Credits

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.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Anzen Chitai -- Yakusoku (約束)



Anzen Chitai's(安全地帯)"Yakusoku" (Promise) was not an official single, nor was it a major song in the Hokkaido band's long discography. However, it made for a nice addition to their 1986 album, "V". As I mentioned in the article for that big album, Koji Tamaki(玉置浩二)and company probably wanted to spread their wings a bit more musically by trying out blues, jazz and in this case, good old-fashioned AOR.

"Yakusoku" was another collaboration between Tamaki and Goro Matsui(松井五郎), and right from those mellow horns that start things off, it's a Perrier-and-wrap-a-sweater-around-your-waist type of ballad. One commenter for the above YouTube video stated that this would be the perfect tune for a summer sunset, and I couldn't agree more. It's good unwinding music. Plus, those horns were arranged by Jerry Hey who's done so much with folks like Anri(杏里)and Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷由実)in the late 80s, so I couldn't help but think of those two when I listened to "Yakusoku". And as usual, Tamaki's vocals are as smooth as a glass of Bailey's Cream.

It may not be the Anzen Chitai sound that got the band its fame, but I still love it and it is one of the tunes I remember the most from the album!


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