Ahhhh...nothing like the smoovy music of Sing Like Talking back in their early days while the sun is setting on another day. Launching with a gospel-like riff, "Kaze ni Dakarete" (Embraced by the Wind) gets into a comfy light funk as the amazing Chikuzen Sato（佐藤竹善）handles that voice like a virtuoso. Just him, that steady piano and the marvelous horn section are just the tonic.
Yup, I'm being pretty biased here since I'm the guy who goes full tilt for Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Quincy Jones. But SLT's music in the late 80s and 90s was the right stuff for me. And so I remain ever so grateful for making that mistake in the neighbourhood music shop in Ichikawa and picking up their CD, "Discovery", thinking that it was this other band that I'd heard on an episode of "Music Fair" one night.
However, "Kaze ni Dakarete" was actually on their 7th original album, "Togetherness" which came out in April 1994. I eventually purchased that album as well since it also has the amazing "Together" leading things off. Sato and his writing partner, Chiaki Fujita（藤田千章）, took care of this song as it was also released as their 17th single that same year in August. I don't think it did anything on the singles charts, but that's perfectly fine....the song will stay our collective secret among the Sing Like Talking fans. And besides, "Togetherness" actually hit No. 1 on the album charts.
First-class song. I'm sure a bunch of us working people could use a comforting SLT track to unwind to. It's such a good groove and keeps the song interesting for the whole 6+ minutes. The photo above pretty much sums up the mood: tranquil and free. I'll probably take a walk like that by Toronto Waterfront once the evenings get warmer.
ReplyDeleteI bought "Togetherness" a while back; lovely album overall. Sato and the guys had a good ear for classic AOR. Also a big fan of Steely Dan here. :)
Hey, nikala.
DeleteGood to hear from a fellow Steely Dan fan. Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" is a heavy-rotation CD in my collection. :)
That photo above is from Ito...I've often used this and some of the other shots from the area whenever I've written articles on City Pop...looks perfect for such an album.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI followed your advice. I have to admit I didn't know them at all. Fantastic music!