Koji Tamaki -- Ikanaide（行かないで）

I was reminded by a comment for Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）"IV" album that I had yet to write anything about Koji Tamaki's（玉置浩二）solo "Ikanaide" (Don't Leave Me Alone) single from November 1989.

It was used as the theme song for the Fuji-TV 30th Anniversary commemorative drama "Sayonara, Ri Koran"（さよなら李香蘭）, a biography for the singer Yoshiko Yamaguchi（山口淑子）who had gone by the name Li Hsiang-lan or the Japanese Ri Koran while living in the Republic of China around World War II. I never saw the drama starring Yasuko Sawaguchi（沢口靖子） myself, but considering Tamaki's song and the times depicted, I can only imagine many tears were shed in front of the telly.

As an old friend and fellow Anzen Chitai fan once told me years ago, Tamaki once performed a song in concert for the first several bars without any instrumental accompaniment and audience encouragement. It was just his voice alone singing a ballad, and he had everyone in the hall wrapped around his vocal cords with that incredible talent. Probably, a few gallons of lachrymal fluid were left on the floor, too. I wouldn't be surprised if the ballad in question had been the topic of this article. It's beautifully haunting and heartbreaking at the same time. Mind you, for non-fans, "Ikanaide" could also be treated as being a little too overwrought; I remember the song being played on some sort of parody in a "Tunnels" comedy show once. Still, assuming that "Sayonara, Ri Koran" was melodramatic, "Ikanaide" was the perfect tune.

This particular song would probably be the quintessential Tamaki song showing off that remarkable high range. Just how he was able to go through several rounds of practice and recording before the release of the CD without shattering his throat is beyond me. It's pretty much pop opera with that orchestral arrangement. Once again, it was the triumvirate of Tamaki, lyricist Goro Matsui（松井五郎）and arranger Katsu Hoshi（星勝）behind the creation of "Ikanaide". Since its release, it has been covered in both Mandarin and Cantonese by a number of other singers.

According to the J-Wiki article for the song, it wasn't seen as a huge hit for Tamaki when his 5th single peaked at No. 16 on Oricon, but it's been a favourite entry on the concert playlist for his fans for many years. That's no surprise and I'm sure fans knew to bring very absorbent handkerchiefs for that particular song. Apparently, "Ikanaide" first made its appearance on an album through "Anzen Chitai/Tamaki Koji Best"（安全地帯・玉置浩二ベスト）released in August 1994.

The man's still got it, even decades later!