Junko Yagami -- Mr. Metropolis（Mr.メトロポリス）

I had started getting a little discouraged when it came to the output of Junko Yagami（八神純子）. No, before you "Bay City" fans start throwing bass guitars and synths at me, I wasn't dissing the lovely Ms. Y. Actually, I was lamenting the fact that it's been extremely difficult to track down and purchase some of her 1980s output such as "Lonely Girl" and "Communication", although I'm indeed grateful that the tracks do exist on YouTube...and may they stay that way there.

So it was with some of that same gratitude and relief that I could find a Yagami album from that period. To be specific, this would be her 3rd album released in April 1980, "Mr. Metropolis". It includes that disco single "Polar Star"（ポーラー・スター）, and hearing some of the samples via CD Japan, I knew that I had to get the lead out and get it into my collection before it went into the dreaded category of haiban. Plus, the cover for "Mr. Metropolis" has one of her most famous photos: looking pensive into the middle distance while leaning on that wooden chair. I can only hope that the photographer wasn't too demanding and had her standing there for hours.

The first track is also the title track. "Mr. Metropolis" is a pretty fascinating adventure of a song. Written by Keisuke Yamakawa（山川啓介）and composed by the singer, the song begins and ends with Yagami seemingly trying to comfort and encourage the megalopolis of Tokyo itself through urban midnight balladry while the middle part consists of partying hard as if it were New Year's Eve 1980 at Studio 54. I also kinda thought that she could have been paying tribute to a superhero from an Alan Moore graphic novel. There's even that feel of a grand musical story along the lines of Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". All the while, there is that amazing Yagami voice.

"Deja Vu" is one of my favourite tracks on "Mr. Metropolis" which was written and composed by Yagami. As the title intimates, it's about a first-time meeting between a man and a woman but with the latter feeling that the budding relationship already has the comfort level of a longtime romance (star-crossed lovers, perhaps?). The melody is also striking for me since it has that fusion of the Latin from some of her singles in the late 1970s and the soaring City Pop going into the 1980s. It goes a tad spacey at the end for some reason.

The final track on the original Side A is "Goodbye, Utsukushii Hibi"（グッバイ美しい日々...Goodbye Beautiful Days）, a beautiful and bittersweet ballad that provides a refreshing side trip from all of the disco. In fact, I would say that Yagami went a bit Carpenters when she created this track. It's as comfortable as sitting in a rocking chair by a fireplace, but the lyrics tell of a woman hoping that her former paramour understands that the parting was meant to be. Incidentally, all of the songs featured here up to now were arranged by Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）.

Side B starts off with another love call to the city and appropriately titled "Wonderful City"（ワンダフル・シティ）as Junko wakes up in the morning, opens the drapes, and sees Tokyo beckoning to her below. This is another wholly Yagami creation and another interesting tune for its dramatic intro that for some reason is rather reminiscent of a particular Pet Shops Boys tune, and a pretty and crystalline keyboard. Just my biased City Pop self remarking here, but wouldn't it be lovely if a cover version or the original itself somehow were used to invite the world to the 2020 Olympics? Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）arranged this one. (Yup, I have forgotten that I had already given "Wonderful City" its own article thanks to an aging memory and a giddy love for it, but hey, I've added some extra insight here anyways.)

One of the reasons that I think I got a real winner with "Mr. Metropolis" was some of the pleasant surprises that I received with the variety of music. As much as I like Yagami's brand of City Pop on this album, I also enjoyed the change in pace with the aforementioned "Goodbye, Utsukushii Hibi" and a couple of other tracks. One of those other tracks happens to be the final one "Another Day, Another Me". At first, I did a bit of a start when I heard it since it sounds so different from what I'm accustomed to from the singer. I mean, it has that 1970s whimsical pop feeling and in fact it even sounds like a jingle for a pop drink, especially when Yagami and the chorus all get together for the finale. Coca-Cola should've taken notice. I can imagine everybody locking arms and swaying side-to-side in the recording studio. Unlike the other tracks, she had nothing to do with the creation of this happy-happy-joy-joy song; Hisashi Kawamura（川村ひさし）provided the lyrics while Seo himself composed the jolly music and arranged it. Incidentally, Seo and Goto were also helping out as part of the backing band with the former on keyboards and the latter on bass.

"Mr. Metropolis" went all the way up to No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies and ended the year as the 27th-ranked album of 1980. I'm still hoping to someday get my hands on "Lonely Girl" and "Communication", but in the meantime, I'm more than happy with this album as well.