1st Contact (2003)

Stats
  • Release Date: December 17, 2003
  • Price: ¥3,059 ($30.13 USD (2014 rates))
  • Catalog Number: SRCL-5650
  • Label: gr8! Records
  • Genre: J-Pop
  • Oricon peak: #2 (#15 overall for the Oricon fiscal year)
  • Oricon appearance: 94 weeks
General Information
  • First Orange Range studio album; it consists of two remade songs from the indies era ("Kirikirimai" and "Velocity") along with new content.
  • The name of the man on the cover is "Orange Ranger".
Album cover
SRC: https://joshinweb.jp/dp/4988009017440.html
Tracklist
  1. Fever!
  2. Shanghai Honey (上海ハニー)
  3. Mission in Poppiple (ミッションinポッピプル)
  4. Young 8 (ヤング8)
  5. Samurai Mania (サムライマニア)
  6. Yuugu Red (ゆうぐレッド; Fear-colour Red / Evening)
  7. Viva★Rock (ビバ★ロック)
  8. Japanese People (ジャパニーズピープル)
  9. Party Night (パーリィナイッ)
  10. O-MO-I (Memories)
  11. TWISTER
  12. Velocity 3000 (ベロシティー3000)
  13. Kirikirimai ~Album Ver.~ (キリキリマイ)
  14. Rakuyou ~Long Ver.~ (落陽; Setting Sun)
  15. Ambienta (アンビエンタ)
  16. Yamauchi-chuu Kouka (山内中校歌; Yamauchi Junior High School Song)
Notes on each track (number corresponds with track)
  1. Rap/Rock styled song.
  2. Second major single. In the album version, sound waves and fireworks are added to the interlude.
  3. Was originally titled "thief", but the band did not think the title held much of an impact. Yamato murmured "Mission in Poppiple" to himself and the band heard and overwhelmingly accepted the title. It is the first song in a duo, the latter song being "Mission in Daisakusen" (released later).
  4. The original melody was the same as "* ~ Asterisk ~". The title comes from a coffee shop in Naha, Okinawa with the same name.
  5. Was coupled with the first major single release as a B side track.
  6. Ryo and Hiroki are the vocalists in this song, but the lyrics are not given in the album.
  7. The band's third major single. The "Viva ★ Rock ~ japanese side" version of the song is the one featured in this album (differences from the original stem in the opening, whereas the original had English army shouts and the new one has Japanese).
  8. Naoto thought this song should be a single, or at least an A side track, but the band did not make it so because the majority opinion thought the song/melody was too gloomy.
  9. Coupled with the band's fourth major single.
  10. Orange Range's first love song. The song has a "reggae" sort of style to it.
  11. In the lyrics and title, the image reflected is a typhoon. Hiroki mentioned that the band "sang the song the day a typhoon had hit". The song has become a classic finishing performance for live concerts.
  12. Coupled with the band's third major single. It is a remix of "Velocity" from the indies era.
  13. The band's first major single. The album version features some sound tweaking to give it more depth than the single version.
  14. Fourth major single. As the title suggests, the album version is the long version of the song; this version was also completed earlier and the single was contracted,
  15. Instrumental piece.
  16. Lyrics by Kyan Shinei; Music by Kina Masataka. This song is a cover of the Yamauchi Junior High School song (the junior high that the band attended). When asked "Can we use this song?", the principal easily gave permission. The children singing at the beginning were current Yamauchi Junior High students at the time of recording.