One of our days on that cruise last month included a several-hour stopover in Falmouth, Jamaica. Couldn't have asked for a better day to go ashore and enjoy a walk around. I wouldn't have minded buying some of that famous rum...especially after having a double-shot rum and coke on board. Definitely was feeling mellow that night.
I found this B-side by Yuki Okazaki（岡崎友紀）recently so wanted to give this a highlight. For me, Okazaki will always be the one behind "Do You Remember Me?" (1980), the somewhat Swinging 60s-ish pop tune (apparently, the composer was inspired by The Ronnettes). Well, on the flip side of that single, this is "Jamaican Affair", a much more mellow affair with that bit of soft reggae thrown in.
The same folks behind "Do You Remember Me?" were taking care of this one as well, lyricist Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composer Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）. I probably couldn't say that this was real reggae, of course...more like reggae-tinged New Music or J-AOR. However, I'm glad that I could get a second article on Okazaki on board (I put the first one up all the way back in 2012), so perhaps I should start exploring some of her earlier material since "Do You Remember Me?" was actually near the tail end of her singing career.
I love it ! More of a rock-steady beat to my ears, not so much from a technical breakdown but the languid feel. Perfect 4am music. I like this better than the Teresa Noda version (too many strings); the Yuki vocals are more suited to the beat. What a treat it must have been to flip the EP over and find this :) There's a not-unreasonable amount of "asian" sound in Jamaican music, sometimes overt (e.g. Suzie Wong by Jacob Miller) but often in the background guitar work. Who got what from whom I'll leave to the ethnologists and just lay back and enjoy - thanks again !
ReplyDeleteHi, T-cat. I have heard about Noda doing her own version of the song. In fact, I have seen her represented on YouTube but have yet to try those videos out.
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