Service (album)

Service
Service
Studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra
Released	December 14, 1983
Recorded	September – October 1983
Studio	Alfa Studio “A”, Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo
Genre	Electronic, dance, experimental, rock, J-pop, new wave, synthpop, musique concrète
Length	50:44; 30:18 (original EU pressing)
Label	Alfa
Producer	YMO
Yellow Magic Orchestra chronology
Singles from Service
	"You've Got to Help Yourself"; Released: September 28, 1983; "Every Time I Look Around (I Hear the Madmen Call)"; Released: 1984 (EU only);

Service is the seventh studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra, released on December 14, 1983. The band dissolved the following year after a world tour, but would later reform in 1993 for a one-off reunion album, Technodon. Like ×∞Multiplies, it contains a mixture of YMO songs and comedy sketches performed by Super Eccentric Theater, or S.E.T. The first Dutch/German edition of the album shortened the sketches to ten-second interludes, effectively cutting the album's length in half. In 1999, the album was remastered under Hosono's supervision with new liner notes provided by lyricist Peter Barakan.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

Service features "You've Got to Help Yourself", which was previously featured in instrumental form on the previous album, Naughty Boys Instrumental. The 2nd "S.E.T." track's intro featured Casiopea's song "Time Limit" from their album Mint Jams. "以心電信" more accurately transliterates to "Telegraph from the heart".

Track listing edit

Side one
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Limbo"	Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono, Peter Barakan	Takahashi, Hosono	3:21
2.	"S.E.T."			4:21
3.	"The Madmen^[3]"	Hosono, Barakan	Hosono	4:40
4.	"S.E.T.^[4]"			1:23
5.	"Chinese Whispers"	Takahashi, Barakan	Takahashi	4:27
6.	"S.E.T."			4:16
7.	"You've Got to Help Yourself" (以心電信 Ishin Denshin)	Hosono, Barakan	Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takahashi	4:45

Side two
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"S.E.T.+YMO"			5:53
2.	"Shadows on the Ground"	Sakamoto, Takahashi, Barakan	Sakamoto, Takahashi	4:20
3.	"S.E.T."			3:25
4.	"See-Through"	Barakan	YMO	3:36
5.	"S.E.T."			4:09
6.	"Perspective"	Sakamoto, Barakan	Sakamoto	5:12
7.	"S.E.T."			0:46

Personnel edit

Yellow Magic Orchestra – arrangements, electronics, mixing engineers, producers

Haruomi Hosono – bass guitar, synth bass, keyboards, vocals
Ryuichi Sakamoto – keyboards, vocals
Yukihiro Takahashi – vocals, electronic drums, cymbals, keyboards

Guest musicians

Takeshii Fujii and Akihiko Yamazoe – technical assistance
Peter Barakan – lyrics

Super Eccentric Theater

Yūji Miyake, Hisahiro Ogura, Osamu Hagihashi, Daisuke Yamazaki, Kōichi Nagata, Etsuyo Mitani, Keiko Ishii & Akemi Imamura – counterparts

Staff

Mitsuo Koike – recording and mixing engineer
Akitsugu Doi – assistant engineer
Teppei Kasai (CBS/Sony Shinanomachi Studio) – mastering engineer
Tsuguya Inoue – art director, painting
Beans – design

References edit

^ Stout, Andrew (24 June 2011). "Yellow Magic Orchestra on Kraftwerk and How to Write a Melody During a Cultural Revolution". SF Weekly. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^ Allmusic review
^ This song was inspired by Daijiro Morohoshi's comic Mud Men.
^ The introduction is "Time Limit" by Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea.

[1] Stout, Andrew (24 June 2011). "Yellow Magic Orchestra on Kraftwerk and How to Write a Melody During a Cultural Revolution". SF Weekly. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

[2] Allmusic review

[3] This song was inspired by Daijiro Morohoshi's comic Mud Men.

[4] The introduction is "Time Limit" by Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea.

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