View source for Misora

{{italic title}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Misora
| type         = studio
| artist       = Sachiko Kanenobu
| cover        = Misora_(1972)_album_cover.jpg
| alt          =
| released     = {{Start date|1972|09|01}}
| recorded     = 1972
| studio       = Aoi Studio 1st and 7th Studios, [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], California
| genre        = [[Folk music|Folk]]
| length       = 41:23
| label        = URC
| producer     = [[Haruomi Hosono]]<ref name=OKMusic>{{cite web|url=https://okmusic.jp/news/376676|title=金延幸子があのまま日本で活動していたら…その想像を禁じ得ない伝説的名盤『み空』|work=OK Music|date=18 March 2020|accessdate=2 January 2021}}</ref>
| prev_title   =
| prev_year    =
| next_title   = It's Up to You
| next_year    = 1995
| misc         = {{Singles
| name = Misora
| type = studio
| single1 = Leave It to Time
| single1date = July 1971<ref name=OKMusic/>
}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Misora'''''|み空||lit. 'Beautiful Sky'|lead=yes}} is the debut album of Japanese singer-songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu, released on September 1, 1972 by URC (Underground Record Club) Records.<ref name="AllMusic">{{Cite web|last=Jarnow|first=Jesse|date=|title=Sachiko Kanenobu {{!}} Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sachiko-kanenobu-mn0001551483/biography|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-03|website=AllMusic|language=en}}</ref>
[[Joni Mitchell]], [[Donovan]] and [[Pentangle (band)|Pentangle]] were among Kanenobu's influences.<ref name="KQED">{{Cite web|title=Her 1970s Japanese Folk Masterpiece Was Almost Lost to History|url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13862834/sachiko-kanenobu-misora-lp-reissue-interview|access-date=2021-01-02|website=KQED|language=en-us}}</ref> The songs have been described as "capturing Kanenobu's distinct youthful innocence, her fascination with [[nature]], and a longing for inner peace." Released in Japan with no concerts to promote it, ''Misora'' achieved commercial success in Japan<ref name="Frahm">{{Cite web|date=2019-12-18|title=The 20 Best Album Re-Issues of 2019|url=https://www.popmatters.com/best-album-re-issues-2019-2641607883.html|access-date=2021-01-03|website=PopMatters|language=en}}</ref> but soon slipped into obscurity.<ref name="KQED" /> The science fiction author [[Philip K. Dick]], a friend of Kanenobu's fiancée [[Paul Williams (journalist)|Paul Williams]], was impressed by the album, and would later produce a single ("Fork in the Road / Tokyo Song") with Kanenobu.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wagner|first=Daniel|date=2019-01-08|title=How an American Guitarist Inspired a Japanese Folk Legend to Play Again (Published 2019)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/t-magazine/steve-gunn-sachiko-kanenobu.html|access-date=2021-01-03|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
''Misora'' garnered a [[cult following]] in the years since its release, drawing comparisons with the work of Mitchell. It was reissued in 1995 to acclaim,<ref name="AllMusic" /> and [[Light in the Attic Records]] also reissued the album (as part of the label's Japan Archival Series) on July 19, 2019, with English translations of the lyrics by Kanenobu.<ref name="Beaudoin">{{Cite web|last=Beaudoin|first=Jedd|date=2019-07-11|title=Mom's Back to Her Crazy Life: An Interview With Japanese Folk Pioneer Sachiko Kanenobu|url=https://www.popmatters.com/sachiko-kanenobu-2019-interview-2639146107.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-02|website=PopMatters|language=en}}</ref>
== History ==
Jedd Beaudoin of [[PopMatters]] noted in an interview that Kanenobu was "considered the first woman to play guitar and sing folk music in Japan." The singer-songwriter stated, "It was still a man's world in Japan. URC [Underground Record Club] focused on songs with a big message. Anti-war, social statements. But the music was mostly by men. Many of those people are friends of mine but I was there when it started. But women were pushed to the back. I waited and waited."<ref name="Beaudoin" />
Other members of the URC stable, including [[Happy End (band)|Happy End]] members [[Eiichi Ohtaki]] and [[Haruomi Hosono]], aided in the production of the album.<ref name="AllMusic" />
== Critical reception and legacy ==
Jesse Jarnow billed ''Misora'' as "stunning".<ref name="AllMusic" /> In 2019, Adriane Pontecorvo of [[PopMatters]] gave the album eight out of 10 stars and wrote, "She paints romantic portraits of nature, taps into wells of human emotion, and often ties the two together in beautiful ways." Pontecorvo praised "Falcon and I" as having "catchy verses joined together by slow, psychedelic stretches of hauntingly emotive singing and strumming."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pontecorvo|first=Adriane|date=2019-07-08|title=Sachiko Kanenobu's Psych-folk Cult Classic, 'Misora', Finally Gets a US Release|url=https://www.popmatters.com/sachiko-kanenobu-misora-2639126005.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-03|website=PopMatters|language=en}}</ref> The same year, Gabe Meline dubbed ''Misora'' a "Japanese folk masterpiece", and said that the album "has an emotional impact that sets it apart" from other 1970s Japanese folk music. She referred to the song "Anata Kara Toku E" as "spellbinding".<ref name="KQED" /> [[Mia Doi Todd]] covered the same song for ''Songbook'' (2016).<ref name="Beaudoin" />
Jedd Beaudoin reported that [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]] and [[Devendra Banhart]] have praised "its elegance and simplicity". The writer also stated, "Imaginative, emotional and informed by a singular vision, ''Misora'' would not have been an easy album to follow in the immediate".<ref name="Beaudoin" /> Jonathan Frahm of PopMatters argues that Kanenobu "successfully [explores] a variety of musical avenues throughout the LP. From the light psychedelia of its titular, atmospheric opening number to the slinking, electric blues of "Aoi Sakana" ["Blue Fish"], ''Misora'' is an accessible, infectious album from start to finish".<ref name="Frahm" />
Kanenobu has stated of the album that "in Japan, about every 15 years young people discover it".<ref name="Beaudoin" />
== Track listing ==
All lyrics, music and arrangement by Sachiko Kanenobu, except where noted.
=== Side A ===
# み空/"Misora"  – (4:04)
# あなたから遠くへ/"Far Away from You"  – (3:26)
#* Arrangement: [[Haruomi Hosono]]
# かげろう/"The Heat Haze"  – (3:00)
# 時にまかせて（アルバム・バージョン）/"Leave It to Time (Album Version)"  – (2:56)
#* Arrangement: Haruomi Hosono
# 空はふきげん/"Moody Sky"  – (2:57)
#* Composer: [[Eiichi Ohtaki]]
# おまえのほしいのは何/"What Do You Really Want"  – (2:44)
=== Side B ===
# 青い魚/"Blue Fish"  – (2:58)
#* Arrangement: Haruomi Hosono
# 雪が降れば（ようこさんにささげる）/"I Wish It Would Snow"  – (4:00)
# 道行き/"Running Away on a Road of Snow"  – (2:57)
# はやぶさと私/"Falcon and I"  – (8:00)
# 春一番の風は激しく/"The First Strong Winds of Spring"  – (2:45)
#* Lyrics: Akiko Fujiwara
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Haruomi Hosono}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1972 albums]]
[[Category:Folk albums by Japanese artists]]