Overview
“Romantique” is the fourth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Taeko Onuki.
Background of the Production
Taeko Onuki was born in Tokyo in 1953.
In 1973, she formed Sugar Babe with Tatsuro Yamashita, Kunio Muramatsu and others. Sugar Babe was a band rooted in American pops.
In Sugar Babe, she worked on keyboards, vocals and chorus.
In 1976, after Sugar Babe disbanded she debuted as a solo artist releasing her first studio album “Grey Skies” on Panam label of Crown Records.
“Grey Skies” was an album introducing the elements of soul music and jazz. Ryuichi Sakamoto began participating as an arranger in Onuki’s recordings starting with this album.
She released her second studio album “Sunshower” on Panam label in 1977. “Sunshower” was an album introducing the elements of fusion/crossover and funk.
Though “Sunshower” did not sell well at the time of its release, it would later be re-evaluated as a “city pop” masterpiece.
In 1978, she released her third studio album “Mignonne” after transferring to the RCA/RVC label (current Ariola Japan), but it was a commercial failure. After that, she took a two-year hiatus from her solo activities.
Commentary
The album “Romantique” was released on RCA/RVC in 1980 after Onuki’s two-year hiatus. It reached number 72 on the Oricon chart.
This work is an album that marked a turning point in the process of Onuki establishing her style as a solo artist and gaining popularity.
At the proposal of producer Kenichi Makimura, Onuki shifted from her previous American pop-inspired music to a more European-oriented sound for this album.
Onuki mentioned two French singer-songwriters, Françoise Hardy and Brigitte Fontaine, as artists she referenced during the production of this album.
She also changed her singing style into a more calm one like French talking in this album.
In this album, Onuki’s delicate and clear vocals, combined with melancholic melodies and refined arrangements, create a unique world imbued with the ambiance of European films.
Onuki’s style, based on European romanticism in this album, was carried over into her fifth album, “Aventure” (1981), and reached its culmination in her sixth album, “Cliché” (1982). These three albums are collectively known as the “European Trilogy”.
Six of all the ten tracks were arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the rest four ones were arranged by Kazuhiko Katō. In the former, the performances were primarily handled by YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and its associates, while in the latter, members of Moonriders took the lead.
“Carnaval” is a synth-pop song with the backing of the three members of YMO. It was released as a single in 1980.
“Futari (Two)” is a song with a melancholy melody. It includes a samba part. It was released as a single in 1981.
“Atarashii Shirts (A New Shirt)” is a beautiful ballad song about breaking up with a lover.
“Shinkiro no Machi (Mirage City)” is a re-recording of the song in the album “Songs” (1975) by Sugar Babe. It is an arrangement in a bossa nova style.
This album was first released on CD in 1986.
The remastered edition of this album was released on RCA/BMG JAPAN in 2006 as one of “Taeko Ohnuki RCA Years Paper Sleeve Collection”. It was remastered by Bernie Grundman. It includes a bonus track “Ai ni Sukuwaretai (I Want to be Saved by Love)”, which was released as the B-side to the single “Futari”.
Sony Music Direct reissued this album as a hybrid SACD on Aldelight label in 2021.
Track Listing
All tracks written and composed by Taeko Onuki.
Original LP
Side A
- Carnaval – 4:46
- Arranger: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Rhodes Piano, Prophet 5: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Omura
- Electric Bass: Haruomi Hosono
- Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
- Computer programmed by Hideki Matsutake
- Decade Night – 3:42
- Arranger: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Acoustic Piano, Rhodes Piano, Prophet 5: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Omura
- Electric Bass: Haruomi Hosono
- Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
- Background Vocal: Taeko Onuki
- Ame no Yoake (Dawn in the Rain) – 4:30
- Arranger: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Rhodes Piano, Prophet 5: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
- Strings: Ohno Group
- Wakaki Hi no Bourou (Watchtower of Younger Days) – 3:54
- Arranger: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Acoustic Piano, Hammond Organ: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Omura
- Electric Bass: Haruomi Hosono
- Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
- Bohemian – 4:06
- Arranger: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Acoustic Piano, Rhodes Piano, Prophet 5: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Omura
- Electric Bass: Haruomi Hosono
- Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
- Background Vocal : Frank Noël
Side B
- Hatenaki Ryojō (Boundless Travel Emotions) – 4:42
- Arranger: Kazuhiko Katō
- Strings Arranger: Nobuyuki Shimizu
- Acoustic Piano, Hammond Organ: Nobuyuki Shimizu
- Electric Guitar Solo: Kenji Omura
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Iwakura
- Electric Bass: Akihiro Tanaka
- Drums: Yutaka Uehara
- Strings: Ohno Group
- Mandolin: Ikuko Takeuchi, Tokyo Mandolin Ensemble
- Echo: Kazuhiko Katō
- Futari (Two) – 3:47
- Arranger: Kazuhiko Katō
- Acoustic Piano, KORG Σ: Tōru Okada
- Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar: Ryomei Shirai
- Classic Guitar: Kazuhiko Katō
- Electric Bass: Hirobumi Suzuki
- Drums, Shynthesizer Drums: Tetsurō Kashibuchi
- Percussion: Pecker Hashida
- Trombone: Shigeharu Mukai
- Mandolin: Ikuko Takeuchi, Tokyo Mandolin Ensemble
- Background Vocals: Taeko Onuki, Hiroko Yokoyama, Masako Hikasa, Nanaco Sato, Kenichi Okeda, Hidenori Ogawa, Kanji Tōgō, Yoshinori Toda, Hideyuki Ogawa
- Keibetsu (Contempt) – 3:37
- Arranger: Kazuhiko Katō
- KORG Σ: Tōru Okada
- Electric Guitars: Kazuhiko Katō, Ryomei Shirai
- Electric Bass: Hirobumi Suzuki
- Drums: Tetsurō Kashibuchi
- Background Vocal: Taeko Onuki
- Atarashii Shirts (A New Shirt) – 3:59
- Arranger: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Acoustic Piano, Hammond Organ, Prophet 5, Moog Synthesizer: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Omura
- Electric Bass: Haruomi Hosono
- Drums: Yukihiro Takahashi
- Computer programmed by Hideki Matsutake
- Shinkiro no Machi (Mirage City) – 2:45
- Arranger: Kazuhiko Katō
- Strings Arranger: Nobuyuki Shimizu
- Acoustic Piano: Nobuyuki Shimizu
- Electric Guitar: Kenji Iwakura
- Classic Guitar: Kazuhiko Katō
- Electric Bass: Akihiro Tanaka
- Drums: Yutaka Uehara
- Percussion: Pecker Hashida
- Background Vocal: Taeko Onuki
Taeko Ohnuki RCA Years Paper Sleeve Collection (2006) / SACD Hybrid (2021)
- Ai ni Sukuwaretai (I Want to be Saved by Love) – 3:11
- Arranger: Nobuyuki Shimizu
- Guitar: Tōru Aoyama
- Bass: Toshihiro Nara
- Keyboards: Nobuyuki Shimizu
- Drums: Eiji Shimamura
- Chorus: Makoto Matsushita