Anzen Chitai -- BEST I Love You Kara Hajimeyoh (I Love You からはじめよう）

Anzen Chitai（安全地帯） has continued to stick around since their first album in 1982 (although there was a decade-long hiatus in the 90s) and even released their 14th original album just in March of this year. However for me, the glory years with Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二） and company were in the 80s. So, although 6 BEST albums have been released, I wanted to go with their 2nd one, "BEST I Love You Kara Hajimeyoh"(Let's Begin With I Love You) which was a Xmas present of sorts to the fans, being released in December 1988.

1. Wine-Red no Kokoro　（ワインレッドの心）
2. Koi no Yokan　（恋の予感）
3. Nesshisen　（熱視線）
4. Kanashimi ni Sayonara　（悲しみにさよなら）
5. Aoi Hitomi no Elis　（碧い瞳のエリス）
6. Prussian-Blue no Shozou　（プルシアンブルーの肖像）
7. Natsu no Owari no Harmony　（夏終りのハーモニー）
8. Friend
9. Sukisa　（好きさ）
10. Jirettai　（じれったい）
11. I Love You Kara Hajimeyoh （I Love You からはじめよう）
12. Hohoemi ni Kanpai　（微笑みに乾杯）

Although all of the songs were released as singles, I think 3 or 4 of them were never placed on original albums.

Of course, all talk on Anzen Chitai has to start with their breakthrough hit, "Wine-Red no Kokoro" in 1983. The first time I had ever seen the Hokkaido band was when they performed this song on some music show. The guys played on a bare set on top of black blocks of varying height, but all the better to focus on the music. I've often talked about the "Anzen Chitai sound" in some of the other articles on the band, although I don't think I've ever heard anyone else in the Japanese PR machine mention these words, but I've always thought that Anzen Chitai has had or used to have this distinctive sound: guitars that sound almost like weeping violins and melodies that seem to have this urban mysterious atmosphere. "Wine-Red no Kokoro" was the prime example. Of course, since that first video tape where I saw the band, I've heard it over and over at Kuri and heard it on my friend's car stereo as he took me home. It was the perfect night song to play on a drive.

Then, one of my other university friends lent me another video which contained a Yoko Oginome （荻野目洋子）music video, but following that I was surprised to find out that Anzen Chitai had actually made an official video for "Wine-Red no Kokoro" Up to that time, I had been accustomed to seeing the visual representation of the song via the karaoke videos, including one X-rated version (with added sound effects) which caused quite a bit of conversation during the performance, I must say. But going back to the official video, it was quite the impressionable production with the guys in tuxedos looking pretty shibui, and what looked like the extras cast from a "Mad Max" movie in some futuristic dive (Roppongi, perhaps?).

Man, so slim and unlined here. Of course, it wasn't just the Anzen Chitai sound. Koji Tamaki's voice had a definite influence. At the time, there were a number of great popular bands out there like Southern All Stars, Checkers, CCB, and the boy groups from Johnny's Entertainment. But that sound and that voice certainly carved a niche into the kayo kyoku soundscape. Tamaki had quite the range....going from silky-whispery to operatic boom. I once saw him start a song at a smaller concert acapella for the first minute going from one extreme to another, and he brought the house down even when the instruments had already started. He had quite the charisma with that rather Vulcan countenance at that time which added to the mystery surrounding Anzen Chitai and their music.

"Nesshisen"(A Passionate Gaze) was the band's 8th single and was one of the few that never got onto an original album until this BEST album. I just love the intro to this song with the meshing of the jumpy guitar and percussion, and it just speeds away at warp. The original single was released in January 1985 and peaked at No. 2 on Oricon. I'd heard it on my friend's car stereo all the time and had wondered why I couldn't find it on any of the original albums.

"Prussian-Blue no Shozou"(Prussian-Blue Portrait) is one of my favourites because Tamaki gets to unleash his vocal cords, especially when he delivers "HANASANAI!"(はなさない....I won't let go!)in the refrain. He doesn't scream it out; it's a controlled phaser burst. But just the way he shapes his voice throughout the song from start to end, from soft to hard....it's a virtuoso performance. This was the band's 11th single released in July 1986, and was the theme song for the movie of the same name. The movie also featured Tamaki in his acting debut as the high school staffer with a tragic past. This was also another song that peaked at No. 2.

I've already profiled "Kanashimi ni Sayonara"(A Sad Goodbye) via the article on "Anzen Chitai IV", but I figured if I'm gonna do a BEST treatment for Anzen Chitai, I just had to include this song. It still has the Anzen Chitai sound but this is the "light" when compared to the "dark" of  "Wine-Red no Kokoro". Despite the title, the arrangements just seemed to fairly scream "HOPE". I think with "Wine-Red" and "Friend", this was the song that got featured a lot on the music shows. And I'm sure it was a must-perform at their concerts, too.

The last couple of songs featured on this BEST album had Anzen Chitai pushing out of their sound. "I Love You Kara Hajimeyoh" was on "Anzen Chitai VI", and had that fanfarish introduction which may have hinted at a new musical direction. And then, there was "Hohoemi ni Kanpai"(Here's To Your Smile), their 19th single released in August 1988, which had this hint of a European feel, almost as if Tamaki had taken on a bit of Julio Iglesias' characteristics. For some reason, I always envisage the Mediterranean...could be the trumpets at the end.

For an Anzen Chitai fan like myself, when I arrived in Japan in 1989, I made sure that I got this CD pretty quickly once I got settled into my new digs. Took a while for me to get accustomed to life in a new country, so listening to some comfortable music helped a good deal. This album managed to be ranked at No. 26 in the annual Oricon charts of 1989.

Anzen Chitai -- BEST

Now, almost all of the songs have already been profiled, but there is "Sukisa"(I Love You) that will get its own article in the near future.