Top 12 Music Albums of 1996 by 
DriftingOrpheus 
- Chart updated: 03/04/2024 14:45
- (Created: 06/12/2020 14:16).
- Chart size: 12 albums.
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Fishmans' penultimate album, Long Season, is tricky to recapitulate. The music itself seems beyond the realm of tangibility, reminiscent of a soothing summer daydream, effortlessly invoking the ethereal. Despite not being a Japanese speaker, Shinji Sato's tender coos resonate through the sheer emotion that they delicately channel. Sato's vocals function as an extension of the instrumentation rather than a separate entity, consolidating into a 35 minute cloudburst of dream pop and psychedelia. The record in earnest consists of five parts, all weaving together to manifest the full anatomy of Long Season.
As Long Season (Part 1) surfaces, a spacey, smoky atmosphere comes into focus, bubbling with an alien strut. The track evolves into a cascading keyboard loop which is majestically serene while carrying an ever-present promise of combustibility. This is when Sato's first declarations are audible, "At dusk we drove, calling the wind and calling you, we ran from one end of Tokyo to the other, halfway dreaming." The track shimmers during its climax as Honzi's violin and accordion join the fray with exuberant grace. The track seamlessly drifts into Long Season (Part 2) as the keyboard loop is adorned with percussive twinkles and Sato's own protuberant guitar solo. As Kin-ichi Motegi's drums cushion the final moments of Long Season (Part 2), (Part 3) introduces itself with a decidedly ambient complexion. Commencing with a damp, distant quality, (Part 3) is notably restrained when compared to the previous two movements. The track blossoms with Motegi's second drum flourish, a solo that lasts the length of the track serving as a distinct bridge between both boundaries of the record. (Part 4) comes into view with relaxed, remote guitar strikes. Whistling is interwoven throughout the DNA of (Part 4) betwixt a duplicated vocal melody and a swirling, ominous backing whirl. (Part 5) is a different shade of (Part 1), reintroducing the hypnotic keyboard riff with heightened immediacy and scope. The track builds to Sato's own haunting falsetto, broadcasting a billowing a sense of catharsis and rebirth amidst the sonic revisitation. (Part 5) is as majestic as the LP gets and is among the most gorgeous movements in recent memory.
Long Season (Part 5) sounds suspiciously like a swan song in many distinct manners. It recounts the past and treats a movement only 25 minutes removed to be one of complete nostalgia. Sato's own vocals at the finale are so undeniably vulnerable that one would be inclined to think of it more in terms of a finale for him rather than the LP, like a final championing of life and its wonders. The backing vocals stand to up the ante as intrinsic collateral for such a moment. Eerily enough, this movement would be the final piece of music Sato would play live. Long Season in its entirety would be played in Fishmans' final performance which was featured on the beloved live album, 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare. Sato died suddenly of a heart attack three months after the band's final gig. These days, the outfit has reached an entirely new audience far from their native Japan. Long Season has been instrumental in moving the needle and has been retrospectively lauded as a masterpiece, one that graces the ears of new listeners each and every day. It's a testament to the band and the music they were producing. The record outdistanced its own release and becomes more inviting with age. Aligned with the recurring nature of its content like a persistent dream, Long Season is a crisp Spring day that will never end and more importantly, will never wither at the hand of a cruel Winter.
"What is the song are you humming,
What things can you remember,
We are half in a dream."
-Long Season (Part 1)
Standout Tracks:
1. Long Season (Part 5)
2. Long Season (Part 1)
3. Long Season (Part 4)
94.3 [First added to this chart: 06/12/2020]
As Long Season (Part 1) surfaces, a spacey, smoky atmosphere comes into focus, bubbling with an alien strut. The track evolves into a cascading keyboard loop which is majestically serene while carrying an ever-present promise of combustibility. This is when Sato's first declarations are audible, "At dusk we drove, calling the wind and calling you, we ran from one end of Tokyo to the other, halfway dreaming." The track shimmers during its climax as Honzi's violin and accordion join the fray with exuberant grace. The track seamlessly drifts into Long Season (Part 2) as the keyboard loop is adorned with percussive twinkles and Sato's own protuberant guitar solo. As Kin-ichi Motegi's drums cushion the final moments of Long Season (Part 2), (Part 3) introduces itself with a decidedly ambient complexion. Commencing with a damp, distant quality, (Part 3) is notably restrained when compared to the previous two movements. The track blossoms with Motegi's second drum flourish, a solo that lasts the length of the track serving as a distinct bridge between both boundaries of the record. (Part 4) comes into view with relaxed, remote guitar strikes. Whistling is interwoven throughout the DNA of (Part 4) betwixt a duplicated vocal melody and a swirling, ominous backing whirl. (Part 5) is a different shade of (Part 1), reintroducing the hypnotic keyboard riff with heightened immediacy and scope. The track builds to Sato's own haunting falsetto, broadcasting a billowing a sense of catharsis and rebirth amidst the sonic revisitation. (Part 5) is as majestic as the LP gets and is among the most gorgeous movements in recent memory.
Long Season (Part 5) sounds suspiciously like a swan song in many distinct manners. It recounts the past and treats a movement only 25 minutes removed to be one of complete nostalgia. Sato's own vocals at the finale are so undeniably vulnerable that one would be inclined to think of it more in terms of a finale for him rather than the LP, like a final championing of life and its wonders. The backing vocals stand to up the ante as intrinsic collateral for such a moment. Eerily enough, this movement would be the final piece of music Sato would play live. Long Season in its entirety would be played in Fishmans' final performance which was featured on the beloved live album, 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare. Sato died suddenly of a heart attack three months after the band's final gig. These days, the outfit has reached an entirely new audience far from their native Japan. Long Season has been instrumental in moving the needle and has been retrospectively lauded as a masterpiece, one that graces the ears of new listeners each and every day. It's a testament to the band and the music they were producing. The record outdistanced its own release and becomes more inviting with age. Aligned with the recurring nature of its content like a persistent dream, Long Season is a crisp Spring day that will never end and more importantly, will never wither at the hand of a cruel Winter.
"What is the song are you humming,
What things can you remember,
We are half in a dream."
-Long Season (Part 1)
Standout Tracks:
1. Long Season (Part 5)
2. Long Season (Part 1)
3. Long Season (Part 4)
94.3 [First added to this chart: 06/12/2020]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,362
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
34
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91.8
[First added to this chart: 02/22/2022]
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89.8
[First added to this chart: 06/12/2020]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,569
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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- #Sponsored
87.6
[First added to this chart: 07/19/2022]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
678
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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87.2
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87
[First added to this chart: 06/12/2020]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,510
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
85.8
[First added to this chart: 06/23/2020]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,301
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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83.7
[First added to this chart: 02/12/2023]
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79.3
[First added to this chart: 06/12/2020]
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79
[First added to this chart: 01/15/2022]
Total albums: 12. Page 1 of 2
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Top 12 Music Albums of 1996 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans] | 2 | 17% | |
| Stereolab | 1 | 8% | |
| Aphex Twin | 1 | 8% | |
| Ghostface Killah | 1 | 8% | |
| Dirty Three | 1 | 8% | |
| Swans | 1 | 8% | |
| DJ Shadow | 1 | 8% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 12 Music Albums of 1996 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
 Up 2 from 6th to 4thIronman by Ghostface Killah |
| Up 1 from 3rd to 2nd 空中キャンプ [Kūchū Camp] by フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans] |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 2 from 4th to 6th Soundtracks For The Blind by Swans |
| Down 2 from 5th to 7th Endtroducing..... by DJ Shadow |
| Down 2 from 8th to 10th Pulse Demon by メルツバウ [Merzbow] |
| New entries |
|---|
 Horse Storiesby Dirty Three |
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