Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Pal -- Please Catch Me


I've been enjoying a number of the videos from the YouTube channel, Kimi no Station: The Home of City Pop over the past several months, and I found this interesting album by a vocal group called Pal. I don't know long the band had been around but at least it's been before 1978 since the original vocalist Yuji Ozeki(尾関裕司)left Pal then with singer-songwriter Masahito Arai(新井正人)taking over, according to the description on Kimi no Station's video.

In 1980, Pal released the album "Catch Me" and the first track is "Please Catch Me" (I guess they were being very Canadian). According to the JASRAC database, it was written and composed by Takaki Funabashi(船橋孝樹); I've never heard of this person before so perhaps he may have been part of the band. In any case, from just this song, I get the impression that the sound of the band is a mix between Off Course and The Doobie Brothers. It's summery AOR with a hint of folk and as refreshing as a mint julep.

According to the same source, Pal finally broke up in 1982 with Arai pursuing a solo career. Now as I listen to the second track, "Satin Doll Night", I'm considering whether I can track this gem of an album down.

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