GROUP: SMAP
ALBUM: 007 ~Gold Singer
LABEL: Victor Entertainment
CATALOG #: VICL-671
DURATION: 1:01:16
RELEASED DATE: June 7, 1995
- KANSHA Shite (wah wah version)
- Loose na MORNING
- Ame ga yamanai
- Shiyouyo (Let’s do it)
- Setsunasaga Itai
- Kanjiyasui Fukigen
- tabun orai
- Kimi ga inai
- hitoshirezuBattle
- A Day in the Life
- Alone in the Rain
- Sore ga boku no kotae
- Theme of 007 (James Bond Theme)
Here we are 12 years since the release of “007 ~ Gold Singer” from SMAP, an album that stayed in my rotation for many years and has been one of my favorite albums to own and also marked a departure from SMAP’s typical idol pop to utilizing a more live house feel with the musical direction on the albums.
The album would contain the group’s 17th CD single “Tabun Orai” (Rel. Dec. 21, 1994, VIDL-10576), their 18th CD single “Kansha Shite” (Rel. March 3, 1995, VIDL-10612) and their 19th CD single “Shiyouyo” (Rel. June 6, 2005, VIDL-10656). Also, the album was when SMAP was a six-member group and featured the vocals of Mori Katsuyuki.
As mentioned earlier, the songs were given a more jazzified, funky musical approach than the pop music that SMAP was doing in the previous years and the first track “KANSHA Shite (wah wah version)” is a reference to guitarist Wah Wah Watson. Watson’s guitars can be heard in various formats with the picks and wah’s throughout the song and also the horn section is quite pronounced in this version.
“Loose na Morning” is another fun song by the group and also features a horn section that is very strong and features composer Chokakku on the guitars. The song features the vocals of Katsuyuki Mori and Katori Shingo.
The song “Ame ga Yamanai” (which translates to “The Rain Doesn’t Stop” features the vocals of Mori Katsuyuki and Kimura Takuya. One of my favorite songs on the album and when Mori and Kimura sing together, their vocals were like butter and interacted well with each other. A very cool song.
The four track is “Shiyouyo (Let’s do it)” and possibly the only single on the album that is very close to the original CD single version and unlike the other tracks which featured a variety of musicians, the majority of the instruments were done by Chokkaku. A very cool song that had impressive choreography and is just ageless. As fresh today as it was back then.
The fifth track “Setsunasa Itai” (Bigger is pain) is a song sung by Kimura Takuya and Nakai Masahiro. Very smooth song and Kimura Takuya does a great job and Nakai does a decent job.
The sixth track “Kanjiyasui Fukigen” features Kimura Takuya and Kusanagi Tsuyoshi. I remember at first not really getting into the song but after listening to it a few times, definitely started to listen to it a lot more and more and just dug it because of the lyrics. Fun song!
The seventh track is SMAP’s other hit “Tabun Orai” and features a longer tenor sax solo by Bob Berg. An awesome song and I can never get tired of listening, singing and dancing to it. One of my favorite SMAP songs to listen to!
The eighth track “Kimi ga Inai” (which translates to “you are not there”) features all the members and a song that had a taste of classic SMAP in a “Kimi wa Kimi dayo” type of way but still utilizing a live band feel.
The ninth track “Hitoshirezu BATTLE” featured Kimura Takuya and Katori Shingo and was a good song but possibly in the whole album, the track I listened to the least to.
The tenth track “A Day in the Life” featured a solo track by Katori Shingo and Katsuyuki Mori and featuring Katori Shingo mostly rapping and Mori singing.
The eleventh track “A Day in the Life” featured a song by Inagaki Goro and Kusanagi Tsuyoshi. At first I didn’t listen to the song all that much when I first bought the album but after watching the concert on LD and heard Goro singing it live, definitely started to dig it a lot.
The twelve track “Sorega Boku no Kotae”. With many SMAP albums, there is typically a song where the guys are singing a rock song and in this album, this song is it. Also, a song that I really didn’t listen to all that much.
The thirteenth track features “Theme of 007 (James Bond Theme)” by Monty Norman, Chokkaku and various musicians. The “instrumental” song for this SMAP album (every numbered SMAP album features an instrumental song).
The CD booklet features lyrics and various solo pictures of each member with a written note on the side of each photo.
The release of “007 ~Gold Singer” was a significant release for SMAP. The group went through a mature phase and the musical direction for a more live band feel ala pop music than the type of pop music that came from the group in previous years.
Nearly 13 years since purchasing this album, I have to say that this album is one of my favorites from the group and features a lot of cool music that I’ve listened to over and over again.
Although there would be one more album featuring Mori Katsuyuki before he quit the group, the release of “007 ~Gold Singer” and also the LaserDisc/VHS video version of the concert was very well done and I had no problems with the change to a more mature sound.
Definitely a SMAP classic worth owning!