My knowledge of veteran actress, seiyuu and singer Hiroko Kasahara（笠原弘子）is very small, although she has had one article here on KKP for her performance of "Sora no Mukou ni"（空の向こうに）from the game "Symphonic Rain". I know that I've seen her on at least one anime, "Magic Knight Rayearth"（魔法騎士レイアース）as one of the three main characters but that's about it.
Kasahara has released a number of her albums over the years and this one track from her January 2000 album "Neo Decadence" has got my attention. "Hai to Dynamite" (Ash and Dynamite) is a slow-burning soulful love song about rekindling some of that old romance once more. It's perhaps not a surprise that its additional title is "Kareki ni Hana wo Sakasemashou"（枯れ木に花を咲かせましょう...Let's Grow Flowers in the Deadwood）. Natsuko Karedou（枯堂夏子）was the lyricist here while Masami Kishimura（岸村正実）took care of the melody. My compliments especially to the bluesy guitarist who just about stole the show.
I think I recall that we have talked about Hiroko Kasahara in the comment sections at least once. I discovered the album "Hiroko Kasahara memories: best selection" back 1990's at a speciality shop in my home town back in the states. From then on I was a fan especially when I found out that she done a song (or two) for the Patlabor anime. The title of the song Ash to Dynamite is catchy and made me ponder when I first heard. The Song is bit more jazzy, however in my opinion not the R&B style popular in the states, but it is more classy and mellow.
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