CLUB PRINCE – Party Yaro!! (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

October 29, 2008 by Dennis Amith 

“The first album from a boy band which is focused in driving people to a Kabukichou host club.  As for the album, if you enjoy para para, this album is for you.”

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BAND: CLUB PRINCE

ALBUM: Party Yaro!!

LABEL: avex trax

CATALOG #: AVCD-23471/B

DURATION: 1:07:33

RELEASE DATE: January 9, 2008

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Intro
2. LOVEドッきゅん
3. パーティー野郎!!
4. Love & Peace v(^^)v
5. シ♂ゲ♀キ
6. Greatful Days
7. チューナイ!!
8. Abracadabra
9. 流星物語
10. パ☆リ☆ラ
11. Shake it Now!
12. Outro
13. LOVEドッきゅん (DELACTION REMIX)
14. LOVEドッきゅん (EUROBEAT REMIX VERSION)
15. チューナイ!! (EUROBEAT REMIX VERSION)
16. CLUB PRINCE PARTY MEDLEY

DVD: Region 2, Aspect Ration: 4:3, Duration: 34 minutes

1. LOVEドッきゅん – Music Clip
2. チューナイ!! – Music Clip
3. パーティー野郎!! – Music Clip
4. LOVEドッきゅん – Dance
5. チューナイ!! – Dance
6. LOVEドッきゅん – Off-Shot
7. チューナイ!! – Off-Shot
8. パーティー野郎!! – Off-Shot

When Club Prince was announced in 2007, the concept of a boy band based on “the power” of host clubs (as opposed to bars where guys pay women to sit with them and buy the ladies drinks, its the opposite with women who pay guys for companionship at a club or bar setting).

The group consists of YUGA, SORA, TSUYOSHI, RAN and REO of the Kabukicho club Prince men’s New club.  An actual host club that these guys promote.  According to an interview with Japan Times, YUGA (former member of the boy band Kids Alive), “I want to create an image similar to that of an amusement park, like Disneyland, for the host world,” says the 22-year-old of the group’s single, which is a high-tempo dance number that starts off with a call for free-flowing alcohol. “Since music is a worldwide language, I decided to use a song to convey this message to as many people as possible.”

According to the article, after the breakup of Kids Alive, YUGA went on to a career in host clubs and managing his own club.    Of course, avex trax’s roots is through dance clubs in the past such as Juliana’s Tokyo and VELFARRE but host clubs is definitely an interesting direction.

Upon listening to CLUB PRINCE’s first album “Party Yaro!!”, the music has a very Eurobeat to para para style of sound.  In fact, if there is one way to explain the band, I guess if you take the boy band V6 and combine them with Hinoi Team, you get Club Prince.

I’m sure this will confuse people by mentioning a boy band and a girl band but when you listen to the music, you hear the YUGA singing and the guys as a supporting role in the background vocals.  But also, you hear the girls talking and singing in the background as well.  So, despite the album focusing on the five guys of the host club, the female background vocals are a part of the actual music tracks.

And the music focuses on that similar upbeat dance style.  There are no musical variations.  Just upbeat Eurobeat and para para music which fans of the genre will enjoy.  YUGA is the main vocalist of the group and his vocals are pretty good.   But with five members of the group, for those expecting the typical boy band vocal differences with each male member, you’re not going to find it on this album.

As for the DVD, the DVD features the music videos, making-of and off-shot segments of each music video.

So, for example, “Love Dokkyun” features the guys in their rococo-era style clothing and surrounded by these women in either scientist outfits and sexy women doing para para.  The guys eventually get the female scientists to shed their robes for their party outfits and they all start doing the para para.

The second video “Chuu Nai” (a pun on the Japanese Good Night or Guu-nai.  In this case, “chuu” means kiss) and features the guy in their white outfits doing their para para dance and the ladies sitting and doing para para dances and kissing.

The third video for “Party Yaro!!” is a “Saturday Night Fever” late 70s like setting with the guys in their SNF John Travolta outfits and ladies in the club dancing with each other.

The next two videos feature the guys showcasing their dance choreography.   So, for “Love Dokkyun” and “Chuu nai”, the group is sporting afros and showcasing their para para dance.  This is intended for the women who want to learn the dance moves.

The final three videos feature an off-shot segment for the music videos and each member of the group being interviewed, performing live in Shibuya, the live recording of the album and more.

The CD insert is an 8-fold booklet featuring the music lyrics and production credits on one side.  Pictures of the guys on the other side.  Also, a flyer promoting the group’s club Kabukichou Club Prince.

I’m sure there are people who may be curious about this group and it is a boy band with one major vocalist, while the others are more dance support.  Also, I guess it’s more of a promotion and marketing for a popular host club in Japan by a major music label which is different, kind of odd but if it works an the club makes money, then I suppose that all is successful.

It’s well documented that women spend a lot of money on these host club’s looking for companionship.  It’s a big business in Japan and also has received notoriety for its ties with crime and also women putting themselves in tremendous debt because of their addiction to the scene.

But Club Prince is a para para/club group that has its following and the music on the album is not bad at all.  In fact, I’ve listened so many Japanese boy bands and the combination of the vocals, Eurobeat/para para music and the women singing in unison in the background, talking or cheering is also something that many people who have been used to with groups like Hinoi Team can probably understand.

But this is not a Tohoshinki style of group where the emphasis is on each member’s vocals, it’s all about having fun, dancing and this album pretty much embodies that whole atmosphere of the group and their club.

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CDJapan | Amazon | Yesasia