Kaoru Sudo -- Hello Again (Side A)

 

When I bought Kaoru Sudo's（須藤薫）"Hello Again" album years ago, I had thought for some reason that it was a BEST compilation. For a lack of a better word, the cover looked like a BEST: Sudo looking all wistful and content in black-and-white. But nope. It is actually an original album (her 6th) that was first released in February 1987. Several weeks ago, I gave my two-part writeup on her previous album "DROPS" from November 1983 and so I've decided to provide some insight into "Hello Again" which basically continues Sudo's tradition of smooth and sleek pop and AOR.

Track 1 is the brief intro and title track "Hello Again". Sounding like a torch song off the soundtrack of a frothy 1950s Hollywood romance flick, this was written and composed by Sudo's good friend Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）with arrangement by Seiichi Kyoda（京田誠一）.

The first full-fledged song is "Saikai no Airline"（再会のエアライン...Meeting Again on the Airline）, a breezy AOR number about a budding romance in the air thanks to a fortuitous re-encounter although knowing that it is a Japanese pop song, I doubt that the couple will be joining the Mile High Club. With lyrics by Norie Kanzawa（神沢礼江）and composed by Yoichi Shimada（嶋田陽一）, I opted for a video featuring Sudo in performance since I wanted to see her in the flesh so to speak and she demonstrates some great vocals.

"Sakamichi wa Pearl Iro"（坂道はパール色...The Pearly Slope） would be notable simply for the fact that its lyrics were provided by none other than Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう）. Yes, that Seizo Watase, the creator of the manga "Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）and all of those City Pop-friendly illustrations including those on the calendar that I possess on my wall. However, the song itself is a lovely if bittersweet ballad about a woman bumping into an old flame in a seaside resort; her hair and makeup may have changed but that pearl earring that she got from him is still solidly in her earlobe. Keizo Hamada（浜田啓造）came up with the wistful melody with Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生） arranging everything.

I think that my favourite track on Side A of "Hello Again" will be a flip between "Sakamichi wa Pearl Iro" and this one, "Machikado no Antoinette"（街角のアントワネット...Street Corner Antoinette）. Perhaps it's because that I may actually have a very soft spot for French pop...would explain my love for Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）early 1980s material. Anyways, Sudo keeps her voice in the higher and flightier register as she and it trip the light fantastic over Hiroko Hosoda's（細田博子）lyrics (and Paris maybe) regarding the titular Antoinette, who has quite the reputation in her neighbourhood. Shimada, who came up with the AOR "Saikai no Airline" above, did the Gallic melodic weaving for "Machikado no Antoinette" with both he and Kyoda handling the arrangement.

There's some tropical and some doo-wop in the unusual but upbeat "Drop Handle"（ドロップ・ハンドル）with lyricist Shun Taguchi（田口俊）handling the story of a woman out for a jog. Although the title does pop up in the song, I don't know how it fits into the morning run; maybe she's left a note on the drop handle for the door. Hamada and Mizutani once again take care of melody and arrangement.

Side A finishes up with "Onai Doshi no Koi"（同い年の恋...Love at the Same Age）. If this sounds familiar, the song is another version of "Hello Again" which begins the side. The composition is by Sugi but this time, different lyrics are provided by Taguchi although the general theme is still the same: a couple staying together through the thick and thin of marriage. It's a wonder that this hadn't been adopted as a commercial jingle for an anniversary ring ad. "Onai Doshi no Koi" has more of a conventional pop sound compared to its twin at the beginning.

Side B will be next Tuesday.