Well, isn't that a kick in the pants? It's been over ten years since I began the blog and my first entry for the 1970s aidoru trio Candies（キャンディーズ）, "Haru Ichiban" (春一番）was written all the way back in 2012, and I just realized that I had yet to contribute what is perhaps their most successful song in their time together.
Ah, ah...devil. My sweet little devil...👿
Yep, I've been hearing those above words for years including the years that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been in existence and I never bothered to write about "Yasashii Akuma" (Sweet Little Devil). Feeling like a Gibbs slap right now, but better late than never as they say.
Released as their 13th single in March 1977, "Yasashii Akuma" follows the often happy-go-lucky melodies of Candies' past hits but this time, the slightly sultry love song was written by Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）and composed by folk singer Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）with arrangement by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）. According to J-Wiki though, with the wider musical range involved, Ran, Miki and Su had a heck of a time getting through recording almost to the point of waving a white flag. Rumour had it that composer Yoshida, who was a fan of Candies, had wanted to push the envelope with them to make them better.
Well, the hard work paid off. "Yasashii Akuma" once more broke into the Top 10 of Oricon and peaked at No. 4 with a No. 27 ranking for the yearly charts. Although Candies would get their share of No. 1s, this song was the trio's most successful in sales, selling more than half a million records. One government minister who was also a fan of theirs hailed "Yasashii Akuma" as their most accomplished song and even Candies themselves stated that this was one of their very best tunes. They would sing this for their third and final appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen. Take a bow, Mr. Yoshida!
The song also stood out for Candies' performances in concert and on television due to their devil dresses which were actually designed by singer Ann Lewis（アン・ルイス）. One personal observation is that when I see them dance in the video above, I actually do get Perfume vibes, and I distinctly remember that one of the first outside comments for this blog that I read referring to a KKP article (I believe that it was for "Haru Ichiban") came from one person who likened Candies to a 1970s Perfume.
Incidentally, Yoshida did a cover version of his own creation through his first album of covers "Private"（ぷらいべえと）which came out a month following the original Candies' single. His take has more of a country rock sheen, and I actually thought that this would make a fine jingle for a Dodge Ram commercial. The album hit No. 1 and ended the year ranked No. 23.
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