Duo U&U (デュオU&U) is the first studio album released by W, the duo formed by Morning Musume and Minimoni members and longtime bestfriends Kago Ai and Tsuji Nozomi. The album was 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 late 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 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.
The album sold 41,063 copies in it's first week of sales, selling a total of 85,017 copies.
Tracklist
Southpaw (PV)
Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro (PV)
Matsu wa (PV)
Samishii Nettaigyo (PV)
- Koi no Vacance (恋のバカンス; Vacation of Love) - (The Peanuts cover)
- Southpaw (サウスポー) - (Pink Lady cover)
- Nagisa no "......" (渚の「……」; The Beach's "......") - (Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi cover)
- Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro (白い色は恋人の色; White Is My Lover's Color) - (Betsy & Chris cover)
- Osaka Rhapsody (大阪ラプソディー) - (Unabara Senri Anri cover)
- Matsu wa (待つわ; I'll wait) - (Amin cover)
- Samishii Nettaigyo (淋しい熱帯魚; Lonely Tropical Fish) - (Wink cover)
- Kakemeguru Seishun (かけめぐる青春; Youth That Runs About) - (Beauty Pair cover)
- Nagisa no Sinbad (渚のシンドバッド; Sindbad of the Beach) - (Pink Lady cover)
- Koi no Indian Ningyou (恋のインディアン人形; Indian Doll of Love) - (Rinrin Ranran cover)
- Suki yo Captain (好きよキャプテン; I Love You, Captain) - (The Lilies cover)
- Sentimetal Boy (センチ・メタル・ボーイ; Sentimental Metal Boy) - (Kilala & Ulala cover)
- Oatsuraemuki no Destiny (お誂え向きのDestiny; The Ideal Destiny) - (Key West Club cover)
- Give Me Up - (BaBe cover)
- Jounetsu no Hana (PASSION FLOWER) (情熱の花 (PASSION FLOWER); Flower of Passion) - (The Peanuts cover)
Featured Members
W promoting the album
Album Information
- Koi no Vacance
- Southpaw
- Lyrics: Aku Yuu
- Composition: Tokura Shunichi
- Arrangement: Watanabe Cher
- Nagisa no "......"
- Lyrics: Akimoto Yasushi
- Composition: Goto Tsugotoshi
- Arrangement: Yuasa Koichi
- Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro
- Lyrics: Kitayama Osamu
- Composition: Kato Kazuhiko
- Arrangement: Takahashi Yuichi
- Osaka Rhapsody
- Lyrics: Yamagami Michio
- Composition: Inomata Kosho
- Arrangement: Takahashi Yuichi
- Matsu wa
- Lyrics and Composition: Okamura Takako
- Arrangement: Yuasa Koichi
- Acoustic Guitar: Takahashi Yuichi
- Samishii Nettaigyo
- Lyrics: Oikawa Neko
- Composition: Ozeki Yuji
- Arrangement: Shimizu Shunya
- Kakemeguru Seishun
- Lyrics: Ishihara Shinichi
- Composition: Akano Tachio
- Arrangement: Asai Yasuo
- Nagisa no Sinbad
- Lyrics: Aku Yuu
- Composition: Tokura Shunichi
- Arrangement: Asai Yasuo
- Koi no Indian Ningyou
- Lyrics: Saito Daizo
- Composition: Tsutsumi Kyohei
- Arrangement: Asai Yasuo
- Suki yo Captain
- Lyrics: Matsumoto Takashi
- Composition: Morita Koichi
- Arrangement: Sakai Mikio
- Acoustic Guitar: Takahashi Yuichi
- Sentimetal Boy
- Lyrics: Urino Masao
- Composition: Inoue Daisuke
- Arrangement: Ichikawa Jun
- Oatsuraemuki no Destiny
- Lyrics and Composition: Kawashima Daria
- Arrangement: Watanabe Cher
- Give Me Up
- Lyrics: Michael De San Antonio, Micheal Nigro Pierre
- Composition: Mario Giuseppe Nigro
- Japanese Lyrics: Mori Yukinojo
- Arrangement: Love & Peace
- Jounetsu no Hana (PASSION FLOWER)
- Lyrics: Bunny Botkin, Gilbert A. Garfield, Pat Murtagh
- Composition: Ludwig Van Beethoven
- Japanese Lyrics: Otowa Takashi, Mizushima Satoru
- Arrangement: Takahashi Yuichi
Concert Performances
South Paw
Nagisa no "......"
Matsu wa
Samishii Nettaigyo
Sentimental Boy
GIVE ME UP
Oricon Chart Positions
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Week Rank | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 41,063 |
| 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 16,407 |
| 9 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 9,461 |
| 22 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 45 | 5,694 |
Total Reported Sales: 85,017
Trivia
- Nagisa no "......" is a cover of a 1986 song with lyrics by Akimoto Yasushi, then producer of Onyanko Club and future producer of AKB48.
- Matsu wa and Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro was previously covered by Nakazawa Yuko and Ichii Sayaka on the album FOLK SONGS.
- Osaka Rhapsody was previously covered by Nakazawa Yuko on her debut album.
External Links
- Discography: Hello! Project (archived), UP-FRONT WORKS, Tsunku.net
- Wikipedia: Japanese, English
- Lyrics: Koi no Vacance, Southpaw, Nagisa no "......", Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro, Osaka Rhapsody, Matsu wa, Samishii Nettaigyo, Kakemeguru Seishun, Nagisa no Sinbad, Koi no Indian Ningyou, Suki yo Captain, Sentimetal Boy, Oatsuraemuki no Destiny, Give Me Up, Jounetsu no Hana (PASSION FLOWER)
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