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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Natsu ni Dakarete （夏に抱かれて）



From the cover of the single at the very top, I guess this was the time when Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎広美） was starting to grow out her hair from that cute short bob to those long tresses in the first half of the 1980s. And it looked like she was starting to embrace the beach....which would make for a nice segue to introduce her 17th single, "Natsu ni Dakarete" (Embraced by Summer), released in May 1979.

According to J-Wiki, this was the first time that Iwasaki sung a tune that hadn't been crafted by either legendary lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠） or veteran Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）. And "Natsu ni Dakarete" seems to have a few styles mixed in there, thanks to the duo of Michio Yamagami（山上路夫） and Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）. Although it is supposed to be an aidoru song, it also has that Latin beat and a bit of disco which gives it that City Pop sheen. Along with the lengthening hair, perhaps the change in songwriters was also signaling Iwasaki's gradual transition from 70s aidoru to 80s pop chanteuse.

"Natsu ni Dakarete" managed to peak at No. 20 on Oricon and sold about 100,000 records. But the best was still yet to come for her.


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10 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2013 at 3:05 PM

    I'd like to introduce you to a curio. Brenda Lee was one of the giants of the American charts in the 60s, comparable with the likes of Elvis and the Beatles, who incidentally opened for her when she toured the UK and they were still unknowns. She also toured Japan, even singing in Japanese. Here is one of her later Japanese songs, released I think in 1975.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVgTc8PT7G8

    Now for the question, why is this comment appearing here? Omoide Sanaide was covered by Hiromi in a covers album in 1979, slightly predating Natsu ni Dakarete, but was not released as a single until 1982, following Madonna Tachi no Lullaby. Here's a beautiful performance from her 1982 concert.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZko6wNFYk

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    1. J-CanuckSeptember 18, 2013 at 7:56 PM

      Hello there, and thanks very much for your comments. I had no idea that Brenda Lee actually provided this lovely song....and in Japanese, too. Over the years, I've heard of non-Japanese singers like one of the Osmond brothers and even Alyssa Milano releasing music here, but Brenda Lee is one of the legendary veterans.

      Having said that, Hiromi does her usual great job covering "Omoidasanaide". I realize that you probably want to stay anonymous, and that's fine, but I was curious about how much of a Hiromi fan you are. It's not too easy to find diehard fans these days in or outside of Japan.

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    2. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2013 at 11:42 AM

      I'm more of a Momoe fan. Having been brought up on British pop and the Beatles tradition of trying one's hand at as many genres as possible, the sheer concentrated variety and experimentalism of Momoe's material is hard to beat, not to mention its many highlights. I actually happened on Hiromi when I saw this beautiful performance of Cosmos and wondered who the singer was, then the more I heard of her, the more I loved her.

      If you're looking for another Hiromi fan outside Japan, here's one called Mamiko who lives in the US. She regularly uploads videos of her singing Japanese songs, and her repertoire includes an eclectic selection of Hiromi Iwasaki songs, including the b sides from her first 2 singles (Evening Primrose and Watashi Tachi). Evening Primrose is another interesting Hiromi song, as she customarily sang without a microphone.

      http://www.youtube.com/user/imamiko

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    3. J-CanuckSeptember 20, 2013 at 12:51 AM

      Hi again.

      I'm also a fan of Momoe, but my entry into her world started from "Ii Hi Tabidachi", although I would quickly encounter "Cosmos", "Playback Part II" and "Imitation Gold". I've enjoyed her earlier, relatively more innocent work in the early 70s and also her more hard-driving material later in her career, but I was surprised to discover that she also had a small dalliance with AOR/West Coast through her album, "LA Blue".

      As for Hiromi, I was captivated by her in 1981 when she was singing "Sumire Iro no Namida". I only later found years later that it was actually a cover by a 60s vocal group, but she made the song her own.

      I just went over to Ms. Ikeda's YouTube site and heard her rendition of "Love" by John Lennon. Beautiful voice. I think there's even a bit of Lisa Ono in her. Thanks kindly. :)

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 2:58 PM

    Momoe tried her hand at lots of different genres. LA Blues was her go at the US AOR scene, Golden Flight her go at the British 70s rock scene, Phoenix Densetsu her The Who-style rock opera, and so on. Every album from Momoe Hakusho onwards had a different theme, which made her music interesting, unusually so for an aidoru from what I can make of the scene described on this blog.

    For an example of the eclectic style, here's a cover of Imitation Gold, with guitar arrangements almost exactly the same as Golden Flight's album version. The 70s British rock-style arrangements hold up pretty well as 00s heavy metal.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxUiWy_46xg

    More on Evening Primrose. I'm not sure what she says at the beginning, but she puts the mic down before singing this closing song of her 1983 concert.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ4BvaQn6HM

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    1. J-CanuckSeptember 22, 2013 at 7:42 PM

      Thanks on "Evening Primose". Just before she puts down the mike, she thanks the audience for their warm response and then states that she's going to sing a song that they all know.

      As for Momoe, I'm truly surprised at finding out how much she pushed the envelope. As you mentioned, I don't recall hearing singers from the aidoru genre going as far as Momoe did. Perhaps you can clear up something for me. I was under the impression....just from what I read on Momoe....that she did all she did during the 70s just so that she could earn money for her family, and when she finally got married, she was more than happy to chuck it all for a domestic life. From what you've told me about all these directions she took musically, it doesn't sound like someone who seemed like she was just doing it for the money. Do you have any insight about her motivations during that time?

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2013 at 9:35 PM

    There may be a few stories that could give some insight on that. Apparently in her autobio, Momoe explained that she'd got tired of singing the same songs over and over again. There's a studio guy who acted as her mentor throughout her career, and took the place of her father at her wedding. He said that when she told him she was quitting, he knew she wasn't going to change her mind, as tended to be strong willed. Also, she initiated her partnership with the Agi-Uzaki team when she said she wanted to work with Uzaki, despite her advisors being wary of his image.

    From that bunch, I'd say that she didn't like tedium or stagnation, but was always looking to explore different ideas, and with her insistence on getting her way justified by commercial success, the studio was happy to let her do whatever she wanted. It doesn't mean the albums were entirely her work, as there were instances where the songwriters directed things, such as Santa Maria no atsui kaze, which Shinji Tanimura wrote to deliberately challenge her with a different, difficult style (that she carried off with aplomb, even live). But there were also instances, such as Rock n Roll Widow, where she expressed a wish for something and the songwriters came up with the goods. You could say that she constantly wanted something different, while the songwriters also wanted challenging artistic directions and someone who could realise them, and their partnership was mutually satisfactory. Incidentally, Uzaki wrote a song in the 00s (lyrics by Yoko Agi of course), dedicated to Momoe and thanking her. This suggests she was as much a muse to them as she was just a singer of their songs.

    Here's an example of the experimentation in some of Momoe's material. Over 5 minutes long, but there are no vocals until 3 minutes into the song. No chorus, and wide vocal scales. It would rate as incredibly experimental even by modern western rock standards, yet it's never less than listenable.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaBw0R6c1ys

    And a translation of an article on Momoe.

    http://www.lemoda.net/momoe/killer-b-part1/index.html

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    1. J-CanuckSeptember 26, 2013 at 12:06 PM

      Hi there.

      I'm currently listening to "Mahogany Morning" as I type this. Really fascinating....never heard Momoe in this mode, especially when her voice just goes into the stratosphere at the end. It's a bit of a pity that my only BEST CD never showed this side of her, but then again, a BEST HITS package would only show the commercially successful stuff.

      Up to now, one of the more intriguing songs I've heard by Momoe was "Manjuu Shaka" because of its exotic atmosphere and the length of the song (about 8 or 9 minutes?).

      Though I hadn't been aware of how much influence she gradually wielded while she was singing, I did get the impression that she left the stage pretty much on her own terms. I don't think she'll ever return (despite the fevered wishes of some in the media and fandom) from family life, but the respect (and mystique) is all the higher because of that.

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  4. AnonymousMarch 24, 2017 at 10:53 AM

    Here's an entertaining performance of Natsu ni Dakarete. I especially like the bit at 00:42.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvzITTrnKXU

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