takuya
17.) Brand New Wave Upper Ground- "
As the track list shows, this is a compilation album of most of Judy and Mary's singles, and a few songs that weren't singles.  This CD was my first J-Pop CD ever, and I listen to it on average of once a week. 
Overall, this CD is really good, with a wide variety of music.  But, some of the tracks ("Power of Love", "Jitensha") are really childish sounding and annoying.  But those are really the only tracks I skip, the rest are great."Power of Love" is simply very repetative, and Yuki sounds like she is whining.  I still have a friend that likes this song though.  "Blue Tears" is a really fast song, and really heavy on percussion.  I think of it as what The Ramones might sound like if they had a female lead singer and sang in Japanese.  My father had the following to say about tracks 3 and 4 - "That last song [Daydream] was good, but this [Hello! Orange Sunshine] is awful.  It sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks".  I don't agree with the chipmunk thing, but I found it funny that my father, who likes to mock my love of Japanese music, actually liked a song.  "Daydream" is good, like my father said.  It's very punkish, and fast paced, like "Blue Tears".  "Hello! Orange Sunshine" has been hailed as "the best song in the Japanese language" by some of my assorted minions.  This is our cult song, because it's just so genki and all.  "Radio" is a very interesting song, much along the same line as "Hello! Orange Sunshine".  Maybe it's because they're both on the same album.  "Chiisana na Koro Kara" is also from the Orange Sunshine album, but it's very different and stands out to me.  It's very rock-n-roll,or whatever the kind of music my parents listen to is.  Next there is "Jitensha", the single most annoying song on the album.  There are scary little bicycle chimes and I think there's a synth banjo- the banjo is awful.  It's very '70's disco sounding, which is probably why I dislike it.  "Overdrive" is a rock song too, and like some previous tracks it is very Ramones-sounding.  I especially like the harmonies in this song.  "Kyoto" is a very interesting song, but then, usually the songs Takuya does by himself are pretty good.  I like the instrumentation, and Yuki even sounds a tad more mature in this song.  Of course, that wears off in "Doki-Doki", my favorite song on the album.  I like it for the words, and it's very hummable.  "Sobakasu" was my first taste of Judy and Mary ever (I read the Rurouni Kenshin manga and loved it, so I wanted to hear the music).  I've always felt Sobakasu really represented Judy and Mary's style.  I actually analyzed this song for a freshman English assignment- I'll put that up soon.  The next track, "Classic" really does sound like a classic.  If I ever had a '50's nostalgia party (why, I dunno, maybe I'll go normal in my old age) I'd play this song.  "Kujira 12-gou" isn't one of my personal favorites, and it's mostly because I find the lyrics very odd.  "Sanpo-michi" is a song I didn't like at first, but then it started to get in my head and now I can't get enough of it.  It's very bittersweet sounding, and I wish I knew what the lyrics meant.  "Music Fighter" is FemEmi's song, and sometimes we'll be standing somewhere and all of a sudden one of us goes "Dooby-dooby wop-bop, dooby-do-wop-bop-bop".  It's a very fun and happy song.  "Lover Soul" is a really wow song.  It's really heavy sounding, and like so many songs on the album I wish I had a translation for it.  The last track "Brand New Wave Upper Ground" is very '70's sounding, but it's interesting.  So overall, I'd say this CD is a good buy.
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