Cho Yong-Pil Vol. 2 (조용필 2집) (1980)

Cho Yong-Pil’s phenomenal success in Korea made him the first Korean rock artist to perform at Carnegie Hall, as is prominently displayed by the front cover. Like Volume 1, some of the songs included were themes to dramas, including the title song “Blessing (Candlelight),” and “Modern History Figures.” Other songs of note include “Unexpected Goodbye,” which fuses elements of both trot and disco and “I’ve Decided to Forget,” which has been called a fusion of an adult pop song and a nursery rhyme. “Ganyangrok,” which tells the story of a Joseon scholar in Japan, is also well-known, and the funky “Let Me Meet” closes out the album with a twist.

Jigu Records hurried the release of this album as a follow-up to the bestselling Volume 1, and the tracks “Love Hasn’t Ended Yet” and “Sad Smile” from the first album are included again here.

Note: The CD version has a different track sequence, but since this album originally came out in the vinyl era, I’ve listed the track sequence from the vinyl version. The CD version doesn’t include the instrumental to “Bobbed Hair,” but it does include “Thoughts of Older Brother,” which wasn’t released on vinyl until Cho’s Volume 3. I have included a translation of “Thoughts of Older Brother” here.

Photo via ManiaDB

Cho Yong-Pil Vol. 12 (조용필 12집) Sailing Sound (1990)

Cho Yong-Pil’s 12^th album Sailing Sound, his first of the 1990’s, contains one of his most-covered ballads, the sweeping and magnificent “I Wish It Could Be That Way Now.” That song is only one of many highlights, however. The cheery pop of “Your Scent Scattered” and the longing rocker “Sunflower” have hooks that stick in your brain, as does the upbeat closer “Life Goes Round and Round.” The opening track “Reunion in Memories” was the title song, and received new life years later after being covered on the Korean variety show I Am a Singer. There are interesting changes of pace too, with the haunting and mysterious “Ancient Palace,” a tribute to a historic castle that’s now a run-down tourist attraction, and the genre-defying “Oh Tree,” which taps into the human desire for groundedness. All in all, this album was a great beginning to the new decade, and is one of Cho’s best start-to-finish listens.

Image taken from ManiaDB

Cho Yong-Pil Vol. 1 (조용필 1집) (1980)

While Cho Yong-Pil had released music throughout the 1970’s, it wasn’t until his first release with Jigu Records in 1980 that he became a superstar. Many of the songs on this album are among Cho’s best-known to this day. “Return to Busan Port” is considered by some to be the most significant Korean pop song in history, its message resonating with Korean families whose relatives had gone abroad. The bluesy ballad “The Woman Outside the Window” and the synth-pop disco of “Bobbed Hair” were musically innovative, and there’s a reverence for previous generations of Korean music as well, with a recording of the folk song “Five Hundred Years” and a remake of the 1959 hit “Daejeon Blues.”

Several tracks here had been released previously, such as “Return to Busan Port,” “The River of No Return,” “Jeong,” and “Too Short.” “The River of No Return,” “Love Hasn’t Ended Yet,” and “The Woman Outside the Window” were originally musical pieces written for dramas. In a sense, this album is like a greatest hits collection of Cho’s 1970’s work and then some. It ended up becoming the first Korean album to sell a million copies, and far and away the best-selling Korean album of 1980.

Note: The CD version of this album has a slightly different track sequence. The sequence here is from the original vinyl album.

Album cover via ManiaDB

Cho Yong-Pil Vol. 7 (조용필 7집) (1985)

Released in 1985, Cho's 7th album is considered by many to be one of his best. Rockers like "Yesterday, Today, And...," "Oh Darling," "The Unknown World," and the oft-covered "We're Going on a Trip," all collaborations with Ha Ji-Yeong, are among his best-known songs. However, the ballads "You, Who I See in Tears" and "Wildflower" are also standouts, as well as the Yoo Jae-Ha composition "Because I Love."

Cho's output is extensive and consistently high-caliber, so trying to choose individual albums among his many releases can be a daunting task. However, for the prospective collector, this album wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Cover art via ManiaDB.