Koji Tamaki -- Love Song Blue

 

"But what I really want to do is sing down-home pop/rock".

After many years on the shelf, I took out Koji Tamaki's（玉置浩二）4th solo album "Love Song Blue" from December 1994 and popped it into the stereo last night. My reaction was "Geez, why haven't I played this some more?"

It's a fine album to be sure with not only Tamaki's proven amazing voice but also a variety of genres among the tracks. By the way, that quote above is simply something that I made up thinking that it could be what the Hokkaido-born lead vocalist for 80s rock band Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）would have said when comparing his band output of moody music in the early 1980s to the songs that he has crafted as a soloist since then...songs that I see and hear as material that I would love while Tamaki is entertaining a close group of friends around a campfire or in front of a cottage in a snowy hinterland.

"Love Song Blue" had Tamaki writing and composing all of the songs with some help by Ko Tanaka（田村コウ）on some of the tracks while Akira Sudo（須藤晃）and Katsu Hoshi（星勝）co-produced along with the singer. I already have one track from the album represented which is the romantic "Futari nara"（ふたりなら）.

The album begins with "Seigi no Hero"（正義の味方...Hero of Justice） which is pretty much as it says on the title: an inspiring start to the album with Tamaki singing and encouraging folks to do their best at the right thing. It's got the brassy synths pushing the way and the arrangement reminds me a little of the first track from Anzen Chitai's "VI" album, "I Love You Kara Hajimeyou"（I Love Youからはじめよう...Let's Begin With I Love You) . This was actually the coupling song to Tamaki's 9th single from June 1995, "STAR", but I think this would have made a nice theme tune for any J-Drama or even a tokusatsu series.

Track 2 is "Ii Kao de"（いい顔で...Put on a Good Face）, another encouraging track although this time, it's all about the game of love, and somewhat differently from what I was describing some paragraphs above about Tamaki going for that down-home approach, the setting is more downtown with some real horns as the singer exhorts folks not to sweat any temporary setbacks and just go for it and have some fun while at it. It was with "Ii Kao de" that I started comparing "Love Song Blue" as the solo Tamaki equivalent of what Anzen Chitai was doing with their "V" album...pushing through the envelope away from that distinctive sound that they had broken through with in their earlier albums.

Seeing Tamaki perform in the video above is probably how he really likes to let loose at a concert when compared to his Anzen Chitai performances on the music ranking shows at least when being stoic as possible was the usual performance stance. And I mean, he would have to let loose for this good ol' rock-n-roll "Aishiteru yo"（愛してるよ...Love Ya） which seems to be depicting one of the most passive-aggressive courtships that I've ever heard.

(karaoke version)

"ROOTS" is Tamaki at his charismatic down-and-sultry as I think his lyrics are describing some major boot-knockin' that was going on back in the day. However, the surrounding music also puts in hints of peril...sounds like the plot of a 1980s romance-thriller.

"Saikou desho?"（最高でしょ?...Isn't it the Best?）is an interesting mesh of bluesy jazz and rock as Tamaki sings about a fellow's week of making up and making out with his beloved. Along with "Ii Kao de", this extravaganza brought thoughts of comparisons between "Love Song Blue" and Anzen Chitai's "V" as I was listening to the melodic odyssey taking things out of the intimate jazz supper club in New York City and into the craziness of the Manhattan streets and back again. Tamaki is one artist who's not content giving a straight-ahead delivery; he loves to play around with his voice and the surrounding musicians in a jam session style. There's probably no difference between him in the recording booth or on a stadium stage.

One more track that I will provide here is "Aishitenjanai"（愛してんじゃない...You Still Love Her, Don't You?）which I was left thinking about wondering about how to categorize it. There is some of that jazz in there but it isn't Big Band or even Cool Jazz. Then I thought it was more in the old-fashioned pop standard genre involving folks like Bobby Darin and Michael Buble who've loved to put their hearts right on their sleeves when performing. As for the story in the lyrics, some poor schlep gets thrown out of the house after a fight with the significant other and would love to forget the whole wreck of a relationship except that he's haunted by the title itself. Just another night in the city.

There are a few more tracks on "Love Song Blue" including two that were a single and its coupling song but I will leave that to separate articles. The album peaked at No. 18 on Oricon, and as I mentioned off the top, Tamaki has provided some of that down-home music but with "Love Song Blue", he's also shown himself to be as much of a showman in a nightclub as he has in front of a campfire with buddies. Nice to make its acquaintance again.