Dance Tracks Vol. 1


Dance Tracks Vol.1 is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro, released on 16 October 1995 as her only album with Toshiba-EMI. It features remixed material originally recorded with the idol group Super Monkey's, of which Amuro was a member at the time, as well as three original songs.
Nine days after Dance Tracks Vol.1 debuted, Amuro released her first single with Avex Trax, "Body Feels Exit", on 25 October 1995. The album reached the top position on the Oricon charts and charted for forty-four weeks.
The album is currently out of print, and is not listed in Amuro's official discography, along with her greatest hits album Original Tracks Vol. 1.

Background and content

Released three months after the final Super Monkey's single, Dance Tracks Vol.1 could almost be classified as more of a remix album than an original album. Six out of the seven Super Monkey's singles appear on the album, all of which have been remixed. The album was originally scheduled to include four or five new songs, but because Amuro had a sore throat, the album was limited to three new songs: "Go! Go! ", "Get My Shinin'," and "Super Luck!," and the rest were remixes of existing songs. Amuro later expressed regret for this in a 1996 interview, calling the album "a very half-baked album."
The other members of the Super Monkey's appear in the artwork of the album, but are not credited with any vocals. All seven original Super Monkey's singles were credited to both Amuro and the group. Following the massive success of this album and her next release, Sweet 19 Blues through Avex Trax, Toshiba-EMI released a "best of" compilation containing all original Super Monkey's a-sides and b-sides entitled, Original Tracks Vol.1.

Reception

Dance Tracks Vol.1 debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, with 468,240 copies sold in its first week. It dropped to number two the next week, selling 132,540 copies. The album stayed in the top ten for ten nonconsecutive weeks, and charted in the top 300 for 44 weeks. Dance Tracks Vol.1 became the 21st best-selling album of 1995, selling 877,960 copies. It also sold 987,490 copies in 1996, becoming the 22nd best-selling album of that year. In the history of Japanese Oricon albums chart, Dance Tracks Vol.1 ranked at the 88th best selling album of all time, with cumulative physical sales of over 1.8 million copies. In 1996, the album was certified double million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

Personnel

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Japanese Albums 22