Yesterday I got another shipment from Tower Records. The main thing was that I wanted to get a Mt. Fuji calendar for 2017...it's a bit of a custom to have at least one Japanese calendar hanging at home, but since Tower Records also sells CDs...heck, why not get some music as well (heh, heh)? It ended up that 3 compact discs got put into a huge box because of the calendar so I'm sure the guy from Canada Post was wondering how could a box that size be so light. Mind you, I'm sure he wasn't complaining.
Speaking of light, once again, I got the latest in the "Light Mellow" series of J-AOR/City Pop tunes from the last few decades of the 20th century. This time, I got the disc called "Sunshine" which had apparently been released a year ago. As usual, there were a few songs that hit me right off the start and some that will most likely grow upon me over the years.
Just as usual, there was a Sentimental City Romance (センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス) song on it. Fellow collaborator nikala and I have contributed to the small list of the SCR songs that we have on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" including my own take on "Sun Sunny Friend" which was also placed on another in the "Light Mellow" series. Well, I'm now putting up a just-as-summery tune that is the earliest release I have offered on KKP to date.
The song is "Natsu no Hi no Omoide" (Memories of a Summer Day) which was a track on the mellow rock band's 3rd album from December 1977, "City Magic". Despite the title, though, this is far less a City Pop tune than it is a pleasant AOR ditty. No thick bass in here...just nice strumming of the guitars with a soulful harmonica during the bridge. In fact, the whole original recording that I heard on the "Light Mellow" disc has that happy American soul feeling. It was written by Yui Hosono（細野優衣）and composed by band vocalist Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）.
Wow! Billy Joel did have hair back then, didn't he? Just teasin', Piano Man! Strangely enough, "Natsu no Hi no Omoide" sounds a fair bit similar to Joel's later hit from 1983, "Leave A Tender Moment Alone", another one of my favourites by him. There's also a wonderful harmonica solo in there as well by the late Toots Thielemens.
I just wanted you to have a listen to the original recording of "Natsu no Hi no Omoide" from their BEST compilation, "Sentimental City Romance Golden Best" on the Amazon site. Of course, it's just the excerpt but at least, you can hear some of that soul. Just scroll on down to Track 4. (June 14th 2024: I found a full version of the original recording).
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