About 20 years ago, I was able to get this CD via a relative in Osaka. It just happened to be Dreams Come True's 15th single, "Wherever You Are", and the thing I first noticed was the cover which had Miwa and Masato's vision of the Death Star.
I've played it a number of times since then, and it is probably one of the poppiest singles that DCT has ever come up with. I mean, the song isn't quite on the timeless levels that perhaps songs like "Love Love Love" or "Mirai Yosozu II"（未来予想図ＩＩ）inhabit but it is another one of those happy-go-lucky tunes that Miwa Yoshida（吉田美和）can fire up just on her grand smile alone. And listening to it all those times, I'm kinda wondering whether lyricists Yoshida and Mike Pela and composer Masato Nakamura（中村正人）were being influenced by theme songs from those fluffy romantic comedies of the 1960s (I'm thinking Rock Hudson and Doris Day) or sitcoms from the same decade. "Wherever You Are" seems to melodically describe a day in the life of a decent if bumbling protagonist trying to plug away in the big city.
Strangely enough, the song was used as a theme for the 1994 TBS drama, "Chounan no Yome"（長男の嫁...The Eldest Son's Wife）starring Yuko Asano and Junichi Ishida, a couple of thespians that I would usually relate to the Japanese rom-com.
And the other amazing thing about the song is that Maurice White from Earth Wind & Fire is helping out as well. Would love it if those two ever decided to do a cover of "September" together.
(excerpt only)
"Wherever You Are" was released in April 1994 and hit No. 1. It became the 43rd-ranked song of the year, and a Japanese-language cover titled "Itsumo Itsudemo"（いつもいつでも）was made for Dreams Come True's 7th album, "Delicious" which came out in March 1995. Somehow, I prefer the original English version.
And just for the heck of it, I'm putting in White's cover of "Stand By Me" which was actually the first time I'd ever heard of the song before hearing the Ben E. King original which became famous again via the 80s coming-of-age movie of the same name with Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman.
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