Masquerade Show
Encyclopedia
Masquerade Show is the debut album of the Japanese rock
group Show-Ya. The album was released on 6 September 1985 in Japan. Its release was preceded by the pop single "Suteki ni Dancing" (trans. Dancing Is Great), used for an advertising campaign by Coca Cola
.
in London by Haydn Bendall
(Camel
, Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush
, Toyah
) and the Japanese media coverage of the event, pushed the band to an even higher level of popularity. During their sojourn in London, Show-Ya had the occasion to play live in the clubs that usually hosted bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
scene, making their name known to the British musical press.
The album presents a large variety of compositions, ranging from pop rock
to hard rock
, showing the classic rock
influences of the young musicians but a sound not yet distinctive. Mixing the album, a large emphasis was generally given to vocals and keyboards, keeping the volume of the guitars vey low. The result is a distinctly soft tone, quite different form the loud live performances of the band. "Talon of King" is an adaptation of a song from Japanese metal band HELEN and "Touch Me" is a cover of The Doors' song from the album The Soft Parade
. The title of the song "Touch Down" was adopted by Show-Ya's official fan club.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group Show-Ya. The album was released on 6 September 1985 in Japan. Its release was preceded by the pop single "Suteki ni Dancing" (trans. Dancing Is Great), used for an advertising campaign by Coca Cola
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
.
Overview
The single "Suteki ni Dancing", used for the TV spots of the Coca Cola campaign, gave the band a wide and immediate visibility all over Japan. A Coca Cola can is depicted on the back cover of the album to remind the link to the band's sponsor. The album, mixed at the famous Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London by Haydn Bendall
Haydn Bendall
Haydn Bendall is a British music record producer, engineer and mixer. He was Chief Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for ten years and was awarded the Audio Pro Industry Excellence Award for Best Studio Engineer in 2009.-Career:...
(Camel
Camel (band)
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
, Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Toyah
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
) and the Japanese media coverage of the event, pushed the band to an even higher level of popularity. During their sojourn in London, Show-Ya had the occasion to play live in the clubs that usually hosted bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
scene, making their name known to the British musical press.
The album presents a large variety of compositions, ranging from pop rock
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
to hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, showing the classic rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
influences of the young musicians but a sound not yet distinctive. Mixing the album, a large emphasis was generally given to vocals and keyboards, keeping the volume of the guitars vey low. The result is a distinctly soft tone, quite different form the loud live performances of the band. "Talon of King" is an adaptation of a song from Japanese metal band HELEN and "Touch Me" is a cover of The Doors' song from the album The Soft Parade
The Soft Parade
The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by The Doors, released in 1969.The album met with some controversy among fans and critics due to its inclusion of brass and string instrument arrangements, as opposed to the more stripped-down sound of their earlier recordings...
. The title of the song "Touch Down" was adopted by Show-Ya's official fan club.
Track listing
- "Touch Down" (Show-Ya, Show-Ya) - 4:51
- "Mado" (マドゥー) (Tetsuo Ota, Keiko Terada) - 4:23
- "Talon of King" (ターロン・オブ・キング（爪王）) (HELEN, K. Terada & HELEN) - 4:46
- "Au Revoir (Last Scene)" (Miki Nakamura, K. Terada) - 5:21
- "Mind Collection" (Kenshi Arai, K. Terada) - 4:47
- "Actor" (Yū Izawa, K. Terada) - 4:41
- "Touch Me" (Robby KriegerRobby KriegerRobert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...
) - 3:12 - "Masquerade" (K. Arai, K. Terada) - 4:05
- "Hurry Up" (Show-Ya, Show-Ya) - 4:14
Band members
- Keiko TeradaKeiko Teradais a Japanese rock singer. She was the lead singer of the Japanese female heavy metal band Show-Ya from 1982 to 1991, before going solo.Terada's trademark was a fake rose tattoo she wore above her right breast...
- vocals - Miki Igarashi - guitars, guitar synth, backing vocals
- Miki Nakamura - keyboards, backing vocals
- Satomi Senba - bass
- Miki Tsunoda - drums and electronic percussion
Production
- Hiroaki Takei, Akira Tanaka - Producers
- K.Arai, Takayuki Negishi, Hide Inoura & Show-Ya - arrangements
- Seizi Yamazaki - engineer
- Fujieda Darling Godwin - assistant engineer
- Haydn BendallHaydn BendallHaydn Bendall is a British music record producer, engineer and mixer. He was Chief Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for ten years and was awarded the Audio Pro Industry Excellence Award for Best Studio Engineer in 2009.-Career:...
- remix engineer