Masaaki Hirao and Yoko Hatanaka -- San Francisco Monogatari（サンフランシスコ物語）

 

Back in June 2012...in the early days of "Kayo Kyoku Plus"...I wrote about a song that had become one of the classic kayo duets on the kayo TV shows and in the karaoke boxes. I'm of course talking about the January 1978 single "Canada Kara no Tegami" (カナダからの手紙）by the late singer-songwriter Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）and his protégé at the time, Yoko Hatanaka（畑中葉子）. Nothing says jaunty Japanese tune than the Great White North!

However, some 9 months after the release of this hit, both Hirao and Hatanaka decided to double down on their love letters to traveling and this time, the target of their ardor was far more south and west. It was the City by the Bay, aka San Francisco, and the title of the October 1978 album made that crystal-clear: "San Francisco Monogatari" (San Francisco Story). Officially, it's been listed as the 2nd album for the pair.

The first time that I heard any evidence of the existence of "San Francisco Monogatari" was through YouTube's New J Channel which presented the mid-album track "San Francisco Iki Part II"（サンフランシスコ行き（パートII）...Bound for San Francisco, Part 2）, another happy-go-lucky kayo in the vein of "Canada Kara no Tegami" with Hirao and Hatanaka singing their praises for the West Coast metropolis. I gather that the album was made with a concept in mind since it seems as if each track would have some narration (lasting several seconds to a couple of minutes) at the intro by either singer in the form of a travelogue entry.

The interesting thing is that the very first track is a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Hirao and Hatanaka which is actually not on YouTube. It would have been interesting to hear that. Track 3 is "Pacific no Kaze"（パシフィクの風...Pacific Winds） performed by just Hirao. He composed/arranged the song with Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）providing the lyrics, the same duo behind "Canada Kara no Tegami". I couldn't find the songwriting credits for every song but perhaps I can guess that Hirao and Hashimoto brought their talents to all of the tracks.

Anyways, "Pacific no Kaze" starts with a riff rather reminiscent of "This Masquerade" originally performed by Leon Russell back in 1972, and listeners would think that the song is going to be an airy West Coast AOR tribute. However, when Hirao finally gets to singing from a little after 2 minutes, things get rather shibui, and instead of that sunny beachside feeling, "Pacific no Kaze" actually feels much more deep downtown with that electric guitar and sax. Plus, Hirao's delivery reminds me of the songs that Masatoshi Nakamura（中村雅俊）sang in that same decade. In fact, I'd say that "Pacific no Kaze" is as much about Tokyo as it is about San Francisco.

"Golden Gate"（ゴールデン・ゲート）starts off pretty moody as Hatanaka expresses her loneliness while her hotel room window is being spattered with rain but then it quickly gets into a funky kayo that had me thinking whether Hirao and Hashimoto were trying to come up a boss Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）-esque tune with those cutting strings. Hatanaka tries to be as sultry as possible in the vocals.

To keep up with the San Francisco theme, Hirao and Hatanaka even perform a duet cover of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)", the May 1967 hit for Scott McKenzie. I haven't heard the original in a long time but I think the two of them do a fine job especially Hatanaka. The title is given the Japanese title of "Hana no San Francisco"（花のサンフランシスコ...Flowery San Francisco）.

One more track that I'll throw at you is "Hotel Fairmont"（ホテル・フェアモント）. I never stayed at the Fairmont when I had my two-night stay in San Francisco in 1990, but then again, I simply didn't exist in the tax bracket necessary to deserve a suite there. I did find out that the hotel was used for scenes in the ABC TV series "Hotel" in the 1980s when nighttime soap operas were all the rage back then.

Hatanaka's "Hotel Fairmont" begins with some bright piano and elastic guitars, and the delivery and arrangement have a hybridized version of Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）and Junko Yagami（八神純子）. It's got quite the sensation of City Pop, and when the piano and guitars get together for a solo at the end, it's indeed quite magical and ought to make fans of the genre swoon somewhat.

Once this pandemic has been vanquished finally, I wouldn't mind making another trip to San Francisco for the first time in over 30 years to meet a fellow KKP collaborator, Larry, and also to check out the various sites there such as the Golden Gate Bridge (which I never got to see with my own eyes the first time since it was totally fogged in) and Fisherman's Wharf. Maybe if I do win really big in a lottery (I actually won $100 last week), I can finally afford the Fairmont...I will make my reservations at the Laurel Court!