The First Question Award

The First Question Award
Studio album by Cornelius
Released	February 25, 1994 (1994-02-25)
Genre	Shibuya-kei[1] orchestral pop[2]
Length	52:08
Label	Trattoria
Producer	Keigo Oyamada
Cornelius chronology
Holidays in the Sun (1993) The First Question Award (1994) 69/96 (1995)
Singles from The First Question Award
"The Sun Is My Enemy" Released: September 1, 1993[3] "Perfect Rainbow" Released: November 10, 1993[4] "(You Can't Always Get) What You Want" Released: January 26, 1994[5] "Moon Light Story" Released: June 25, 1994[6]
Alternative cover
LP edition

The First Question Award (ザ・ファースト・クエスチョン・アワード) is the debut solo studio album by Japanese musician Cornelius. It was released on February 25, 1994 by Trattoria Records.^[7]

The First Question Award peaked at number four on the Oricon Albums Chart.^[8] Four singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 40 on the Oricon Singles Chart: "The Sun Is My Enemy" (number 15), "Perfect Rainbow" (number 29), "(You Can't Always Get) What You Want" (number 27), and "Moon Light Story" (number 40).^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Keigo Oyamada

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Sun Is My Enemy"	5:47
2.	"(You Can't Always Get) What You Want"	4:00
3.	"Silent Snow Stream"	6:32
4.	"Perfect Rainbow"	4:21
5.	"Bad Moon Rising"	5:28
6.	"Cannabis"	4:37
7.	"Raise Your Hand Together"	6:01
8.	"The Back Door to Heaven"	6:27
9.	"Theme from First Question Award"	1:11
10.	"The Love Parade"	3:34
11.	"Moon Light Story"	4:10
Total length:		52:08

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[10]

• Keigo Oyamada – vocals, guitar, arrangement

Additional musicians ("Cornelius Rock 'n' Roll Orchestral Circus")

• Toshio Araki – trumpet (tracks 1, 7)
• Asa-Chang – percussion (track 4)
• Aska Strings – strings (tracks 5, 7, 10, 11)
• Shigeo Fuchino – saxophone, flute (tracks 5, 6)
• Masato Honda – saxophone (track 9)
• Riki Imanari – synthesizer operation
• Daisuke Kawai – keyboards (tracks 2, 4–6, 9–11)
• Masahiro Kobayashi – trumpet (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8–11)
• Daisaku Kume – keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 7)
• Osamu Matsumoto – trombone (tracks 5, 6, 8)
• Mecken – bass (tracks 2, 5, 7, 9)
• Toyoaki Mishima – synthesizer
• Maki Nomiya – vocals (track 10)
• Mami Otomo – vocals (track 4)
• Masakuni Takeno – saxophone, flute (tracks 5–7)
• Yoshié Toda – drums, percussion
• Hitoshi Watanabe – bass (tracks 4, 6, 10, 11)
• Nobuo Yagi – harmonica (track 4)
• Hisashi Yoshinaga – saxophone, flute (tracks 6, 9)

Production

• Keigo Oyamada – production
• Yasunobu Arakawa – recording jammer
• Osamu Hirose – mixing (tracks 5, 9)
• Yoshiaki Katou – coordination
• Yuka Koizumi – mastering
• Ken Makimura – executive production
• Tatsuhiko Mori – mixing (track 6)
• Ken-Ichi Okeda – direction
• Ichiro Oka – recording direction
• Tohru Takayama – mixing (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10, 11)
• Zin Yoshida – mixing (track 1)

Design

• Contemporary Production – design
• Michio Fukuda – hair, makeup
• Shindo & Tajjiemax – photography
• Hiroko Umeyama – styling

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8]	4

References

1. Rosean, Samuel (December 29, 2018). "A Beginner's Guide: Shibuya Kei". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
2. Lindsay, Cam (August 4, 2016). "Return to the Planet of Cornelius". Vice. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
3. "太陽は僕の敵 | CORNELIUS" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
4. "PERFECT RAINBOW | CORNELIUS" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
5. "ホワット・ユー・ウォント | CORNELIUS" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
6. "Moon Light Story | CORNELIUS" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
7. "the first question award | CORNELIUS" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
8. "CORNELIUSのアルバム売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
9. Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon. ISBN 978-4-87131-077-2.
10. The First Question Award (liner notes). Cornelius. Trattoria Records. 1994. Menu.29.

External links

• The First Question Award at Discogs (list of releases)
• The First Question Award at MusicBrainz (list of releases)