Pizzicato Five - Playboy & Playgirl. 1999 Japan

1999 was our very own Fin de siècle. It was a time of irrational optimism, buoyed by disposable incomes, crazy hopes, utopian dreams, and... lots of parties - celebrating... something. Anything.

Playboy and Playgirl is the soundtrack to that place and time. It's a mashup of the Y2K/Dot Com software craze; The ever intriguing Japanese fascination with Western culture; And the recognition of a one Burt Bacharach, arguably the most sophisticated pop songwriter of our time.

And perhaps the icing on the cake - and believe me Pizzicato Five can only be described as icing - the whole album is sung in Japanese. What? Except the title track where our key female protagonist dogmatically states over and over PRAYBROY PRAYGRR - do dadoodoo do - PRAYBROY PRAYGRR.

It appears everyone takes away a different favorite from here. My two are 'La Règle du Jeu' and 'The Great Invitations'. But every track here is very good to excellent.

Pizzicato Five, on Playboy & Playgirl, was about immortalizing Swinging London and Carnaby Street. Images of Jean Shrimpton and Bond. James Bond. Shaken not stirred. And yet the album perfectly represents a time exactly 30 years later. Good memories.

Ownership: CD: 1999 Matador. The CD is housed in an excellent tri-fold digipak, with plenty of fun photos of our duo acting-out in a late 60s English way. Online acquisition (2004)

12//04; 11/9/18 (new entry)