When I think of actor Akira Terao（寺尾聰）when he was singing in the 1980s, I always think of his shibui City Pop classic album from 1981, "Reflections", especially of course his No. 1 hit "Ruby no Yubiwa" (ルビーの指輪).
Well, this June 1985 single by Terao, "Koi no Trans Cosmos" (Trans Cosmos of Love), is still plenty shibui but instead of the concrete jungle of skyscrapers and hotels of West Shinjuku, I "hear" the environment of Shonan. Y'know...there is all that sea and sand and resorts there. The cover of the single certainly reflects that.
Indeed, there is the crooning and comforting voice of Terao along with that strumming guitar but the beat is more on the summery beach side of things. His melody may be a little too upbeat to be merely AOR (although I have still categorized it as such) but it even includes some Dixieland jazz as we enter the second half involving some bossy 50s-style baritone sax and even a Tijuana Brass type of trumpet.
As for the lyrics by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）who collaborated on the majority of the tracks on "Reflections", it seems as if Terao absolutely couldn't get to sleep and has decided to hop into his car and drive some 47 minutes to some house to: 1) clear his mind and 2) maybe make up with his girlfriend after a fight. I don't know what the Trans Cosmos in the title is, though. Is it a made-up brand of sports car that the singer is driving? I tried looking it up but I couldn't come up with anything...the only thing close is a Trans-Am. Ultimately, it doesn't matter..."Koi no Trans Cosmos" is a different but still shibui tune by Terao.
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