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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Akemi Ishii -- Nettaiya　（熱帯夜）



I think that saxophone intro alone had me needing a cold shower. So it figures that this Akemi Ishii（石井明美）song is titled "Nettaiya" (Sultry Night). It comes from her 1990 album of the same name that also included her version of "Lambada"...the one dance that grabbed a lot of attention in Japan for at least half of my time in the mountains of Gunma.

Along with "Lambada", the title track from "Nettaiya" is one of the songs that stood out in the album. There is this sense that the music by Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也）was a fond echo from another steamy ballad back in the 1960s, "The Look of Love" sung by Dusty Springfield (created by Burt Bacharach and Hal David) and used in the first wacky "Casino Royale"; some have said that the song was probably the only good thing about the movie. Kaoru Asagi（麻木かおる）provided the lyrics concerning that torrid romance in the tropics somewhere. That famous image of a woman taking an ice cube and trailing it down her slim neck comes to mind as Ishii is singing away.


Ladies and gentlemen, the incomparable Dusty Springfield! 
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2015 at 1:06 PM

    Hi! Do you know if there is a page somewhere where I can find the rankings of old albums and singles on the Oricon chart?
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J-CanuckJanuary 25, 2015 at 2:41 PM

      Hello there. It's your lucky day. I have the perfect site: for albums, go to this page...http://entamedata.web.fc2.com/music/top_album.html

      And for singles, you can go here: http://entamedata.web.fc2.com/music/top_single.html

      Enjoy!

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2015 at 9:55 PM

      thank you very much!

      Delete
    3. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2015 at 10:15 PM

      nice link, but it shows only year-end charts. Is there an archive for weekly chart placements?

      Delete
    4. J-CanuckJanuary 26, 2015 at 2:02 PM

      There is the actual Oricon site which has the weekly rankings (http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/w/2015-01-26/) but it only goes as far back as 2005. Early in my time with the blog, I did put up a few monthly ranking lists but they were from scattered sources.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2015 at 8:33 PM

    Hi J-Canuck,

    I tried to search for the album cover and tracklist of Lambada album to no avail. Do you happen to have a link or a scanned image of this album? I need it for reference in case I can request someone in Japan to get a copy for me if I'm lucky. Thanks!

    Al

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2015 at 9:00 PM

    I did a bit more research and reread your post. I stand corrected, I think what I'm looking for is Nettaiya - Brazilian Night album. If I'm not mistaken track 1 is Lambada and track 4 is Nettaiya. Did I get it right?

    Al

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J-CanuckJanuary 26, 2015 at 2:07 PM

      Hi, Al.

      Yup, that is indeed the album from 1990. The cover should have a sultry looking Ishii standing in front of a deep red background.

      Delete

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