Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Minako Yoshida -- Hoho ni Yoru no Akari (頬に夜の灯)


I've heard about Minako Yoshida(吉田美奈子) for many, many years as this amazing singer/songwriter/composer/arranger and compatriot of other kayo kyoku New Musicians such as Yumi Matsutoya(松任谷由美), Tatsuro Yamashita(山下達郎) and the Yellow Magic Orchestra. In fact, Takashi Matsumoto(松本隆)and YMO's Harry Hosono(細野晴臣) encouraged Yoshida to go into music during her high school days. Initially, she went into the direction of Carole King and Laura Nyro but she also gradually got into funk and R&B.

After reading her entry on "Japanese City Pop", I took the plunge and bought her 1982 album, "LIGHT'N UP". And the second track, "Hoho ni Yoru no Akari"(The Light of the Night on Your Cheek), was pure City Pop heaven. The critic in "JCP" remarked that the album was worth getting for this song alone. And he is right. It is a tune to be played in the car stereo while driving on the highway at night...with that special someone. The horns are SO mellow and then David Sanborn comes in with his sax solo. It's gotten a lot of play on my stereo since I got it.



5 comments:

  1. please, would you be so kind to upload "light'n up"! it's impossible to find and i've been looking for it forever...

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  2. hello! is there any chance you'd be willing to upload a cd rip of this? this album is near impossible to find, i heard it in japan ages and ages ago and haven't been able to find it...

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  3. Hi, guys and thanks for the comments. Yup, "LIGHT'N UP"is indeed a fine album. Unfortunately, although I would be happy to share, I've been doing this blog from my eccentric Netbook, so there is no CD slot for me to rip it onto the hard drive.

    But I came across Amazon.jp which apparently has 5 used copies of it for sale at about 1700 yen.

    I'll write about the album itself tonight and see if there's anyone out there who reads this who also has the album.

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  4. This song touches my Soul and with the recent passing of The Great David Sanborn, it touches me even more. I just LOVE Minako she is forever a favorite of mine of any genre. Her voice is unique, powerful and vulnerable at the same time. She’s incredibly special and a once in a lifetime talent. I appreciate her so much I’m crying as I write this. I love how she lets the groove go on for 3-4 minutes and won’t let it go and her harmonies are always perfect. She and Sanborn are a perfect match on this great album. All her albums are great and have a unique sound to them. She’s underrated, she’s one of the best that’s ever been and I will love her music as long as I live.

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    Replies
    1. Hello there. Yes, indeed, it is a classic City Pop ballad. The song was the main reason that I ended up buying the album in the first place.

      Thanks very much by the way for telling me about Sanborn's passing. I had no idea about that since there was nothing on media that I could see about his death. He was in his late 70s but it's still too bad that he left us.

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