Atsuko Nina -- Wonderland Yuuyami City（Wonderland 夕闇 City）

 

Remembering that I was in the Tokyo area as a resident and employee rather than as a tourist, it's easy to forget that the megalopolis was quite the town for fun and frivolity...provided that I had enough saved from my monthly pay packet. Not the easiest thing to do as an English conversation teacher but I did have my opportunities to paint the town red...usually around restaurants and karaoke boxes. Exclusive clubs and French restaurants? Not so much (though I did partake on the rare occasion).

Maybe for those in a higher income tax bracket, a song like this might be more reflective. "Wonderland Yuuyami City" (Wonderland Twilight City) is a track from Atsuko Nina's（二名敦子）1986 5th album "him". As with a number of other City Pop tunes from the latter half of the 1980s, there is that brassy sense of caviar-and-champagne fragrance infused into the arrangement.

City Pop fans will positively be snapping their fingers and getting that urge to strut down Chuo Douri in Tokyo as they listen to this one. Shun Taguchi（田口俊）provided the lyrics but Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）, who I usually associated with more languid oldies pop compositions, really puts in the feeling of sharp suits, fine dresses, sports cars and luxurious dining in the Bubble Era. Perhaps I can find more of Sugi's more metropolitan-minded masterpieces sometime down the line.