Monday, October 8, 2018

Meiko Nakahara -- Gokurakucho no Tehma(極楽鳥のテーマ)


Happy Thanksgiving to all those in Canada and Happy Sports Day to all those in Japan. Rather ironic how those holidays have lined up on the same day...one is devoted to eating and the other is devoted to exercising. The above is actually a photo from several years ago...turkey is not something that we really do all that much anymore since it's quite labour-intensive and I'm pretty much the only one in the family who likes eating turkey. Indeed, it is my Bird of Paradise.


Well, how about that? Let's make that smooth segue into "Gokurakucho no Tehma" (Theme of The Bird of Paradise). This is a track from songbird and songwriter Meiko Nakahara's(中原めいこ)6th album "Moods" released in March 1986, and I actually first heard it on Van Paugam's drive on the Tokyo highways; quite a nice match.

Nakahara penned this "Gokurakucho no Tehma" as this paean to unbridled love as her heroine soars through the night skies while keeping that cool City Pop beat. Probably it's just me but I think that arrangement by Shingo Kobayashi(小林信吾)kinda has the song straddle the early 80s and late 80s brand of the genre. Plus, Nakahara's singing reminds me a lot of Junko Yagami's(八神純子)vocals. In fact, now that I think of it, the whole song is rather Yagami-esque with that Latin touch in there.

In any case, while Nakahara relishes her Bird of Paradise over Tokyo, I will again someday enjoy my Bird of Paradise with stuffing and gravy.

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