Akina Nakamori -- BLONDE

"BLONDE" is probably one of the coolest songs I've heard from the Akina Nakamori（中森明菜） discography. Mind you, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first when I saw Akina-chan slinking all over the dance floor on the music shows like a disco girl with something she needed to prove. However, when I kept hearing it on the audiotapes and CDs over the months and years, I started getting it. As the song gradually dug into my appreciation, I realized that the intro itself could've made for a fine beginning to a particularly hip detective show. But the whole song with the tight horns and sax is just great.

Nakamori's 18th single was released in June 1987 and hit the top spot on Oricon. It ultimately became the 7th-ranked single for the year. But the trivia that struck me about this song was that "BLONDE" was actually based on a slower and funkier original song titled "The Look That Kills" from her all-English album, "Cross My Palm" which was released a couple of months later in August. Biddu and Wilson Sela were responsible for the original music and lyrics, but lyricist Keiko Aso（麻生圭子） provided the Japanese lyrics for the more fast-paced "BLONDE".

Y'know...I wouldn't mind the right person or even Akina herself revisiting this one someday.