Mariko Takahashi -- Koi Suru Hitomi （恋する瞳）

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/stories-all-songs-requests-vol-3/id457817991

(excerpt only)

Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子） 14th single, "Koi Suru Hitomi"(Loving Eyes) was the first track on a 1988 compilation of her hits that I got pretty early in my time in Gunma Prefecture. The single itself had been released in July of that year, so most likely the compilation album was the first one to have the song included. It's a nice song to start off a list of her greatest. The above link by the way is just the karaoke version without anyone singing it since the original video got taken down.

(Another karaoke version but with a good voice behind it.)

The song was written by Chinfa Kan（康珍化）, who was also responsible for a number of songs by Anri and Omega Tribe among others in the 1980s, and composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロ）, who created tunes for just about everybody in Japanese pop music. When I first heard this number by Takahashi, I was struck by the American country feel that came in the intro and wove in and out throughout it, although the electric guitar in there also reminded me of some of the more introspective 80s pop songs from the US. But then again, I think Takahashi has always enjoyed a bit of that country lilt (and jazz) in a number of her past songs such as "Namida Moroi Peggy"（涙もろいペギー....Tearful Peggy）since she launched her solo career in the late 70s. I can probably put her up with early Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）as the two singers who often dipped into the styles of the Great American Songbook.

Mariko Takahashi