Another singer from the pages of "Japanese City Pop" is Mai Yamane（山根麻衣）. For my first article on her regarding her 3rd single, "Foolin' Myself", she was performing the cover of an Eric Carmen song. This time, the focus is on the title track of her debut album, "Tasogare" (Twilight) which came out in 1980.
I really enjoy the groove going on in all this mellow. And instead of Eric Carmen, when I hear "Tasogare", I get this Gino Vannelli vibe with a bit of Rod Temperton synth thrown in for good measure. Yamane's smoky vocals are even more spot-on here. She doesn't have to wrench her heart out like she does in "Foolin' Myself" but can go more with the groovy flow of the melody.
Considering that her early stuff may be among the rarest of the rare out there, I can only hope that I can somehow track down a copy of "Tasogare".
This is a fine song indeed. This would make for a good one to put on while driving at night. Like you, I also became captivated by Yamane's vocals. I've come across a number of songs by her and was really impressed with quality of her material.
ReplyDeleteAs for actually buying it, I think I'm gonna have to wait until I'm reunited with my record player in Toronto. Seems like they reissued a bunch of her albums on CD ages ago, but nobody wants to sell those away. Only vinyl copies are available. Shame, really.
Yeah, it seems like "Tasogare" is the one to get. I heard the producer behind it was Makoto Matsushita, and his "First Light" (1981)is also a target for me (although his stuff may even be rarer than Yamane's).
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of getting one of those USB-equipped record players last year for Xmas, but I was reading a lot of negative reviews about them, so I held off. But if I can get a decent one someday, I wouldn't mind tracking down an LP or two.
Back to Yamane, her music back then along with that of Matsushita and Noriko Miyamoto is just the type of stuff that I loved and still love listening to.