I wrote about Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）huge 1982 hit "Madonna-tachi no Lullaby"（聖母たちのララバイ）all the way back in July 2012, and when I did so, I had also been hoping that I would also be able to cover the B-side of her 28th single. Alas, searching around YouTube hadn't been too successful for many years.
That is, until last night. I was listening to one of my albums and was about to turn in when just for the heck of it, I decided to see if there was anything new in the Iwasaki file on YouTube and so once again as I've been doing for the past 8 years, I threw in "Akai Ito" (Red String) into the search engine on the site. Well, voila! The B-side was there!😍
Now, why have I been obsessing about a B-side for a singer's mega hit for almost a decade? Well, a lot of it is for sentimental reasons. When my brother had gone on his Toronto Japanese Language School graduation trip in the summer of 1982, a year after my own odyssey there, he brought back a few 45" singles including "Madonna-tachi no Lullaby", and both sides got a lot of airplay. To be honest, I haven't caught sight of the record in my home for decades, but I know that it's hidden somewhere in the dark corners.
The other reason for my search is that, well, it is a Hiromi song, and very frequently, a Hiromi song, even if it's not an A-side, is still quite polished in my estimation. "Akai Ito" also falls under that category, and just to let you know, I still have been able to listen to it despite the missing situation of that 45" because I managed to pick up a few BEST albums for the lass with her A-sides and B-sides years ago. "Akai Ito", when compared to its much more dramatic A-side, certainly comes off as a B-side; it may not be as flashy but it's got that certain air of mystery and wistfulness with an arrangement by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）that has a similar urban contemporary sheen to that of the more pop version of "Madonna-tachi no Lullaby" that is the A-side.
Asunaro（あすなろ）was responsible for the melody while Hikaru Yamazaki（山崎光）provided the lyrics. Back in 1982, when I still trying to grapple with the fact that I'd fallen hard for Japanese pop culture, I had no idea what this red string was all about. Now I know that it has something to do with the red string of fate that's an East Asian belief...something often along the lines of star-crossed lovers. For me, though, "Akai Ito" is just another one of those "missing" songs that I've been searching for and able to find again online, much to my happiness. Hopefully, it stays up for a good while. Oh, as a P.S., the last reason that I've been loving that single? Hiromi's splendid visage on the cover!
Here's something to your liking. A new blog, dedicated entirely to looking at Hiromi songs.
ReplyDeletehttps://ameblo.jp/bumimasshochan/
The author noted that her over-singing of Madonna Tachi no Lullaby in 1982 strained her voice and possibly damaged her throat, which explains the lip synching and husky voice during her episodes of The Star in February 1983.
Something else that I found interesting is the entry for Soba ni Oite, which appeared on Dal Segno (1984). Apparently it was written for her in 1980, and was first performed in her Symphony concert in Feb 1980. If you can translate the blog entry for that song, or at least summarise it, I'd be grateful.
Hello, Jim. I think back in the early 1980s, Iwasaki was enjoying a lot of success with a number of her songs including "Madonna", her cover of "Sumire Iro no Namida" and maybe even "Ieji", so her throat was probably crying "Uncle!" a lot during that time.
DeleteAs for that article on "Soba ni Oite", apparently though the song had been a candidate to be released as a single, the idea was shelved which Hiromi was disappointed about. The author, however, at his first Hiromi concert was able to hear it performed, and then as you mentioned above, the fans rejoiced when "Soba ni Oite" did appear in "Dal Segno".
In August 1995, when "My Gratitude" was released on occasion of Hiromi's 20th anniversary in show business, a new arrangement of "Soba ni Oite" was included, and since then, the song has apparently been a must-play at her concerts. Also, the song has been considered as a hallmark tune for the songwriters Toyohisa Araki and Takashi Miki.
Ah, that wistful, melancholy sound which became a staple of Japanese music from that era. And they do it so well. So many hidden gems like this in artists' back catalogs are waiting to be discovered.
ReplyDeleteHello, Michael. From one explorer to another, I heartily agree! :)
DeleteAnother request please. What are they saying in this video?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSo4mJi64cA
Hello, Jim.
DeleteThe request from that fellow in Chiba asked for a song by Mary Hopkin that he used to hear on late-night radio as a junior high school student studying for exams. When Hideki Saijo asked Hiromi about what she listened to as a teen, she replied that she listened to singers such as Shinji Tanimura along with a radio program called "The Punch Punch Punch" which was popular not only with adults but also with kids (according to J-Wiki, it was only 15 minutes long between 23:40-23:55).
Then, Marcia came into the conversation with some askance about this phenomenon of studying while listening to the radio. I gather that she didn't do cramming all that much. I certainly did and the radio came in very handy during those all-nighters.
Ahh, if you want to take a listen to "The Punch Punch Punch": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr2CN3dkrdg
DeleteWell, the first link only has the intro. Here's a longer excerpt with Seiko Matsuda as the day's radio personality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuIPZAB4s-E
ReplyDeleteAnother Hiromi video. I might enquire what they are talking about, but let's face it, that's not the point of the video. Around 44:00 in. Super Jockey, Jackie Chan and Yoshie Kashiwabara also guesting.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkLyiYqHm4Y
Discovered this interesting song, which seems to have been a live only number. Luckily, there is a (I think) Music Fair recording. Note the costumes.
ReplyDeleteWhite Dress on Fifth Avenue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aSDh8yfsls
Hi, Jim. I don't get to hear Hiromi speaking so that intro by her was quite nice. Yeah, I've been reading that "Gobangai no Shiroi Dress" has never been officially recorded and it was interesting that when the title showed up at the beginning, there was no listing of who created the song. I had to look it up in the JASRAC database: lyricist Keisuke Yamakawa and composer Norio Maeda.
DeleteIt's probably one of the longest songs by Hiromi that I've heard and quite the dramatic one. I wonder why it was never put onto vinyl or CD.
Did you notice Hiromi's costume change during the song?
ReplyDeleteIndeed I did. Sending a message, perhaps?
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