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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Minako Tanaka -- Mou Ichido ROLL ON (もう一度ROLL ON)

 

I’ve been listening a lot to Kahoru Kohiruimaki (小比類巻かほる) lately, and I mean A LOT. Classics like “Dreamer”, “Tonight” and “Hold on Me” are insanely good, but some hidden gems, like the funky “Heart no Parade” (ハートのパレード), for example, are also very nice.

J-Canuck had already covered a lot of songs recorded and released by this great singer-songwriter here on the blog, but I remember contributing an article with a song composed by her, called “Last Graduation” (ラスト・グラジュエイション), that was given to Minako Tanaka (田中美奈子) to record in 1993. The thing is, for some reason, Kohiruimaki penned great songs to Tanaka, even producing her album “ROLL ON”. Luckily, another one of the singles released prior to this album, “Mou Ichido ROLL ON”, appeared on YouTube last year.

Just as exciting as “Last Graduation”, and also horn-driven like a good upbeat tune by Kohiruimaki must be, “Mou Ichido ROLL ON” succeeds in making a good impression. We can almost hear Kohiruimaki singing it instead of Tanaka, but I think she never recorded it, unfortunately. As for Tanaka, she was never the greatest singer out there, but by 1993~94, during her singing career’s twilight, she wasn’t an amateur anymore. In other words, she could handle recording a song fairly well, and in a charming way (sorry, my standards are not very high).

Released as a single in January 1994, “Mou Ichido ROLL ON” was included in Tanaka’s fifth and final album, “ROLL ON”, from February of the same year. Kahoru Kohiruimaki was responsible for the lyrics and music, while Keiichi Ueno (上野圭市) did the arrangement.


2 comments:

  1. Hi, Marcos. Hope you are doing well. Thanks for this Minako Tanaka song that I'd never heard about, especially since it was indeed Kohhy behind the music. It indeed sounds like a Kohhy song (especially with the brass in there) and those first few words out of Tanaka's mouth did sound as if Kohhy were singing it. I even tried to search for any hint that she covered it but alas you may be right...I couldn't find anything.

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    1. Hi, J-Canuck.

      Things are doing fine. I've already been in Christmas mode for two weeks, since the heat is not giving a break.

      I don't know how or why Kohhy produced an album and contributed many songs to Minako Tanaka, but I'm not complaining here. The "ROLL ON" album is one of my favourites from the sexy aidoru/actress, right next to her debut album. And Kohhy's is totally responsible for that, since she took care of the project.

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