Spectrum -- Koutta Taiyou（凍った太陽）

 

The last time I wrote about the funky Japanese band Spectrum（スペクトラム）was almost two years ago near the end of 2019, and I started out my preamble ramble referring to the food since it was naturally the time for those year-end get-togethers. Well, since then of course, the world has gone topsy-turvy but in the last few hours, our provincial government has announced that restaurants can open up to full capacity from next Monday, so maybe there's a chance that I can refer to food outings again by the end of 2021.

This time, though, I have a Spectrum song from their June 1981 album "Second Navigation". "Koutta Taiyou" (Frozen Sun) will make a lot of City Pop bass hounds very happy thanks to Spectrum No. 4 Naoki Watanabe's（渡辺直樹）instrument, but I also like the keyboards by Spectrum No. 6 Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）, and he's the fellow behind the groovy melody. 

Musician and poet Koichi Makigami（巻上公一）was behind the lyrics about a guy who may be standing under one beaming sun but has no love to keep him warm, so all that summery beach time weather may as well be icicles surrounding him. The poor guy's in a funk but so are we, although it's a much happier and boppy funk thanks to the guys of Spectrum. Besides, that title translation of "Frozen Sun" keeps reminding me somehow of a frozen margarita.