I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
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.
Tonight on NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）, the show launched with a tribute to the late singer Teresa Teng who would have turned 70 a couple of days ago. Singers including Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）and Rimi Natsukawa（夏川りみ）covered some of her best, and it was great hearing her old hits again especially since they were among the first of the articles for "Kayo Kyoku Plus" to go up.
I've not done an Author's Pick on any of Teng's tunes so I figure that if NHK can hoist a glass in her honour, so can I. These songs really do bring back my memories of Kuri, our old karaoke haunt back in university.
Indeed, I'm fully cognizant that Christmas has been over for well over a month or that we're still more than 11 months away from the next Yuletide season. However, I've had this hanging in the backlog for a long time now, and in an even longer period of time, the last time I wrote about Kai Band（甲斐バンド）was over ten years ago for their one and only "Hero". I felt that I had to rectify this situation.
Now, Kai Band's"Anna" doesn't sound automatically like a typical Christmas tune although it does have that folksy lilt. But lyricist and vocalist Yoshihiro Kai（甲斐よしひろ）who also came up with the melody weaves up a story about a couple separated by circumstances at around Christmas time and the guy has been getting some serious wishes to get back together with the titular Anna.
"Anna" made its debut as Kai Band's 13th single in October 1979 and it's their third single to hit the Top 10 of Oricon. According to an interview in the journal "Shunkan Bunshun"（週刊文春）via J-Wiki, the song was created in a couple of bars with the first verse written up on the back of a coaster in a Hakodate, Hokkaido watering hole while the second verse was completed in a similar place in Shibuya, Tokyo. In addition, that same J-Wiki article mentions that Shogo Hamada（浜田省吾）was responsible for the guitar intro since he dropped into the recording studio occasionally and so the band simply asked for his help.
The song hit No. 4 on Oricon and by the end of the year, "Anna" was the 79th-ranked single for 1979, but the same time the following year, the song went even higher, finishing at No. 52. "Anna" wouldn't end up on an album for several years, though, when it finally got onto Kai Band's 2nd compilation of best hits, "Here We Come the (3→)4 Sounds" in September 1985. It peaked at No. 11.
It seems as if another frequent character on anime series is the tomboyish girl who is so tomboyish that even the other girls (along with the guys) have a thing for her. This season, it's been Tomo-chan but I recall several years ago, there was the hilarious Kashima-kun from "Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun"（月刊少女野崎くん）.
Tomo-chan and Kashima-kun came to mind when I came across this February 1983 debut single by Itsumi Osawa（大沢逸美）, "James Dean Mitai na Onna no Ko" (A Girl Like James Dean). I actually wrote an article about the tall and tomboyish Sapporo-born 80s aidorua couple of years ago via her "Noppo no Captain"（のっぽのキャプテン）but unfortunately the powers-that-be have completely erased any aural evidence of the song from the Net. However, I'm keeping the article on active status since I've provided some of her background there.
James Dean is one of those iconic Hollywood figures who has not only lasted in American pop culture but also in Japanese pop culture. His face has popped up everywhere and I think his name has also been bandied about in titles and lyrics of other songs. In this case, I think the husband-and-wife team of lyricist Yoko Aki（阿木燿子）and composer Ryudo Uzaki（宇崎竜童）definitely had Osawa in mind when they whipped up this song about a handsome young girl. It does have that certain 1950s rock-n'-roll twang in there and Aki's lyrics seem to depict a Tomo-chan or Kashima-kun or Osawa type who's under some consternation about getting love letters from her fellow girls.
We are just about finished with the first month of 2023 and it's been an unusually warm January thus far although today has actually frozen over with something seasonal. Heck of a time to put up a summery song, but perhaps some people might appreciate some vicarious sun worshipping.
I was doing some more backlog sweeping and found that a Junichi Kawauchi（河内淳一）video for which I'd already written about the song a few years ago was still lingering there, so I got rid of that one. Then I decided to see if I could track down another Kawauchi song since I did enjoy his "Koi ni Ochita Hi ~ Anyday You Love Me"（恋に落ちた日）from 1988.
Sure enough, it didn't take long at all to find "Kimi no Hitomi Ippai no Natsu" (Summer Filled with Your Eyes), a Kawauchi single that came out in June 1992. It certainly sounds like a 1990s summertime song with the wailing electric guitar in there. I swore that the singer had become part of the Being label, but actually, it was Fun House behind its production. Another notable point is that Kiyotaka Sugiyama（杉山清貴）provided lyrics (with Kawauchi handling the melody) for another singer's song for the first time here. No idea whether "Kimi no Hitomi Ippai no Natsu" was used for a commercial, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had been used to hawk something like Pocari Sweat or any other drink to slake one's thirst.
Pedro & Capricious（ペドロ&カプリシャス）has delved into a number of genres over the years whether it be folk, rock, City Pop and AOR. Most people who aren't die-hard fans of the group know the band for the gentle hit "Go-ban Gai no Mari e"(五番街のマリーへ）from 1973.
I could recognize future star solo chanteuse Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）or perhaps as she was known then, Mari Takahashi, singing "Meishin" (Superstition), and yep, I'm talking about a cover of one of Stevie Wonder's many classic hits. This was a track from Pedro & Capricious' November 1973 album"Karei naru New Pops no Sekai"（華麗なるニューポップスの世界...The World of Splendid New Pops）, and in fact, it was a part of Side B which consisted of covers of other non-Japanese tunes. Side A had a lot of their own homegrown songs including "Go-ban Gai no Mari e". There seems to be more psychedelic rock in this shorter version of the Wonder song which had the balance of the funk and the rock.
But have a listen to the original from a year previously and make those comparisons.
It's been a pretty melancholy time over these weeks of January 2023 since I've witnessed the passing of many people. Of course, I've noted the deaths of well-known people in the music industry in both Japan and the United States, but in my neck of the woods in the past two weeks or so, we've lost someone who came to our small screens as a popular weather forecaster to become a Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, and one of the feistiest and longest-serving mayors in Canada, Hurricane Hazel McCallion, who ran Mississauga, a city whose name that US President Obama had initial trouble pronouncing one time and whose sister city is Kariya in Aichi Prefecture. Today, we even lost a famous hockey player, Bobby Hull, and even while writing this article, I've learned that actress Cindy Williams from ABC's "Laverne & Shirley" left this mortal coil a few days ago.
Last night, I was writing about the death of David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for a ROY article, and less than twelve hours later, I saw on NHK that rock guitarist and composer Makoto Ayukawa（鮎川誠）of Sheena & the Rokkets had passed away yesterday. He was 74 and suffered from pancreatic cancer. I had no idea that he had been ill but according to the report above, Ayukawa had kept a very tight lid on his sickness from the media.
Ayukawa hailed from Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture as the son of an American soldier and an employee at a ryotei. He got into the guitar as a Grade 5 student and would eventually get into Muddy Waters, Ray Charles and Elvis Presley for starters. In the 1970s, his region would become known as the Liverpool of Japan for its emerging rock scene and the local music would be labeled Mentai Rock（めんたいロック）, named after the regional delicacy of mentaiko（明太子）or spicy pollock roe. He joined the blues rock band Sonhouse（サンハウス）as a guitarist and composer before forming Sheena & the Rokkets in 1978 with his wife Etsuko "Sheena" Ayukawa（鮎川悦子）. Both bands are examples of Mentai Rock.
My first article on the Rokkets was for "You May Dream" in February 2015, and it was written because Sheena had herself passed away the week before from cervical cancer at the age of 61. However, I'd known about the band for some years before that; one reason was Ayukawa himself who cut a very distinct figure on television with his tall angular features and those sunglasses. In fact, I did put him alongside fellow musician Tomoyasu Hotei（布袋寅泰）as two of the cooler if somewhat intimidating Japanese guitarists out there. To be honest, the first time I saw him in a commercial, I was actually scared of the guy.
In 1981, Ayukawa put out his first solo album titled "Cool Solo"（クール・ソロ）and among the tracks is "JUKEBOXER". Written by Chris Mosdell (who was providing lyrics for Yellow Magic Orchestra) and composed by Ayukawa, the guitarist puts out a good ol' bluesy rock n' roll tune as he sings out about having a great time with his jukebox of 45s while looking pretty darn good.
I hope wherever he is now, Ayukawa has reunited with his wife and they're back making wonderful music together once more. My condolences go out to the Rokkets, the Ayukawa family and friends, and their many fans.
As I mentioned before, lyricist Miki Fuudo（風堂美起）was once 80s aidoru Mie Takahashi（高橋美枝）from Yokohama. So, I'm still getting a sense of what her aidoru career was like around 40 years ago.
I've already taken care of her debut single"Hitoribocchi wa Kirai"（ひとりぼっちは嫌い）from late 1983, but this time, here is her second single from April 1984, "Angel Fish". Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composed by Yoshitaka Minami（南佳孝）and arranged by Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）, it's a pleasant summery aidoru tune that evokes the environment where angelfish would swim about in tropical paradise. Although Takahashi doesn't sound anything like her, "Angel Fish" does sounds like an early Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）song, something that lyricist Matsumoto would know because he did write several songs for the lass.
The B-side is "Double Date" which was also written by Matsumoto, but this time Omura takes care of both music and arrangement. It stands out for a thrumming bass, an electric guitar solo, and some whirlwind strings but there's something about the song that's missing for some reason. And despite the big-time songwriting team, the single only managed to get up to No. 135 on Oricon.
Continuing on with the 11th anniversary of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I did mention in that GReeeeN article that the traditional gift on this occasion is steel, and therefore, cutlery is a popular thing to give. Now, what song or band do I know that has anything to do with cutlery?
It didn't take too long to come up with an answer. Cutlery 🠊 knives 🠊 Shonen Knife（少年ナイフ）!😀 Well, considering today's occasion, I would like to raise a glass of wine, and sure enough, the trio's debut single was "Wonder Wine" from 1996. Looking at the video above, it certainly feels like I was already hitting the wonder wine pretty hard. Vocalist Naoko Yamano（山野直子）, who wrote and composed the song, was probably feeling it, too. Plenty of pastel psychedelia for all!
"Wonder Wine" was also a track on the group's 1997 album"Brand New Knife". I read from one commenter on YouTube that there were three different versions of the song, and perhaps one version is Towa Tei's remix of "Wonder Wine" from Shonen Knife's"Ultra Mix" (1998). Instead of thrashy rock, we get some late 80s/early 90s electro dance mix. This very different version might be playing in your head the next day after a little too much of that wonder wine and you realize that you're half an hour late for the morning meeting at the office with all of the crazed tumult to follow.
Welcome to January 30th 2023! I'm happy to say that we have reached Kayo Kyoku Plus' 11th birthday today. Yup, eleven years ago today, the blog got started with Jun Horie's（堀江淳）"Memory Glass"（メモリーグラス）and since then, all of us have been through 9,391 articles (some of which are in dormant status due to no more videos for them). Supposedly, the traditional gift for people celebrating their 11th anniversary is steel with the popular gift being cutlery. I'll have to see whether I can fit in a new kayo with that theme later on today.
To commemorate the anniversary, I was looking about to find something with the theme of ELEVEN. I have to admit that it took a while but last night, I finally discovered that J-Pop's favourite group of mystery dentists turned into a successful band, GReeeeN, had the perfect song. Of course, that would be their "11", a track from their 8th original album"Ure D"（うれD）, released in April 2018. About as quirky and goofy as the founder of this blog, "11" has the band happily bouncing around within a melody of spacey technopop beeps and hip-pop bounces and exhortations as their lyrics encourage listeners to seek out new opportunities; after all, according to them, there are eleven dimensions out there. Why not take full advantage of them?
As for the unusual title, according to Natalie.mu via J-Wiki, "Ure D" refers to no longer being able to travel through happiness...or something like that. But the Japanese text goes like this: 「うれしいを通りこしてもはやうれD」If anyone can come up with a much better translation, let me know please. In any case, "Ure D" got as high as No. 3 on Oricon.
Going a little long today but I wanted to finish with a special Sunday Reminiscings of Youth. As one commenter under the above video has mentioned, "We’re losing too many legends". With a sense of melancholy, I agree. On January 18th, the music world lost David Crosbyof Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at the age of 81.
To be honest, I've only known David Crosby as that old man with the flowing white hair and moustache, so it was fascinating to see him as a young fellow with The Byrds. To me, he struck me as a family's coolest and dude-iest uncle or grand-uncle; the type of guy, for good or for bad, who let a teenager secretly have a first sip of a beer or a first drag on a cigarette even when the parents may not like that. And more often than not, when I've seen him on the news, it's usually for some sort of demeanor that he had committed.
And yet, I also knew him and the rest of this iconic folk band with those exquisite harmonies coming through the radio as a kid, although I can't consider myself a dedicated fan. But whenever one of their songs came on that SONY, I knew exactly who they were. One of those songs was "Teach Your Children", a May 1970 single and a track from CSN&Y's March 1970 album"Déjà Vu".
Considering the times and circumstances that we're currently living in, "Teach Your Children" still packs a punch despite the short time of a little under three minutes. Perhaps it's a gentle prod or admonishment to folks to teach the generation after and even the one before about the various societal messages in quality as well as in quantity. The spoonful of sugar that helps this medicine go down is the welcoming country swing and perhaps the brevity of the song.
In Canada, "Teach Your Children" went as high as No. 8 on their RPM Singles chart while in the United States, it peaked at No. 16. All my condolences to Crosby's family, friends and fans.
So, what were winning the prizes at the Japan Record Awards for 1970?
Several months ago, I wrote about actor/singer Kojiro Shimizu's（清水宏次朗）"Merry Go Round", a track from his December 1991 album"Mind Breeze". It was quite the snazzy City Pop tune with all of the tight horns and the like and I got all sorts of Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）and Anri（杏里）vibes from it.
Now, let's go all the way back to his October 1984 debut album, "Abandon", under that name of Kojiro Shimizu which is actually his real name (he'd recorded two albums previously in 1981 under the name Koji Take). One of the tracks there is "Stormy Love", a somewhat more laidback and groovier City Pop tune. I think hearing his vocals here has me comparing them to those of a male aidoru, and a talented one, to boot. "Stormy Love" also comes armed with some big songwriters: lyricist and R&B queen Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロ）.
In a way, I've heard two examples from opposite ends of his music spectrum, so it would be interesting to hear his progression in this area. Quite a few albums to explore between 1984 and 1991.
Hard to believe but 70s aidoruand actor Goro Noguchi（野口五郎）will be celebrating his 67th birthday late next month so would like to wish him an early Happy Birthday just in case I forget.
The purge of videos from my backlog that I realized no longer needed to be there continues, but I did find one that needed a home. That would be Noguchi's "Love Flight", the first track from his May 1979 album"The Southern Cross"（南十字星）. Written by Keisuke Yamakawa（山川啓介）and composed by Noguchi's brother Hiroshi Sato（佐藤寛...not the famous keyboardist）, it has quite an underlying 1970s City Pop rhythm supporting a tour de force of horns and rock guitar. I'd be interested if the band Spectrum（スペクトラム）was helping out here.
Noguchi cuts quite a dashing figure on the cover of "The Southern Cross". One wonders whether "Love Flight" could have made for the appropriate theme song for a thriller starring the singer himself.
This article was originally going to be another All-Points Bulletin request for identification on a mystery song. However, the Force was really with me today so I was able to find out the song title and the singer for the person who had reached out to me via the Contact Form earlier today.
Allow me to explain. I was sent the above Streamable link to find out who was singing on the video. Well, there were two versions of one song there. The first several seconds had someone who I immediately pegged as a female 80s aidorusinger happily singing away at a tune with a certain 50s pop lilt. But I couldn't recognize the singer and punching in patches of the lyrics into search engines only got bupkis. The second singer was male and I found out that it was David Lui doing a cover version of the mystery song under the title of "Sweet Sixteen", and I did find a YouTube video for it as you can see above.
The David Lui and "Sweet Sixteen" clue was key here. I put those two into the search engine and was led to Discogs where I found out the composer in romaji: Kayoko Nagasaki. But I also found out her name in kanji: 「長崎加代子」. Punching that into J-Wiki, Nagasaki didn't have her own entry there, but I noticed that her name was placed a lot under 70s/80s aidoru and later TV personality/actress Ikue Sakakibara's（榊原郁恵）songs.
Just on a whim, I chose one of those songs and put that into YouTube. Well, I should've bought myself a lottery ticket since I hit Bingo! "Mama Louisa" was the mystery song, and it was a track on Sakakibara's final studio album"Wandering Paradise" from June 1984. Nagasaki had actually done both words and music with Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）handling the arrangement. With that 1950s-sounding pop melody, I'd assumed that it was Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）behind it, but I was wrong there.
So, there was no need for the APB and everyone is happy. It usually doesn't happen that quickly so I'm happy that it did resolve itself the way it did. However, Sakakibara just recently lost the love of her life so I'm hoping that she's getting better and going on.
Although heartbreak is a frequent theme for pop songs on either side of the Pacific, I don't think I've heard too much in the love 'em-and-leave 'em department when it comes to kayo kyoku, at least perhaps not recently.
Well, we've got one here I believe with Aki Izumi's（泉アキ）short-and-not-too-sweet 2nd single"Yuuyake no Aitsu" (The Sunset Guy) from February 1968. It was about a couple of years ago that I put up her debut single"Koi wa Heart de"（恋はハートで）and I noted the singer's distinct delivery. Izumi has a high and slightly quivery singing style that reminds me a bit of 90s pop singer Kohmi Hirose（広瀬香美）, and her yelling of "Return it to me!" and "Get back here!" may have had listeners and record player needles jumping up in surprise.
Lyricist Ichiro Hirai（平井一郎）and composer Takashi Takase（高瀬タカシ）were responsible for "Yuuyake no Aitsu". There isn't too much twangy guitar in this one compared to her debut, but the Group Sounds sound is still intact.
Hope you folks are having a good weekend out there wherever you are. Here in Toronto today, it's been messy with a lot of wet and heavy snow hitting the ground. Growing up in this city, commutes home on snow days can have the arduousness of climbs up Mount Everest. I remember one night making my way home from university in which a bunch of us had to wait 40 minutes standing in a bus bay in -25-degree Celsius weather. I figured that if I can survive that...
That meteorologically-based opening is there to segue somewhat into this song by Kirinji（キリンジ）titled "Ieji"(The Road Home). Nope, it's not a cover of Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）classic 1983 tune, but it is a pretty peppy number. Put out as Kirinji's 9th digital download single, it was also the last part of a gimmick in which the guys were releasing a single every month on the 25th during the second half of 2007 (every 25th being known as "Kirin-day"), so "Ieji" was the final and Christmas Day release. All of those affected singles ended up on the duo's March 2008 album"7~seven".
Initially, I thought that the first several seconds of "Ieji" sounded like the fanfare for a contemporary cop show but I realized that the blasting synth-horns have a certain Burt Bacharach-influenced pattern (maybe even a bit of Chicago). However, I wouldn't place the song as a Shibuya-kei song at all. Apparently, the Kirin-day singles were also used as themes for a "Kirinji TV" series. There is a Kirinji TV YouTube channel but it has nothing to do with the band.
Yesterday during the usual Friday Urban Contemporary stuff on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I introduced singer-songwriter Kantaro Yamamoto（山本寛太郎）who had his own solo career from the late 1970s into the early 1980s.
Well, he took a hiatus for several years, but then into the 1990s, he formed the pop group OPCELL which brought in keyboardist Yasuyuki Honda（本田恭之）and engineer/sound designer Tsuyoshi Inoue（井上剛）. Yamamoto himself changed his name to Ken Ranmiya*（KEN 蘭宮）for the purposes of the band, and in January 1995, OPCELL released their one and only self-titled album. According to the J-Wiki writeup for the group, they were known for their nostalgic but fresh sound.
Tower Records noted that the cover for "OPCELL" was illustrated by the Hiroshi Nagai（永井博）and that the album was a City Pop release. I've listened to a few of the tracks thus far but I don't think that I can agree on that point. If anything, the band gets closer to a Being sound of the 1990s along the lines of DEEN with some added unique sounds by Inoue. The opening track, "Hikari kara no Travel"(Travel from the Light), in fact, strikes me as being in the realm of dream pop or indies. But no complaints here; the album does stand out considering the time of the decade in which Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）was dominating the period with his music and cadre of stars.
Following the OPCELL project, keyboardist Honda became part of the band face to ace. I'm not sure what became of Inoue although at the time of the production of "OPCELL", he was working as a recording engineer in New York City. Meanwhile, Yamamoto/Ranmiya is currently living in his native Shizuoka Prefecture where he runs a fishing lure company...and it's apparently called OPCELL (or Clinch Lure). Personally, I kinda thought that the name would have fit the name of Tom Clancy's latest Special Forces team.
*Not 100% sure of the pronunciation of the name. Also, OPCELL did put up their own YouTube channel a few years ago.
When I first saw the trio listed for the GS Gosanke or The Big Three for Group Sounds bands, I was a little surprised at the trio. No offense meant against Ox fans, but I thought that The Spiders with Jun Inoue（井上順）and Masaaki Sakai（堺正章）would be in there instead, but actually the trio is indeed Ox, The Tempters and The Tigers. Ox was actually the latest of the three bands to debut in 1968 while the other two first appeared in 1967.
Not sure when the media decided to come up with the tag for the three groups but there isn't a lot referencing this term of the GS Gosanke so perhaps this was more a name coined by fans over the decades. Regardless here they are.
The last time that I wrote about veteran singer Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）was back in late 2021 when I provided an article on the first track, "Hito Natsu no Shi Seikatsu"（ひと夏の私生活）, for her May 1986 album "At My Time". A driving Airplay-esqueWest Coast number, as I mentioned in that article, it was quite the surprising song.
Well, Track 2 continues the AOR tradition within "At My Time", but it's still quite different. "Natalie no Shuumatsu"(Natalie's Weekend) is not only more mid-tempo, but it actually sounds more elegant and brunch-friendly. It was written and composed by the same duo behind "Hito Natsu no Shi Seikatsu", lyricist Keiko Aso（麻生圭子）and composer Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）. However, instead of the early 1980s Airplay, "Natalie no Shuumatsu" takes on more influence from cool jazz and material created by/for singers such as Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）and Miki Imai（今井美樹）in those same mid-1980s. I'm always going to a sucker for that certain keyboard in play on this song along with the harmonica solo.
I couldn't find the lyrics for "Natalie no Shuumatsu", but it certainly feels as if the Natalie in Moriyama's song is considerably happier here than the Natalie in Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"Natalie". Methinks that while the latter Natalie is regretting her dream, Moriyama's Natalie is living it.
Kantaro Yamamoto（山本寛太郎）is a singer-songwriter who was active from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, hailing from Shizuoka Prefecture. He already has one entry in "Kayo Kyoku Plus" but only as a composer for THE GOOD-BYE's 1983 hit"Kimagure One-Way Boy"（気まぐれOne Way Boy）.
However, as mentioned above, he also did his share of singing and up to 1982, he released 7 singles and 1 album. Yamamoto's 3rd single was the comfy "Silver Sweet Heart" released in 1979. Written and composed by the singer with Kazuo Shiina（椎名和夫）arranging the song, I had wondered whether this would actually come under the City Pop banner although I certainly labeled it as New Music. It's also got some classy bossa nova, and then I figured if I could do the same thing for similarly Latin-tinged songs such as Junko Yagami's（八神純子）"Omoide no Screen" (思い出のスクリーン）and Keiko Maruyama's（丸山圭子）"Douzo Kono Mama" (どうぞこのまま）, well, I can also give the City Pop tag to the caipirinha-friendly "Silver Sweet Heart". By the way, I have to point out that Yamamoto has got quite the handsome visage along the lines of Akira Fuse（布施明）. Yamamoto's voice isn't a boomer though...more of a soothing croon.
Yamamoto seemed to be dormant for several years away from the music industry but then started up a band called OPCELL with two other people in 1995. I'll have to talk about that band shortly.
I might never figure out the configuration of Haruko Kuwana's（桑名晴子）identification vis-à-vis her early singles. Initially, I had thought she and her band Baker's Shop first got together in 1980 to come up with the album "Hot Line", but then I saw the thumbnail for the above video which has "Vanishing Point", a single from November 1978. On that single cover, it has Haruko Kuwana with Baker's Shop although "Hot Line" had Baker's Shop with Haruko. Finally, J-Wiki lists the singer's 3rd single just under her name only.
But I'm just haggling over semantics or something here. "Vanishing Point" is a cool if lonely song about sudden heartbreak with a more hushed Kuwana. Still, even a more hushed Kuwana provides plenty of sultry sex appeal, and the music and arrangement by Akira Inoue（井上鑑）possesses its good share of strutting down Shinjuku, Roppongi or Akasaka. Kohei Oikawa（及川恒平）wrote the lyrics here.
(3:43)
Enjoy her live performances as well. And sorry...my English teacher may be showing here but I think her pronunciation of the title is quite a bit better in performance than on the recorded version. Haruko's a tiger on the stage!😁
Well, the next annoying thing to the fact that I have such a long backlog of songs to cover is the fact that it seems a good chunk of that backlog includes music that I have already covered. For whatever reason, I neglected to delete the songs from the list when I completed the articles. So, it's gotten quite a trim now although it's still plenty long.
One such song was Mari Iijima's（飯島真理）"Pink no Rouge"（ピンクのルージュ）that I was planning to do today, but I found out that I'd actually already done it back in December 2020 in the depths of the pandemic. Therefore, I decided to punch in Iijima's name and City Pop into the YouTube search engine, and I discovered this track from her May 1990 album"For Lovers Only". And for those AOR fans who see "Who's Right, Who's Wrong" as something familiar, you are absolutely right (not wrong!). "Who's Right, Who's Wrong" is the song that was originally recorded by the AOR band Pages (later to transform into chart hitmakers Mr. Mister in the 1980s) for their 1979 album"Future Street". In fact, I devoted a ROY article to the song back in 2020.
I've never listened to "For Lovers Only" but it's been listed on Iijima's J-Wikipage as a concept album, so perhaps she may have been covering those light and mellow tunes there. No one is going to beat Michael Brecker at that silky sax in the intro of the original, but Iijima's cover of "Who's Right, Who's Wrong" isn't too bad either and considering that the album came out in 1990, it's certainly nice if indeed the singer had wanted to bring back some of that old-fashioned West Coast soft rock back into our ears.
The whole thing here reminds me of the surprise that I got when I discovered that paris match had covered Kingo Hamada's（濱田金吾）"Yokaze no Information"（夜風のインフォメーション）.
I'd never been to Kyushu before, let alone Nagasaki. So, last December, my mom and I decided to use the opportunity to explore this culturally and historically rich part of Kyushu. Much of what I know about Nagasaki comes from a combination of enka/ryukoka/mood kayo, travel shows, and classes on Japanese history. Because it was the main (at times the only) port of entry into Japan for foreigners back in the day, traces of Chinese and Western influences are particularly strong. Case in point, a Chinatown and Holland Land (Huis Ten Bosch) in just one prefecture. It was where Christianity thrived, but was also the site where its persecution was particularly intense during the Edo era. It is one of the most featured locations in enka and mood kayo. It is where Kiyoshi Maekawa (前川清) is from! Needless to say, I was stoked to visit such an iconic place.
We were in Nagasaki city for about four days and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The food was mostly great, the city picturesque with Chinese and western colonial architecture, and it had a rather quaint atmosphere. Oddly enough, the cultural mix and hilly terrain reminded me of Hong Kong and just a hint of Singapore. I would like to share some highlights through the Nagasaki-themed songs I filled my ears with throughout the trip. Nagasaki songs, particularly those from the early Showa era, seemed to have a more exotic and European sound, if not Chinese, but my selection here mainly features the former. I'm not very familiar with European music, but I reckon some melodies could be Portuguese-influenced.
If you know other tunes featuring Nagasaki, feel free to mention them too. With that said, let's begin.
We kick things off with Hachi's signature, "Nagasaki no Hito". I thought it was a pretty good way to begin the trip since it sounds rather bright while describing the features of the city, like the sotetsu (Japanese sago palm), ishi-datami (cobblestone paths), the minato machi (port town), Oranda-zaka (Hollander Slope), etc. It fit the only day when the weather was clear and we were able to take a stroll down the port. We did see sotetsu. Many sotetsu. Seeing palm trees thriving in winter was a first for me.
Akira Nakai, Takahashi Katsu & Coloratino -- Shianbashi Blues (思案橋ブルース)
After our walk, we headed to a place featured in one of my favourite mood kayo songs and karaoke go-to's, Shianbashi. It's basically a watering hole with a number of Chinese joints and bars. Kinda seedy, but not unexpected, considering it's a mood kayo staple. The wistfulness conveyed by lead vocalist Nakai's high tenor in the original "Shianbashi Blues" fits perfectly in the warm, neon-lit streets of Shianbashi, but more so when it's raining... which would come later...
We then adjourned to Tsuruchan, a Nagasaki institution. This more-than-a-century-old kissaten is renowned for a Nagasaki B-grade gourmet food, Toruko raisu (Turkish rice). I don't think there's anything Turkish about it, but to say that it was hearty was an understatement: large servings of double carbs (napolitan spaghetti plus rice pilaf) and a slab of tonkatsu with gravy. Never had a, "Gochisousan" been more appropriate after I polished off everything. Mom would later remark that she'd never seen me eat that much carbs in one sitting before. Neither have I, mother.
Mae-Kiyo and the Cool Five finally make their appearance! Yes, I had saved the Nagasaki-made group's iconic hit for Day 2 of our trip because that's when the rain came. A lot of it. I don't like rain, but I took it as an opportunity to experience what most Nagasaki songs feature. Also, there's just a warm feeling when you hear one of your beloved singers' songs that first got you into him at the place he came from.
Later in the day, mother and I finally found and visited Glover Garden. Besides the fact that this residence of the titular Scottish businessman is a famed historical spot in Nagasaki, we wanted to go up there because the Glover house was often used in extremely cheesy and cringe-worthy karaoke videos from the 1970s and 80s, some featuring Mae-Kiyo and his cronies. I still cannot bear to rewatch some of those videos because I die of secondhand cringe every time. It was a beautiful place, however, with an amazing view of the bay and city, especially in the evening. We also did the tourist thing of having castella and tea at a cafe on the premises. Castella is... cake. That's all I can say. But its worth got elevated because I was cold, drenched, and hungry.
Dick Mine & Sendaka Fujiwara -- Nagasaki Elegy (長崎エレジー)
Before ending our day a Glover Garden, we first began the day going uphill. Up Oranda-zaka and exploring the old grounds of a Catholic/Christian girls' school (I forgot what it was called). In the rain. Oranda-zaka and the surrounding slopes were really steep and lined with cobblestone, so the anxiety from trying to slide down the hill was palpable. Oura Cathedral was the main checkpoint in mind. It was one of the well-known churches from the persecution days and I believe where Christianity was "rediscovered" in Japan once the hunt was over. Rather poignant, especially under the grey skies, light rain, and with Mother Mary watching over the town from up a hill. So, I thought "Nagasaki Elegy" was fitting with its references to Catholicism and a fine drizzle. Also, this song was constantly running through my head throughout my time in Nagasaki.
On the note of poignant, nothing was more so than the Nagasaki Peace Park and Ground Zero for the atomic bomb. It was chilling to read survivors' accounts and to imagine what it must've been like then and there. And yet, it was tranquil and there was a sense of hopefulness that radiated from tributes to the victims of the devastation and monuments symbolizing the strive for peace. One of these sculptures was the Nagasaki no Kane (Bell of Nagasaki). According to the J-Wiki, it was built in 1977 in memory of military factory workers, many of whom were school students, who perished when the bomb hit a nearby factory.
Fujiyama's solemn "Nagasaki no Kane", though only related to the structure by name, quite aptly represents the gravity of this place. I feel it does this through the initial hopelessness that morphs into strength to carry on upon hearing the bells of the Nagasaki cathedrals toll in each stanza. An emotional song to fit such a significant place.
Uchiyamada Hiroshi & The Cool Five -- Omoikiri Bashi (思い切り橋)
On a lighter note, Chinatown and Megane Bashi (Spectacles Bridge) were next on the itinerary. Compared to Yokohama's Chinatown, Nagasaki's felt more... real? Less kitschy. There was a section that you could easily tell was geared towards tourists, but outside that bubble was a much larger, proper local suburb/settlement dotted with old Chinese Buddhist temples and a Hokkien clan association. Connecting Chinatown to other parts of town were bridges. Many bridges. That's not to be unexpected since the city is by the coast with many waterways. And one of the most iconic bridges is the Megane Bashi, a cobblestone bridge with two perfect arches that stretches over a tiny section of the Nakashima river. I believe it's Japan's oldest surviving arched bridge, but I could be wrong. It was very picturesque, especially when you see its reflection on the surface of the water.
I don't know any kayo that feature this bridge specifically but as an ode to the many ancient bridges in the area, I bring another Cool Five tune, "Omoikiri Bashi". A very dramatic and jaunty number with Mae-Kiyo's recognizable anguished cries.
Along the uber-long, more than a-century-old shopping street that follows the Nakashima river, my eyes picked up an old, rather Chinese-style sundries store. It oozed early Showa-era vibes, but what stole my attention was a pile of pomelos inside. Despite the freezing rain, I couldn't help but smile because the very first Nagasaki-themed kayo I'd heard came to mind, Obata's cheerful "Nagasaki no Zabon Uri". It wasn't on one of the steep inclines of the city, the store was empty, and I don't even think pomelos were actually much of a thing in Nagasaki despite the Chinese settlement, but it was just a happy little coincidence to add to my Nagasaki song experience.
Yuri Akemi -- Nagasaki Monogatari (長崎物語)
On our final day before heading off to the airport, we checked out Dejima, where the Dutch settlers were confined during Tokugawa's reign in an attempt to stave off religious influence. It had been made into a sort of open-air museum with preserved Dutch-style buildings. "Nagasaki Monogatari" is one such song that gives a shout-out to the little island, among other Nagasaki tropes while telling the tragic story of one Jagatara Oharu (じゃがたらお春).
Shizuo Higuchi -- Nagasaki Chanson (長崎シャンソン)
Ah, yes, traditional Japanese cuisine
Rounding off the trip was lunch at a family grill restaurant where Mom and I tried the Sasebo burger, the taberu milkshake (a milkshake you eat, not drink), and the lemon steak. It was pretty decent fare, with the latter being more delicious than it sounds. On the way back, I had Higuchi's exotic and jiving "Nagasaki Chanson" in my ears. Having enjoyed my time in the city, even with the rain, I think I can agree with the following welcoming lines from this ode to the port city:
Batten Nagasaki yume no machi
Mimase yokatokko yorimasse
Batten Nagasaki yume no machi yume no machi
"Batten" roughly translates to something like "although" or "but" in the Kyushu dialect, and this last bit of the last stanza proudly claims something like, "Nagasaki, city of dreams! Come on over, it's fabulous!" Couldn't have put it better myself. For that matter, it is indeed also an "uta no machi" (city of music), considering I was able to make a whole list out of just some kayo that are Nagasaki-themed.
If you do have the opportunity to visit Kyushu, perhaps give Nagasaki a visit. It's great if you're a foodie and/or a history and culture buff. If I have the opportunity, I would love to go back. There's just so much more of the city and prefecture to see. Next stop, Sasebo, Saikai, and the "Kaeri Bune" (かえり船) music plaque.
On a final note, since Mae-Kiyo is a Nagasaki native (Sasebo city), he serves as a mascot/spokesman for the local police force's fight against fraud and other related crimes. Ever since I spotted my first Mae-Kiyo anti-crime poster, I took it upon myself to do a "Mae-Kiyo Sagashi" (Spot the Mae-Kiyo) and try to find at least one picture of the pillar man a day. I was more or less successful, and it culminated in the ultimate piece: Mae-Kiyo on the cover of the "Karaoke Fan" magazine. I'd waited an eternity for him to be on any magazine cover, and it just so happened that his long-awaited cover appearance coincided with my trip to Nagasaki :).
I was looking around for kayo for the earlier Elton John-based ROY article today and discovered that I had yet to cover this particular song by the late Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）.
For folks who didn't know Saijo all that well, the usual song that will come to mind is his anthemic cover of "YMCA" from 1979, but earlier in his career, he was also an aidoru who belted out tunes with a red and bloody heart on his sleeve; sorry, I don't mean to make that sound like a horror movie, though. What I'm saying is that Hideki did have his moment of singing ardent and anguished love songs when he first started out in the early 1970s.
"Chigireta Ai" (Tattered Love) was most likely the first of those songs. Released in September 1973, it was written by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composed/arranged by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）as a story passionately recorded by Saijo about a couple very much in love with each other but also up against a cruel world together. Listening to Hideki sing his heart out, it reminded me of his later hits, "Kizudarake no Lola"（傷だらけのローラ）and "Hageshii Koi" (激しい恋).
The singer's 6th single scored a number of firsts: it was his first No. 1 hit on Oricon, staying at the top for four weeks straight, it was the first hit for the combo of Yasui and Makaino, and it earned Saijo his first Best Performance prize at the Japan Record Awards that year. However, it would be another dozen months before he got onto the Kohaku Utagassen for the first time. "Chigereta Ai" ended the year as the 15th-ranked single for 1973 and is one of the two title tracks on his October 1973 album "Exciting Hideki ~ Chigireta Ai/Jounetsu no Arashi"（エキサイティング秀樹 - ちぎれた愛/情熱の嵐）.
I've had a fair number of Judy & Mary songs included onto the blog including "Brand New Wave Upper Ground", but I realized that the only YUKI tune that I've had up in the nearly eleven-year history of KKP is "JOY" from 2005. And it certainly deserves to be up there because it is such a quirkily marvelous solo single for the vocalist of J&M.
Well, the second song by YUKI goes up here and it is "Prism" which was actually her 2nd solo single from March 2002. Written by the singer, it was composed by Andy Sturmer of the rock band Jellyfish who also helped out Puffy Amiyumi at one point. According to the J-Wiki article on the song, YUKI's lyrics reflect the hopes and fears of her going solo as well as her gratitude to her fellow band members following the band's breakup in 2001. In addition to her wonderful vocals, there is some great Elton John-esque piano accompanying her and the overall melody is wonderfully wistful.
The video of YUKI as a mysterious sprite has a rather environmental feeling and the besuited company worker getting all sorts of dirt heaped onto him in the forest is played by actor Hidetoshi Nishijima（西島秀俊）. Nishijima would later star in 2021's"Drive My Car" which got an Oscar last year for Best International Feature Film.
"Prism" peaked at No. 11 on Oricon while ranking in at No. 160 on the yearly rankings. The song eventually earned YUKI her first invitation onto NHK's Kohaku Utagassen in 2012 (no error with that year, by the way). It also exists on her first solo album"Prismic" which was released in March 2002, getting as high as No. 3 and becoming the 65th-ranked album of the year.
Ahhh...there's nothing like a trailer for an upcoming blockbuster to bring back an old pop chestnut. Yup, "Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania" is due to come out next month and I'm predicting that not all of the Pym-Lang clan are going to come out alive. I'm just hoping that Phase 5 is off to a better start than what Phase 4 brought...I was a bit disappointed last year.
In any case, I ought to get to this week's Reminiscings of Youth and it is this song that was winding through the trailer. I've known Elton John's September 1973 (when it was released in the UK) masterpiece "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" since I was a kid with the family radio but back then, I hadn't been paying attention to the lyrics but to the music and especially the famous chorus that I've pathetically tried to emulate in text above to start things off.
Elton John even managed to infiltrate my thick head at the time since he was so over-the-top in his fashion, including his glasses, whenever I saw him on telly, but it would be a while before I connected him and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". I didn't even know the title for the song for several years. Of course, I was scratching my head at why this elegant ballad was making this reference to "The Wizard of Oz", the Judy Garland fantasy that we traditionally watched on Saturday nights on CBS whenever a major holiday was upon us. Eventually, I realized that the John-Taupin creation was all about remembering and reappreciating where one came from. It's something that I've gotten to understand in the last few years, too.
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" hit No. 1 on Canada's RPM Top Single charts while it reached No. 2 in the United States. The song is a good choice for the "Quantumania" trailer as the Pyms and the Langs enter a microversal Oz not by choice and try to get home.
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