Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Gamu -- Gin'iro no Joukei(銀色の情景)


I wrote about the band Gamu(雅夢)all the way back in 2014 since Kazuto Miura(三浦和人)and Toshikazu Nakagawa(中川敏一)had created their most famous hit "Ai wa Kagero"(愛はかげろう), one of those wistful numbers that can bring back the memories of yesteryear for a certain generation. The thing is that perhaps bands like Gamu could be perceived as being one-hit wonders since nothing has been known before or after that one big success.


It shouldn't stop folks from checking out their material, though. Certainly I will say this especially after discovering this lovely number from their first album from April 1981 "Yume Tsuzuri"(夢つづり...Dream Weaving)which also has "Ai wa Kagero".

"Gin'iro no Joukei" (Silver Spectacle) bears comparison with "Ai wa Kagero" since while the latter is this classic pop/folk song, the former takes things straight into City Pop. It feels like a song to be heard in a cafe/bar along the Ginza with some rain outside to take the edge off. Along with the downtown piano, I really like the chorus and the strings backing Gamu up...it seems to add a more sophisticated air and when I first heard it, I thought it sounded ahead of its time of 1981. Despite the downtown aspect, it also has that dreamy quality.

While Miura composed the music here, this time the lyrics were written by Haruaki Kato(夏冬春秋), and the song deals with heartbreak in the rain.

From a quick glance of their BEST compilation, "Gin'iro no Joukei" isn't even placed there so perhaps "Yume Tsuzuri" may be the only source to find this song. Let us hope for remastering and re-release.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.