In the first second or so of this song by Naomi Kawashima（川島なお美）, I was getting some vibes from WHAM!'s "Last Christmas", but the interesting thing is that "Thrill Me" had become known to Japanese audiences in February 1984, some ten months before "Last Christmas" made its premiere.
My aural delusions aside, "Thrill Me", which was the B-side to Kawashima's 7th single "Namida ~ Copacabana"（涙・コパカバーナ）, quickly shows off that familiar City Pop descending chord progression before things go into a hazy pop/Resort Pop atmosphere. With a title like "Thrill Me", I'd been expecting something like that samba-infused A-side, but it's actually all very relaxing. Masao Urino（売野雅勇）was the lyricist while Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）took care of the melody. Also, from what I've read of the lineup of musicians in the recording booth according to the writeup on YouTube under the video, it was quite the star-studded affair with Etsuko Yamakawa（山川恵津子）on keyboards, Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）on guitar and backup vocals, and even Hiroshi Narumi（鳴海寛）helping on backup vocals as well (among other big names). So, Tohoku Shinkansen（東北新幹線）was in the house!
From the title, I was expecting something a little more upbeat, but I do like the sax in this song and the very smooth delivery.
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