Pretty miserable day out there...it's cold and slightly windy out there but it's not freezing enough for the rain to turn into snow. Definitely time to stay inside for the rest of today here in Toronto.
I've got another obscure aidoru single to share. This time, it's the debut of Keiko Nishina（二科恵子）who released a total of four singles between 1981 and 1982. Side A is "Koi no Kirakira Dance" (Glittery Dance of Love) from October 1981 by Geoff Bastow with Japanese lyrics by Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生）, and it's a fairly rapid-fire disco tune handled by Nishina. I think her voice is settled nicely between the high-pitched tones of fellow aidoru including Seiko Matsuda and Naoko Kawai（松田聖子・河合奈保子）and the later lower vocals of Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）.
"Koi no Kirakira Dance" is actually a cover of a 1981 song "I Like Your Love" by the sister trio act of Trix who hail from Argentina. From what I've read from their Wikipedia profile, the Rousse sisters had a successful career as television personalities as well.
Returning to the Nishina video, at 3:25 is the B-side "Mickey Mouse Melody". Now, if you're like me, you might assume that this song is a comical Disney march for the kiddies. Well, I got quite the shock when I heard the melody by P. Parnes and M. Varre (again with Mizutani's help on the language) to realize that "Mickey Mouse Melody" is light-years away from the iconic "Mickey Mouse March". In fact, I would be expecting Mickey and Minnie to be sharing an especially strong caipirinha as I listen to this, thanks to the laidback bossa nova, and may I say that Nishina's vocals go quite well with the arrangement here. From the non-Japanese songwriters, I think that this is also a cover but I couldn't find out who the original artist was. If anyone can solve this one, please let me know.
Original Mickey Mouse Melody:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_DoeUxD2Xo
:)