Mari Kaneko & Bux Bunny -- Yuuyake no Uta (Saigan Ryohei ni Sasagu)（夕焼けの詩 (西岸良平に捧ぐ)）

 

The first time I wrote about singer-songwriter Mari Kaneko and her band Bux Bunny（金子マリ & バックス・バニー）, it was for her strut-worthy "Aru Toki"（あるとき）from their debut 1976 album "Mari & Bux Bunny". As the song wove between rock and funk, I realized that there was a reason that the Tokyo native had been called the Janis Joplin of Shimo-Kitazawa.

From that same album, I give you another track "Yuuyake no Uta (Saigan Ryohei ni Sasagu)" (Song of Sunset...Tribute to Ryohei Saigan). It's on a day like today in my city where sunset is approaching and the weather is very pleasant (albeit a little humid in my room) that "Yuuyake no Uta" is especially welcome in my ears. The ballad as richly delivered by Kaneko makes for a nice cooldown song although the uploader Purplesound has labeled it as an example of psychedelic rock. For me, it's a relaxing type of New Music verging on City Pop which was given lyrics by Kaneko and a melody by bassist Yoshihiro Naruse（鳴瀬喜博）.

Now, who is Ryohei Saigan? Well, he is a manga author responsible for the 1974 series "San-chome no Yuuhi: Yuuyake no Uta"（三丁目の夕日 夕焼けの詩...Sunset on Third Street: Song of Sunset） which has been given a number of adaptations including the 2005 film "Always San-chome no Yuuhi". The story dealt with ordinary life of Tokyoites in a certain neighbourhood between 1955 and 1964.