Reimy -- The Best Songs of Reimy

During my Gunma stint from 1989-1991, one of the singers that I discovered during my forays into the CD shops and mass media was Reimy Horikawa（堀川麗美）, or as she is better known, just Reimy. I first saw her on a late-night episode of "MTV Japan" in an interview as a couple of her videos came on: the sad but beautiful "Dear Tess" and "Tower of Vanity". Since then, I've been trying to collect her increasingly rare collection of CDs.

Then, in my 1993 trip to New York City with a couple of friends, I was looking through a basket of Japanese discs at the Rockefeller Centre branch of Kinokuniya when, lo and behold, I came across "The Best Songs of Reimy". Well, I wasn't about to let that one go. Released in July of that year, this BEST album covers her later singles from 1989 to 1992.

1. Tokai no Safari Park　（都会のサファリ・パーク）
2. Mi Okuri　（見送り）
3. Angel
4. Kuchibeni no Iro ga Toretekuru　（口紅の色が取れて来る）
5. Hashiru Soyo Kaze Tachi e　（走るそよ風たちへ）
6. Dear Tess
7. Marry Me
8. Two of Us
9. Tower of Vanity
10. Everlasting Love
11. Love Lecture
12. Dakishimetai　（抱きしめたい）
13. Diamond Wing
14. Last Fragrance
15. Wonder Girl　（ワンダーガール）

When I think of Reimy's career, I divide it into 3 parts. There was her beginning era of 1984 to 1986 when she was more along the aidoru pop avenue which included covers of Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由美）songs (Yuming and her husband had a little hand in her development). Then, there was her time in the United States where she worked on a more danceable pop. And finally from 1989, she went into a more relaxed pop/AOR direction (although she went slightly more uptempo in her later stuff) in which she penned her own songs. It's this 3rd period that has been the most appealing for me although I have discs by her that cover all three eras.

"Kuchibeni no Iro ga Toretekuru"(The Lipstick is Coming Off) is a track from her first album in this third era, the 1989 "Kotoba no Nai Yujo"（言葉のない友情....Friendship Without Words）. It's a cool urban bossa nova piece which makes me imagine the singer doing some peoplewatching from a cafe. The song also sounds like something that Miki Imai（今井美樹） would have sung at around the same time. Ironically enough, both singers belonged to the same company, Fun House.

"Tokai no Safari Park"(Safari Park of the City) starts off with some frenetic drumming before going into a blast of the big city. I had initially wondered whether the song was a jingle for a real safari park (such as the one in Gunma Prefecture), but actually Reimy is cheerfully referring to the urban jungle that is probably Tokyo. In a way, considering how poppy and cheery it is, her first single in this new period (released in February 1989) almost sounds as if it belongs to her earlier pre-LA era as an aidoru although Reimy's voice now had a lower edge.

This is the aforementioned "Tower of Vanity", an atmospheric song which shows how much her voice has changed and deepened since her aidoru days. Not quite sure what Reimy's English lyrics are all about, although I get the hint that it's about keeping the future generations of children safe. There's a bit more power in this pop than a majority of her songs during this time. "Tower of Vanity" shows up in her 1990 album, "Hashiru Soyo Kaze Tachi e".

"Marry Me" is one of my favourites from that 1990 album and on this BEST album as well. It is an intimate song which sounds as if it should be heard by Reimy playing her guitar around a campfire with good friends than in a concert hall with hundreds. The slow, relaxed ballad arrangement reminds me of Eric Clapton during his later Unplugged years. And that guitar during the bridge is just wonderful.

Then, Reimy brought some glamour and funk and choreography (via the video) through her single, "Everlasting Love" which had separate Japanese and English versions in 1991. The track also went onto her 1991 album, "Yume wa Oitemasen ka"（夢はおいてませんか....Haven't You Left Your Dreams?）. One of the things that stands out in this song is that talking modulator (Yoichiro Kakizaki) partner of hers as it bleats out "Won't you be my girl?"

"The Best Songs of Reimy" makes for a great overview of those 1989-1992 years. She obviously evolved since her debut in 1984, but to sum up, I'd also like to compare her song stylings with those of her then-colleagues in Fun House who got together to make this Christmas song, "Merry Christmas To You" in 1989. Reimy's niche seems to fall between somewhere between the tomboyish rockin' fun of Mariko Nagai（永井真理子） and the lush balladry/overseas rhythms used by Akiko Kobayashi and Midori Karashima（小林明子・辛島美登里）. She is comfortable in both musical worlds. And again, I think I mentioned somewhere else in the blog that I will always enjoy a singer immensely who can adeptly cover a range of genres and tempos. Reimy is one such representative.

Reimy -- The Best Songs of Reimy

Reimy Horikawa