ANZEN CHITAI - The Very Best Of (2001)

Country:
Japan
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Pop, Synth-Pop

Members
Koji Tamaki - Vocals, Guitars & Percussion (1973-present)
Yutaka Takezawa - Guitars (1973-present)
Wataru Yahagi - Guitars (1977-present)
Haruyoshi Rokudo Bass, Piano & Keyboards (1977-present)
Yuji Tanaka - Drums (1977-1978, 1982-present)

VIDEO
"Red no Kokoro"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYbG3F0KkKY&mode=related&search=

"Koi No Yokan"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8bDjMnuiAQ

Tracklist:

01 Moegi iro no snap
02 Wine-Red no Kokoro
03 Mayonaka Sugino Koi

04 Koi no Yokan
05 Nesshisen
06 Kanashimi ni Sayonara
07 Aoi Hitomi no Elis
08 Prussian Blue no Shouzou
09 Natsu no Owari no Harmony
10 Friend
11 Sukisa
12 Jirettai
13 Tsuki ni Nureta Futari
14 I Love You kara Hajimeyou
15 Hohoemi ni Kanpai

16 Anatani
17 Dakishimetemo
18 Tsubuyaki

Links to download:


"Anzenchitai (means "safety zone" in English) will be one of the representative artists in 80' Japanese music scene, at the same time they showed the unique styles that foreign artists did not have: the sorrow melodies that have been made in long Japanese history, the sentimental voice with incredible vibrato techniques of vocalist Koji Tamaki that supported the sorrow melodies, twin melodious guitar with splendid effects like that is just a 80' Japanese sounds! Off course that may be good for feeling their charms if you listen to this best-album (but I dare to recommend another best-album for the price, not this) but it will not be enough in this best-album if you want to know about the true charms, that is, not only the no-1 singles in the Japanese charts on those days like "Wine Red No Kokoro" "Koi No Yokan" but also the un-famous songs like "Masuqua rade" "Mayonaka Sugi No Koi" that was released at their early period before they got the great popularities are great, in addition to them, they showed the true charms on ballade songs, you may have known about the truth by listening "Aoi hitomi no erisu (Erisu with blue eyes)" or "Koi no yokan "the expectation for love)" already. While they held the great sentimentalism in the ballade songs especially, they showed the charms, urbanism of Tokyo and of adults very well in ballads, so showed the natural charms that we felt the tender air of our hometown by "Kaze" "Aozora". The cause that they could show such natural charms will be for their birth-place or the place where they spent before they accomplished in the major debut, the place is called Hokkaidou where exists the north place of Japan and have beautiful scenery including cool and tender air, beautiful rivers and so on. By such great palace of Hokkaido, the charms will have been born."

"Koji Tamaki's vocals are the reason why I bought this album; his voice is very beautiful and rich in tone. He is a very talented vocalist. There are several upbeat songs on this album, but overall it has- (as the previous reviewer mentioned-) many "sorrowful" melodies. My favorite song on the whole album is "Wine red No Kokoro" and "Koi No Yokan"- (the two fourth songs on the cd.)The melodies lean towards meloncholic (This is why I give it four stars; I was hoping for a more upbeat album-).It has a definite 80's sound to it, which I am enjoying, and it is very easy listening. I never grew up in or lived in Japan, so my viewpoint on it is probably much different than someone who has lived in Japan.I would say it has a soft-rock/easy listening feel to it.If that is what you re looking for then this is a good cd to purchase. Overall, a good cd, glad I found it!"

"This is the signature album of Anzenchitai. And they are one of the best group during the New Romance age. Their songs are mixture of sentiment (Koi No Yokan, Aoi Hitomi no Elis), passion (Nesshisen), optimism (Kanashimi ni Sayonara, Hohoemi ni Kanpai) and love (Friend).And this is the best album issued before they have a 'creative break' in 1990s (And they had their new album later in 2003). Shouldn't be missed."

ANZEN CHITAI -VIII Taiyo

Tracklist:

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Link to download:

Biography:
Formed in 1973 as the high-school garage band Invader in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, its original members included vocalist Koji Tamaki, guitarist Yutaka Takezawa and guitarist/keyboardist Toshiya Takezawa, who is also Yutaka's brother. Later, in late 1973, Koji's brother and drummer, Kazuyoshi Tamaki and bassist Takahiro Miyashita joined. In 1977, the band changed its name to Anzen Chitai ("Safety Zone"), and Kazuyoshi Tamaki left the group to be replaced by Ichiji Ohira. By December 1977, Anzen Chitai merged with another band, the Haruyoshi Rokudo Band (六土開正バンド, Rokudō Haruyoshi Bando?), and added three more members: bassist Haruyoshi Rokudo, guitarist Wataru Yahagi, and drummer Yuji Tanaka. By this point, they had expanded to an eight-member group. Within the next three years, Toshiya Takezawa and Takahiro Miyashita would leave. Yuji Tanaka would also leave at this point.In 1981, they began work as a backup band for singer/songwriter Yosui Inoue,and released their debut single, Moegi Iro No SNAP in February 1982. However, the final personnel change would occur as Ichiji Ohira would leave, and Yuji Tanaka would return in his place, establishing the current lineup.Under the guidance of their producer and co-arranger Masaru Hoshi ,lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock group MOPPS, the band continued to refine their craft in the studio. Their status as a backup band would soon change: in 1984, WINE RED No Kokoro reached No. 1 on the OriCon charts, to be followed by among others, Kanashimi Ni Sayonara and Suki Sa (featured on the popular Rumiko Takahashi anime series Maison Ikkoku). Koji Tamaki was credited as the sole composer in virtually all of Anzen Chitai's music, with Goro Matsui being the lyricist frequently. Their popularity in the 1980s culminated in a five-day soldout concert tour at the Nippon Budokan in 1987, which had a total attendance of 60,000.Despite a couple of hiatuses for the sake of solo careers (July 1988-March 1990, 1993-2001), Anzen Chitai continued to record and tour. A new studio album was released in 2004, titled Anzen Chitai X (their tenth studio album). After their Japanese concert tour in support of the "Anzen Chitai X" album, the band announced at the end of 2004 that they are taking yet another indefinite hiatus.As of 2006, Koji Tamaki remains active as a solo performer and television actor, with Wataru Yahagi performing in both his solo albums and concerts. Yutaka Takezawa is also active in the music business as a composer, producer, arranger and session guitarist.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzen_Chitai)

More bio:
http://nippop.com/artist/artist_id-201/artist_name-anzen_chitai/

More info:
http://www.anzenchitai.com/

http://listen.to/anzenchitai

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_code_banner.html?key=191969

http://www.jpophelp.com/scripts/proddetails.asp?title=Search+Results&searchstring=anzen+chitai