Montage (Yen Town Band album)

Montage (モンタージュ, Montāju) is the concept album by Yen Town Band, fictional music group from the 1996 motion picture Swallowtail directed by Shunji Iwai. The album was actually recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Chara who played the starring role in the film. It was released by the Sony Music Entertainment Japan in September 1996.[1]

Montage
Studio album by
Yen Town Band (Chara)
ReleasedSeptember 16, 1996
Recorded1996
Length35:44
LabelSony Music Japan
ProducerTakeshi Kobayashi
Yen Town Band (Chara) chronology
Chara the Best Baby Baby Baby XXX
(1995)		 Montage
(1996)		 Junior Sweet
(1997)
Alternative Covers
Slipcase Cover
Singles from Montage
  1. "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)"
    Released: July 22, 1996

Background

Yen Town Band is the name of the band featured in the film. Glico, the character Chara plays, is the main vocalist of the band, made up of residents from the Shanghai section of the Yentown slum. The concept album was a collaboration between Chara and the producer Takeshi Kobayashi. Kobayashi elaborated a Beatlesque sound on the whole album.[2]

Reception

The theme song for the movie, "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta) (あいのうた)", was released in July 1996, two months prior to the film's release. It was a slow hit, selling over 70,000 copies between July and August. In September, when major promotion for the film began, the single finally broke the top 20 (at #18).

The album was released simultaneously with the film in mid September. It debuted at number-one the Oricon charts for 2 weeks (selling 227,400 and 127,290 units in each respective week), becoming the performer's first chart-topping hit. The album eventually spent 18 weeks on the top 100, with cumulative sales of 785,000 units just in Japan.[3][4]

"Mama's Alright" was featured as a B-side of the "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)" single, and the track "Shite yo Shite yo (してよ　してよ)" was featured in Sprite commercials that starred Chara herself. The closing track My Way is a standard cover of the English version originally recorded by Frank Sinatra.

Track listing

All songs arranged and produced by Takeshi Kobayashi

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Sunday Park"Fumiko YoshiiTakeshi Kobayashi4:17
2."Mama's Alright"Kobayashi, Takayo Nagasawa, Bryan Burton-LewisKobayashi4:11
3."She Don't Care"Burton-LewisChara4:41
4."Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta) (あいのうた, Love Song)"Shunji Iwai, Kobayashi, CharaTakeshi Kobayashi4:49
5."Shanghai Baby (上海ベイベ)"CharaChara4:59
6."Shite yo Shite yo (してよしてよ)"CharaYukio Nagoshi, Chara, Kobayashi4:02
7."Chiisana Tenohira (小さな手のひら, Little Palms)"CharaChara3:11
8."My Way"Gilles Thibaut, Paul Anka (English lyrics)Jacques Revaux, Claude François5:34
Total length:35:44

Singles
Date Title Peak position Weeks Sales
July 22, 1996 "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)" 1 (Oricon) 25 878,150

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[6] 2× Platinum 785,000[4]

References
  1. "Sony Music Online Japan : Montage". Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  2. "ＹＥＮ　ＴＯＷＮ　ＢＡＮＤ アーティストページ - TSUTAYA online". Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  3. "MONTAGE／Yen Town Band-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks for Montage by Yen Town Band aka Chara]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Original Confidence. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  4. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  5. "1996年 アルバム年間TOP100" [Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 1996] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  6. "RIAJ > The Record > March 1997 > Certified Awards (January 1997)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-01.
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