Miki Imai -- Mocha (Under A Full Moon)

When it comes to Miki Imai（今井美樹）, I guess my favourite era of hers spans 4 albums: Mocha (1989), Ivory (1989), Retour (1990) and Lluvia (1991). Mind you, the second one "Ivory" was actually her first Best album, but it's the one that properly introduced me to the sylph-like singer with the wide-as-the-Mississippi smile.

Up to this point on my blog, I've covered "Retour" and a couple of songs from "Mocha" ("Boogie-Woogie Lonesome High Heel" [above] and "Arifureta Love Scene"), along with one other tune, "Natsu wo Kasanete" from 1988's "Bewith". But since I've grown to like "Mocha" so much over the years, I've decided that I would profile it as well. It was Imai's 4th album, and compared to "Retour", it's less lush in terms of production but the songs included here also have some pleasant hooks delivered in Imai's high feathery voice at the time. Just to let you know, the video above the one for "Boogie-Woogie Lonesome High Heel" is from an old radio show she was hosting.

 "Anytime Manytimes" is a jazzy and funky number about a woman who loves his man but is frustrated that...gosh darn it...he just won't reciprocate. This song was written by Masami Tozawa（戸沢暢美）and composed by MAYUMI, who just happens to be the elder sister of pop singer Reimy（麗美）. (Thanks to Utamap.com for the lyrics)

One of my favourite tracks on the album, the final song is "Chijou ni Oriru made no Yoru"（地上の降りるまでの夜....Night Falling to the Earth),  perfect for evening listening. It's another classic Imai ballad with her sleepily lilting vocals floating across the night sky. It's written by Yuuho Iwasato (岩里祐穂） and composed by Akemi Kakihara（柿原朱美）, and is an appropriate tune to hit the hay by.

"Mocha" peaked at No. 5 on the Oricon album charts after its release in June 1989.