Akemi Ishii -- L'Amant （ラマン）

This came from one of my purchased compilation tapes from Chinatown, but "L'Amant" from Akemi Ishii（石井明美）is actually a song that I like even better than the debut song by her that got her that overnight success in the summer of 1986. It's because of that somewhat adventurous tropical sound. Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）as Ishii's 3rd single for release in February 1987, the melody behind "L'Amant" itself just proceeds to tell a seeming story of intrigue and romance down in Havana, despite the French title and the fact that the lyrics actually relate a story of former lovers meeting again in a Nishi-Azabu café-bar. I only wonder if Matsumoto and Tsutsumi were watching an old 40s movie when they got inspired to create this song.

"L'Amant" may have first come to my attention from that old tape, but it was also a track on Ishii's 2nd album, "Joy", which came out in August 1987. It may not have been a hit for the singer, but any of my memories of Japanese pop music in the 80s will always include this tune.