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.
This was also the case with his debut song "Denwa shite mo"（電話しても）, but there are many instances in Kazuhito Murata's（村田和人）melodies which evoke that particular bittersweetness of youth. Furthermore, when Yoshihiko Ando's（安藤芳彦）excellent lyrics expressing that feeling are laid down, the songs truly shine. "Lady September" is one of those songs representing the duo's early works, and it splendidly illustrates the passing summer and the loneliness present at the end of one love that happened that summer.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised"(2020).
Some days ago, I received a comment under the article for singer-songwriter Miki Hyodo's（兵藤未来）1979 song, "GOODBYE DOCTOR", referring me to a B-side from her debut single a couple of years earlier.
Therefore, I've decided to kill two birds with one stone and cover both sides of her first release from 1977. The A-side is "Tonde Kita Yume" (A Dream That Flew In) is a pleasantly gooshy song for sunset written and composed by Hyodo. The singer sounds a bit tipsy and happy as she sounds as if she's a permanent resident of Margaritaville. The tipsiness is perfectly fine though since the song is as sweet and intoxicating as a tall glass of Long Island Iced Tea, and there's a really nice guitar solo along with the Fender Rhodes.
Now, the B-side "Maverick" has nothing to down with the American Western TV show of the 1960s or the main character on "Top Gun" or even the little-known mutant character on "X-Men". In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of a song that had the title of "Maverick" before. This time, while Hyodo provided the lyrics once more, the melody was spun by Sakae Fukamachi（深町栄）and it includes the funky wah-wah guitar although the Margaritaville vibes are still there. However, the feeling this time is more hot afternoon at the shopping mall in the resort town.
There's perhaps a saying "Band members that enjoy themselves well, play well". Well, no, that's not a particularly smoothly-structured aphorism, but it seems to describe the legendary fusion band Casiopea, at least from the comments I've seen under the above video. And it's good to see them back here on the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" again because it's been almost a year since they've shown up.
Indeed, the guys are jamming like crazy with their song "Galactic Funk" which was a track on their September 1981 album "Cross Point". Concocted by Casiopea member Issei Noro（野呂一生）, the funk may reach the galactic edge someday, especially with the spaciness of that one keyboard, but for now, I'm happy that it is down to earth and strutworthy. Of course, all you bass addicts will love the intro.
Well, this article is a continuation of the rainy day theme from Kunio Muramatsu's（村松邦男）"Rainy Day" and it only takes one extra word to complete this Kaoru Sudo（須藤薫）ballad"Rainy Day Hello".
Sudo was known as a singer who loved to give her own renditions of happy-go-lucky 50s/60s girl pop back in the day, but with "Rainy Day Hello", which is a track on her April 1982 3rd album, "Amazing Toys", the arrangement by Masamichi Sugi and Masastaka Matsutoya（杉真理・松任谷正隆）is contemporary pop/AOR balladry aside from a familiar vocal chorus behind her. It's probably not a tune that a freshly brokenhearted person would want to hear (or maybe he/she would😕) but it's a beautifully put-together song by Sugi in terms of words and music about a woman remembering how she met that wonderful man one rainy day only for a lie to bring the world crashing down and un-meeting that man on another rainy day. It's been called one of Sudo's best songs and I can believe it.
For some of that 50s/60s girl pop sound, try Sudo's track mate on "Amazing Toys", "Namida no Step"（涙のステップ）. And indeed, this will be another Yutaka Kimura Talks song.
Well, I was going for a "My Neighbour Totoro" style of thing when I asked Bing to make the iconic scene from that Studio Ghibli movie, but it didn't quite come out that way. However, I figure that if I did obtain a good likeness of that shot, I may have had Hayao Miyazaki and his legal team unleashing both Totoro and Yubaba on my person.
Anyways, no heavy rain here in the Greater Toronto Area, but I wanted to spotlight a future Yutaka Kimura Speaks entry and that would be Kunio Muramatsu's（村松邦男）"Rainy Day". A track from his January 1985 album"Roman", it was written and composed by the singer-songwriter. It contains a nice combination of synthesizer and twangy guitar along with Muramatsu's floaty delivery, and despite the inclement weather, it feels quite refreshing and uplifting...kinda like how Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico look above and below. I don't think it quite qualifies as a City Pop tune but it makes for a very pleasant pop song ride.
Holly Cole has graced the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" before when I introduced her via her seasonal "The Christmas Blues" which she released back in 1989. In fact, it was through a ROY article that she got through and once again, I'm giving her the same treatment here and now.
As I said in that article, in terms of Canadian jazz singers, before Michael Bublé and before Diana Krall, there was Holly Cole. I mentioned there that I had been back in Toronto on vacation during my time on the JET Programme, and most likely through Canada's MuchMusic video channel, I'd seen Cole for the first time through a music video whose song title I couldn't remember at the time.
Well, I remember now. I mean, I certainly remember the video with Cole looking like the ultimate torch song singer in a dramatically black strapless gown on a dimly-lit soundstage as she cooed the song into our ears while backed up by a classy combination of pianist and wood bassist. That song was "Talk to Me, Baby" which was originally written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer and composed by Bobby Dolan back in 1964 for the Broadway musical "Foxy". Cole's sultrier version was recorded onto her 1st full album"Girl Talk" from 1990.
Also, listen to Mercer himself take on his creation. His take has a bit more of the swing orchestra behind him.
Well, since only a year was given for the release of Cole's "Girl Talk", let's show the usual Japanese comparison with a few of the winners at that year's Japan Record Awards -- Pop/Rock Division.
Well, as Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico are showing up above, "Kayo Kyoku Plus" is celebrating its 13th birthday today, so I gather that the blog might be showing signs of teenage rebelliousness in the years to come. As was the case last year, I've opted to show off any other Japanese singers who are celebrating their birthday on January 30th, too.
(1948) Sumio Akutagawa of Toi et Moi -- Dare mo Inai Umi (誰もいない海）
Last week, I provided Part 1 to Chisato Moritaka's（森高千里）November 1992 7th original album, "Pepperland"（ペパーランド）. As I mentioned there, this had been an album that stayed up on my shelves for the longest time after first listening to it and just finding it a little too outré for my impressions of Moritaka back then. However, after many years, I've decided to give it another go and I'm more open to it now. Let's go with Part 2, then, shall we?
Track 6, and perhaps this could have been the beginning song to Side B if an LP version of "Pepperland" had been released, is "Ame no Asa"（雨の朝...Rainy Morning）. Composed by Yasuaki Maejima（前嶋康明）of the band Spick & Span, he's also accompanying Moritaka's drumming with his Fender Rhodes and synthesizer according to the liner notes. It's a familiar track to me so I've probably put it into one of my old mixtapes and it's the funkiest and grooviest track on the album, although the lyrical content is such that you want to give the lass in the story a great big hug. She is not having a good morning as she has to get ready for another day of the corporate grind while watching a downpour outside her apartment.
That lass probably wishes she were in the story of Track 7, "Tokonatsu no Paradise"（常夏のパラダイス）, (and maybe she is), as Chisato sings about being as happy as one can be after a not-so-great previous year. Written by Moritaka (as she did for all of the tracks) and composed by Toshiaki Matsumoto（松本俊明）, I think the original version on "Pepperland" had that Beatles-y sound but the remake above also has incorporated some Okinawan feelings. One of the other things that I like about this one is Chisato's "Ha~i!" in the chorus.
"U-Turn ~ Wagaya"（Uターン (我が家)...My Home） has a distinctly Japanese summer theme as someone is returning by train to the old hometown for a long-awaited visit. That someone can look forward to seeing mountains and rivers and having Mom's home cooking once again. Chisato's piano pretty much lays it out: this is one swaying nostalgic and welcome trip home. Yuichi Takahashi（高橋諭一）, who has also provided the melodies for some of the earlier tracks, is back here on music.
The next track on the album is "Gokigen na Asa"（ごきげんな朝）which I actually posted almost a decade ago as this jangly tribute to the band Shocking Blue. So have a look at it there through the link and then we go to "Rock Alarm Clock" which, like "Ame no Asa", is another work-related tune. This time though, the young lady is making a very energetic effort to get to work on time after her alarm clock lets her down, and in all likelihood, not for the first time. The vocalist and leader of the rock band Carnation, Masataro Naoe（直枝政太郎）, was responsible for the melody.
The final track is the sad and perhaps reflective-of-the-times song "Aoi Umi"（青い海）. Composed by Hiroyoshi Matsuo（松尾弘良）in a deceptively cheerful way, it's the story of a widowed man in his mid-sixties owning a bookstore in his seaside town. His daughter has moved away due to marriage to probably the big city. He goes and visits her but doesn't seem to enjoy the big city life and finds the travel arduous to the point that he may not make a second visit. By the end of the song, the bookstore has been torn down to become a parking lot. Meanwhile, the sea remains blue. 😭 I think I saw this scene play out in yesterday's episode of NHK's current morning serial drama "Omusubi"（おむすび）.
Once again, as was the case with Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）"Crimson", I've found redemption in Moritaka's "Pepperland" as an album where the singer-songwriter-musician has decided to make a pivot in her style from the synth dance pop where she first made her name to a more grounded form of arrangement. And wiser people than me discovered this far earlier since the album hit the charts at No. 5.
As the byline says, Happy Chinese New Year or Gong Xi Fa Cai! (If I have this wrong, please correct me.) And indeed, it is the Year of the Snake whose titular animal is supposed to bring wisdom, transformation, calmness and creativity. I can only hope that this is really true. Within my city, I've got a number of friends who are probably celebrating with their families so I wish them well on this day.
In any case, I don't quite believe that up to now, I haven't had an article commemorating Chinese New Year but I will rectify that now. I had initially thought about putting up songs which have had something to do with Chinese places or culture, but I've now decided to post songs by singers who have come from places such as Hong Kong and Taiwan to provide hits within the kayo kyoku world.
Back in June last year, I posted up an article for the song "Dr. Yellow"（Dr.イエロー）by MoJo on hearing the announcement that the famous and beloved specialized train for diagnostics on the Bullet Trains was going to be retired over the next few years. However, when I watched NHK news this morning, it looks like JR Central's Dr. Yellow had its final run today (the one belonging to JR West will be retired in 2027).
Not surprisingly, there were huge billowing masses of fans at the final stop and any place where photographers could get a glimpse and shot of the yellow Shinkansen to say goodbye. On the NHK report, there was even a focus on one photographer who had become friends of a family whose young son had been suffering from leukemia. The photographer was able to get one final shot of Dr. Yellow in tribute to the boy who had passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 11.
I was thinking of paying a further tribute to Dr. Yellow but outside of the MoJo song, there doesn't seem to be any other kayo devoted to the train. Therefore, I've decided to put up an Author's Pick on providing songs of gratitude as I'm sure that a lot of the fans have their feelings of thanks toward the train.
Along with the horror-comedy movie "The Substance" which is up for a Best Movie Oscar, the other movie that has stuck in my head all these months since the Toronto International Film Festival back in September has been "Nightbitch" starring Amy Adams as a mother who feels that she may indeed be turning into a dog. It might be a Disney movie (distributed by Searchlight Pictures) but I have a feeling that it's not quite in the same tone as those Kurt Russell pics such as "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes".
In any case, I was reminded of that movie once I came upon this song by singer-songwriter Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）, "I am a Dog" for somewhat obvious reasons. A track from Yano's June 1993 album"Love Is Here", it's another appealingly loopy entry by the longtime New York City resident. I couldn't find the lyrics but I take it that it's all about the life of a dog. I am convinced though that this is truly a Yano song from the usual happy toe-dancing style in which she delivers her words so delectably and with her husband Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）handling the string arrangement, there is something in the overall arrangement that pretty much screams "The Professor At Work Here!". I especially love the way that the song ends.
Just before Christmas, I put up a Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）song titled "Doyoubi no Yoru wa Haneda ni Kuru no"（土曜の夜は羽田に来るの）, one of many songs in the kayo kyoku oeuvre that talk of romance won and lost (usually the latter) at the airport. Well, this one here has the same theme but it's from a different time and style.
Of course, Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）are one of the premier Mood Kayo groups and with just their second single, they presented the melancholy "Yogiri no Air Terminal" (Night Fog Airport). Just gotta have that night fog rolling in for extra ambience. Not surprisingly, there is another final meeting of a couple before departing from each other forever although the airport in question is not specifically identified.
Written by Takao Saeki（佐伯孝夫）and composed by Tadashi Yoshida（吉田正）, the Mahina Stars are also joined by a couple of female singers, Ukiko Kagurazaka（神楽坂浮子）and Kaoru Kagurazaka（神楽坂かおる）. Despite the identical family names, I'm not 100% sure whether the ladies are indeed sisters although Ukiko is listed on J-Wiki as being a geisha-turned-singer, much like Mamechiyo（豆千代）as mentioned in Noelle's recent article. With all the voices together and the steel pedal guitar, there is very much a mournful tone in store for listeners. "Yogiri no Air Terminal" was actually the first song that the Mahina Stars sang on the Kohaku Utagassen in their 10-appearance history on NHK's New Year's Eve special ranging from 1959 to 1989.
Looks like 80s hairdo live-action Kayo Grace Kyoku is spending an ennui-laden night at a watering hole. And by the looks of those huge bottles of liquor, the ennui will be non-stop.
Well, I may have just the song for her and us Mood Kayo fans. It's "Mélancolie" by Kazuko Matsuo（松尾和子）, and the arrangement follows that melancholy feeling with a bit of Latin rolled in for good measure. I couldn't find out definitively but it may have been released in 1960 from what I could track down via Yahoo Japan.
Matsuo's "Mélancolie" is a cover of the original 1948 song recorded by Swiss actor and singer Pierre Dudan. It was written by him and composed by Alain Romans, and the original has more of a nocturnal jazzier vibe. The Japanese lyrics for Matsuo's version were provided by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）.
When I think of 1990s singers with a certain je ne sais quoi, distinct style and a whispery kittenish voice, my mind would usually go to Kahimi Karie（カヒミ・カリィ）and her particularly Gallic brand of Shibuya-kei.
Recently though, I came across this singer who's been around since 1991 going by the name of POiSON GiRL FRiEND, and I think she may now be joining those above thoughts as the second singer. But in her case, I get more of a British vibe from her for some reason.
Noriko Sekiguchi or nOrikO released her first album as a major act, "Melting Moment", in 1992 and one of the tracks is "Hardly Ever Smile Before You". On her Wikipedia page, she's got a lot of genres attached to her: dream pop, synth-pop, trip hop, techno, ambient, French pop and dance-pop, and so with this particular moody ballad, I can pick up on the dream pop, ambient and perhaps some synth. At the same time, my ears also detect some of the Pet Shop Boys' balladry and "The Captain of Her Heart" by Double...songs that simply allure listeners into that twilight zone of pondering the meaning of life. Perhaps it also reflects that album title of "Melting Moment"...some Dali instances. As well, with those strings in there, I couldn't but feel that this could have been a new form of Fashion Music.
YouTuber Fond/Sound was able to get an interview with POiSON GiRL FRiEND back in June 2018, so feel free to get some more insights from her about her career and music. Also, this is merely a personal observation but what made me stop on the top YouTube video for "Hardly Ever Smile Without You" was the fact that the album cover featuring her visage has her looking distinctly Akina Nakamori-like. Wowzers!
For those viewers of anime from way back, there was the 1980s "Miyuki"（みゆき）starring a pre-aidoru Yoko Oginome（荻野目洋子）as the main character. As well, the show was also well known for folk-pop duo H2O's contributions to the theme songs with the opener "10% no Ame Yohou" (１０％の雨予報）and then the two ending themes "Omoide ga Ippai"（思い出がいっぱい）and "Goodbye Season"（Goodbye シーズン）. "Omoide ga Ippai" has gone on to become one of the evergreen representatives of graduation-themed tunes.
Well, in between the two H2O enders, there was a second ending theme which showed up on the TV screen for a period of several weeks. Titled "Summer Holiday", this was sung by Michiko Kawai（河合美智子） as a seasonally-reflective romantic number and its old-fashioned standard-style arrangement had me thinking of early Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）and Kaoru Sudo（須藤薫）. Thanks to Masahiko Yoshida's（吉田雅彦）melody and Katsu Hoshi's（星勝）arrangement, it's so Beach-Blanket-Bingo tenderhearted that I can sink a fork into the song and take out slices. Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里綴）was responsible for the lyrics, and for Kawai, this was her 2nd single from July 1983.
Back in September, I put up this band onto the blog for the first time. never young beach struck me via their 2020 "Yasashii Mama de"（やさしいままで）as if the legendary early 1970s band Happy End had come back and decided to go the shoegaze route.
Well, I'm even more convinced of that now. In their 4th album from May 2019,"Story", I have their track "Itsumo Ame" (Always Raining) which was created by vocalist/guitarist Yuuma Abe（安部勇磨）. His strumming guitar and then what follows in the arrangement sounds just perfect for a relaxing sitdown on the outside porch while the precipitation is coming down. As for the lyrics, they might be somewhat existential since a couple may be in existence...or not. But I'll let you link over to the translation at Musixmatch.
Considering that he died at such a young age (40 years old), I think that a lot of his fans can only wonder now what the late actor Yusaku Matsuda（松田優作）could have further achieved in Japan and perhaps even in Hollywood (beyond "Black Rain"). His characteristic role and appearance as the lone wolf avenger has passed even onto anime and manga characters such as Kenshiro from "Fist of the North Star" and Spike Spiegel from "Cowboy Be-Bop".
I discovered that he was once in a 1979 crime film titled "Yomigaeru Kinrou"（蘇る金狼）with him playing a quiet accountant by day and a robber-assassin by night. As usual, he had that huge puff of locks while sporting a natty suit.
For such a lone wolf, the perfect theme song was created. "Yomigaeru Kinrou no Tehma"(The Theme of "The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf") was released as the late Yoko Maeno's（前野曜子）4th single in July 1979. A bluesy folk rock ballad, it was written by Hiroko Asano（浅野裕子）and composed by Casey Rankin of the band SHOGUN. The theme song seems to fit around Matsuda's Tetsuya Asakura just like a dirty trench coat. The thick sounds coming from the guitar work some wonders here.
Milk and I have been together for a very long time. Even with the situation that a lot of Asians tend to not be able to drink the stuff due to lactose intolerance, I've never had that problem. Although the variety I drink here has been 1%, the milk that I used to drink back in Japan was a fair bit creamier...at least over 4%. I can only imagine the Japanese drinking 1% here and thinking that it was white water.
Now, Noelle Tham has been the go-to person on KKP for the last several years when it comes to Showa Era singer Tadaharu Nakano（中野忠晴）, although I got the ball rolling with his rendition of "Rokko Oroshi"（六甲おろし）, the fight song for the Hanshin Tigers. And it was just a few days ago that Noelle posted her article on the duet between Nakano and Mamechiyo (豆千代), "Koya wo Yuku" (曠野を行く).
Well, just out of curiosity, I threw in Nakano's name into YouTube and found this jaunty little number. Tadaharu Nakano and Rhythm Boys had sung "Yama no Ninkimono" (The Favourite on the Mountain) back in 1934 as this happy-go-lucky yodeling tune about a beloved dairy farm or a milk maid. That's quite the higher profile for the drink considering that outside of Hokkaido back in the day, I didn't think milk was all that big a deal.
"Yama no Ninkimono" was a cover of British singer-songwriter Leslie Sarony's 1930 "The Alpine Milkman". It's the first time I've heard yodeling being used for innuendo in those original lyrics.
It goes without saying that Kengo Kurozumi（黒住憲五）is absolutely great with the medium-tempo songs. Especially this song,"Lusia". It feels just like a gentle sea breeze soothing the heart of anyone who has tired of the urban lifestyle. Kurozumi's refreshing vocals along with the peaceful mood evoked in the lyrics and the refined arrangement by Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）have really grabbed me so there is nothing else left to say.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised"(2020).
It's been a while since I posted a Kumiko Hara（原久美子）song onto the blog. In fact, the last one was "Sentimental Balance"（狂ってるハカリ）back in 2022 from her 1981 album"Unhappy Birthday".
The kiddie-like yells of "paradise, paradise" haven't quite sold themselves onto me but the rest of "Paradise", another track on "Unhappy Birthday", is fine by me. Written by Arisu Sato（佐藤ありす）and composed by Hara herself, it's quite the favorable slow funk and soul that makes me think of the early 1970s rather than the early 1980s. Plus, Hara's vocals remind me a fair bit of the voice of Machiko Watanabe（渡辺真知子）. It's a pleasant Friday night tune to be heard while sipping that cocktail at home...although perhaps the volume could be toned down whenever "paradise, paradise" gets thrown out there.
I guess that I should have added the label Kanebo Cosmetics to the Labels because so many of the songs noted here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" have ended up as campaign music for the company's commercials.
But interestingly enough, this particular song hasn't been included in the video compilation at the very top. Apparently, this November 1984 22nd single by the vocal trio Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）,"Hoshi Geshou Halley"(Star Make-Up Halley) was used by Kanebo but I haven't been able to find any sign of a commercial associated with the melancholy number on YouTube.
However, there is an anime short that has acted as the official music video for "Hoshi Geshou Halley" which is a bit on the bizarre side. It not only has the trio in anime and live-action form but it stars a time-displaced baby dinosaur missing his family dearly while he's struggling to figure out modern-day Tokyo. But no worries...Hi-Fi Set make like Doctor Who and set things back to normal although there is an Urashima Taro plot twist at the end.
As for the song itself, "Hoshi Geshou Halley" has a star list of songwriters: lyricist Shun Taguchi（田口俊）, composer Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）and arranger Akira Inoue（井上鑑）. It leans toward the sophisticated pop territory of City Pop although a lot of the song also has that Gallic feeling that might transport some listeners to the streets of Paris. Not sure how all this managed to intertwine itself with a baby dinosaur but hey, whimsy is Japanese pop culture's middle name.
The neighbourhood of Okachimachi is smack dab between Akihabara and Ueno and there's even a stop for it on the JR Yamanote Line. Since the first few months of my long stay in the Tokyo area involved work at the Ueno branch of NOVA back in the mid-1990s, I got to know the place with its own collection of shops, department stores, restaurants and bars. And indeed, I probably was there on a Friday night either teaching or making merry.
Speaking of which, I found out about this song "Okachimachi Friday Night" by the band First Love is Never Returned. Released as a digital single in August 2023, I think it's a nice brassy Neo-City Pop tune with a good dollop of soul and even better, I'm happy that Okachimachi has a song attached to it. I am hoping that there may be some past kayo kyoku also associated with the neighbourhood.
2023 was also the debut year for FLiNR which is a Hokkaido band consisting of five people. The vocalist is Kazuki Ishida who studied about singing in New York City. Along with other releases, it looks like the group is also having its round of concert dates including a few this year. Their genres are pop, R&B and indies rock.
Welcome once again to Urban Contemporary Friday on KKP. First off, I have to give my kudos to the photographer behind the album cover for keyboardist Mikio Masuda's（益田幹夫）1980 album"Silver Shadow". I will always love shots of the skyscrapers of West Shinjuku, and they take on a new look in that fogginess behind the beaming Masuda himself.
One track on "Silver Shadow" is the manic "Sonic Barrier" which for some reason sounds like something Santana would create and play. It does sound as if a newly-created jet fighter were trying to break Mach 1. For that matter, some of that guitar and chorus work near the end had me even thinking of some of those SHOGUN arrangements. Give thanks to the vocal chorus group Freezer along with Masuda on the keyboards and Kenji Takamizu（高水健司）on bass.
Well, I guess I'm making my way around the spy-fi theme tunes. There's the cool theme for "Mission: Impossible" by Lalo Schifrin and then Monty Norman & John Barry's iconic theme for James Bond. Both franchises I have known since I was a kid and one other similar example of spy drama and adventure that I got to know early in life was "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."(1964-1968) with Robert Vaughan and David McCallum.
The main scene that I've always remembered is the opening when some assassin in shadow bounces out with his gun and tries to shoot down another silhouetted figure but only manages to hit a shield before the agency's best agent, Napoleon Solo, comes out of his own shadow and threateningly shows what he can do with a weapon. All this was done to a dangerous snappy snare drum and timpani combo.
Then comes the theme by Jerry Goldsmith. I knew this guy was prolific but I had no idea that he was responsible for this one and many others, along with the theme for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" years later. But to be honest, I really didn't get a bead on the "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." theme unlike the themes for 007 and "Mission: Impossible" until years later. Now that I have though, I prefer the original from the first season with the continuation of the percussion and the horn section reflecting the heroic and global organization.
Unfortunately, I don't remember much of the episodes throughout the four-season run of the series (there was one scene where Ilya fell into a vat of goop) but I read that the tone varied wildly from season to season which didn't do much for its fortunes. The first season has apparently been seen as the best one due to its straight and serious nature with succeeding seasons getting campier, and I gather that the variations on the theme also reflected this. The second season theme got jazzier in a beatnik way although the timpani returned on occasion.
The third season (and I'm assuming the final season afterwards) had a theme that just went full go-go boots and so I'm not a huge fan of that arrangement.
Some years ago, some enterprising person came up with their own fantasy opening credit sequence for an UNCLE movie starring George Clooney and Orlando Bloom which was quite well done (regrettably, it seems to have been pulled off of YouTube) and the version of the theme song was actually quite good.
Just from good luck, I managed to track it down as the first song of a medley on a compilation called "The Film Music of Jerry Goldsmith" with Goldsmith as the conductor leading the London Symphony Orchestra. Yep, as some commenters have intimated, Goldsmith was probably a better composer than a conductor here, the cues aren't too sharp, the medley at least sounds as if it had been recorded in Carlsbad Caverns, and frankly the cover of the album looks perfect as something to be found in a Wal-Mart bargain basement basket. However, I think this version is just a few rehearsals and tweaks away from being a really nice take on the UNCLE theme song thanks to the thrilling strings and percussion for a contemporary motion picture reboot.
Ah, speaking of which...the 2015 film of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." was entertaining enough with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, but I do wish that the original theme had been brought in.
So, when the original show premiered in September 1964, what were some singles coming out in Japan at around that time?
Earlier this morning, I saw on NHK News that as of tomorrow, facial recognition gates will be set up at Narita Airport for the Skyliner express trains going into Tokyo. One user said that it worked just fine...it only took 10 seconds to get through. Did I hear that correctly? It would take about ten times as long to get through that gate compared to the usual gate?! I will be very interested in hearing the results of this test.
Well, it's been several months since I've posted a Satellite Young tune. I was looking to put up something technopop for a while and with this one, "Moment in Slow Motion", which was the group's November 2018 single, I got something more. I've always liked music which combines a number of genres smartly, and "Moment in Slow Motion" (whose title reminds me of The Art of Noise) has that mix of technopop, City Pop and that retro-futuristic 1980s vibe.
Enjoy the music video below with the wide streets and narrow alleys of nighttime Ueno, Shibuya and Shinjuku. No special effects here. It is as it is displayed.
Just to let you folks know, I'll be doing two Reminiscings of Youth articles today. Nope, there's no national holiday today. Frankly with yesterday's water outage emergency due to a burst pipe, I was too frazzled and tired to put up my usual two articles so I had to settle for one. And then a moment of providence arrived when I heard yesterday about The Doobie Brothers getting into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame this year. I already got my scheduled one which I will do last tonight but I just had to get a Doobie Brothers' song in here today as tribute to Michael McDonald and the band.
Now to be honest, this song really belongs not as a ROY but as a DIA entry...i.e. Discoveries in Adulthood. I really didn't know about "Takin' It to the Streets" until I had bought a BEST compilation of The Doobie Brothers during my time in Japan, and as is the case with many AOR/soft rock bands of the time, the guys are very popular in the country. The song was released as a single on St. Patrick's Day 1976 and was the title track on the band's 6th album which came out a couple of days later.
The Doobie Brothers' go-to song for me will always be "What a Fool Believes" which wouldn't see the light of day for another few years, but "Takin' It to the Streets" is also a fine song in that Doobies' way with even more punch as the lyrics by McDonald seem to encourage listeners to sound the alarm bells to fight injustice of all types. I found out that this was the first Doobie Brothers' song to have former Steely Dan member McDonald as the lead vocalist, replacing the ailing Tom Johnson. I can't even imagine a song by the band without McDonald behind the mike and behind those keyboards, so this is quite the beginning for him and the band.
"Takin' It to the Streets" made it to No. 13 on America's Billboard while in Canada, it went as high as No. 7 on RPM. And I think with this song, the Doobie Brothers took it all the way to the bank. So, what was hitting the Top 10 in Japan on March 15th 1976? Let's take at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 10.
Several years ago, I devoted time and space on this blog to Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）1986"Crimson" album, a release that I had brushed off my shoulder as something that hadn't been to my taste at the time and politely returned it to the shelf to languish for literally decades. However, something inside of me poked at me to try it once again and it got its redemptive story; it was because I hadn't been quite ready for this side of Akina. Of course, the story was also tragic in that when I had played it on my tape player, Jaws proceeded to maul it to death (you can see the gory photo in all its glory on the article via the link).
I'm reminded of "Crimson" when I come to this November 1992 album by Chisato Moritaka（森高千里）titled "Pepperland"（ペパーランド）. I had gotten this one via "Eye-Ai" mail order in the pre-Internet age and to go against the adage, "Never trust a book by its cover", I went ahead and got it just looking at the black-and-white unexpectedly down-to-earth cover showing Moritaka in front of an old Japanese house. After all, there was no YouTube or streaming services to check out any tracks beforehand and I had no idea what the songs were since I don't think most of them had been performed on shows like "Music Station".
Well, I did get it after waiting several weeks and much like Nakamori's "Crimson", Moritaka's "Pepperland" revealed a different turn for the singer's music. Up until then, I'd been accustomed to her lively Eurobeat music such as "Benkyou no Uta"（勉強の歌）. The tracks on "Pepperland" didn't go anywhere near that genre and it was again that I decided that the album wasn't really my type of stuff so it also went onto the shelves to languish for literally decades. It took several years for me to even acknowledge one of the tracks "Gokigen na Asa"（ごきげんな朝）and post it onto KKP.
However, after getting that equivalent of Obi-Wan's ghost on Hoth exhorting Luke to head to Dagobah to learn from Yoda, I was once again drawn to this album that I once rejected as Chisato going a little too far off the beaten pop path.
As it hints on the byline, I will be doing the first half of "Pepperland" today with the second half coming out next week. The lyrics for all of the songs were written by Moritaka with a variety of composers helping out on the melodies. As well, Moritaka herself was handling a lot of the instruments including the drums.
The first track is the title track which was composed by Shin Kohno（河野伸）who was also a member of the band SPANK HAPPY (and a participating guitarist on the song). As I mentioned in "Gokigen no Asa", "Pepperland" has some significance for the singer because it was the name of the live house in Kumamoto Prefecture where Moritaka had performed with her old band back in the day. The lyrics even tell of the story of how that one night had gone. It's quite the jangly rock n' roll which was something that I hadn't quite understood when it came to the singer's music although it would become increasingly part of her sound going deeper into the 1990s.
Track 2 is "Dotchi mo Dotchi"（どっちもどっち...Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other） which is a somewhat wistful musical comparison of the generations. Yuichi Takahashi（高橋諭一）composed this one which involves a woman witnessing the constant conflicts of her parents' dislike of each other's interests while perhaps she and her significant other have taken a milder stance about their own differences. Along with the battle of the sexes, perhaps this could also go into the comparison of the Showa and Heisei generations.
"Atama ga Itai"（頭が痛い...My Head Hurts） is frankly my least favourite track on "Pepperland". Compared with the self-cover video above, the original arrangement for "Atama ga Itai" is even more discordant as if Moritaka had really wanted to give her listeners a headache. When I saw the title, I had assumed that the singer was going to give an indictment on men but as it turned out, she really was just giving a description of her coming down with a bug. Takahashi was also behind the melody here.
"Sunrise" is a nice deliverance from "Atama ga Itai" that was also Takahashi-composed. A comfy and genki tune, it presents the nicest friend anyone could get with the person inviting a buddy over and just having a good time noshing and chatting all night until the sun rises the next morning. A nice key change in the middle, too.
The final song for this part is "Rock n' Roll Kenchoushozaichi"（ロックンロール県庁所在地...Rock n' Roll Prefectural Capitals）, a 1950s or 1960s-feeling rocker of another Chisato flight of fancy as she peels off the names of prefectures, prefectural capitals and famous dishes from the area. She doesn't name every one of them (that probably would have taken her into dance remix territory) but gives enough of them in the less than two-and-a-half minutes of time to entice potential tourists to check some of the food out. Moritaka was responsible for both words and music.
Well, our building is currently in the middle of a sudden water outage due to a burst pipe; it has been very cold out there over the past few days. As such, we're in the middle of a holding pattern but hopefully, we'll be back to normal within 90 minutes. In any case, I'm a little frazzled right now after all of the running around to get information and updates so allow me to include another visit to the AI gallery.
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