Harumi (album)

Harumi is the debut album by Japanese musician Harumi (full name Harumi Ando[1]). The album was produced by producer Tom Wilson. Prior to this, Wilson had produced recordings by artists such as Bob Dylan[2], Simon & Garfunkel[3], Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention[4], and The Velvet Underground[5].

Harumi
Studio album by
Harumi
ReleasedMarch 1968
GenrePsychedelic pop, soul, experimental
Length1:19:29
LabelVerve Forecast
ProducerTom Wilson

Recording and content

The album was recorded sometime between 1967 and 1968 in New York[6]. Very little is known about the recording of the album aside from what is on the sleeve of the record. Key personnel such as backing musicians are absent from the album credits[6].

The first disc of the album is primarily songs of conventional length and style, with the longest of these lasting 4:15. The second disc is composed of two side-long tracks lasting 24:01 ("Twice Told Tales of the Pomegranate Forest") and 18:11 ("Samurai Memories")[7]. "Twice Told Tales of the Pomegranate Forest" is a sparsely-instrumented English spoken word piece featuring Harumi and New York DJ William "Rosko" Mercer[8]. "Samurai Memories" is much more musically frantic, featuring Japanese spoken word vocals credited to Harumi and his family[8].

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [9]

While the exact release date of the album is unknown, the March 23, 1968 issue of Billboard magazine features the record in its "New Album Releases" section. This places the album's release date between March 16, 1968 and March 23, 1968 in the United States [10].

Upon its release, Verve labelmate and Wilson-affiliate Frank Zappa dismissed the album, calling it a "flower-power album"[11].

Advertising efforts for the album seemed to be on par with Harumi's Verve Forecast labelmates, with a full page advertisement and a promo photo existing as well as a promotional single of the tracks "Talk About It" and "First Impressions" that was distributed to radio stations.[12] Furthermore, Harumi appeared on the hour-long promotional radio show "The Music Factory"[13]. On this show hosted by the album's producer, Tom Wilson, Harumi was interviewed in between select tracks from his album and other Verve Forecast artists.

Seemingly, Harumi went on a five-week tour to both promote the album as well as perform. This proposed tour would start on April 16, 1968 in Boston, MA and end in Honolulu, HI with 13 other major American cities visited in between [14]. It is unknown how much of this tour actually came to fruition.

Some of the album's songs eventually found themselves associated with other artists. The Chicago psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection included a performance of the song "Caravan" (stylized as "I Took A Ride (Caravan)") on their 1968 album Aladdin[15]. Some of the songs have also found themselves utilized in sample culture as well. Part of the song "Hunters of Heaven" was sampled by the avant-garde rock band The Residents on their 1972 debut EP Santa Dog. The same song was later sampled in 2002 by Jazzanova for their song "Another New Day"[16].

Original copies of Harumi have proven to be collectors' items, with a sealed copy selling at auction for a price of 678 USD on August 22, 2015[17]. This desire has led to two recent reissues, one in 2007[18] and one in 2018[18].

Track listing

All tracks are written by Harumi.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Talk About It"4:15
2."First Impressions"3:14
3."Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do (Love Song)"3:10
4."Hello"4:01
5."Sugar In Your Tea"3:26
6."Caravan"3:07
Side B
No.TitleLength
7."Hunters of Heaven"2:59
8."Hurry Up Now"3:52
9."What a Day For Me"2:47
10."We Love"2:22
11."Fire By the River"3:34
Side C
No.TitleLength
12."Twice Told Tales of the Pomegranate Forest"24:01
Side D
No.TitleLength
13."Samurai Memories"18:11

Personnel
  • Harumi - Vocals, primary performer, composer, arranger, spoken word on Side C and Side D
  • William "Rosko" Mercer - Spoken word on Side C
  • Harumi's Parents and Sister - Spoken word on Side D
  • Tom Wilson - Producer
  • Larry Fallon - Arranger
  • Harvey Vinson - Arranger
  • H. H. Cohen - Spoken word direction (Side D)
  • Gary Kellgren - Engineer, remix engineer
  • Mark D. Joseph - Personal Direction
  • Sherri Berri - Artwork and Photography
  • Hinode Design - Jacket Design

Release history
Country Date Label Format Catalog number
US March 1968 Verve Forecast LP (2-Disc) FT-3030-2X (Mono Promo)[19]
US March 1968 Verve Forecast LP (2-Disc) FTS-3030-2X (Stereo)[19]
Canada 1968 Verve Forecast LP (2-Disc) FTS-3030-2x (Stereo)[19]
Germany 1968 Verve Forecast LP (1-Disc) FVS 9511 (Stereo)[19]
Worldwide May 1, 2007 Fallout Records CD FOCD 2042[20]
Worldwide January 12, 2018 Early Dawn/Early Records CD ED 1804[20]

References
  1. "Harami Ando". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  2. "Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  3. "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM - Simon & Garfunkel | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  4. "Freak Out! - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  5. "White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  6. "Harumi biography | Last.fm". Last.fm. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  7. Jurek, Thom. "Harumi – Review of Harumi". Allmusic. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  8. "Harumi - Harumi | Release Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  9. Jurek, Thom. "Harumi – Review of Harumi". Allmusic. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  10. "Album Reviews". Billboard Magazine. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. March 23, 1968.
  11. "Harumi: Harumi". PopMatters. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  12. Harumi - Talk About It, retrieved 2018-04-26
  13. "The Music Factory | Tom Wilson, Producer". www.producertomwilson.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  14. "A 15-City Promotion Drive on Harumi". Billboard Magazine. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. April 20, 1968.
  15. "Rotary Connection - Aladdin". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  16. "Harumi by Harumi: Album Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  17. "popsike.com - HARUMI 1st ALBUM ULTRA-RARE SEALED ORIG '68 FORECAST 2-LP SET FLOWER POWER PSYCH - auction details". www.popsike.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  18. "Harumi - Harumi | Release Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  19. "Harumi - Harumi". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  20. "Harumi - Harumi | Release Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
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