Stereophonic Sound Spectacular!
Good album lover | 11/12/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There are some experimental and dub-mix tracks on this album, such as the first two, but from the first bar of the third song you will enter the wonderful world of Pizzicato Five. The quality of Pizzicato Five's output is generally inconsistent across albums but about one-third of their tracks is brilliant. On this hits album the pick of the bunch are 6 tracks which are some of my favourite songs by any band. P5 manage to create an aural fantasy world, care-free and full of joy (reminiscent of Deee-Lite on their World Clique album). The cracker songs on this CD exude unbridled optimism and innocence and are sure to bring a smile to your face.P5 has found a unique sound despite being extremely eclectic. Their music is catchy, exuberant, eccentric, experimental and of course Japanese. On top of this add bucketloads of style: Parisian chic, Shibuya cool, Audrey Hepburn complexes etc. None of the other reviewers have mentioned the track "Triste" (Jap. title "kanashii uta") which is the antithesis of sadness and delightfully groovy. The other quality songs are Night Is Still Young (a.k.a. "Tokyo at 7 pm"), Baby Portable Rock, A Message Song, Happy Sad. My personal favourite is track #13, the heart-breaking "Tokyo Mon Amour", one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The great, pervasive bass line, piano riffs and strings vie for attention and Maki-san's beautiful voice has never sounded more wonderful. Half-way through, there is a brief string section. Ingenious.Five stars for the six top tracks and highly recommended for purchase but 4 stars overall because of some experimental tracks.P.S. This was the first Japanese CD I ever purchased. Since then I have listened through P5's entire discography by renting from my local video rental shop in Tokyo. The best and most consistent non-compilation album is IMO "Bossanova 2001" (1993) which does not feature a single bad track. Second best may be "Romantique 96", also excellent. On the Amazon Japan website there is wider selection of their back catalogue. You may need someone to assist you in reading Japanese."
Marvellous piece of work
syrtis@hotmail.com | Asia | 07/04/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pizzicato is following the shibuya style of music. It's really very very good. Their style is immensely Western. "7:00pm Tokyo","Baby Portable Rock" and "Mon Amour, Tokyo" are my favourite songs. The middle one got a sweet tune, and the latter one is rather 'Yuutsu'. I really like their remix songs, like track #2 ans #11. I feel that this is a cool album. If you wanna know more about Pizzicato 5, then u MUST listen to this. It's worthy to buy it! Everyone must"
READYMADE HAPPY MUSIC......
D. A. Vall-lloveras | Los Angeles CA | 04/06/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pizzicato Five, actually a duo from Tokyo consisting of vocalist Maki Nomiya and producer Yasuharu Konishi, glide effortlessly through a wide range of western pop/rock/R&B influences in this compilation. It's creative, toungue-in-cheek, reverent, irreverent and a lot of F-U-N! Although sung in Japanese, Maki's vocals sound totally at home whether it be in "Happy Sad" (70's R&B) or "Superstar" (Punk) or "Baby Portable Rock" & "It's A Beautiful Day" (60's Pop). If you have the good fortune to see their "Readymade Video Collections" 1 & 2, you'll get to see Maki's true chameleon quality, and just how much fun they are having through it all! This CD is well worth the import price and is guaranteed to make you feel H-A-P-P-Y!"
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1
