We're still in the middle of snowy winter here in the Greater Toronto Area, and to be honest, I don't feel too thrilled about stepping outside today and exposing myself to chilly winds. I like my job, but I'd rather just wrap myself in a warm blanket and drink some cappuccino. This tune by Hiromi Ohta (太田裕美) is here to remind me that a nice song is all I need to warm myself up. J-Canuck has already profiled a number of songs by the singer, so I'm adding this hidden gem from her 1978 album Umi ga Naiteiru (海が泣いている) called Scarlet no Moufu (スカーレットの毛布). It's a perfect song to get you pumped for winter mornings, regardless of how well or poorly your heating system works.
Judging by some samples of Ohta's late-70's work, I gather she was experimenting with her idol pop sound a bit. The duo of Takashi Matsumoto (松本隆) and Kyohei Tsutsumi (筒美京平) was still in charge of her lyrics and music, as they are with "Scarlet no Moufu", but they worked within context. In the case of Umi ga Naiteiru, it was recorded in L.A. and absorbed West Coast Pop production in the process. "Scarlet no Moufu" features the prolific guitarist Lee Ritenour with his signature chord-cutting technique, along with Randy Kerber on keyboards and Ed Greene on drums. Ohta spices up that honey-sweet voice of hers to suit the stylish mood of the song. It's a shame that this album probably didn't fare well in sales (all I know is that the single cut Furimukeba Yesterday peaked at No. 51 with 30,000 copies sold), because I really like this side of her and am curious to hear more.
Nice choice of song to profile, nikala. I had never heard of this although I did hear that she did do some City Pop sometime during her career. The arrangement sounds so different from the hits she's had, but it's very appealing. I mean it has so much of that West Coast sound, I wonder if it should even be considered more American pop with Japanese lyrics rather than kayo kyoku. I would probably put this song with Makoto Matsushita's output on his "First Light" album.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely worth playing during this Winter.
Thanks Nikala for this great post on 太田裕美!
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