© 2000 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title Peanuts - Local Pride!
Japanese Title Okuni Jiman Da! Pinattsu - Za Pinattsu
CD Label King Record Co., Ltd.
CD Number KICX 7007
Music by: The Peanuts (Emi & Yumi Ito)
Number of tracks 15
Running time 45:14
Number of discs 1
Year of release/manufacture 1998

REVIEW

May 24, 2000 (updated January 18, 2004)

This CD is not for everyone and some would question why I even include it here. There are NO Godzilla, Mothra or other kaiju related songs on this CD. The reason I have it here is that the singers, Emi & Yumi Ito, known as The Peanuts, are the same twins that appeared in all the early Mothra related films as the twin fairy's also known as Shobijin. In the Mothra films you either loved or hated their singing. I'm one of those that enjoyed the simple, pleasant, harmonies of the Mothra songs they sang.

Born on April 1, 1941 in Aichi prefecture, Emi Ito (Birth name Hideyo Ito) and her twin sister Yumi Ito (Birth name Tsukiko Ito) were known as the popular singing duo The Peanuts. They were discovered by Watanabe Pro founder Sho Watanabe when he first saw them performing at a club in Nagoya as the Ito Sisters, and in 1958 brought them to Tokyo, where they were dubbed The Peanuts. Their records were very popular in Japan during the 1950's & 1960's. I've been told they even appeared here in the U.S. on "The Ed Sullivan Show". They also appeared in several films including several Mothra and Godzilla films. The duo retired from performing 4 April 1975.

This CD is enjoyable and features the twins singing many folk songs. The band behind them and the style makes this sound very much like late 60's or early 70's pop songs. The disc is pleasant to listen to but nothing outstanding. It even at times comes across as music that could be used in elevators. The girls singing is pleasant as ever but I much prefer the material they did in the Mothra and Godzilla films. I now own many of their non kaiju CD's and really enjoy most of them. All singing on this CD is done in Japanese while some of their other CD's contain not only Japanese but also some English, German and other languages. I wish I could afford to have some of the liner notes in the booklets translated to find out more info on this duo.

English Title: Peanuts - Local Pride! / The Peanuts
Japanese Title: Okuni Jiman Da! Pinattsu - Za Pinattsu

    Hot Club: The King CD Collection

  1. Chakkiri (Shizuoka Prefecture Folk Song)
  2. Soran (Hokkaido Folk Song)
  3. Otemoyan (Kumamoto Prefecture Folk Song)
  4. Yakibushi (Gunma Prefecture Folk Song)
  5. The Five-Tree Lullaby (Kumamoto Prefecture Folk Song)
  6. The Third Floor (Niigata Prefecture Folk Song)
  7. Kiyarikuzushi (Tokyo Folk Song)
  8. Sado Okesa (Niigata Prefecture Folk Song)
  9. Inabushi (Nagano Prefecture Folk Song)
  10. Tawarazaka Hill (Kumamoto Prefecture Folk Song)
  11. Lullaby from the Shimabara Area (Miyazaki Prefecture)
  12. The Flower-Hat Chorus (Yamagata Prefecture Folk Song)
  13. Saitarobushi (Miyagi Prefecture Folk Song)
  14. Asatoyayunta (Okinawa Prefecture Folk Song)
  15. Ohara (Kagoshima Prefecture Folk Song)