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PUFFY – JET CD (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

April 11, 1998 by · Leave a Comment 

“PUFFY’s ‘JET CD’ is a solid album featuring collaborations with Tortoise Matsumoto, Spitz, Masamune Kusano, Kaori Oku, Yosui Inoue and more.  A lot of their popular hits from 1996-1998 such as ‘Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi’,'Nagista ni Matsuwaru Etcetora’, ‘Ai no Shirushi’, ‘Circuit no Musume’ and ‘MOTHER’ can be found on this album!  Definitely recommended!”

Purchase this album:

JET CD / Puffy
Puffy

GROUP: PUFFY

ALBUM: JET CD

LABEL: Epic/Sony Records

CATALOG #: ESCB-1871

DURATION: 51:04

RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

  1. ジェット警察
  2. これが私の生きる道
  3. CAKE IS LOVE
  4. 愛のしるし
  5. 春の朝
  6. レモンキッド
  7. 小美人
  8. ネホリーナハホリーナ
  9. 哲学
  10. DE RIO
  11. サーキットの娘
  12. 渚にまつわるエトセトラ
  13. MOTHER

PUFFY has been one of the more interesting musical duos in Japan.  Known for their bad choreography but catchy tunes, these women don’t fit the mold of the typical mainstream Japanese female artist.  These women sport sneakers, blue jeans, t-shirts but yet managed to create their own style and have fun doing it.
With their first album released back in 1996, fans have wondered when their album containing some of their singles from 1996 and 1997 would be released on an album and sure enough, we get “JET CD”.  Definitely one my favorite albums so far of 1998.
Produced by UNICORN’s Tamio Okuda, “JET CD” is definitely an entertaining CD that PUFFY fans will be hooked on.
The album kicks off with “JET Keisatsu” (which translates to JET police), a rock driven track with hints of that Okuda style and a pretty cool track.
The second track “Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi” is the group’s first #1 CD single from 1996 and features a Beatle-esque, late 50′s-early 60′s style of sound.  The song means “this is my way of life” and definitely a song that many people gravitated to back in ’96.
The third track is one of those weird PUFFY tracks that you tend to get and it’s called “CAKE IS LOVE” which features a synth-based track with a deep groove.
The fourth track “Ai no Shirushi” (which translates to Sign of Love) is written by Kusano Masamune of Spitz.  The track  is the group’s sixth CD single and a fun, catchy track.
The fifth track “Haru no Asa” (Morning Spring) features a slow ballad in which is piano and bass-driven that I have seen the girls performing in their concert and a song that showcases the duo’s vocals.
The sixth track “Lemon Kid” features a jazzy song written by both Ami and Yumi sporting the bass, little percussion and guitar.
The seventh track “Shoubijin” (beautiful woman) features a song written by Dr. Strangelove and Tamio Okuda.  Very dark rock track and possibly the most different track of the whole album.  Starts of dark but a very cool song.
The eighth track “Nehori-na Hahori-na” is written by Tortoise Matsumoto of THE ULFULS and was a double A-sided single along with “Mother” from 1997.  A pretty cool, catchy rock track.
The ninth track “Tetsugaku” which means philosophy features an acoustic guitar track and is sung by Ami.
The tenth track “DE RIO” is a rock track with a 70′s rock influence sung by Yumi.
The eleventh track “Circuit no Musume” is the duo’s third single and second consecutive #1 track.  I just remembered when this track came out, it was another track that seemed so out of place of what was coming out from Japan and thus, it was one of those tracks that I feel people gravitated to because it was so odd but fun to listen to.  The song features a rock track with race car’s revving in the background.
The twelfth track “Nagisa ni Matsuwaru Etcetora” is the duo’s fourth CD single and third consecutive #1 track.   The duo’s Summer release and a fun, catchy track.
The thirteenth track “MOTHER” is the duo’s fifth CD single.  A song that was electric guitar driven and some could say, has a country twang but overall a track that I enjoyed for its simplicity and chorus and definitely had that Okuda Tamio/UNICORN style.
As for the insert booklet, the booklet featured pictures of both Ami and Yumi and lyrics to all songs.

Overall, if you are a PUFFY fan, this album contains plenty of duo’s hit singles from 1996-1998 and gives you a little bit of everything from the group but for the most part, catchy, addictive tracks that I found myself listening to many times over and over again.
I suppose that one of the reasons why I enjoy PUFFY so much is because they seem so anti-J-pop.  They are of course, Japanese but their music is not the typical Japanese style that you would hear from the mainstream.  But they are mainstream, the duo is seen everywhere on magazines and TV and are very much commercial but it’s a different style that people are not familiar with and thus, it caught Japan by surprise.
Evidently, their musical style has captivated Asia since the duo has made a Chinese version of their song “Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi” and also have a good-sized fandom in Taiwan as well.
Overall, an awesome and long awaited album by PUFFY and an album that is worth owning!  Definitely recommended!

Purchase this album:

JET CD / Puffy
Puffy
Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

PUFFY – Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru michi (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

October 29, 1996 by · Leave a Comment 

“PUFFY’s second single ‘Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi’ is an awesome hit that incorporates that Beatles style and late 50′s-early 60′s rock sound.  Definitely a solid release for the duo!”

GROUP: PUFFY

CD SINGLE: Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi

LABEL: Epic/Sony Records

CATALOG #: ESDB-3722

DURATION: 16:44

RELEASE DATE:  October 7, 1996

  1. これが私の生きる道 (Monaural)
  2. 雪が降る町
  3. これが私の生きる道 (Stereo Karaoke)
  4. 雪が降る町 (Original Karaoke)

With the success of Puffy’s debut CD single “Asian no Junshin” earlier in the year (May 1996), many awaited the second CD single from the female duo who is produced by Tami Okuda (of UNICORN fame).

Featuring a new CD single with artwork by Rodney A. Greenblat, “Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi” was an instant hit when it was released and earned the duo their first #1 single.

The song had a hint of Beatles and a late 50′s to early 60′s rock sound and had a catchy melody plus a lively music video featuring the duo in Japan and the United States filmed for their first video “Run! Puffy! Run!”.

The coupling track “Yuki Ga Furu Machi” is a cover of the UNICORN hit but at a slower pace and features a synth/experimental background with the electronic drumbeats.

The final remaining tracks are the karoke instrumentals withthe  “Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi” receiving a stereo version of the music.

As for inside the CD insert, all that is included are the lyrics and production credits and the CD singles are the Japanese mini-CD singles.

Overall, the CD single is quite solid and easily one of my favorite tracks to listen to on my CD player at the moment.

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

PUFFY – amiyumi (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

August 19, 1996 by · Leave a Comment 

“The debut album of the female duo PUFFY produced by Unicorn’s Tamio Okuda.  Overall, a decent mini-album featuring their big hit ‘Asia no Junshin’.”

Purchase this album:

amiyumi / Puffy
Puffy

GROUP: PUFFY

ALBUM: amiyumi

LABEL: Epic/Sony Records

CATALOG #: ESCB-1722

DURATION: 30:57

RELEASE DATE: July 22, 1996

  1. とくするからだ
  2. ウサギチャンネル
  3. サクラサク
  4. Simple
  5. アジアの純真
  6. パフィーのHey!Mountain

I can remember when I first saw Puffy members Yumi Yoshimura and Ami Onuki performing on a Japanese music show and what caught my attention was that they were not of the norm in terms of female Japanese performers.

These girls sported sneakers, t-shirts and jeans and also puffy hair. Needless to say, they easily distinguished themselves from other Japanese music groups.

So, I had to make a call to a friend in Japan and get the lowdown on Puffy and their music and several days later, I have the duo’s first (mini) album in my hands.  “amiyumi” contains seven songs and one of those songs is their big hit and debut single “Asia no Junshin”.

The album kicks off with the Okuda-esque track “Tokusurukarada”.  A song that translates into “advantage body” which is a fun, enjoyable rock track.

The second track is titled “Usagi Channel” and features a song written and sung by Ami.  A slow-tempo, acoustic and electric guitar driven track.  Pretty cool song.

The third track “Sakurasaku” which means “Blossom Blue” and a song with a country music kind of sound.  While the fourth track “Simple” is a rock-driven track along the same lines as “Tokusurkarada”.

The fifth track “Naga iki Shite ne” is a song written and sung by Yumi.  A slower tempo track which is bass guitar driven.

The sixth track “Asia no Junshin” is the duo’s first CD single and literally a very popular, catchy song.  Some may call it Okuda genius but for the most part, the song is pretty cool and really doesn’t make any sense if you are listening into the lyrics.

The final track “Puffy no Hey! Mountain!” has a classic 80′s rock flavor.  Slower tempo but a pretty cool track.

The CD booklet features photos of Puffy and contains the lyrics to the songs on the album.

For the most part, I would imagine that “amiyumi” was an album created in order to showcase the various musical styles that we can expect from Puffy.  Rock, country, pop…

Overall, the album is OK, not the greatest if you are expecting tracks to be similar to “Asia no Junshin”.  But I do think that perhaps that these women have more to give musically but with only one single in their belt for now, I definitely look forward to their second single and hearing more from this group.

Purchase this album:

amiyumi / Puffy
Puffy
Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

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