Yasuhiro Abe -- My Dear

Apple Music

(excerpt only)

Perhaps I should have killed three birds with one stone and wrote a whole article on Yasuhiro Abe's（安部恭弘）3rd album, "Slit" from 1984. After all, I've already got the first two tracks on board in their own articles, "Thrill Down" and "Irene", and now here is Track 3, "My Dear".

That smooth Fender Rhodes comes sliding in like silk along with Abe's voice. "My Dear" is the first ballad on the album after the highway-friendly "Thrill Down" and the mid-tempo stroll of "Irene". The ballad feels like that couple just relaxing after dinner and a few drinks and then standing atop some observation deck on one of the higher buildings in Shinjuku. It might be sunset or it might be the dead of night....doesn't matter, it's all good. Listening to this, I was reminded of some of the material of early Al Jarreau and Rod Temperton from around the same time. Ahh...those were some fine times listening to the radio. Not sure if Abe got as much air time as Al, but I'd like to think he's still well remembered through his music.

Along with Abe taking care of the music, the legendary Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）provided the lyrics.

Odaiba, Tokyo