Takao Kisugi/Yasuo Tanabe -- Tonikaku, Ashita（とにかく、あした）

 

It looks like with this Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）entry, I've completed his 1981 single trifecta. This particular single was his February entry just before his trademark "Goodbye Day" later in May, and then his self-cover of Hiroko Yakushimaru's（薬師丸ひろ子）debut single, "Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu"（セーラー服と機関銃）under the title of "Yume no Tochuu"（夢の途中）in November.

As was the case for "Goodbye Day" and "Yume no Tochuu", it was Kisugi on the music and his sister Etsuko（来生えつこ）on the lyrics for his February "Tonikaku, Ashita" (Anyways, There's Tomorrow). Unlike those two subsequent singles, this particular single is quite the playful tango (Argentina, France, I have no idea) in which Takao croons about keeping the affair going although both partners know that the end is inevitable. But for now and tomorrow, the trysting can continue and the drinks and dancing will come out unabated. The only thing missing from the cover of the single is a long-stemmed rose clenched between Takao's teeth.

Now, just a week ago, I introduced Yasuo Tanabe（田辺靖雄）onto the blog with his 1968 "Lullaby Tokyo"（ララバイ東京）, and here he is with his cover of "Tonikaku, Ashita" in 1983. And to show the power of arrangement, Tanabe's take on Kisugi's original is a full-fledged Mood Kayo which would make sense considering the lyrical content. The genre always covers the alcohol-infused romancing in the big city, after all. I never would have imagined that the Kisugis would ever come up with a Mood Kayo, but here it is.