Sweet Revenge is a 1994 album by Ryuichi Sakamoto.[4] The Japanese and international releases have different track listings, with the international pressing featuring (uncredited) re-mixes of half of the songs. The title track is an instrumental piece originally composed for the soundtrack of Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha.[5]
| Sweet Revenge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 June 1994 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Downtempo, Trip-hop, Chillout | |||
| Length | 60:26 (Japanese version) 51:29 (International version) | |||
| Label | Güt / For Life Music (Japan) Elektra (USA) | |||
| Producer | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |||
| Ryuichi Sakamoto chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| NME | 5/10[2] |
| Select |   [3] |
A re-recording of "Psychedelic Afternoon", featuring original lyricist David Byrne on vocals and sporting modified lyrics, was released in 2013 as a way to raise money and awareness for children who survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. An animated music video was released concurrently with the new version.[6]
The album includes other collaborations, with Amedeo Pace, Holly Johnson[7] and Roddy Frame, among others.
Track listing
editAll music is composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tokyo Story" | 1:16 | |
| 2. | "Moving On" | J-Me | 5:45 |
| 3. | "二人の果て" (Futari no hate, "The two people have split up") | Taeko Ohnuki | 5:56 |
| 4. | "Regret" | J-Me | 5:38 |
| 5. | "Pounding At My Heart" | Paul Alexander | 5:32 |
| 6. | "Love and Hate" | Holly Johnson | 5:27 |
| 7. | "Sweet Revenge" | 4:07 | |
| 8. | "7 Seconds" | J-Me | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Anna" | 4:47 | |
| 10. | "Same Dream, Same Destination" | Roddy Frame | 4:04 |
| 11. | "Psychedelic Afternoon" | David Byrne | 4:10 |
| 12. | "Interruptions" | Latasha Natasha Diggs | 4:51 |
| 13. | "君と僕と彼女のこと" (Kimi to boku to kanojo no koto, "You and me and that girl") | Taeko Ohnuki | 5:20 |
| Total length: | 60:26 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tokyo Story" | 1:16 | |
| 2. | "Moving On" (different mix) | J-Me | 5:45 |
| 3. | "Sentimental" (English language version of "二人の果て") | Vivien Goldman | 5:56 |
| 4. | "Regret" (different mix) | J-Me | 5:38 |
| 5. | "Pounding At My Heart" (different mix) | Paul Alexander | 5:32 |
| 6. | "Love and Hate" | Holly Johnson | 5:27 |
| 7. | "Sweet Revenge" | 4:07 | |
| 8. | "7 Seconds" | J-Me | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Same Dream, Same Destination" (different mix) | Roddy Frame | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Interruptions" (different mix) | Latasha Natasha Diggs | 4:51 |
| 11. | "Water's Edge" (English language version of "君と僕と彼女のこと", different mix) | Vivien Goldman | 5:20 |
| Total length: | 51:29 | ||
Personnel
edit- Ryuichi Sakamoto – keyboards, programming, percussion, vocals
- J-Me – vocals
- Vivian Sessoms – vocals
- Holly Johnson – vocals
- Latasha Natasha Diggs – vocals
- Paul Alexander – vocals
- Arto Lindsay – vocals
- Roddy Frame – vocals
- Miki Imai – vocals
- Towa Tei – programming
- Satoshi Tomiie – programming and arrangements
- Cyro Baptista – percussion
- Amadeo Pace – guitar
- David Nadien – string section leader
- Lawrence Feldman – bass clarinet
- Romero Lubambo – guitar
- Hiroshi Takano – guitar
- Jean-Baptiste Mondino – photography
Reception
editThe Rough Guide to Rock wrote that the album "moved his post-Tangerine Dream electro-chamber music into the corporate soul realm of Soul II Soul and M People."[8]
Remix album
editA remix album, titled Hard Revenge, was released in December 1994.[9]
Tour and live album
editThe album was followed by a live tour "Sweet Revenge Tour", resulting in a live album, Sweet Revenge Tour 94, released in January 1995.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Sweet Revenge". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ Dee, Johnny (17 September 1994). "Long Play: Short Cuts". New Musical Express. p. 55.
- ^ Grundy, Gareth (November 1994). "New Albums". Select. p. 106. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ A. Magazine: The Asian American Quarterly. Metro East Publications, Incorporated. 1995.
- ^ Elola, Joseba; Jarque, Fietta (1994-09-07). "Ryuichi Sakamoto se venga de Bertolucci y se toma una copa con Pedro Almodóvar". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ Mineo, Mike (12 March 2013). "Ryuichi Sakamoto + David Byrne – "Psychedelic Afternoon"". Obscure Sound. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ Hadleigh, Boze (1997). Sing Out!: Gays and Lesbians in the Music World. Barricade Books. ISBN 978-1-56980-116-1.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6.
- ^ Hard Revenge - Ryuichi Sakamoto | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-01-23
- ^ Arena, Vittorio (2017-07-31). La filosofia di Sakamoto: Il wabi/sabi dei colori proibiti (in Italian). Mimesis. ISBN 978-88-575-4281-2.
