712 [Original recording remastered]

Shonen Knife | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Oglio Records
• ASIN: B000784X3U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,739 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Twee Pop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultra-eccentric super cult punk band SHONEN KNIFE!, May 9, 2005

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 712 (Audio CD)

Among the artists I got into during my NMSU years and compliments of Spin magazine was the Osakan trio Shonen Knife, consisting of guitarist Yamano Naoko, her sister Atsuko on drums, and bassist Nakatani Michie. Those into anime or manga will know Shonen means youth (male). So when I heard that Oglio Records had reissued SK's first four albums, remastered with bonus tracks, I was excited. What I didn't know was that 712 (1991) was their fourth album. Well, the first song here was called "Shonen Knife" so I assumed. Call them goofy power-pop/punk, as some of what they sing are silly. They sing mostly in Japanese, with "Rain," "Luck of the Irish," "Faith Healer," "Redd Kross," "White Flag," "Expo `90" and "Fruit Loop Dreams" sung in English.

The aforementioned first song is a rap song built around ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down," though the pulsing bass beat makes it sound more like the Bowie/Queen number "Under Pressure." They sing of their musical influences and the pre-millennial tensions of the ozone hole, violence, and atomic energy.

Their influences can be seen in song titles, "Blue Oyster Cult," "Redd Kross," and "White Flag." In fact it was the first one, about the painful agony of food poisoning one can get from bad oysters, was the first song I heard from them on KRUX radio. In "Redd Kross" which has nothing to do with RK but about LA, the refrain goes "Hey-hoh, let's go." Familiar? The third is a quick burst of adrenalized aural guitar attack and frantic drums lasting a little over a minute.

They sing two cover songs, a note-for-note cover of the Beatles' "Rain" and John Lennon's "Luck Of The Irish" with guest vocals from Redd Kross's Jeff McDonald. Their love of the Fabs can be seen in the pure punk of "Lazybone," where they sing "you don't need to be a walrus" and "you don't need to be an eggman." Now which song did the last words in those verses come from, I wonder? And rhyming serious with walrus... whimsically interesting. But who can blame them if they want to avoid riding a crowded subway and sleeping all day. They show their punk-like rebelliousness in singing "I don't wanna work a boring job/I wanna play all day/I don't wanna flatter silly people/I wanna kick them out." You tell them, or as I would say in an Osakan accent, "sonotouriyadeh"

The trio sing lovingly of their hometown Osaka, where Ayumu-chan is from. A skippy beat reminding me of a Jew's harp muted with jello accompanies this paean of a place they prefer over London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and everywhere else in Japan.

The mid-paced "Superstar" tells of the first two roles of a girl who wants to achieve stardom, first as a dead body, then as a taxi driver. It's a long way to the top, isn't it?
The escapist mellow "Fruit Loop Dreams" is a candied paradise with Beatles-ish harmonies, where Toucan Sam, pronounced "Tocan Sam" here, will lead them a la Willy Wonka to "Chocolate streams and ice cream dreams/fancy flavoured clouds and sun/lots of cakes and soda pop/and lollipops for everyone." I'm going. Anyone else coming?

"The Moon World" has a vintage SK power pop sound, upbeat pop with muted punk guitars, a soundalike of the earlier "Devil House" from their previous Pretty Little Baka Guy album. Another fantasy song like "Fruit Loop Dreams." "Baggs" is a funny commentary on how brand-name trend-conscious Japanese are, where kindergarteners, old people, and every cat and dog has Louis Vuitton bags, where its all about the name and logos.

The remastered sound is a vast improvement over the first release on Rockville/Gasatanka Records. The live bonus tracks of "Lazybone" and "Blue Oyster Cult" don't detract from the original 15 songs. 712 is the best of the first four albums, made before they switched labels and (sigh!) began singing exclusively in English.

Why 712? One source holds it to be the first syllables of the Japanese words for 712. 7 is nana, 1 is ichi, and 2 is futatsu. Naifu, or Knife. Get it?

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This Knife is Dull, September 9, 2010

By 

s.t. (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 712 (MP3 Download)

For those of you who are unaware of Shonen Knife, they are a Japanese female rock band that emerged in the early 80's. Their first three albums are considered lo-fi classics. The sound of these albums is almost like a cross between the Ramones and the Shaggs: simple, unpretentious, amateurish, quirky, joyous pop (that fans of the Vaselines, Beat Happening, and Daniel Johnston should love).

However, the band is probably best known for their later incarnation: a hyper-cute sugar rush of well-produced pop punk. This started with "Let's Knife" (which featured reworkings of songs from their first 3 albums), and peaked with the excellent "Rock Animals" and "Brand New Knife."

Alas, "712," released just before their rebirth on "Let's Knife," is a bit of a transitional work. It's still amateurish and lo-fi in sound, but it's also more self-aware than their earlier work. The album opens with a winking rap number that announces the band's influences (Nick Lowe, Costello, etc) and exclaims "Shonen Knife is a cult band!" It's nice that they were getting attention at this point, but it's as if the innocence of the band was compromised in the process. Not to mention its sense of fun. Sure, they cover quirky topics like dieting and Froot Loops cereal, but not one song on here is as transcendent (or memorable) as "Animal Song, " "An Angel Has Come," or any of the songs from the previous albums.

Simply put, it's dull. Not offensive, but not memorable.

If you want their classic rudimentary pop sound, get "Burning Farm," Yamano Attchan," and "Pretty Little Baka Guy." If you are more interested in their brighter and more polished pop punk sound, check out "Rock Animals" and "Brand New Knife." Only get this one if you're a completist.