I found this just about a week ago while flipping through the YouTube pages with Kiyoshi Maekawa (前川清) in the search engine. Among the many live performances of Cool Five classics and some of his own recent solo efforts, I managed to come across the video for "Fiction no Youni" that played the song in its original state. It's actually quite uncommon to find such videos since most of them with Mae-Kiyo's older songs are usually just one of those karaoke covers, much to my ire.
Anyway, inferring from the song's name, I kinda guessed that it wouldn't be close to the genre he's most known for, Mood Kayo, let alone Enka. "Fiction no Youni" sounds so Pop-like and looks like a song title straight from the mind of Aska. Nevertheless, I assumed this would probably have a slow, relaxed pace with an air of mystery to it. So you could say I was more than surprised to hear synths (in a Mae-Kiyo song?!) and a brisk tune, very typical of songs from the early 80's. It still has that air of mystery to it though, especially since he starts off in a cool, quiet tone... actually it doesn't get as intense at the later parts either, unlike other songs... lookin' at you, "Soshite Kobe" (そして、神戸).
Composed by the late Daisuke Inoue (井上大輔) from the Group Sounds group, Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets - the one who played the flute or sax - I think this was one other single that made Maekawa eventually known for singing songs that lean more to the genre of Pop. It was written by Ichiko Takehana (竹花いち子).
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| He looked "derpy" yet somewhat cute in the 80's. Urgh, but that hairdo... |
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Hi, Noelle.
ReplyDeleteLooking at that cover, I was actually wondering if Maekawa was indeed trying to channel Aska. Plus that city background there had me thinking City Pop. It's truly an interesting single in his long career so I'm also wondering if he had some sort of musical itch to scratch at that time.
Hi J-Canuck,
ReplyDeleteHaha, Maekawa channeling Aska! But it does look very Aska. Anyway, "Fiction no youni" is definitely one of Maekawa's more out-of-the-ordinary songs, especially in terms of its music. I wouldn't have expected him to sing a song like that. And what is City Pop exactly?
Hi there.
DeleteYeah...I had no idea that Maekawa would ever try something like that....but, hey, it keeps people like us interested.
City Pop is a genre of Japanese pop music that had its big heyday in the late 70s and early 80s (although certain songs with that style still pop up now). It incorporates the sounds of R&B and disco, and the feeling is life in the big city. In terms of instrumentation, there is a lot of thumping bass and Fender Rhodes piano.
Thanks for the explaination and finding the name of the lyricist who wrote Dick Mine's "Tabi sugata sannin otoko".
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