The song was released in April 1983 and peaked at No. 9 on the Oricon weeklies, and ended up being the 39th-ranked single of that year (according to www.early-times.com). It also came out as part of the band's debut album, "Aqua City" which was released later in September. Lyrically, the song talks about a young man's worries that his girlfriend may not remain so for much longer. It was written by Chinfa Kan(康珍化）, a 2nd-generation Korean-Japanese who has written for a number of singers including the aforementioned Anri. He also wrote the lyrics for Masaki Ueda's（上田正樹）"Osaka Bay Blues" and Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）big hit in 1984 "Momo Iro Toiki"（桃色吐息）, both of which have already been listed in this blog. The music was composed by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, who also helped out on "Osaka Bay Blues", and composed an early hit by Mariya Takeuchi,（竹内まりや）"September".
I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe -- Summer Suspicion
The song was released in April 1983 and peaked at No. 9 on the Oricon weeklies, and ended up being the 39th-ranked single of that year (according to www.early-times.com). It also came out as part of the band's debut album, "Aqua City" which was released later in September. Lyrically, the song talks about a young man's worries that his girlfriend may not remain so for much longer. It was written by Chinfa Kan(康珍化）, a 2nd-generation Korean-Japanese who has written for a number of singers including the aforementioned Anri. He also wrote the lyrics for Masaki Ueda's（上田正樹）"Osaka Bay Blues" and Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）big hit in 1984 "Momo Iro Toiki"（桃色吐息）, both of which have already been listed in this blog. The music was composed by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, who also helped out on "Osaka Bay Blues", and composed an early hit by Mariya Takeuchi,（竹内まりや）"September".
despite being too young to like this style of music, I simply I love the voice of Sugiyama,I love how he put emotion at the right time of the chorus, addictive!
ReplyDeleteHi, jeh. Thanks for your comments. I always welcome hearing about the younger generation discovering and enjoying any song from MY younger days.
DeleteIt would seem that you are not alone. There are people who have been enjoying the Future Funk stuff put out by folks like Artzie Music on YouTube and then tracking down the original songs by Japanese singers.
it's 2018, and i think i'm too late for the party. but thanks for sharing all of this beautiful city pop, now i can wear my dad old sukajan jacket, and put on my onitsuka to stroll the night under the city light.
ReplyDeleteBeen very much obsessed with this band. I got 3 vinyls from them and it is really cool. The formula is monotonic, but the nostalgic vibe is sweet.
ReplyDeleteHi, D!
DeleteI would never accuse Omega Tribe of being too adventurous but they are very comfortable to listen to. Do you have any other favourites by them?
I've been obsessed with Omega Tribe these days, they're one of the main reasons of why I want to learn japanese, I hope I will be able to enjoy their music without needing translations :'). Even not understanding most of their lyrics, their music sounds really warm and nostalgic (and I wasn't born in the 1980s), I really enjoy listening to it :D. Besides, Carlos Toshiki from 1986 Omega Tribe is brazillian, just like me :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Davi, and thanks for your comments.
DeleteI'm happy to hear that you've been inspired to learn Japanese through Omega Tribe songs. I think that's one way to continue enjoying Japanese music.
Your comment about finding 80s music warm and nostalgic although you weren't born in that decade is an observation that I've made a number of times from other people who have become fans of the music. I'm very happy about that.
We also have another contributor to the blog who's from Brazil himself: Marcos V.