Mariya Takeuchi -- Hollywood Café/Hachibu Onpu no Uta（ハリウッド・カフェ/８分音符の詩）

How does the saying go..."The best things come to those who wait"? Well, I waited and waited and waited.

Allow me to explain some background. Some years ago, I picked up this obscure album called "Loft Sessions Vol. 1" released in March 1978 which showcased a number of female singers including a 23-year-old Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）who had yet to officially debut. She came out with her debut album "Beginning" in November of that year.

The reason that I bought "Loft Sessions Vol. 1", which I had first seen in the pages of "Japanese City Pop", was on reading that Takeuchi had contributed two songs to this album in early 1978 before that debut. Considering how much of a fan I was of her, it took me a few nanoseconds to decide to pull the trigger and the yen. Those two songs were tunes that I had wanted to write about on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for years but couldn't since there was no sign of them on YouTube or the other video sites.

But then just a few hours ago, I discovered them in one video. And well, although it's nearly time to hit the hay, I just had to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and let you folks know of the pre-debut Mariya. So, allow me to introduce "Hollywood Café" and "Hachibu Onpu no Uta" (8-Note Song).

Going from that debut album "Beginning", Takeuchi set the template here for the early part of her career up to her sabbatical from performing in the early 1980s. It was about that West Coast/country sound and her love for the 50s/60s pop tunes. "Hollywood Café", though, has quite a different feel. Mariya composed the music while Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）provided the lyrics about a lonely woman at that titular café, but from the melody, it almost comes across as if the roles should have been reversed. It's quite an atmospheric European-sounding ballad despite the title and Takeuchi has a subdued delivery, almost whispery.

"Hachibu Onpu no Uta", on the other hand, sounds like an early official Takeuchi number with that gently lilting country sway like one of those old-fashioned swinging sofas on an outdoor porch. Takashi Matsumoto and Shigeru Suzuki（松本隆・鈴木茂）were the ones behind "Hachibu Onpu no Uta", and actually, I did write about the song before because the original had been recorded by Suzuki in 1976 for his 2nd album "Lagoon". In fact, that was where I first mentioned about Mariya and her association with "Loft Sessions Vol. 1".

Takeuchi's country-style cover of "Hachibu Onpu no Uta" makes for an interesting comparison with Suzuki's original since his take was more of a nighttime jazz piece. Also, listening to her here, it sounds more like the Mariya that I've come to know and admire all these years. According to her bio on J-Wiki, both it and "Hollywood Café" were put onto a 7-inch single record for promotion purposes only. To finish up, at that time, her first name was written in katakana（マリヤ）rather than hiragana.

Have a good night. I just did.