George Yanagi & Rainy Wood -- Nemuri no nai Machi（眠りのない街）

 

As I noted in the Yokohama musician's 2016 article for his "Burning", George Yanagi（柳ジョージ）passed away in October 2011 at the age of 63. Had he lived, he would have been 74 on January 30th. So to start off the final January 2022 Thursday for "Kayo Kyoku Plus", allow me to give a little tribute through one of his tunes.

To be accurate, though, it should be the tune of George Yanagi & Rainy Wood（柳ジョージ&レイニーウッド）, his old band which had their initial run from 1975 to 1981. Yanagi's group specialized in rock, blues rock and R&B according to their J-Wiki profile, and "Nemuri no nai Machi" (The Town That Never Sleeps) was the leadoff track for their November 1979 4th album "Rainy Wood Avenue".

Written by Toshi Sumikawa（トシ・スミカワ）and composed by Rainy Wood's co-vocalist and guitarist Kiyoto Ishii（石井清登）, the title might suggest that Yanagi's town in question is an exploding hub of partying and all sorts of action. But Ishii's melody and Sumikawa's lyrics are more about the sweet boozy and bluesy and relaxing haze of someone with their head on the counter of their favourite hole-in-the-wall in the overnight hours. Meanwhile, a couple of other buddies are just nursing their tumblers of constantly refilled whiskey at the table nearby as the sky takes on that dark blue turning into light peach.

Yep, "Nemuri no nai Machi" has got that blues in there but I also hear some country and even a pinch of City Pop. All in all, it can act like a mature lullaby or a cheerful wake-up (last) call. Somewhere, there's a Japanese whiskey brand kicking itself for not using the song in its commercials. By the way, "Rainy Wood Avenue" was the band's first Oricon No. 1 album.