sympathy (Hitomi Takahashi album)

sympathy is Hitomi Takahashi's first album to be released under gr8! records, a division of Sony Records. The album was released on March 1, 2006, and three singles preceded it.

sympathy
Studio album by
Hitomi Takahashi
ReleasedMarch 1, 2006
RecordedMIT Studio, C MUSIC Studio, STUDIO SOUND DALI, sunrise studio TOWERSIDE, prime sound studio form, Studio TAKE ONE
GenrePop rock, power pop, pop punk
Length50:55 (CD)
64:17 (CD+DVD)
Labelgr8! records
ProducerKazuma Jo & Taku Sugawara
Hitomi Takahashi chronology
sympathy
(2006)		 Bamboo Collage
(2007)

Overview

sympathy is the debut original studio album released by the Japanese singer Hitomi Takahashi. The album was released in Japan in two formats, CD+DVD and CD Only, both of them containing the same cover. As information about the album was unveiled, Hitomi's Official Site announced that the album song "Yakusoku" would be used as the ending theme for the Japanese TV Program "THE SUNDAY."

The album received much promotion upon its release, an example being that Hitomi appeared on TV many times a day with a message concerning her album. More attempts at promotion were made as Hitomi appeared on various radio programs. In addition to all of this, Hitomi further promoted her album by appearing in a variety of magazines.

sympathy showcases a wide variety of musical genres, mostly in the pop and rock area. Songs range from pop/rock songs, such as "Get the future", to the more rock/ballad songs like "Yakusoku". The album even contains a little country music in the song "KOTO NO HA". Overall, though, the album remains close to the genre pop/rock that the three singles released before this album contained.

Overall, reception of the album was positive, many people claiming it as wonderful and a success on Hitomi's part. However, the album did not go without complaints. The album was said to be mediocre, and that it would have been better had it been more on the rock side than pop/rock.

Track listing

CD Portion
  1. "Get the future" – 3:34
    Lyrics, music, and arrangement by Koichi Tsutaya
  2. "Aozora no NAMIDA (青空のナミダ) (Tears of the Blue Sky)" – 4:30
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & Natsumi Watanabe
    Music by Hidenori Tanaka
    Arrangement by Hyoe Yasuhara
  3. "Kodoku na Gunshuu (孤独な群衆) (Lonely Crowd)" – 3:15
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & mavie
    Music and arrangement by Katsuhiko Kurosu
  4. "KOTO NO HA (コトノハ) (Leaves of Words)" – 5:05
    Lyrics by Akiko Watanabe
    Music by Jun Ichikawa
    Arrangement by Masanori Shimada
  5. "Evergreen" – 5:17
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & Hidenori Tanaka
    Music by Hidenori Tanaka
    Arrangement by Tomoji Sogawa
  6. "Beatin'" – 4:08
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & mavie
    Music and arrangement by Tomoki Kikuya
  7. "Melody (メロディ)" – 3:48
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & mavie
    Music by BOUNCEBACK
    Arrangement by Gen Kushizaki
  8. "Yakusoku (約束) (Promise)" – 5:01
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & Hiroaki Hayama
    Music and arrangement by Hiroaki Hayama
  9. "Mou Hitotsu no Yoake (もうひとつの夜明け) (Another Daybreak)" – 3:27
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & mavie
    Music and arrangement by Shinya Saito
  10. "SKULL" – 2:58
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & Akiko Watanabe
    Music and arrangement by Hyoe Yasuhara
  11. "Bokutachi no Yukue (僕たちの行方) (Our Whereabouts) -Album Version-" – 4:31
    Lyrics by Yuta Nakano & shungo.
    Music and arrangement by Yuta Nakano
  12. "16" – 5:00
    Lyrics by Hitomi Takahashi & mavie
    Music by Yuta Nakano
    Arrangement by Masanori Shimada

DVD Portion
  1. "僕たちの行方 (Bokutachi no Yukue)" <PV>
  2. "evergreen" <PV>
  3. "青空のナミダ (Aozora no NAMIDA)" <PV>

Personnel
  • Hitomi Takahashi - vocals
  • Koichi Tsutaya - keyboards, programming, & backing vocals (Track #1)
  • A_S_E - guitars (Track #1)
  • Takeshi Taneda - bass (Track #1 & #4)
  • Takashi Furuta - drums (Track #1)
  • Hyoe Yasuhara - keyboards & programming (Track #2 & #10)
  • Kazuyoshi Baba - guitars (Track #2, #3, #4 & #8)
  • Rei Shimizu - bass (Track #2 & #10)
  • Kazutaka Kiritoshi - drums (Track #2, #7, #8 & #9)
  • Katsuhiko Kurosu - programming (Track #3)
  • Koji Igarashi - keyboards (Track #3 & #6)
  • Kazuhiro Sunaga - bass (Track #3 & #8)
  • Masuke Nozaki - drums (Track #3 & #5)
  • Masanori Shimada - keyboards & programming (Track #4 & #12)
  • Tomoyasu Kawamura - drums (Track #4)
  • Tomoji Sogawa - keyboards & programming (Track #5)
  • Yoshihiko Chino - guitars (Track #5)
  • Naoya Emi - bass (Track #5)
  • Tomoki Kikuya - programming & guitars (Track #6)
  • Toshihisa Tanaka - bass (Track #6)
  • Yasuo Sano - drums (Track #6)
  • Marico Harada - backing vocals (Track #6)
  • Gen Kushizaki (No-torious) - keyboards, programming, guitars & bass (Track #7)
  • Hiroaki Hayama - keyboards & programming (Track #8)
  • Shinya Saito - keyboards & programming (Track #9)
  • Yutaka Ishii - guitars & bass (Track #9)
  • Takamichi Tsugei - guitars (Track #10)
  • Kaori Kobayashi - drums (Track #10)
  • Yuta Nakano - keyboards & programming (Track #11)
  • Kohei Tsuda - guitars (Track #11)
  • Takashi Yonekura - guitars (Track #11)
  • Mio Okamura - violins (Track #11)
  • Yoshiaki Kanoh - guitars (Track #12)
  • Sting Miyamoto - bass (Track #12)
  • Masayuki Muraishi - drums (Track #12)

Production
  • Directors of Songs - Kazuma Jo & Taku Sugawara
  • Art Direction - Hiroyuki Yui (elaion Inc.)
  • Design - Sachie Shibata (bold Co.,Ltd.)
  • Photography - Hidemi Ogata
  • Styling - Itoko Shiino
  • Hair & Make-up - Mihoko Fujiwara (Ritz)
  • Illustration - Frederic Thomain

Charts

Album - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan) Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
1 March 2006 Oricon Daily Albums Chart #7
1 March 2006 Oricon Weekly Albums Chart #10 24,283 39,347+ 7 weeks
1 March 2006 Oricon Monthly Albums Chart #30

Singles - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Single Chart Peak Position
13 April 2005 "Bokutachi no Yukue" Oricon Daily Singles Chart #1
13 April 2005 "Bokutachi no Yukue" Oricon Weekly Singles Chart #1
10 August 2005 "evergreen" Oricon Daily Singles Chart #19
10 August 2005 "evergreen" Oricon Weekly Singles Chart #22
30 November 2005 "Aozora no NAMIDA" Oricon Daily Singles Chart #5
30 November 2005 "Aozora no NAMIDA" Oricon Weekly Singles Chart #8

References
  • ^ "TokyoNights Forums". Retrieved October 31, 2006.
  • ^ "YesAsia". Retrieved October 31, 2006.
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