Crimson is the tenth studio album by Japanese singer Akina Nakamori. It was released on 24 December 1986 under the Warner Pioneer label. The album includes the original version of Eki.
It was her first album to work with mostly female songwriters such as Mariya Takeuchi and Akiko Kobayashi who primarily composed of this album.
Four months after the release of Fushigi which was subtly experimental and eccentric, Nakamori returned to a conventional sound except with the experimentation of Mick Jagger Ni Hohoemio that was experimented with sound effects such as typewriting, stirring and playing an cassette tape, also Nakamori sings in a quieter, whispering tone as usually she vocalized herself with the use of falsetto.
Crimson was considered by critics it as a essential city pop album and becoming her most commercially successful album at that time. Oh No Oh Yes was becoming viral a few decades later, due to the rise of vaporwave genre and V of BTS has streamed this song during a live streamed event which Jungkook recommended, it became Nakamori one of most well known songs even before.
Crimson is Nakamori's second studio album released in 1986, just four months after the release of her previous studio album Fushigi. The music production team consists of two writers: Mariya Takeuchi, Akiko Kobayashi and two arrangers, Shiro Sagisu and Kazuo Shiina.
The album consist of any previously released single and includes recordings of 10 new songs. Nakamori sings with whisper or silent voice, which is not usual for the people who know her as a singer with a powerful vibrato. Each of the songs has balladic melody line, in the comparison with her previous studio album Fushigi.
Eki is one of her the most famous album tracks, however the song became more famous after Mariya Takeuchi's cover, which was released in 1987 as a B-side track for the single After Years. Takeuchi's version was used as a theme song in the movie Good-bye, Mama. In this album, arrange is provided by Shiina, while Takeuchi's version arrangement is provided by Tatsuro Yamashita. In 2002, Nakamori self-cover this song in her first self-cover album Utahime Double Decade with arrangement by Akira Senju.
Mick Jagger ni Hohoemi wos sound effect idea was made by Nakamori herself, imagining herself in room, preparing breakfast and play from cassette tape player her own songs. The original version of Mick Jagger ni Hohoemi wo is included in the CD-Box Akina released in 1993 and in the remastered version of the album released in 2023.
During Fuji TV's music television program Yoru no Hit Studio, Nakamori performed Mick Jagger ni Hohoemi wo, Yakusoku and Oh No, Oh Yes in 1987 and Eki in 1993 as part of the Request songs by viewers segment.
Mind Game, Mosaic no Shiro, Akai no Enamel, Pink Champagne and Jealous Candle were performed on Nakamori's live tour called A Hundred Days.
The album reached number 1 on the Oricon Album Weekly Charts. LP Record version charted 23 weeks, Cassette tape charted 22 weeks and CD version charted 21 weeks. The album remained at number 3 on the Oricon Album Yearly Charts in 1987. As result, in the December 1987 it was nominated in 29th Japan Record Awards and won title The Album of the Year.
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Mariya Takeuchi covered all five songs she wrote for Nakamori.
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