Gradation (album)

Gradation is the first compilation album by Japanese singer Shizuka Kudo. It was released on November 30, 1988, through Pony Canyon. The album includes all five singles released by Kudo at the time, from "Kindan no Telepathy" through "Mugon... Iroppoi", their coupling songs, as well as one new song, entitled "X'mas ga Ippai", recorded specifically for the compilation. Gradation was re-released in gold CD format on March 21, 1989.

Gradation
Compilation album by Shizuka Kudo
Released	November 30, 1988 (1988-11-30)
Recorded	1987–88
Genre	Pop
Length	46:31
Label	Pony Canyon
Shizuka Kudo chronology
Shizuka (1988) Gradation (1988) Joy (1989)

Commercial performance

Gradation debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, with 182,000 units sold.[1] The album spent fourteen weeks in the top twenty, of which nine were spent in the top ten.[1] It charted in the top 100 for twenty-one weeks, logging a reported total sales of 600,000 copies during its chart run, making Gradation Kudo's best-selling album.[2][1] The compilation ranked at number nine on the year-end Oricon Albums Chart for the year 1989, marking her first and only entry into the year-end top ten.[3]

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Tsugutoshi Gotō.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Mugon... Iroppoi"	Miyuki Nakajima	3:55
2.	"Gunshū" (群衆, "Crowd")	Nakajima	4:30
3.	"Fu-ji-tsu"	Nakajima	3:48
4.	"Natsu ga Kureta Miracle" (夏がくれたミラクル, Natsu ga Kureta Mirakuru, "A Summer Miracle")	Gorō Matsui	3:57
5.	"Daite Kuretara Ii no ni"	Matsui	5:07
6.	"Yoake ni Miokurarete" (夜明けに見送られて, "Seen Off by the Daybreak")	Yasushi Akimoto	4:32
7.	"Again"	Akimoto	4:16
8.	"If" (Remix Version)	Yoshiko Miura	3:47
9.	"Kindan no Telepathy" (Remix Version)	Akimoto	3:47
10.	"Ai ga itai Yoru" (愛が痛い夜, "Nights When Love Hurts")	Akimoto	4:06
11.	"X'mas ga Ippai" (X'masがいっぱい, "Plenty of X'mas")	Matsui	4:46
Total length:			46:31

Charts

Standard edition Chart (1988–89) Peak position Sales Japan Weekly Albums (Oricon)[4] 2 600,000[2] Japan Yearly Albums (Oricon)[3] 9

Re-issue edition Chart (1989) Peak position Sales Japan Weekly Albums (Oricon)[5] 72 5,000[1]

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Japan	November 30, 1988 (1988-11-30)	Vynil CD cassette	Pony Canyon	[6]
	March 21, 1989 (1989-03-21)	Gold CD		[6]
Various	March 9, 2016 (2016-03-09)	Digital download		[7]

References

1. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Taiju']. Oricon. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
2. "工藤静香アルバム アイドル・ポップ・データベース". Retrieved January 12, 2018.
3. "オリコン アルバム 1989年TOP100". Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
4. "gradation 工藤静香". Oricon. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
5. "gradation 工藤静香". Oricon. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
6. "Release group "gradation" by 工藤静香". MusicBrainz. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
7. "gradation／工藤静香". JP: Mora. Retrieved January 12, 2018.