Kaze -- Ano Ko no Sugao（あの娘の素顔）

 

There really is nothing like listening to a 1970s City Pop tune, especially when I haven't heard one in a long while. It's all about the Fender Rhodes, the bluesy city saxophone and that certain funky beat reflecting a huge Japanese city and its citizens still grappling with the consequences of rapid postwar economic growth before beginning to enjoy some of that good life before the Bubble.

So indeed, it's a refreshing breeze to hear the duo Kaze（風）once more as all of those musical aspects that I mentioned in the above paragraph come into play in their song "Ano Ko no Sugao" (That Girl's True Face). This was a track from the folk and AOR duo's top-charting LA-recorded 4th album "Umikaze"（海風...Sea Breeze） released in October 1977. The City Pop certainly is percolating here as it seems like two guys are talking about an attractive woman nearby with one of the pair goading the other to invite her over for a drink, while the other is trying convince his randy partner (and perhaps himself) that the lass is up to no good. Ah, I wasn't aware that self-delusion could be a theme in such songs. Incidentally, the above video is a City Pop compilation by Melon Groove that has "Ano Ko no Sugao" starting things off.

Just to remind folks, Kaze, which had its run between 1975 and 1979, consisted of former folk group Kaguyahime（かぐや姫）member Shoze Ise（伊勢正三）and former folk band Neko（猫）member Kazuhisa Okubo（大久保一久）. Okubo wrote and composed around half of the songs on "Umikaze" with Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）handling all arrangements. I've already written about the album's title track. It's sad to report though that Okubo passed away around a month ago at the age of 71 in his Tokyo home.