Shoko Minami -- Hikareteku...（惹かれてく・・・）

Up to now, it's just been the one song represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for Shoko Minami（南翔子）, "Nakimane"（泣きまね）from 1986, and of course, being the only song that I've associated with her, it can be easy for me to assume that this was her influential debut single.

However, that wasn't the case at all. Minami debuted in late 1984 with a single and an album, with the latter being titled "Shoko Fantasy"（翔子ファンタジー）released in October. It looks like for now, I'm going to be associating the singer with love ballads since the final track of the album that I'm going to feature here is another romantic slow number titled "Hikareteku..." (Charmed...).

I'd say that the cover of "Shoko Fantasy" would be the ideal setting for "Hikareteku...", and Minami does a wonderful performance of the song with her pure high tones. Written by Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里繼）, composed by Tsunehiro Izumi（和泉常寛）and arranged by Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生）, it seems to be the ideal ballad to walk along a beach by...and then for one-half of the couple to suddenly get on one knee to present the ring. I also think the nice thing about "Hikareteku..." is that it doesn't have all of those bells and whistles...or epic strings and electric guitar...to hammer it home that there are two people majorly in love. Not that those epic ballads are bad, but it's nice to hear from time to time, a love song that is kept simple in arrangement and focuses on a good voice.