Kaze -- Tsuki ga Sasu Yoru（月が射す夜）

It's been a while since the wind blew into "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Actually, I should really say that it's been a good long while since Kaze（風）blew in, and what I'm referring to is the 1970s duo of Shozo Ise and Kazuhisa Okubo（伊勢正三・大久保一久）. The last time I wrote about a Kaze song was way back in early 2015, and my impression of them was that they were one of a number of folk bands that formed during that decade.

However, it seems like in the manner of a lot of folk acts back then such as Iruka（イルカ）, Off-Course（オフコース）, and Bread & Butter（ブレッド＆バッター）, Kaze also wanted to jump out of their comfort zone and land in perhaps another comfort zone, that of City Pop/AOR. So, for their 5th album, "Moony Night" which was released in October 1978, Ise and Okubo recorded their first track "Tsuki ga Sasu Yoru" that basically translates into that English title or perhaps "Moonlight Light" might sound a bit more natural.

Now, the above version is apparently from their April 1979 "Old Calendar", Kaze's one and only BEST album, and from what I'm hearing is something less folk-oriented and something more urgent. With the bass and Fender Rhodes, I can feel the City Pop aspect but I think that labels such as New Music and even J-Rock can be applied in parts. Written and composed by Ise, "Tsuki ga Sasu Yoru" might launch sounding a bit like the usual romantic ballad as the title might suggest, but it actually weaves between drama and hope as the lyrics point out one hot summer night about the loneliness of the citizens out in the streets. There's even some enriching bluesy sax making its presence felt near the end.

This version, which was apparently performed on an episode of Fuji-TV's "Music Fair" according to the uploader, ramps up the pace. In a way, there's something kinda Supertramp and perhaps because of the duo's name and one particular riff in "Tsuki ga Sasu Yoru", I'm even reminded of Christopher Cross' "Ride Like The Wind"😏.

"Moony Night" hit No. 2 on Oricon. Ise seems to have truly enjoyed the companionship of Earth's lone natural satellite since he would come up with another even more urban contemporary number connected to it a few years later as a solo act.