Quiet Life is the third album by the British band Japan

Japan (band)

Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...

, released firstly in Japan, Germany, Canada and other countries in December 1979, then in the UK in January 1980 (due to a delay in manufacturing the album). Musically, the album was a huge departure for the band as their previous two albums had been more in the vein of alternative glam rock, as opposed to the New Wave leanings exhibited on this album.
Quiet Life was the last of three albums the band made for the Hansa-Ariola label (they switched to Virgin Records later in 1980), though Hansa would later issue a compilation album (Assemblage

Assemblage (album)

Assemblage is a compilation album by the British band Japan, released in 1981 by Hansa Records.Assemblage collects recordings from the band's early career and Hansa Records re-released no fewer than six singles from Assemblage and Japan's back catalogue between 1981 - 1983...

) that consisted of highlights from the band's tenure on the label. The album is also notable for being the first album where singer David Sylvian

David Sylvian

David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...

 used his newfound baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 vocal style, which later became one of the band's most distinctive hallmarks.

Though initially unsuccessful upon its release in the band's native UK (where it peaked at #72 in February 1980), the album returned to the charts in early 1982 after the commercial success of 1981's Tin Drum

Tin Drum

Tin Drum is the fifth and final studio album produced by the British band Japan. Released in the U.K. in November 1981, the album continued their now developed use of electronic elements coupled with traditional instrumentation, but leans far more towards far-eastern influences than any of their...

and the Hansa Records

Hansa Records

Hansa Records was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany....

 compilation Assemblage

Assemblage (album)

Assemblage is a compilation album by the British band Japan, released in 1981 by Hansa Records.Assemblage collects recordings from the band's early career and Hansa Records re-released no fewer than six singles from Assemblage and Japan's back catalogue between 1981 - 1983...

. It then peaked at #53, two years after its original release, and was eventually certified "Gold" by the BPI

British Phonographic Industry

The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

 in 1984 for 100,000 copies sold.

Also initially unsuccessful, the title track and lead single "Quiet Life" would later be re-released and make the UK top 20 in 1981. Three other prominent tracks were also recorded and released by the band during this era and would later be re-released and become UK top 40 hits for the band in 1982, but were not included on the album ("Life In Tokyo", "European Son", and a cover of the Motown hit "I Second That Emotion" which would make the UK Top 10).

The album appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...

.

Track listing

All songs written by David Sylvian except for "All Tomorrow's Parties

All Tomorrow's Parties (song)

"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by The Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico....

" written by Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

. All Songs Arranged By Japan.

Side A:

1. "Quiet Life" – 4:53
2. "Fall in Love with Me" – 4:31
3. "Despair" – 5:56
4. "In Vogue" – 6:30

Side B:

1. "Halloween" – 4:24
2. "All Tomorrow's Parties" – 5:43
3. "Alien" – 5:01
4. "The Other Side of Life" – 7:26

Bonus tracks on the 2001 UK CD reissue

1. "All Tomorrow's Parties (12" Version)" – 5:17
2. "A Foreign Place" – 3:12
3. "Quiet Life (12" version)" – 4:50
4. "Life in Tokyo (12" Version)" – 7:05

• "A Foreign Place" was a b-side for the 12" Quiet Life single; the rest are remixes.
• "Life in Tokyo" written by David Sylvian/Giorgio Moroder
  Giorgio Moroder
  Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
  
  , produced by Giorgio Moroder.

Bonus tracks on the 2004 remastered UK CD reissue

9. "All Tomorrow's Parties (12" version)"
10. "All Tomorrow's Parties (7" mix)"
11. "A Foreign Place"
12. "Quiet Life (7" mix)"

• Also includes the video for "Quiet Life".

Alternative track listing

1. "All Tomorrow's Parties"
2. "Fall In Love With Me"
3. "Alien"
4. "Quiet Life"
5. "The Other Side Of Life"
6. "Despair"
7. "In Vogue"
8. "Halloween"
9. "A Foreign Place"

• As described in the notes that accompany the 2004 reissue.

Personnel

• David Sylvian
  David Sylvian
  David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
  
   - lead vocals, guitar
• Rob Dean
  Rob Dean
  Rob Dean is a British musician, who rose to prominence playing guitar as a member of the British band Japan.-Biography:He is from Clapton, Hackney, London, England.-Japan:...
  
   - guitar, backing vocals
• Richard Barbieri
  Richard Barbieri
  Richard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
  
   - synthesizer, keyboards
• Mick Karn
  Mick Karn
  Andonis Michaelides , better known as Mick Karn, was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter, who came to fame as the bassist for the art rock band Japan, from 1974 to 1982....
  
   - bass, saxophone, flute, backing vocals
• Steve Jansen
  Steve Jansen
  Steve Jansen is an English drummer, percussionist, singer and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London, where he failed academically, leaving at 16....
  
   - drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Orchestra
  Orchestra
  An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
  
  Arranged By Ann Odell; Conducted By Martyn Ford

Production

• Produced By John Punter (also engineer), Japan & Simon Napier-Bell
• Colin Fairley - engineer
• Keith Bessey - engineer (B2)