Yellow Magic Orchestra -- LIMBO

 

Just out of curiosity, I threw something into the Yahoo Japan search engine: Any underrated songs by Yellow Magic Orchestra? After all, being a good fan of the legendary technopop band from Japan, I've covered quite a few of their songs throughout the history of "Kayo Kyoku Plus".

Well, luckily enough, I did hit some pay dirt. I'd never covered this first song, "LIMBO", on YMO's "Service", their December 1983 8th studio album. Written and composed by Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）and Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）with Peter Barakan also helping out on the lyrics, "LIMBO" is about whether or not to leave the Limbo or not. It may be boring but dependable. The outside world may be unpredictable but exciting and evolutionary.

I've been reading some of the English comments for "LIMBO" underneath the YouTube video, and indeed I did catch the David Bowie feeling in the vocal stylings. YouTuber withblueberry also posits "It's enormously interesting musically. It includes dance music, minimal music, atmosphere of Ambient music, etc. . . and has a contemporary cool sense." Personally, I think the arrangement of "LIMBO" also has that whimsical sense of technopop from that decade, nurtured by YMO, Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）and Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）, and I've got to admit that the bass voice doing all of that slow rap adds an extra layer of intrigue as if enticing reluctant tourists from Limbo with free admission to a dance club.

OK, I have to be honest and admit that a part of me initially had thought that "LIMBO" was all about that other limbo.

Yuki Saito -- ONE

 

In comes March...not like a lion; more like a polar bear. Yes, it's still rather Arctic-looking outside my window but we still have three more weeks of official winter to get through.

Outside of her inclusion in ROY articles and any Author's Picks, Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）hasn't shown up on KKP for almost a couple of years, so it's nice to begin this third month of 2026 with one of her tunes. And this time, it's a pretty ethereal one. "ONE" launches her 4th studio album "Fuumu"（風夢...Wind Dream） from April 1987.

Sounding like something that should be listened to after having lit up a particularly pungent cone of incense, Saito's voice suits the high-falutin' English lyrics by BANDIT and the near-mystical melody of Kenjiro Sakiya（崎谷健次郎）. She sings about two becoming one in a paradise-like setting. I'm just surprised that no religious figures were mentioned here. 

Another track that was on the album was "MAY" but I'd like to clarify my statements there by saying that "MAY" was actually on the CD version of the album, and not on the original LP, according to the J-Wiki article regarding the album. My apologies on any confusion.

Farewell, Neil Sedaka (1939-2026)

By AVRO via Wikimedia Commons

I'd thought that my previous article on Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）would be the final one for February 2026, but I was very wrong there on realizing that the music world has lost a pioneer in pop music and someone who has had a presence on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the years. Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka passed away at the age of 86 on February 27th.

From what I've read on his Wikipedia file, he was responsible for a huge number of hits for himself and other singers, especially during the 60s and 70s, and I recall hearing his voice through radio, on K-Tel commercials and TV appearances since I was a kid. In fact, the very first ROY article that I posted was a Sedaka creation for Captain & Tennille. But for his own records, I always remembered that higher and melodic voice of his.

With all of those Sedaka successes in the postwar era, it's perhaps no surprise that the Japanese, who were more than happy to provide their own cover versions of many American and British hits of the time, also took a fancy to Sedaka's own tunes. Here are the ones that have been plucked from the pages of KKP over the years.

(1960) Masaaki Hirao & The All-Stars Wagon -- Koi no Katamichi Kippu（恋の片道切符）

(1961) Kyu Sakamoto -- Calendar Girl

(1977) Hi-Fi Set -- Koi no Nikki （恋の日記）(from 3:35)

(1978) Masako Miyazaki -- The Hungry Years

One of my favourites by Sedaka though was "Laughter in the Rain" from 1974. It still gives me a chill when he sings the chorus out and it's a song that I definitely have great memories about. My condolences to his family, friends and many fans.

Shiro Sagisu with Somethin' Special feat. Keiko Sugai -- Ai no Message（愛のメッセージ）

 

It's the final day of February and since we're not in a leap year, the final day will naturally be the 28th so certainly it'll be a lower output than usual for KKP.

Now, usually, I keep a lot of the City Pop on hand for Urban Contemporary Fridays, but seeing that this is February 28th, I might as well provide something pretty exciting, especially this is also a Saturday. A few years back, I noted that "Evangelion" soundtrack maestro Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）had also been quite the disco City Pop king in the late 1970s. He put out an album with his Somethin' Special band called "Eyes" in 1979.

Well, he and the band also put out a single in that same year called "Ai no Message" (Message of Love), and as was the case on "Eyes", Keiko Sugai（須貝恵子）provided her dynamic vocals and the lyrics on this particular song. It's got a little bit of everything as in Long Island Iced Tea bit of everything. I can hear a boogie rhythm, disco flair and some propulsive funk...just the cocktail to heave Tokyoites to the dance floor in the discos around town.

Nana Okada -- Wakai Kisetsu（若い季節）

by Random Pacer via Wikimedia Commons

The weather here has been improving although the temperature is set to plummet again for Sunday, but the feeling is that spring is just around the corner. And it couldn't come fast enough.

Several years ago, I posted an article on actress/aidoru Nana Okada's（岡田奈々）biggest hit, her 4th single "Seishun no Sakamichi"（青春の坂道）from March 1976. The wistful song of youth created from lyrics by contest winner Aiko Nakaji（中司愛子）and then whipped into shape by lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）before getting laid onto a melody by Koichi Morita（森田公一）under Ichizo Seo's（瀬尾一三）arrangement must have touched a lot of people's memories and current feelings. It did pretty well by hitting No. 23 on Oricon.

Well, the follow-up single, released in June of that year, "Wakai Kisetsu" (Young Season), was created by almost everyone involved with "Seishun no Sakamichi", except that the composer this time was Ken Sato（佐藤健）. If anything, "Wakai Kisetsu" is even jauntier with a boss saxophone and jangly guitar giving a hint of Motown pop. Matsumoto's lyrics here were based on Okada's recurring role in the popular NTV drama at the time, "Ore-tachi no Tabi"（俺たちの旅...Our Journey）, where her character introduces a guy living in the boarding house next door. The producers for the program knew what they were doing by also having "Seishun no Sakamichi" show up as an insert song.

"Wakai Kisetsu" didn't do as well as "Seishun no Sakamichi" but it was a moderate success by scoring a No. 36 ranking. Both songs ended up on her 3rd album "Akushu Shiyouyo"（握手しようよ...Let's Shake Hands） which was released in August 1976.

Tan Tan (Harumi Ohzora) -- Trying to Get to You

 

Yesterday, I wrote up an article regarding the late Taeko Morino（森野多恵子）regarding her own cover version of the standard "Sunny" back in the 1960s. Of course, I mentioned that she would later go through a couple of name changes, each time accompanying a change in music genre.

In the 1970s, Morino changed into Tan Tan, a chanteuse of R&B and City Pop. Her third of three albums released under than moniker was "Trying to Get to You" from 1978 and this is the title track.

This was a cover version of the original, also from 1978, by the late Eugene Record who used to be the lead vocalist for the group The Chi-Lites. Both versions are great as something sounding quite (Philadelphia?) soulful, although Tan Tan's cover is shorter and has more of a wistful and uptempo feeling compared to the Record original which has an apologetic if hopeful slant that fences can be mended between a couple. Unfortunately, Record passed away in 2005 after a battle with cancer.

Yasuhiro Abe -- Hadashi no Ballerina（裸足のバレリーナ）

 

Gotta have singer-songwriter Yasuhiro Abe（安部康弘）back on Urban Contemporary Friday. When you're talking about a drive on an evening leading into the weekend in Tokyo and thinking about what to put onto the radio, one of his songs usually fits the bill.

Managed to come across the B-side for Abe's November 1982 debut single "We Got It!" which is definitely car stereo-worthy. Mind you, "Hadashi no Ballerina" (Barefoot Ballerina) can also be put into the dashboard slot although it's a little more melancholy as a ballad. Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composed by Abe, it looks like one guy and his "prima ballerina" have come to the end of their relationship so the night is spent with one last meal before the inevitable goodbye. It is indeed another song of broken hearts but it also feels like a true Abe creation.