Duo U&U
Encyclopedia
is the first album by W, the duo formed by Morning Musume
and Minimoni members and longtime friends Ai Kago
and Nozomi Tsuji
. Recorded while they were winding down their duties as Morning Musume
and Minimoni members, the album consists of cover versions of songs released by other female Japanese pop
duos from the later Showa period
, including covers of songs by The Peanuts
, Pink Lady
, and Wink. The idea was that W were continuing the tradition that the original artists they covered on this album established, as well as give fans of Kago and Tsuji that had never heard the original recordings a taste of Japanese pop history.
W promoted the album in Japan with a variety of TV appearances, including a June 2004 special during which they performed alongside Pink Lady as both W and as part of Morning Musume. W and Pink Lady performed the latter's "Southpaw" while the full Morning Musume contingent and Pink Lady performed "Nagisa no Sinbad" and a medley of Morning Musume's "LOVE Machine
" and Pink Lady's "S.O.S.
".
At the end of July 2004, W "graduated" from (i.e. performed their final concert as members of) Morning Musume, allowing them to concentrate on W full time. Duo U&U would be the only W album containing all classic J-pop covers, as future single releases would be originals composed by Tsunku
and their follow-up album, 2nd W
, would contain a mix of original material and more classic J-pop covers.
Morning Musume
, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...
and Minimoni members and longtime friends Ai Kago
Ai Kago
is a Japanese singer, actress, author and former Guinness World Record holder.At age 12, Kago won the 4th National Audition of Morning Musume held by Up-Front Works Agency in 2000, which led to her admission into the extremely popular idol group as a 4th generation member. In the same year, she...
and Nozomi Tsuji
Nozomi Tsuji
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese tarento and a former member of the pop idol group Morning Musume, its subgroup Mini Moni, and the duo W. She has participated in the shuffle groups 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, and 11Water, H.P...
. Recorded while they were winding down their duties as Morning Musume
Morning Musume
, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...
and Minimoni members, the album consists of cover versions of songs released by other female Japanese pop
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...
duos from the later Showa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
, including covers of songs by The Peanuts
The Peanuts
is a Japanese vocal group consisting of twin sisters Emi Itō and Yumi Itō . They were born in Tokoname, Aichi, on April 1, 1941; soon after their birth, the family moved to Nagoya....
, Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
, and Wink. The idea was that W were continuing the tradition that the original artists they covered on this album established, as well as give fans of Kago and Tsuji that had never heard the original recordings a taste of Japanese pop history.
W promoted the album in Japan with a variety of TV appearances, including a June 2004 special during which they performed alongside Pink Lady as both W and as part of Morning Musume. W and Pink Lady performed the latter's "Southpaw" while the full Morning Musume contingent and Pink Lady performed "Nagisa no Sinbad" and a medley of Morning Musume's "LOVE Machine
Love Machine (Morning Musume song)
is the seventh single of the J-pop idol group Morning Musume, released on September 9, 1999 as an 8 cm CD. It sold a total of 1,760,000 copies, making it a massive hit and their highest selling single. In 2004, it was re-released as part of the Early Single Box and again in 2005 as a 12 cm CD...
" and Pink Lady's "S.O.S.
S.O.S. (Pink Lady song)
"S.O.S." is a song Yū Aku and Shunichi Tokura wrote for Japanese idol duo Pink Lady. It was released as the group's second single in November 1976, and became their first number-one hit on the Japanese Oricon singles chart in the following year....
".
At the end of July 2004, W "graduated" from (i.e. performed their final concert as members of) Morning Musume, allowing them to concentrate on W full time. Duo U&U would be the only W album containing all classic J-pop covers, as future single releases would be originals composed by Tsunku
Tsunku
, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...
and their follow-up album, 2nd W
2nd W
2nd W is the second album by the Hello! Project duo, W, and the first to be recorded and released after its members, Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji, "graduated" from Morning Musume in August 2004....
, would contain a mix of original material and more classic J-pop covers.
Track listing
-
- The names in parentheses are of the artist who originally recorded the song, not the composer.
- – 2:54 (The PeanutsThe Peanutsis a Japanese vocal group consisting of twin sisters Emi Itō and Yumi Itō . They were born in Tokoname, Aichi, on April 1, 1941; soon after their birth, the family moved to Nagoya....
) - – 3:36 (Pink LadyPink Lady (band)is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
) - – 4:15 (Ushiroyubi SasaregumiUshiroyubi Sasaregumiwas a two-member Japanese pop music group created in 1985, consisting of Yukiko Iwai and Mamiko Takai. While members of this group, Iwai and Takai were also members of Onyanko Club, a large pop group considered a precursor to groups such as Morning Musume. Onyanko Club sang back-up vocals on some...
) - – 2:53 (Betsy & ChrisBetsy & ChrisBetsy and Chris, Elizabeth Wagner and Christine Rolseth , were a folk music duo from Hawaii and Idaho respectively who sang in the Japanese language, and had a string of hits in Japan from 1969 to 1972...
) - – 3:09 (Unabara Senri・Banri)
- – 4:24 (Amin)
- – 4:38 (Wink)
- – 3:18 (Beauty Pair)
- – 2:29 (Pink LadyPink Lady (band)is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
) - – 3:04 (Rinrin Ranran)
- – 3:04 (The Lilies)
- – 3:42 (Kilala & Ulala)
- – 3:04 (Key West Club)
- Give Me Up – 4:16 (Babe)
- – 2:29 (The PeanutsThe Peanutsis a Japanese vocal group consisting of twin sisters Emi Itō and Yumi Itō . They were born in Tokoname, Aichi, on April 1, 1941; soon after their birth, the family moved to Nagoya....
)
- – 2:54 (The Peanuts
- The names in parentheses are of the artist who originally recorded the song, not the composer.
Personnel
- Nozomi TsujiNozomi Tsuji, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese tarento and a former member of the pop idol group Morning Musume, its subgroup Mini Moni, and the duo W. She has participated in the shuffle groups 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, and 11Water, H.P...
- vocals (lead, harmony and background) - Ai KagoAi Kagois a Japanese singer, actress, author and former Guinness World Record holder.At age 12, Kago won the 4th National Audition of Morning Musume held by Up-Front Works Agency in 2000, which led to her admission into the extremely popular idol group as a 4th generation member. In the same year, she...
- vocals (lead, harmony and background) - TsunkuTsunku, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...
- additional backing vocals (Tracks 3, 14) - Hideuki "Daichi" Suzuki - guitar, keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Track 1)
- Shunsuke Suzuki - guitar (Track 1)
- Osamu Kawakami - upright bass (Track 1)
- Masayuki Muraishi - drums (Track 1)
- Cher Watanabe - guitar (Track 2), bass (Track 2), keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Tracks 2, 13)
- Koichi Yuasa - keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Track 3)
- Yuichi TakahashiYuichi Takahashiis a Paralympian athlete from Japan competing mainly in category T11 long distance events.Yuichi took part in the 5000m, 10000m and marathon in the 2004 Summer Paralympics winning the T11 marathon. In the 2008 Summer Paralympics he attempted to defend this title but only managed to finish...
- acoustic guitar (Tracks 6, 11) - KojiKojikoji or kōji may refer to:*Koji, the common name of the fungus Aspergillus oryzae*Koji Ishikawa , picture-book author and illustrator*Koji Kondo , composer of video game music...
- electric guitar (Track 6) - Toshiya Simizu - guitar, bass, keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Track 7)
- Yasuo Asai - guitar, keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Tracks 8, 9, 10)
- Shinichiro Mizue - bass (Track 8)
- Ogu - drums (Tracks 8, 10), additional backing vocals (Track 14)
- Yasuaki Maejima - piano (Track 9)
- Tetsutaro Ike - bass (Track 9)
- HirokiHirokiHiroki is a Japanese given name. It can be written in many ways. In the following lists, the kanji in parentheses are the individual's way of writing the name Hiroki.-People:*Hiroki Aiba , Japanese actor, dancer, and singer...
- bass (Track 10) - Mikio SakaiMikio Sakaiis a Japanese singer-songwriter. His real name is . He made his debut with the single .He has composed, written and performed numerous songs for several anime, including Fantastic Children, Tsubasa Chronicle, the Gorō Taniguchi-directed Sunrise productions, Planetes, s-CRY-ed, Code Geass, as well...
- keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Track 11) - Jun Ichikawa - keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Track 12)
- Kaya Uesugi - bass (Tracks 3, 12, 14)
- Atsuko InabaAtsuko Inabais a J-pop singer formerly within Hello! Project. She began her career as a Japanese idol with female group Osaka Performance Doll from 1993 to 1996, then joined new Hello! Project group Taiyo to Ciscomoon in 1999, until its end in late 2000...
- additional backing vocals (Tracks 13, 14) - Laugh & Peace - keyboards, drum machine, MIDI programming (Track 14)