#644 Album Theory 37 | Hattori / UNICORN (1989)
I've been writing these album theories for a while now, and this time I'd like to introduce the 3rd album Hattori, which is UNICORN's breakthrough work and representative album.
Following their fresh debut work BOOM and PANIC ATTACK, which started to show their color, this 3rd album is said to be a culmination of the band's early days, and it's called Hattori lol
They really are a ridiculous band, lol.
UNICORN at the time of the release of "Hattori"
After gaining popularity with BOOM and PANIC ATTACK, the 1st single "Daimeiwaku," released at this time, became a smash hit, and UNICORN finally broke through!
You can tell by watching old footage, but there are just so many female fans.
High-pitched screams are flying everywhere, giving a glimpse of their popularity at the time.
And from this period, Abe, who had been joining as support, joined as an official member, further powering up both musically and in terms of their goofiness. Abe's addition was huge.
Despite being in such an important period, they had the boldness to give it an incomprehensible title, hire an image boy who had nothing to do with the members, and use him for the album jacket. This gear shift was likely a huge success in the end lol
It's truly a masterpiece, contributing the most songs, five, to the best-of album released after they disbanded.
Hattori: A Full Review with All My Heart
1. Hattari (Bluff)
The first track of the album Hattori, which broke UNICORN, starts with an unexpected orchestra.
They perform a medley of UNICORN songs with an orchestra, and since it includes songs from this album, it spoils the content from the very first track lol
It's a parody of the album title Hattori, but in many ways, it's a "bluff", which is quite profound lol
2. Gigolo
The second track after the opening is a song that is just plain lazy, with a child singing lol
A child singing something like "I'm a gigolo, I've had countless women swoon over me", and I'll say it again, it's a really lazy song lol
They're just doing whatever they want.
3. Hattori
And this is where the album really starts to fire up, but the title track "Hattori" is incredibly cool.
Anyway, the guitar riff is cool from start to finish, and it's a hard rock song that represents UNICORN.
And the "Hattori" that appears in the lyrics is "a rich, laid-back middle-aged man" known as the sorrowful dirty thirty. It is speculated that this Hattori was likely the person who stole the girl from the protagonist of the previous work, HEY MAN.
Even though Tamio was still young, it's a mystery why he wrote a song from the perspective of an old man, but these non-life-sized lyrics probably ended up being loved by young people as well.
Anyway, it still sounds cool even now, and the fact that Group Tamashii sings it on the tribute album shows their respect, which is great.
4. Funny Pair
Next up is one of Unicorn's most iconic, super-duper-duper famous songs. In the Unicorn fan book "Chankara," they published a ranking of popular songs as voted by fans, and
the #1 fan-voted song was this one. I was also moved when I first heard it.
This song feels like the true essence of Nishikawa-kun's lyrics, but it's a supreme set of lyrics that manages to be both playful and heartbreaking from a female perspective. It teases you, teases you, and teases you right up until the chorus, where it finally explodes. The chorus features what is likely one of the
most beautiful melodies in Unicorn's history. It's easy to see why it's so popular.
By the way, I practiced and played this song when I was in a short-lived Unicorn cover band, and it is insanely difficult. The intro is high-level right from the start, and I really struggled with it...
5. Peter
It's unclear if this Peter came from Heidi, Girl of the Alps, but it's a perverted song created by EBI. Looking at the wiki, it says it's a Russian folk-style waltz, but I'm not sure if I really get that or not, haha. Personally, I quite like this song for the sense of emptiness it evokes, so I think its placement here is spot on.
6. Daddy is Rich
It's a hard song to figure out, haha. As the title suggests, it's a super pop song where a
spoiled brat sings silly lyrics. You could say it's a song that shines a spotlight on useless second-generation types, like the sons of politicians or the son of
Big Motor. The part where the chorus "Yes, Daddy is rich" is sung in EBI's high-pitched voice
feels absolutely amazing.
7. You Are Angels
This song connects from Daddy is Rich. The A-melody is sung by EBI, the B-melody by Tamio, and the chorus is a
samba style track that is super upbeat and a real crowd-pleaser at live shows. The balance between EBI's high notes and Tamio's raspy voice (though Tamio can hit high notes too) is excellent. Much like "Peke Peke," songs where these two sing together are basically never misses.
8. Backlight
This is a genuinely incredible ballad written by Abe. It matches Tamio's voice perfectly, and it can only be described as a masterpiece. In an album full of silly songs, you could call this the
only conscience of the record, haha. The way the long notes in the chorus—"oboete------- (remember)" and "subete ga------- (everything)"—are sung with such a beautiful melody is classic Tamio.
9. A Thursday with a Surprisingly Good Awakening
This is the song that left the least impression on me in this album, but it's reggae. It's so reggae that PUSHIM even sang it for a tribute album, and since there's no original version available, I've linked that tribute version from YouTube. Once again, it really makes you feel that this is an "anything goes" album, featuring orchestral, children's songs, heavy rock, orthodox rock, Russian folk (waltz), samba, and ballads, haha.
10. Day Game
And this is Unicorn's 2nd single, the masterpiece "Day Game" written by Tessy.
It seems there was talk of a baseball anime, and it was written for that, but it wasn't adopted. Well, it has an Indian-style arrangement, so I feel like it wasn't suited for an anime, but...
On the single, it's mysteriously sung by "Tobimasu Tobimasu" Jiro Sakagami, but on the album, Tamio sings it, and it's just a great song.
I quite like the "Baseball Weekend" part at the end and the way the song develops.
11. Jinsei wa Joujou da (Life is Great)
And this song is also essential for early Unicorn.
It's a song that Abe sings as lead vocalist at live shows, and it absolutely gets the audience fired up.
The lyrics were co-written by Nishikawa-kun and Abe, depicting gay friendship, and from the middle, the melody keeps modulating higher and higher, and Abe and Tamio scream their lungs out (or rather, can barely sing it, haha) to build the excitement.
The final "Itsumademo kono mafuu" is perfect.
The version sung by Kishidan on the tribute album is also excellent.
12. Dakeru Ano Ko (The Girl I Can Hold)
It seems there is no relation to "Dakenai Ano Ko" (The Girl I Can't Hold) included on the previous work PANIC ATTACK, and it's a song with completely ridiculous lyrics about a Japanese guy going to hold a blonde American chick, but it's super rock 'n' roll and cool, haha.
13. Daimeiwaku (Big Trouble)
And this song is Unicorn's 1st single and their signature song. I'm not sure if this song is categorized as punk rock in terms of BPM, but it's a high-energy song that 100% gets the crowd going at live shows.
I don't know how many times I've heard it in my life, but whenever I hear it, the individuality of all the members shines through, and it's incredibly cool.
I'm impressed that they could write such lyrics while being so young; it's a song lamenting "job transfers" and "living away from family", and this is probably the only song before or since to use this as a theme, haha.
I love the opening, which is set in a snack bar, starting with "Hey lady, mic, mic!"
14. Milk
And it ends with a peaceful song. It's a song dedicated to children.
It's a gentle ballad, and this controversial work "Hattori" ends with an outro-like feel.
It's just a good song.
Summary
Anyway, with all 14 songs like that, it's an album that's hard to describe—it's so omnivorous, or colorful, that you lose track of what the genre even is, but listening to it as a whole, it's truly cool.
It also sounds like a concept album where you can feel the worldview from the beginning to the end of a live show.
That was Hattori, the breakthrough album for Unicorn, but next time I will introduce what is likely considered the most highly acclaimed Unicorn album, and the masterpiece that is also my personal favorite,Kedamono no Arashi.