# Casiopea (album)

Casiopea is the debut studio album by Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea, released on May 25, 1979 by Alfa Records.

## Recording and production

The album was recorded between December 1978 and March 1979 in Japan. It is the first album released by the group since their debut performance on EastWest '77.
Notable American jazz musicians, The Brecker Brothers and David Sanborn, contributed to the album.

## Cover art

The cover depicts two race cars battling on a circuit, possibly Fuji Speedway's hairpin turn. The cars are late-1970s Group 6 sports prototypes from the Japanese Fuji Grand Champion Series, most likely a Lola T290 -Mazda and a March 74S from the 1978 and 1979 championships, respectively.
While the cover itself featuring two race cars is used extensively on all currently existing releases (including the 2021 clear orange vinyl reissue), there was the original cover (and the first pressing) featuring a picture of the band standing with pills falling in front of them, with different pictures on the insert (the insert notes remained the same as later pressings) and a red circular cover art with yellow numbers on the left (the 1980 reissue pressing features the same picture as the 1st pressing but with different circular cover art, this time featuring an Alfa Records logo on the right).
The album is one of Casiopea's most famous, being their most streamed album on Spotify.

## Track listing

All tracks were written and arranged by Issei Noro, except for horn arrangements by Jun Fukamachi and string arrangements by Hiroki Inui.

## Credits
### Casiopea

* Issei Noro – Yamaha SG2000 electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals on "Dream Hill"
* Minoru Mukaiya – Fender Rhodes piano, acoustic piano, synthesizers, Yamaha Electone electronic organ, vibraphone
* Tetsuo Sakurai – 1974 Natural Finish Fender Jazz Bass bass guitar
* Takashi Sasaki – Drums

#### Additional musicians

* Randy Brecker – trumpet on "Time Limit" and "Black Joke"
* Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone on "Time Limit," "Tears of the Star," and "Black Joke"
* David Sanborn – alto saxophone on "Time Limit" and "Black Joke"
* "Tomato Strings" ensemble – strings

## Release history

| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | note |
| Japan | May 25, 1979 | Alfa Records | 30 cm LP | ALR-6017 | stereo |
| Japan | December 21, 1986 | Alfa Records | 12 cm CD | 32XA-104 | |
| Japan | March 21, 1992 | Alfa Records | 12 cm CD | ALCA-271 | |
| Japan | June 29, 1994 | Alfa Records | 12 cm CD | ALCA-9001 | |
| Japan | July 23, 1998 | Alfa Records | 12 cm CD | ALCA-9196 | |
| Japan | May 31, 2000 | Toshiba EMI | remastered 12 cm CD | TOCT-24364 | LP paper jacket |
| Japan | December 19, 2001 | Village Records | remastered 12 cm CD | VRCL-2201 | DSD, LP paper jacket |
| Japan | January 17, 2002 | Village Records | remastered 12 cm CD | VRCL-2221 | DSD |
| Japan | May 27, 2009 | Sony Music Direct | remastered 12 cm CD | MHCL-20003 | DSD, Blu-spec CD, LP paper jacket |
| Japan | February 3, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 1076209054 | iTunes Store |
| Japan | February 3, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 4582290414218 | mora AAC-LC 320 kbit/s |
| Japan | February 3, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | A1003862605 | Recochoku AAC 128/320 kbit/s |
| Japan | February 3, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | B01B5AQMDC | Amazon.com |
| Japan | February 3, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | Bp5pyuaz4lfka3vcvx5ough23ra | Google Play Music |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 4582290418575 | mora DSD 2.8 MHz/1bit |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | smj4582290418575 | e-onkyo DSD 2.8 MHz/1bit |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 11180 | HD-music DSD 2.8 MHz/1bit |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 4582290418568 | mora FLAC 96.0 kHz/24bit |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | A1004668200 | Recochoku FLAC 96.0 kHz/24bit |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | smj4582290418568 | e-onkyo FLAC 96 kHz 24bit |
| Japan | July 27, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 11170 | HD-music FLAC 96 kHz/24bit |
| Japan | November 10, 2016 | Sony Music Direct | Music download | 5ShaVOG8QHOltyWh5ZCxuB | Spotify |