Taeko Ohnuki/Mariya Takeuchi -- Totsuzen no Okurimono （突然の贈り物）

I should've put this one up on the posting for Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子） album, "Mignonne"(1978), but at least I can now cover it along with Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや） cover. Earlier today, I had profiled Takeuchi's debut album, "Beginning" which has her version of "Totsuzen no Okurimono", but I'd already had quite a few of the songs from that album represented, so to kill 2 birds with one stone, I've decided to go over both versions of this song side by side.

Although "Totsuzen no Okurimono"(A Surprise Gift), written and composed by Ohnuki, was never officially released as a single, it has become one of her standards. And perhaps I can say that it is one of the reasons behind its parent album's redemption in recent years. Her original version is beautifully bluesy and nocturnal thanks to that guitar, and her voice has never been purer. The lyrics are also heartwarming as a long-gone old flame has seemingly come back to town and has left a sweet-smelling bouquet of flowers out of the blue for her. Her heart starts quivering just like when they had first gone out, although the words hint that she has already found someone else. It's one of those songs that automatically sends the listener's brain into reminiscing mode.

Takeuchi's cover of the song could be heard on "Beginning", just a few months after the original came out via "Mignonne". The singers' respective voices are quite different but Ohnuki's RCA sister also delivers a wonderful version with a lighter and more daytime arrangement. The band, Sentimental City Romance, provides the backup here.