2020 repress of the 2014 reissue, originally released in ‘82, this is Mamiya Takako’s only album and a masterpiece of Japanese CITY POP and AOR. In 2014, it was reissued in a limited edition of 500 to commemorate the opening of the HMV record shop Shibuya, but it was sold out soon. The long-awaited 2nd press has finally arrived in response to many requests.

• Made in Japan
• OBI Strip

Mamiya Takako cut her teeth in late-'70s Japanese girl group Pao before striking out on her own with 1982 debut album Love Trip. Full of sweet, sugary, synth-laden pop songs that drew on then contemporaneous jazz-funk and soul sounds, the album sold relatively poorly at the time but is now considered something of a classic. Two of the set's more sought-after cuts: the glossy, glassy-eyed and undeniably loved-up title track, 'Love Trip' - think FM synth sounds, soft focus sax solos and bubbly jazz-funk bottom-end -and the slightly more up-tempo, funk-flecked sunset breeze that is 'Midnight Joke'. The latter is particularly delicious thanks to some sublime horn arrangements.

In 2014, it was reissued in a limited edition of 500 to commemorate the opening of the HMV record shop Shibuya, but it was sold out soon. The long-awaited 2nd press has been decided in response to many requests while trading at auction sites etc. at a high price!

Sound produced by jazz saxophone player Genji Sawai, participating musicians Kazuo Shiina, Hiroyuki Namba, Yoshihiro Naruse, Hiroshi Uehara, Kan Inoue, Tsunehide Matsuki, Shigeharu Mukai, Surprise Horns led by Sawai, and the Tohoku Shinkansen participated in the chorus and the lineup was too perfect.

Track Listing:

01. Love Trip
02. チャイニーズ・レストラン (Chinese restaurant)
03. 真夜中のジョーク (Midnight Joke)
04. 哀しみは夜の向こう (Sorrow is beyond the night)
05. All Or Nothing
06. 渚でダンス (Dance at Nagisa)
07. One More Night
08. モーニング・フライト (Morning flight)
09. たそがれは銀箔の… (The twilight is silver foil …)
10. What A Broken Heart Can Do

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫