Uc Ymo: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orch [Import]

Yellow Magic Orchestra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 18, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony Japan
• ASIN: B00009KMD1
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,879 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Computer Game

2. Firecracker

3. Tong Poo

4. La Femme Chinoise

5. Technopolis

6. Insomnia

7. Rydeen

8. Behind the Mask

9. Solid State Survivor

10. Radio Junk [Live at Bottomline in N.Y.]

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Cue

2. Ballet

3. U.T

4. Gradated Gray

5. Taiso

6. Lover, Come Back to Me

7. Kimi Ni Mune Kyun

8. Chaos Panic

9. Ongaku

10. Lotus Love

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA UCYMO (Rare 2003 Japanese-only limited edition 34-track 2-CD set featururing tracks selected & edited by Ryuichi Sakamoto & remastered by Ted Jensen. Contains the unpublished tracks Lover Come Back To Me with jazz singer Mari Nakamoto & bonus alternate version of Behind the Mask - Seiko Quartz CM Version written by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Housed in a deluxe double jewel case complete with picture sleeve with an embossed card slipcase and obi-strip - still in

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YMO Re-united for the Earth Live in Japan!, June 23, 2007

By 

dovefancier (London, England, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uc Ymo: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orch (Audio CD)

To mark its 25th anniversary since the emergence of YMO, this new best album was released with two discs. Although there have already been a number of 'YMO Bests' and 'YMO Remixes', one of the main differences between 'UC YMO' and previously published best albums is that Ryuichi SAKAMOTO (The Last Emperor; Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence) himself is supervising the album and in charge of the selection of the tracks. Although it is all in Japanese, Sakamoto also gives intriguing commentary on each piece. The re-mastered and improved sound quality is another element that makes this best album worth having, and this also includes very rare material (TV commercial version, 7-inch single version etc.) which has never been published before. This is a Japanese import, and therefore slightly costly, but (1) Sakamoto's supervision, (2) his commentary on every track, (3) the much improved sound quality and (4) the rare material would, I believe, be reasons enough for any YMO fan to consider getting hold of this 'Ultimate Collection'!!

FYI: YMO was re-united for one night only for the Earth Live event from Japan (07/07/07). They were the last group to appear on stage in Japan and played the legendary 'Rydeen' with a new interpretation, which you can see on YouTube.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for newbies AND completists, January 11, 2011

By 

Mark Colan "duke-of-url" (Medford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Uc Ymo: Ultimate Collection of Yellow Magic Orch (Audio CD)

If you are new to YMO, this album is a great introduction, offering tracks from most or all of their seven studio albums. If you are a fan and completist, this album features tracks not available elsewhere, and excellent mastering that may be superior to versions you have. While the album is expensive, at least they put a lot of good material on two CDs to make it worthwhile.

YMO is one of the early inventors of Technopop, and they have been a major influence on western music. Sakamoto-san in particular is an accomplished pianist and composer, and has won an Academy Award for music for The Last Emperor (which he also starred in). He has worked with many international musicians, especially David Sylvian and Japan. Takahashi-san is a great drummer, and Hosono-san is gifted on bass, and they too have extensive solo careers, but the three together are very tight and work well as a team. The live videos on youtube gave me a whole new appreciation for how well they play together live.

Collecting YMO is tricky, since there are different editions of albums of the same title with different track listings, and even different titles of essentially the same album (e.g. Solid State Survivor vs xoo Multiples, which are mostly the same album except for a few track differences). They have seven studio albums, several live albums, and several collections.

This collection is one of three produced at about the same time. As the other reviewer noted, this one was designed and overseen by Sakamoto-san. The other two collections that came out at the same time were designed and overseen by Takahashi-san and Hosono-san, the other two members of the band.

YMO's most popular albums are their first three, and this collection focuses most heavily on those. Most of the original Solid State Survivor is here, for example. BGM (my personal favorite) has a few tracks, but the album as a whole is great, so if you like the tracks presented here, check out the album.

The first CD opens with tracks that sound like they were meant to stream from one to the next, and they flow very nicely. I do wish the booklet was had English as well as Japanese versions of the commentary, but that's a minor complaint.

Enjoy!