Naughty Boys (浮気なぼくら, Uwaki na bokura; "Naughty boys") is the sixth album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, recorded from October 1982 to March 1983, and released on May 24, 1983.[2] It contains the pop-oriented single "Kimi ni Mune Kyun", as well as a "preview" of "You've Got to Help Yourself", which was released in its full version on the companion album Naughty Boys Instrumental, and again with vocals on Service.
| Naughty Boys | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 24, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | October 1982 – March 1983 | |||
| Studio | Alfa Studio "A", Shibaura, Minato Onkio Haus, Ginza, Chūō Tokyo | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:25 | |||
| Label | Alfa | |||
| Producer | YMO | |||
| Yellow Magic Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Naughty Boys | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
Overview
editNaughty Boys was their final album to top the Oricon charts. After that, no technopop artist was able to reach No.1 until Perfume's 2008 album Game.[3] "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" also became the highest-charting single by a technopop artist on the Oricon charts, debuting at No. 2; a record the song retained until Perfume's "Love the World" debuted at No. 1 in 2008.[4][5] "Ongaku" ("Music") was reportedly written by Ryuichi Sakamoto for his then-two-year-old daughter, Miu. Naughty Boys was re-released in 2004 in a double disc package alongside Naughty Boys Instrumental.
Various cover versions of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" have been produced by later artists, including Jan Linton in 1992, and including School Food Punishment in 2011.[6] Also in 2009, a cover of "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" was used as the ending theme song for the anime series Maria Holic, sung by Asami Sanada, Marina Inoue, and Yū Kobayashi, the voice actresses of the main characters.[7]
Reception
edit
John Bush of AllMusic noted how the album sounds very different from their previous albums, praising it as "a solid album of commercial synth-pop" as well as the lead single "Kimi Ni Mune Kyun" for "featuring vocals just as accomplished as its production."[8] Andrew Stout of SF Weekly has praised the album as "sensuous musique concrète perfected."[9]
Naughty Boys Instrumental
edit| Naughty Boys Instrumental | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Remix album by | ||||
| Released | July 27, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | October 1982-March 1983 | |||
| Genre | Electronic, dance, electronic rock, techno, J-pop, new wave, synthpop | |||
| Length | 42:12 | |||
| Label | Alfa Records | |||
| Producer | YMO | |||
| Yellow Magic Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
A remix album, Naughty Boys Instrumental (浮気なぼくら（インストゥルメンタル）, Uwaki na bokura (Instrumental); "Naughty boys"), was released in July 1983 by record label Alfa. It contained nearly the entire Naughty Boys album as instrumental tracks in an entirely different running order, as well as the b-side to "Kimi ni, mune kyun.", "Chaos Panic"; and the full instrumental version of "You've Got to Help Yourself", which was released in "preview" form on the previous album. "You've Got to Help Yourself"'s vocal version is also featured on Service.
Naughty Boys Instrumental featured additional synthesizers imitating the vocal lines, as well as new embellishments and mixes. Several tracks featured sonically updated percussion tracks, while "Ongaku" featured an acoustic piano soloing over the piece.
The instrumental versions of "Chaos Panic", "Lotus Love", and "Kai-Koh" were later included as bonus tracks on Restless Records' 1992 CD release of X∞Multiplies in the United States and Canada, alongside the non-album single "Kageki Na Shukujo". Later, Naughty Boys Instrumental was re-released in its entirety as part of a double-CD package with the original Naughty Boys in 2004.
Translation notes
editAs on some other YMO albums, song titles are provided in both Japanese and English, and some have different translations altogether:
- "君に、胸キュン。" translates to "My Heart Beats for You."
- Though "Expected Way" and "Expecting Rivers" are the official translations, the Japanese titles translate to "Desired Path" and "River of Hope", respectively.
- "邂逅" translates to "Chance Meeting".
- "以心電信" translates to "Telegraph of the Heart".
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kimi ni, mune kyun. (A holiday affair)" (君に、胸キュン。（浮気なヴァカンス）; "Kimi ni, mune kyun. (Uwaki na vacances)") | Takashi Matsumoto | Yellow Magic Orchestra | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Expected Way" (希望の路; "Kibou no michi") | Yukihiro Takahashi | Takahashi | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Focus" | Haruomi Hosono, Peter Barakan | Takahashi, Hosono | 3:41 |
| 4. | "Ongaku" (音楽; "Music") | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Sakamoto | 3:25 |
| 5. | "Opened My Eyes" | Takahashi, Barakan | Takahashi | 3:40 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You've Got to Help Yourself (Preview)" (以心電信（予告編）; "Ishin denshin (Yokokuhen)") | Takahashi, Sakamoto | 0:30 | |
| 2. | "Lotus Love" | Hosono | Hosono | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Kai-Koh" (邂逅; "Kaikō") | Sakamoto | Sakamoto | 4:27 |
| 4. | "Expecting Rivers" (希望の河; "Kibou no kawa") | Takahashi | Takahashi, Sakamoto | 4:37 |
| 5. | "Wild Ambitions" | Hosono | Hosono, Sakamoto | 5:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chaos Panic" | Haruomi Hosono | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Expected Way" (希望の路; "Kibou no michi") | Yukihiro Takahashi | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Focus" | Takahashi, Hosono | 3:41 |
| 4. | "Kai-Koh" (邂逅; "Kaikō") | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 4:27 |
| 5. | "Expecting Rivers" (希望の河; "Kibou no kawa") | Takahashi, Sakamoto | 4:37 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You've Got to Help Yourself" (以心電信; "Ishin denshin") | Takahashi, Sakamoto | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Lotus Love" | Hosono | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Ongaku" (音楽; "Ongaku") | Sakamoto | 3:25 |
| 4. | "Opened My Eyes" | Takahashi | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Wild Ambitions" | Hosono, Sakamoto | 5:10 |
Personnel
edit- Yellow Magic Orchestra – Arrangements, Electronics, Mixing engineers, Producers
- Haruomi Hosono – Bass, Synth Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
- Ryuichi Sakamoto – Keyboards, Vocals
- Yukihiro Takahashi – Vocals, Electronic drums, Cymbals, Keyboards
Guest musicians
- Takeshii Fujii & Akihiko Yamazoe – Technical assistance
- Takashi Matsumoto – Lyrics for "Kimi ni, mune kyun."
- Peter Barakan – Lyrics for "Focus" and "Opened My Eyes"
- Bill Nelson – Electric guitar
Staff
- Mitsuo Koike – Recording & Mixing engineer
- Akitsugu Doi (Studio "A”) & Takanobu Arai (Onkio Haus) – Assistant Engineers
- Kazusuke Obi & Osamu Takahashi – A&R Coordinators
- Yōichi Itō (Office Intenzio) & Hiroshi Ōkura (B-2 Unit) – Management
- Tsuguya Inoue (Beans) – Art director
- Tsukuitoshinao – Creative Services
- Masayoshi Sukita – Photography
- Mikio Honda (Bijin) – Hair, Makeup
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Bush, John. "Yellow Magic Orchestra - Naughty Boys". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b Bush, John. "Naughty Boys - Yellow Magic Orchestra". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Perfume becomes first technopop group at No. 1 since YMO". tokyograph.com. April 23, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
- ^ "テクノ史上初！Perfumeオリコン1位" (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. 2008-07-15. Archived from the original on 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ "Perfume achieves technopop's first No. 1 single". Tokyograph.com. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ "How to go [w/ DVD, Limited Edition] School Food Punishment CD Album". CDJapan. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
- ^ "TVアニメ『まりあ†ほりっく』、OP & EDテーマが2月11日に同時リリース". Mynavi News (in Japanese). 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- ^ Naughty Boys at AllMusic
- ^ Stout, Andrew (June 24, 2011). "Yellow Magic Orchestra on Kraftwerk and How to Write a Melody During a Cultural Revolution". SF Weekly. Retrieved June 30, 2011.