Issei Okamoto -- Midnight Station Hotel

 

Because I can safely say that City Pop is here to stay within the gigantic realm of World Music, we can also perhaps dig further into some of the unknown and unsung artisans hidden in the bottom nine-tenths of the iceberg. I mentioned one fellow a couple of years ago who went under the name Issei Okamoto（岡本一生）, although he now goes by Akira Okamoto（岡本朗）.

Approximately 18 months ago, I wrote about the singer-songwriter and the title track from his 1978 debut album "Moonlight Singing", which was more along the lines of a jazzy Bobby Caldwell.

Well, last weekend, I was having a conversation with Rocket Brown of Come Along Radio and he told me about his April 1980 2nd album "Moonlight Mystery". He even recommended one track from the album which was "Midnight Station Hotel", and it's quite the banger. This time, it seems as if Okamoto was channeling some Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）or Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）in his vocals, albeit a bit breathier, and he's surrounded by all of the ingredients for some good ol' City Pop: sharp horns, wailing guitar, good bass and a funky beat.

Okamoto and lyricist Chinfa Kan（康珍化）came up with the words while Okamoto himself provided the fine melody. My compliments as well to the person who came up with the cover for "Moonlight Mystery".