Yoko Shibata -- Umaku Ikanakutemo (うまくいかなくても)

This is a follow-up of sorts to that Junko Yagami（八神純子）BEST article I just wrote a few minutes ago. I enjoyed Yagami's rendition of "Umaku Ikanakutemo" (Even If It Doesn't Go Well) on her "Junko The Best" but couldn't find it anywhere online. However, it would have been a pity if it couldn't be heard so I was able to track down the version performed by the woman who had created it, singer-songwriter Yoko Shibata（柴田容子）.

I mentioned in my first article for Shibata that her voice sounded similar to that of Yagami, but for her version of "Umaku Ikanakutemo", it's slightly more toned down. The B-side to her 3rd single, "Tomarigi" (とまり木...Perch) from January 1978 as well as a track on her 1st album with the same title from February of the same year, "Umaku Ikanakutemo" is delivered as if Shibata wanted to surreptitiously give that advice of not giving into obstacles and not giving up on the road to success. Heck, her lyrics even give a shoutout to The Beatles' "Long and Winding Road". It's the voice of a good friend keeping that air of optimism.

Listening to "Umaku Ikanakutemo", I keep getting reminded of the crazily optimistic Hikari Kohinata in the current anime "Amanchu!"