THE JAYWALK -- Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu (何も言えなくて...夏)

Although there is summer in its name, THE JAYWALK's 'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' just reminded me of the complete opposite. Instead of the unbearable heat and humidity of the season, the chilly air and crisp brown leaves that mark the start of winter comes to mind... along with the clear blue skies and strong but not burning sun of the Mediterranean. Well, I guess that's mostly because I had this song flowing through my head and ear buds while on a trip to Barcelona...

But the music by former JAYWALK vocalist and guitarist, Koichi Nakamura (中村耕一), does give the song an overall cooling feel which I suppose makes it a good summer tune since it counters the heat... figuratively of course. Or is it just me? Lyrics are written by the rock band's leader Mitsuyasu Tomohisa (知久光康). The original lead singer for 'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' was Nakamura, by the way as you can see from the video above.

This song was the group's most successful hit. Released in 1991 as their 18th single it's actually the summer version of 'Nanimo Ie Nakute' - you know, without the 'Natsu' at the back - which came out in their 1990 album 'DOWN TOWN STORIES'. And it sold around 980 000 copies. 'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' also was quite the late bloomer, cracking the Top 10 on the Oricon weeklies at 7th place only a year later in 1992, eventually settling at 32nd by the end of the year. It also managed to stay within the Top 100 in 1993 and placed at 64th. The song also earned THE JAYWALK their first Kohaku appearance in 1993. Wow.

'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' was one of the many songs I had picked up during my 'Popular 90's songs' phase late last year into early this year... those were good times... before my shocking and peculiar shift to Enka/Kayokyoku. Huh, I only just realized the genres' stark differences.

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