In Praise of the Original “Super Monkeys” Tracks

I got into J-pop just as singer Namie Amuro was ascending to the heights of J-pop popularity,  back in 1995, it seemed like there was no place you could go or show you could watch  (J-pop wise) without seeing her face or hearing one of her catchy songs. I had already picked up her CD “Dance Tracks” which featured all of her recent electronic dance hits, but it was when the J-pop buyer of Tower Records had brought in all of Namie’s earlier singles with Super Monkey’s that I decided I had to investigate her music more!

 I bought all four of the singles, and upon getting home, i was happily surprised at how catchy and FUN the songs were! I was used to associating Namie Amuro with the Electonic style music, and it was thrilling to hear her doing actual, bubbly and cutesy J-POP!

The first single, from late 1992 was the song “Koi No Cute Beat” and it was very much in the style of Pony Canyon acts, jangly synth pop, but it was the B-side “Mister USA” that really caught my ear- so dancey and full of happy pop  (think Radio Disney) that I just couldn’t get enough! It was hearing this song that I knew Namie was going to be an artist whom I would love for life!

The next song was the theme song from the cartoon Nintama Rantarou, a tune called “Dancing Junk”. Anna Makino had left the group by this time and they had changed their name to “Super Monkey’s 4”. 

This was an OK song, (though I must admit this live performance below is really great) but it is noteworthy that the B-side for this single was a Namie Amuro solo track, “Rainbow Moon”. Namie was already being groomed as the focus of the group and she proved she had the voice to do it!

The next single was a dancey number called “Aishite Muscat” which I really dug, and WOW, the "sound" of the future Namie Amuro and Super Monkeys was finally here!!! Such a rocking song!!

The B-side was the Namie Amuro Solo song “Wagamama Wo Yurushite”, and this was a powerful ballad that showed beyond doubt that this girl had the vocals worthy of superstardom! Give a listen to that powerful soulful choruses- hard to believe Namie is only 15 years old here!

The fourth single was “Paradise Train”, a super catchy groovy song, and the breezy vocal style of hers is unmistakeable!!!

...and if I thought the A-Side was good, the B-Side “Kanashiki Broken Boy” was even BETTER- So cool and CATCHY, this happy song is still one of my all-time favorite Namie Amuro tracks ever!

Listening to it, it’s AMAZING to realize how much this group had grown in such a short time- Within just 4 singles, Super Monkey’s had gone from a Disney-styled Kid Group to a full-fledged J-Pop Group with one HELLUVA singer! They had gone from Koi No Cute Beat to Paradise Train and their ascent was now complete as their very next single would be TRY ME~Watashi o Shinjite!!

Try Me, was, of course, the first single of the new “Techno-fied” Namie Amuro who would go on to conquer Japan with singles like Stop the Music, Chase the Chance, Taiyo No Season, Stop the Music,  A Walk In The Park and the all-time classic Can You Celebrate?! And to think, it all started with that cute little girl group Super Monkeys!

PS: By the time Namie had released her Tetsuya Koumro-penned song “Don’t Wanna Cry”, Namie had completely gone solo and the Super Monkeys were nowhere to be found. My world was oncea gain rocked when my co-worker Holly told me,  “You know that after Namie went solo, the other girls in Super Monkeys continued on as a new group, right?  They’re called MAX”. “WHATTT!!!!” I said. I made my way to the local J-pop Video rental store (this was a Japanese video rental shop in Waimalu Shopping Center, another long-gone store) and picked up the latest MUSIC STATIONs, and right there onstage was Mina, Reina, Nana and Rina as the newly formed MAX, singing their AWESOME new song “Tora Tora Tora”  and from there, a BRAND NEW favorite group was born!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com