Kyoko Koizumi -- Saigo no Kiss （最後のキッス）

It's almost been a year since I put up that article on Kyoko Koizumi's （小泉今日子）32nd single "Anata ni Aete Yokatta"（あなたに会えてよかった）from May 1991, and in it I was lamenting slightly that I couldn't find the coupling song for it, "Saigo no Kiss". Well, I no longer need to lament.

Compared to the sweet contemporary pop of "Anata ni Aete Yokatta", Kyon-Kyon's "Saigo no Kiss" (A Final Kiss) is a slice of jazz. Like the A-song, she also provided the lyrics for this coupling song as a romantic couple makes their way home one cold night, and the woman wants the night to last a bit longer by hugging her guy a bit more and giving that final kiss in front of her house. But for me, it's the music by guitarist-songwriter EBBY with the horn arrangement by Yoichi Murata （村田陽一）that makes the song special. The laid-back vibe describes that slow nighttime walk before the brass takes it all the way home in one big flourish (maybe signalling that kiss). Sounds a lot like the way those old radio broadcasts of Big Band music finished up before bedtime. Nice way to sign off.

Ah, both songs, by the way, were also included in Koizumi's 18th album, "afropia" from July 1991 which hit No. 1 on Oricon.