For me, this was probably the last song by Morning Musume（モーニング娘。） that I went out and got the single for. And what a song. If the girls could further pay tribute to disco...and urinals...with "The Peace" earlier in 2001, then Halloween later that year was their homage to old-school jazz. Since I also enjoy my Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, it was nice to see Morning Musume (heck, any J-Pop singer) do something with a Big Band. Mind you, neither bandleader needed to be afraid of MM usurping their legend, but hey, it's a fun song.
Written and composed by Tsunku（つんく）, "Mr. Moonlight - Ai no Big Band"(The Big Band of Love) and its official video welcomed the newest generation of Musume (Ai Takahashi, Makoto Ogawa, Risa Niigaki and Asami Konno) with Niigaki giving that somewhat bizarre opening line "Ai wo kudasai..." And then Hitomi (Yossy) Yoshizawa took over as the lead. One of my students-turned-friend was a huge fan of Japan's famous all-female entertainment troupe, the Takarazuka Revue（宝塚歌劇団）, and she correctly pointed out that the video paid homage to that group with Yossy and several other members putting on the brightly-coloured suits and male guises, the classic trademark of the Takarazuka. Yossy was also trying to sound like a Takarazuka Top Star with the lower voice, although at points I wondered if she were going to end up breaking her throat.
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| Morning Musume -- Mr. Moonlight |
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| Sorry, Mari... |
That's a very good Momusu song. Not along my favorites as the disco ones, but I enjoy it as well. Especially in concerts.
ReplyDeleteAnd Yossy did a great job being the center in this song. She really nailed it.
I just wish Kaori Iida had a bigger role in this song, but that's okay too. Momusu became so big with so many girls that some of them were gradually put aside, and Kaorin was one of them. Even on Utaban they did not give her the attention she had in the early "Johnson" days.
If Niigaki was bizarre doing the first line, check out Tsunku doing it in a live cover of "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgzhwUbr4MM
Yeah, it was a fun song. I finally got to see the WHOLE video. Just like "The Peace", the music channels in Japan always cut off the last couple of minutes of the video, so I never got to see the final verse sung on the grand staircase.
ReplyDeleteI got the feeling that Kaori was pretty happy with being more of the stay-behind-the-curtains leader as compared to the more outgoing Yuko Nakazawa. During those Utaban segments, she seemed a bit insecure at times, but then again, with having someone like Takaaki Ishibashi talking with you, I guess I can't be all that surprised.
I did check out Tsunku's cover of the song. Well.....I think Morning Musume still has the edge here. :)
About Kaorin, I really don't know. She complained a lot of times on Utaban about being secondary, so Ishibashi one time replied that was his and Nakai-kun job to make fun and give attention to the new girls so that they could be properly introduced to the public. Based on that I think they did put some girls like Kaorin aside. And Yasuda Kei kind of became the "lucky" (or not) girl they made fun of all the time even if she wasn't one of the newest girls (as swas a second generation Momusu). But I will stop complaining. It's just because I'm a Kaorin fanboy.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Momusu is better with "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~". Yossy probably had lots of fun singing this piece.
I love this song! I felt that Yossy was totally at home as the lead singer, exuding confidence and charm because she was naturally quite boyish. She was like a fish to water.
ReplyDeleteMuch later, I saw the Morning Musume X Takarazuka crossover performance of Mr. Moonlight. Many people praised Yossy for holding her own among the Takarazuka stars. In behind-the-scenes clips, Takahashi Ai (who is a huge Takarazuka fan) assured Yossy that she would have no problems singing together with Takarazuka stars: "Daijoubu, Yoshizawa san kakkoi mon~"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLGTD2GDZ7w
Although I hadn't realized it at the time, "Mr. Moonlight" was quite the showstopper and a tribute to the Takarazuka Revue. The video was very snazzy and Yossy grabbed the spotlight and ran with it. I also did get that particular single especially since I enjoy Big Band swing.
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