Seiko Matsuda -- Hoho ni Shiokaze （頬に潮風）

Well, TGIF! I guess this can be considered an anniversary of sorts since I am writing the 50th article for Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". My last article on the quintessential aidoru of the early 1980s, "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru"（少しずつ春）had that hint of spring...appropriate since we were technically still in that season, so for this one, let's go with the summer theme.

As I mentioned in "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru", I've pretty much done all of the A-sides of her singles from her heyday in the early 1980s at least, so I'm now going onto her B-sides. And as much as "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru" was the B-side to "Cherry Blossom"（チェリーブラッサム）, "Hoho ni Shiokaze" (Sea Breeze On My Cheek), was the flip side to Seiko-chan's April 1981 5th single, "Natsu no Tobira"（夏の扉）, the very first Seiko song that I had ever heard.

The intro sounds almost suited to a light City Pop/J-AOR number, especially with that saxophone, but then the melody kicks into high gear into something that we've all been familiar with when it comes to early Seiko and those slightly raspy and earnest vocals of hers back then. The beat starts galloping, the strings start soaring and Seiko starts singing about that happy summer on the seaside.

(vocals only, sans instruments)

The song was created by a couple of songwriters that I had never heard before: lyricist Sakiko Asakawa（浅川佐記子）and composer Jukichi Moriie（森家住吉）. Since "Natsu no Tobira" was another No. 1 hit, the A-side has appeared in a lot of albums, but "Hoho ni Shiokaze" has only shown up on three of Matsuda's BEST compilations: "Seiko Box", "Complete Bible" and "Touch Me, Seiko II".