Big Wave (Tatsuro Yamashita album)

Big Wave
Soundtrack album by Tatsuro Yamashita
Released	June 20, 1984
Genre	City pop
Length	40:07
Label	Alfa/Moon
Producer	Tatsuro Yamashita
Tatsuro Yamashita chronology
Melodies (1983) Big Wave (1984) Pocket Music (1986)

Big Wave is the soundtrack album for the motion picture of the same name, produced and recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita. It was released in June 1984.

The film, directed by Walter McConnelly and released May 25, 1984, features big wave surfers Mark Richards, Michael Ho, Tommy Carroll, Sam George, Rabbit Bartholomew, Peter Townend, Cheyne Horan, Willie Morris, Martin Potter, and others riding huge waves on the North Shore of Oahu and Maui. In addition, other summer sports such as windsurfing with Richard White and Matt Schweitzer, water skiing, and roller skating are featured. The film Big Wave was released on DVD by Pony Canyon (PCBH-50151) on May 27, 2005.^[1]

The A-side of Big Wave is composed of the songs Tatsuro Yamashita wrote, and rest of the album consists mostly of cover versions of compositions of The Beach Boys' frontman Brian Wilson. A song "The Theme from Big Wave" was first aired on the NHK-FM radio program hosted by Yamashita in January 1983. It features his former bandmate Taeko Onuki on lead vocals, and its lyrics were written in Japanese by her. As the title indicated, he remade the song as the theme for the film. Alternative lyrics was written by Alan O'Day, who worked with him for the first time on Mariya Takeuchi's Miss.M album released in 1980. O'Day also contributed the lyrics for all the Yamashita-penned songs which appeared on the Big Wave, including "Your Eyes" which had earlier appeared on 1982 album For You. "Jody" is a newly recorded version of the lead-off track for his album Melodies released in 1983, which was originally sung in Japanese lyrics. "I Love You" was featured on Suntory's TV advertising aired from 1983 for about three years. Except instrumental version of "I Love You" and "Girls on the Beach", most songs included on the B-Side of the soundtrack were previously issued on his albums or flip side for singles, although some of them remixed or additionally recorded.

Big Wave peaked at #2 on the Japanese Oricon and sold over 450,000 copies while it was staying on the chart, becoming one of the commercially successful soundtrack albums in Japan at the time.

Track listing

Side one

All songs written by Tats Yamashita and Alan O'Day

1. "The Theme from Big Wave" - 3:39
2. "Jody" - 3:51
3. "Only with You" - 3:43
4. "Magic Ways" - 4:48
5. "Your Eyes" - 3:14
6. "I Love You... Part II" - 2:07

Side two

1. "Girls on the Beach" (Brian Wilson) - 2:45
2. "Please Let Me Wonder" (Wilson, Mike Love) - 3:10
3. "Darlin' (Wilson, Love) - 3:29
4. "Guess I'm Dumb" (Wilson, Russ Titelman) - 3:14
5. "This Could Be the Night" (Harry Nilsson) -　4:03
6. "I Love You... (Part I)" (Yamashita) - 2:04

Chart positions

Year	Country	Chart	Position	Weeks	Sales
1984	Japan	Oricon Weekly LP Albums Chart (top 100)	2	19	454,000[2]
		Oricon Weekly CT Albums Chart (top 100)	2	19

Additional releases

CD version

On November 10, 1991, the CD version was released with the same tracks under the East West Japan label (ASIN: B00005HZ79 EAN： 4988029412331).

30th Anniversary CD Edition

On July 23, 2014, the 30th Anniversary Edition of Big Wave was released by Warner Music Japan on CD (digital) (ASIN: B00JYR5INO EAN: 4943674181339). Seven additional tracks were added:

1. "Breakdance" [previously unreleased]
2. "I Love You" [previously unreleased acapella 120 sec. version]
3. "Only With You" [guitar instrumental]
4. "This Could Be The Night" [previously unreleased alternate mix]
5. "Please Let Me Wonder" [previously unreleased karaoke]
6. "Only With You" [previously unreleased karaoke]
7. "I Love You" [previously unreleased acapella 30 sec. version]

30th Anniversary Limited Edition 180g LP

On August 20, 2014, the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition of Big Wave was released by Warner Music Japan on 180g LP (analog) (ASIN: B00L6RRX2E EAN： 4943674181353). The two disc set has twelve tracks:

Disc 1, side A

1. "The Theme From Big Wave"
2. "Jody"
3. "Only With You"

Disc 1, side B

1. "Magic Ways"
2. "Your Eyes"
3. "I Love You... Part II"

Disc 2, side A

1. "Girls On The Beach"
2. "Please Let Me Wonder"
3. "Darlin'"

Disc 2, side B

1. "Guess I'm Dumb"
2. "This Could Be The Night"
3. "I Love You... Part I"

References

1. "Tatsuro Yamashita is music director of the surf documentary film, Big Wave, now on DVD" (in Japanese). CD Journal. 27 May 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
2. Yamachan Land (Japan's charts archives) - Albumd Chart Daijiten - "Tatsuro Yamashita" Check |url= value (help) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-03-19.