Mitsuko Komuro -- You Need Love

Another one of those chanteuses that I've thought as being underrated all these years is singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子） just from her ability in the recording booth alone. Yes, I know that she's been involved in providing a fair bit of material for TM Network including their huge hit "Get Wild" for the anime "City Hunter", but she did put out several albums of her own, mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Her 2nd album from November 1981 is "Azayaka na Deai"（あざやかな出逢い...A Beautiful Encounter） which has the official English title of "Everybody Needs Love" and the first track is the de facto title track "You Need Love" (and don't we all these days?). Komuro wrote and composed this ballad which brings a few influences into my mind when I listen to it. 

For one thing, the rich and creamy vocals remind me of Yurie Kokubu's（国分友里恵）"Akogare" （憧憬）album from 1994 when she was doing much mellower pop after her City Pop party days of the 1980s. Plus, the overall arrangement of "You Need Love", especially with those string flourishes, has had me thinking of fellow songbird Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）and her song stylings. Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）produced "Azayaka na Deai" along with Komuro herself, and I would like to get a copy of it someday myself.