Soichi Noriki -- Dream Cruise

 

I was listening to pianist and composer/arranger Soichi Noriki's（野力奏一）1984 album "Dream Cruise" as I was in bed...which was a big mistake. The songs were so relaxing that I went out like a light by the third track. I woke back up just when the final song of the album was doing its fadeout. It was like getting that anesthetic needle before my colonoscopy earlier in the fall.

Now that you may be spending the rest of the article trying to get that image out of your mind, I'll try to help by providing some of that smooth music that I almost got to hear in its entirety from "Dream Cruise". It's been several years since I last posted on Noriki with my last article on him being a follow-up on his 1983 debut album "Noriki".

As for the album itself, I had assumed that "Dream Cruise" was all about that wonderful trip on a cruise ship, seeing all that water on the cover. But I don't see any ship there although there is a highway going off into the horizon with what looks like half a red stretch limo, so instead of placing a thumbnail photo of the Harmony of the Seas up at the top, I went with a photo of Yokohama's Chinatown at night and then followed up with one of J Utah's driving videos through Tokyo.

In any case, "Dream Cruise" begins with the cheerful "You Can Make It". It does sound like something that would be great on either a cruise liner's speakers or a car radio, and it's the aural equivalent of that good buddy having the listener's back as the title states. Some wonderfully woozy sax as well, with the late great Jake H. Concepcion being one of the guys on the instrument. Noriki and guitarist Hirotsugu Nakai（中井浩二）were behind the composition here.

What starts off Side B of the original LP is "Easy Way" which sounds anything but in terms of how all those musical professionals brought it all together for this very tropics-friendly sound. Nakai took care of this one by his lonesome. Looks like all of the musicians had their individual chance to shine including Nakai himself. Shin Kazuhara（数原晋）is also in there but I didn't really hear his trumpet for some reason.

"Mild Life" is another track from Side B, and the title and melody are in synch with each other. It really sounds like someone having a wonderfully mild life out in tropical areas somewhere...preferably with a lanai. Bassist Ryuji Hirasue（久末隆二）was responsible for this one, but Noriki also has a lot to say through his keyboards.

My final track today for "Dream Cruise" is the truly City Pop-worthy "Night Lights" which has a few lyrics provided by Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）and Mamie Lee while Noriki and drummer Masayoshi Imaizumi（今泉正義）are behind the cool night drive arrangement. Among all that funk is some elegance in the piano playing by Noriki. Quite a night out.