Hitomi Tohyama -- Heartbreak Calendar

 

The above is an old photo from over a decade ago. I rather miss the view of West Shinjuku from the final school that I worked at in the late 2000s going into the early 2010s, and it's a thumbnail that I've used from time to time whenever I present a City Pop song on the blog.

And tonight I have for you Hitomi Penny Tohyama's（当山ひとみ）"Heartbreak Calendar" from her March 1988 album "Imagination". Masami Tozawa（戸沢暢美）provided the lyrics while Yuzo Hayashi（林有三）came up with the melody combining some soaring rock guitar and sharp horns within an environment that seems to combine the early 80s funky side of City Pop and the late 80s sophisticated pop plus sunny-side pop. Meanwhile, Penny is the constant with her tender vocals.

"Heartbreak Calendar" is the penultimate track on "Imagination", so I can imagine that the final song is probably a ballad. Therefore, the former is a nice way to finish off the party side of the album.