Track Listing

1. We Love Pizzicato Five
2. Rock & Roll
3. Night Is Still Young
4. Happy Sad
5. Groovy Is My Name
6. Sophisticated Catchy
7. Strawberry Sleighride
8. If I Were a Groupie
9. Sweet Thursday
10. CDJ
11. Fortune Cookie
12. Good
13. Number Five
14. Peace Music [St. Etienne Remix]
15. Airplane
16. Rock & Roll

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24867 in Music
• Released on: 1996-07-01
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Happy sad!
Never can it be said that Pizzicato Five doesn't have fun with their music. In "The Sound of Music," this Japanese band revels in glitzy sound and poppy melodies. Dancey, sparkly, plastic, sugary and enchantingly earnest, this is kitschy pop at its most entertaining.

After a brief intro with children singing about how they love "P. 5, oh yes we do," the band launches into the thoroughly danceable (and ill-named) "Rock'n'Roll," an infectious little song that would be maddening if it weren't so much fun, and so darn cute.

To judge from "Sound of Music," Pizzicato Five seem to be cheerfully cannibalizing various popular American music periods: There's a disco tune, a bit of bossa nova, bouncy funk, jazz, dance, and bubblegum pop that refuses to be serious about anything. A few -- like the conversation-filled "Groupie" -- are somewhat less charming, but it's hard not to be charmed by the repeated sentiment of "If I were a groupie..."

Pizzicato Five made music for years before "Sound of Music" started to capture American listeners. It's amazing that these guys didn't get attention before that. Rather than the wild experiments of Cornelius and Buffalo Daughter, Pizzicato Five are out to enjoy themselves (okay, they experiment once or twice). And they do so with great gusto -- the entire album sounds like a party where nobody cares what's cool, only what's fun.

Perhaps one of the most entertaining things about "Sound of Music" is that the band does absolutely nothing halfway. If the music is jazz, it drips jazz from every note. If it's dance, the tempo is mad. If they inject weird sound effects, it sounds like a haunted house. Synth, keyboard, wild drums and samples add to the fun, colorful maelstrom.

For anyone who doesn't speak Japanese: Most of the lyrics won't make any sense at all, despite the odd English word ("groovy!") thrown in. "Happy Sad" is one of the exceptions, with a the upbeat question "shoop-e-doop-e-doop/happy sad/are you feelin'/are you feelin' bad?/Happy sad..."

Pizzicato Five enchants in "The Sound of Music," a delightfully unpretentious album that tries out just about every variety of pop there is. The hills are alive!

High camp!
A personal favourite since purchase. A spontaneous purchase after reading review in some glossy music mag, catchy tunes and you'll find yourself singing along or attempting to in Japenese! A must for any music collection. Experiment with your audible appetite!