Mariya Takeuchi -- Koi no Arashi（恋の嵐）

After 70 articles related to Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）, I'm surprised that I had yet to cover this one since although I could never remember the title, the melody has been very familiar to me.

"Koi no Arashi" (Storm of Love) is this cute mix of Mariya's earlier 50s/60s candy pop and what sounds like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" which was released as her 13th single in March 1986. Of course, her husband's voice is in the chorus back there, and the singer wrote and composed the song.

It sounds oh-so-sweet but actually the lyrics are about a woman's imminent arrival at the point of no return in terms of an affair that she is about to kick off with a friend on a dark, stormy night. Perhaps that's why I kinda find the cover for the single somewhat sinister with Mariya wearing that red outfit and a slightly devilish grin. Temptations, temptations...

Not surprisingly, "Koi no Arashi" was used as the theme song for a TBS drama "Tonari no Onna"（となりの女...The Woman Next Door） which dealt with the same topic. It peaked at No. 20 on Oricon and was also placed as a track on her 7th album "Request" from August 1987 and on her second BEST compilation "Impressions" from July 1994.