Utaite Myōri: Sono Ichi

"Utaite Myōri: Sono Ichi"
"唄ひ手冥利 ~其ノ壱~"

A black outline drawing of a woman sitting down wearing headphones, against a white background.

Kame Pact cover.
Studio album by Ringo Sheena
Released May 27, 2002
Genre Various
Length 32:52 (Disc1)
34:56 (Disc2)
Label Toshiba EMI / Virgin Music
Producer Uni Inoue (Disc1&.2)
Masashi Kudo (Disc1)
Ringo Sheena chronology

Ze-Chyou Syuu
(2000)
Utaite Myōri: Sono Ichi
(2002)
Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana
(2003)
A white outline drawing of a woman sitting down wearing headphones, against a black background.
Mori Pact cover.

Utaite Myouri ~sono ichi~ (唄ひ手冥利 ~其ノ壱~ Singer's Luck ~part one~) is Ringo Sheena’s first cover album released on May 27, 2002 by Toshiba EMI, which is the set of two discs. The album reached #1 and has since sold 409,000 copies. It was certified Platinum by the RIAJ.[1]

Outline

For Ringo Sheena, this album is the first work after the interval of 1 year 2 months from her maternity leave.

The songs of the musicians who had an influence on her until now is recorded on this album. Sheena usually writes a lyrics and music, but she devoted herself to "a singer" this time. And she entrusted the arrangement to Seiji Kameda who arranged her first and second album together and Toshiyuki Mori who arranged her third album together. She selected famous songs mainly by herself from the music which had an influence on her, and ordered them to arrange these songs in their own way.

Sheena parodied the name of arrangers, and the notation of 2 disks is "Kame-pact Disc" and "Mori-pact Disc" respectively. Kame-pact Disk was recorded at once by a garage rock style which she chose daringly in the early days because of lack of the budget. However, in "Mori-pact Disc", a music sequencer is used, and multitrack recording is adopted. That was succeeded in her 3rd album.

The album jacket is designed by Sheena and Yumi Ota who is the employee of her private office. Sheena is in charge of photographs and illustrations of the booklet, and she and Ryosuke Nagaoka (Ukigmo) design the lettering. The model of hands and feet is Hisako Tabuchi.

Four guest singers participated in each disk by two people. All of them are Sheena's acquaintances. Masamune Kusano is from the same town with her, and he is a senior of her elder brother's high school. He made Seiji Kameda a producer of his band "Spitz" later. Nao Matsuzaki is Sheena's friend. Hikaru Utada is Sheena's friend, too, and she sang a duet in the same song with Utada at Toshiba EMI party before, which was floating around all over Japan by Napster. Junpei Shiina is her elder brother.

Sheena arranged one bonus track to every two disk.

Background

It wasn't clear whether Ringo Sheena returned to the entertainment world, so Toshiba EMI intended to release the Greatest hits at first to fulfill the number of the CD contracted with her in the contract term. Actually, she said at a TV program recently, "I even thought that I would just retire as I was during my maternity leave". But she refused that plan obstinately, so this cover album was released as the compromise.

Track listing

Disc1: Kame-pact Disc (亀パクトディスク)

All songs arranged by Seiji Kameda except for track 9.

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Haiiro No Hitomi (灰色の瞳 Grey Eyes) feat. Masamune Kusano (from Spitz)" (Tokiko Kato & Kiyoshi Hasegawa cover[2])Tito Veliz, Tokiko Kato (Japanese translation)Uña Ramos 4:24
2. "More" (Andy Williams cover)Marcello Ciorciolini, Norman Newell (English lyrics)Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero 3:34
3. "Chiisana Kinomi (小さな木の実 Small Fruits)" (Japanese classic, music taken from Bizet[3])Hiroshi UnnoBizet 3:35
4. "I Wanna Be Loved by You" (Marilyn Monroe cover, original by Helen Kane)Bert KalmarHerbert Stothart, Harry Ruby 1:44
5. "Shiroi Kobato (白い小鳩 White Dove)" (Shuri Eiko cover)Michio YamagamiShunichi Tokura 3:39
6. "Love Is Blind" (Janis Ian cover)Janis IanJanis Ian 3:34
7. "Momen no Handkerchief (木綿のハンカチーフ Cotton Handkerchief) feat. Nao Matsuzaki[4]" (Hiromi Ōta cover)Takashi MatsumotoKyōhei Tsutsumi 6:00
8. "Yer Blues" (The Beatles cover)John Lennon, Paul McCartneyJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney 4:13
Special thanks track
No. TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s) Length
9. "Nobara (野薔薇 Wild Roses), ("Heidenröslein")" (German classical music)GoetheSchubertRingo Sheena 2:11

Disc2: Mori-pact Disc (森パクトディスク)

All songs arranged by Toshiyuki Mori except for track 9.

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Kimi wo Aisu (君を愛す I Love You), ("Ich Liebe Dich")" (Carmen Dragon cover)Hans Christian AndersenEdvard Grieg 3:13
2. "Jazz a go-go" (France Gall cover)Robert GallAlain Goraguer 2:38
3. "Kareha (枯葉 dry leaves), ("Autumn Leaves")" (Edith Piaf cover)Jacques PrevertJoseph Kosma 6:30
4. "I Won't Last a Day Without You feat. Hikaru Utada" (The Carpenters cover)Roger Nichols, Paul WilliamsRoger Nichols, Paul Williams 4:22
5. "Kuroi Orufe (黒いオルフェ Black Orpheus), ("Manhã de Carnaval")" (The theme song of the movie Orfeu Negro cover written by Vinicius de Moraes)Antônio Maria de Araújo Morais (Portuguese lyrics)
Francois Llenas, Marcel Camus (French lyrics)
George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore (English translation)
Luiz Bonfá 4:51
6. "Mr. Wonderful" (Peggy Lee cover)Jerry Bock, George David Weiss, Larry HolofcenerJerry Bock, George David Weiss, Larry Holofcener 3:20
7. "Tamanegi no Happy Song (玉葱のハッピーソング The onion happy song), ("The Onion Song") feat. Junpei Shiina[5]" (Marvin Gaye cover)Nickolas Ashford, Valerie SimpsonNickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson 3:21
8. "Starting Over" (John Lennon cover)John LennonJohn Lennon 3:51
Special thanks track
No. TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s) Length
9. "Komori Uta (子守唄 Lullaby)" (Chopin's "Grande valse brillante" Op.34 No.2 in A minor)Ringo SheenaRingo Sheena, Chopin[6]Ringo Sheena 2:50

Credits and personnel

Disc1: Kame-pact Disc

Gyakutai Glycogen (虐待グリコゲン Abuse Glycogen)

Guest vocalists

Disc2: Mori-pact Disc

Bōtoku Vitamin (冒涜ヴァイタミン Blasphemy Vitamin)

Guest vocalists

References

  1. "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年5月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. May 2002 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese) (Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan) 512: 12. July 10, 2002. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  2. Originally Uña Ramos's "Aquellos ojos grises"
  3. This song was made based on the serenade in Bizet's opera La jolie fille de Perth.
  4. Shina Ringo is the male part, and Matsuzaki is the female part.
  5. He is her elder brother.
  6. One passage from "Grande Valse brillante en la bémol majeur, op. 34 n° 2" is used for this song.