Masayoshi Takanaka -- Star Wars Samba

SorryArii via Wikimedia Commons

 

I only read this on Reuters' Twitter account some minutes ago and just in case the tweet gets deleted (I doubt that), I'll quote it here:

Seventy-three-year-old Japanese guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka is selling out venues worldwide, riding a surge of Gen‑Z enthusiasm that has propelled him back onto international stages — and back to London for the first time in five decades.

Despite it being April Fool's Day, I don't think this is some cruel hoax so let me give my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Takanaka（高中正義）. Of course, on reading this, I'm going to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Yes, it is April 1st but it's also a Wednesday and therefore Hump Day as usual. Folks are sighing about the fun that is now past history from last weekend and the fun that they have to wait another few days for this weekend. So, let's have Takanaka himself bring a little cheeky happiness to everyone with his own tribute to the original "Star Wars". Indeed, his third single from July 1977 is "Star Wars Samba". I had to blink twice when I saw his J-Wiki discography but he did arrange John Williams' classic theme to sound like a samba to have caipirinhas with. So, perhaps Japanese fans could not only enjoy MECO's disco version but also Takanaka's elastic Brazilian take at the same time. Apparently, it was also placed into his fourth album "Brasilian Skies" which was released in the same month as the single.

Hmmm....sense the samba side in him, I do! 

Happy 10th, Uta Con!（うたコン）/Hideki Saijo -- Ai no Juujika（愛の十字架）

 

First off, Happy 10th Birthday to the NHK music show "Uta Con". I saw their episode last night and it was nice not only to see some of the highlights from the past ten years but also get a tour of how the magic works at NHK Shibuya. It's amazing how quickly the years fly by...I remember when "Uta Con" got the baton passed over to it from "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）back in 2016.

Now, "Kayo Kyoku Plus" had its tenth anniversary back in 2022 so I actually pulled out most of the guns to celebrate our grand project back then, and of course, you can take a look at some of that via "10th Anniversary Special: 10th Anniversary Songs". However, I still wanted to commemorate the "Uta Con" achievement so I've opted to present a few songs over the years that have had something of the number 10 involved in the titles. I'll admit though to being a little cheat-y with my choices. But the important thing is that I also have the opportunity to present a new tune onto the blog by the late great Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）. Anyways, without further ado:

(1984) Akina Nakamori -- Jukkai (1984) (十戒 (1984))

(1986) Minako Honda -- the Cross ~ Ai no Juujika（愛の十字架）

(1993) SMAP -- $10

As noted above, I have this Hideki Saijo tune that has that 10-ish relationship (albeit through kanji association only). This is "Ai no Juujika" (Cross of Love), his 7th single from December 1973. Indeed, it shares the same title as Honda's song above but that's the only common denominator. It is otherwise a totally different animal.

Written by Takashi Taka（たかたかし）and composed by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）under Koji Makaino's（馬飼野康二）arrangement, this is also the first time for me to hear Saijo's "Ai no Juujika", and from what I hear, it's a very early Hideki song of passion and angst. It's quite the cross for him to bear and I think he's even shedding a few tears in the concert audio above. All the better for the screaming fans to rush over to comfort him. Not surprisingly, the song hit No. 1 and finished 1974 as the 22nd-ranked single.

ZOO -- After Care

 

Working all those hours and days to help others. Dang it! Sometimes, YOU gotta DO something for YOU! The surgeon above finally got the hint and so this was my first exposure to cute animated ASMR. After care is important, after all.

If you remember 1991 and all that music in Japan, then you probably know about the song-and-dance group ZOO and their catchy "Choo Choo Train" with images of skiing and their distinctive approach to line dancing. I just missed out on it because I'd already left Japan from the JET Programme in the summer of that year while "Choo Choo Train" made its debut later in December. Ah, but still, I was able to hear about it somehow while back in Toronto.

Within that large shadow that "Choo Choo Train" cast, there was the coupling song "After Care". I had seen the official music video and for some reason, I'd imagined lots of seashores and water. Well, I guess my mind ran away from me since the video doesn't have those but it does have the sound of waves which probably sparked those images. In any case, "After Care", which was written by Arisu Sato（佐藤ありす）and composed by Yasunori Iwasaki（岩崎文紀）, is a slightly more soulful and much more laidback number to contrast with that dynamic main song. I'd say that it would make for the ideal after care song the day after the rampant partying from "Choo Choo Train". Enjoy the waves and the head massage for the hangover you may be experiencing.

Junko Mihara -- Ho-do-ho-do My Darling（ほ・ど・ほ・ど・マイ・ダーリン）

 

Well, we're at about 17 degrees Celsius. We even had some brilliant sun earlier this morning but the clouds have returned and it's spitting rain out there. But at least we can say that we finally have some spring out there. It was a long cold winter so we'll take anything we can get, but it's almost as if Old Man Winter were saying "Not so fast, Torontonians!".

Another not-so-smooth segue into this song by Junko Mihara（三原じゅん子）titled "Ho-do-ho-do My Darling" (Not So Fast, My Darling). The former singer-now-House of Councillors member recorded this one as the B-side for her 8th single from May 1982, "Datte ~ Fall In Love ~ Totsuzen"（だって・フォーリンラブ・突然）. Quite like the A-side, "Ho-do-ho-do My Darling" is another twist-worthy rock-n-roll number that was written by Reiko Yamada（山田麗子）and composed by TAKU. While Mihara gives out those lower tones (with some meowing🐈), she's also explaining her personal policy on the relationship scene.

STUTS & Taeko Ohnuki -- Ii Yu da na（いい湯だな）

 

It won't officially be so until December this year, but Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）will be celebrating an anniversary in 2026 in that it will be 50 years since her first solo album "Grey Skies" was put onto record store shelves. Also, she may be aware that one of her idols, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Junos (Canada's version of the Grammys) last night directly from Prime Minister Mark Carney last night.

NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）morning information show did what a lot of Japanese TV shows do at the end of March and the beginning of April, and that is to give things a refresh by swapping out hosts or reporters or changing the set. Two of those were done yesterday; although the host remained the same, the regular onsite reporters had a bit of a change and the set was given a redux of sorts. 

As well, the theme song for "Asaichi", TENDRE's "Switch", was retired after a few years and it's now been replaced by "Ohayou"（おはよう...Morning!）which is a collaboration between Ohnuki and trackmaker/producer STUTS. The only thing is that I can't find any evidence of this song on YouTube as of yet. Ah, well. However, I found out that this wasn't the only time that Ohnuki and STUTS have worked together. Apparently, a couple of years ago, the two came up with their own cover version of the kayo chestnut "Ii Yu da na" (Wonderful Bath, Ain't It?), the ode to the onsen that had been recorded all the way back by vocal group Duke Aces（デューク・エイセス）in 1966 and then popularized several years later by the comedy group The Drifters（ザ・ドリフターズ）as the ending theme for their long-running variety show "8-ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shuugo!"（8時だよ！全員集合...It's 8 O'Clock! Everyone Assemble!) .

Although hot springs are warm to hot, Ohnuki and STUTS' "Ii Yu da na" is a pretty chill take with some jazzy samples thrown in. All those samples can get a bit noisy but at least the underlying MPC thrumming accentuates the feelings of relaxation that actor Sosuke Ikematsu（池松壮亮）while lounging around in the onsen. Of course, Ohnuki and her calming voice provide veteran reassurance that it's OK to let the stresses of life melt away once in a while.

The Nagoya-born STUTS has been plying his trade since 2008. Several years later, he moved to New York City and did some busking with his MPC.

Hiromi Ohta -- Koi no Half-Moon（恋のハーフムーン）/Blue Baby Blue（ブルー・ベイビー・ブルー）

 

Ah, yes...Vachon's Half-Moon Cakes...which have nothing to do with the sweets during the Moon Festival in September. Actually, these were a part of my youth during lunchtime. When I got together with the guys for lunch at high school in front of our lockers, my mother would usually put one of these into my brown bag as the dessert segment. They came in lemon and chocolate versions and were (and still are) so sweet that they were responsible for the sugar crashes in the afternoon classes. 

The above makes for a Canadian treat segue into this 20th single by Hiromi Ohta（太田裕美）"Koi no Half-Moon" (Half-Moon of Love) which was released back in March 1981. This was also the follow-up to Ohta's "Saraba Siberia Tetsudo" (さらばシベリア鉄道）that had come out in December 1980, and it was basically the same songwriting lineup for that one that was responsible for "Koi no Half-Moon", lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composer/arranger Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）with Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）helping on the arrangement of the strings and horns. 

"Koi no Half-Moon" is an interesting one. It didn't impress me on first listen but it has started to grow on me. The notable thing is that it doesn't sound like a typical Ohtaki arrangement with that overall 50s and/or country-western twang that has become a staple of his melody work ("Saraba Siberia Tetsudo" is a classic in that way). In fact, I'd say that with some of the disco feeling in there, it sounds a bit more Electric Light Orchestra without the heavy synths. As for Matsumoto, he wove a story about a couple enjoying a night ride in the convertible and stopping off at their version of Inspiration Point in Japan, and if any of you have watched the old American sitcom "Happy Days", you'll know the significance of Inspiration Point. Hopefully, the only thing looking down at the soon-to-be very happy pair is the half-moon itself.

Although "Saraba Siberia Tetsudo" has become one of Ohta's trademark songs, it only scored a No. 70 ranking initially on Oricon, and looking through her discography on J-Wiki, it was evident that her big days (outside of what her most dedicated fans thought) were receding. "Koi no Half-Moon" peaked at No. 81.

The B-side, "Blue Baby Blue", was also created by Ohtaki and Matsumoto with Yasuo Arakawa（荒川康男）helping the former out on arrangement. Now, this sounds more like an Ohtaki production...yup, Richie and Mary Beth out on the porch swing in the 1950s. However, the lyrics are a whole lot sadder as someone is having some major regrets about breaking up with that special lass. Post-breakup blues never sounded more sweet and nostalgic.

Kyoko Endo -- A-LI-CE（ア・リ・ス）

 

Knowing about singer-songwriter Kyoko Endo（遠藤京子）from the pages of "Japanese City Pop" and then gradually providing articles on her music within the pages of KKP, my surface impression is that she hasn't been so much of a City Pop singer (although a couple of her tunes at least have been given the City Pop tag...one in 1993!) as she has been a singer of refined un-aidoru-like pop tunes since her debut in the early 1980s.

One of my first entries on Endo was "Kokuhaku Telephone"（告白テレフォン）, her snazzy debut single from November 1981 and a collaboration between her and her lyrics and the composition of Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）. I can't even imagine what it must have been like working with Tsutsumi who had already gotten a reputation as a master melody maker.

Well, "Kokuhaku Telephone" was also on Endo's first album "Operetta" which came out a month later in December. In addition, have a listen to its track mate "A-LI-CE" which was also created by Endo and Tsutsumi. Starting out languidly like a love ballad, the song soon revs up into another mildly funky chorus. The inclusion of strings in the instrumental bridge almost takes things into a Fashion Music area but overall, it remains a pretty cool pop tune. In fact, I kinda wonder whether this is an example of Senri Oe's music even before Senri Oe（大江千里）.