Starting Over (Speed album)

Untitled

Starting Over was Japanese J-pop girlband Speed's very first album and was released on May 21, 1997. It contains 3 of Speed's earlier singles, "Body & Soul", "Steady" and "Go! Go! Heaven" respectively. The album was hugely successful entering the Oricon weekly charts at number 1, and shipping approximately 2 million units in total.

Track listing

1. Walk This Way
2. Body & Soul
3. Luv Vibration
4. Steady
5. Rakugaki
6. Sayonara wa ame no hi (サヨナラは雨の日…)
7. Go! Go! Heaven
8. I Remember
9. Kiwi Love
10. Happy Together
11. Starting Over
12. Starting Over: Reprise Walk This Way

Controversy

In the early days of Speed, they surprised the audience with their authentic performance. Speed was the youngest group in J-pop history; Hiroko's age of twelve was symbolic for the young group. They actually didn't look very childish because they were all mature early on in a variety of ways. Takako, although thirteen at the time, sported a sizable bust.

Another reason they were not seen as childish is due to the lyrics of their songs they performed. Speed's lyrics at this time included provocative messages. The lyrics of "Body and Soul" include the line, "痛いこととか怖がらないで　もっと奥まで行こうよ　一緒に," which translates as "Let's not be afraid of pain and go deeper together." Then seven months later Speed sang " Go! Go! Heaven," which contains the lyrics, "成熟した果実のように　あふれ出してく　欲望に正直なだけ　満たされてたい,"　which loosely translates to, "Like from a ripened fruit, it floods out. I want to be honest to my desires and kept satisfied."