Tazumi Toyoshima -- Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi（街に灯，空に星）

 

I've never been to Paris. But looking at the above video, I can see why it's been called The City of Lights. It must be quite the thrilling experience to walk down to the Eiffel Tower at night and see all that brilliance.

Paris is what I think about when I hear Tazumi "Tazz" Toyoshima's（豊島たづみ）"Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi" (Lights in the City, Stars in the Sky) which was a track on her November 1979 3rd album "Still Night". And it's not just because of what the title means. Written and composed by Tazz herself, the song itself has that feeling of a cabaret singalong number performed in a French nightclub. Instead of that pensive figure that she cuts on the cover of "Still Night", I see her sitting the wrong way on a chair in the flood of a spotlight while she's dressed up in a tuxedo (yes, I do realize that I'm getting close to Liza Minnelli territory here). I think it is a City Pop song, but not really of Tokyo and more of Paris itself.

My last Tazz article was whipped up last Christmas Eve, and it also involved a track from "Still Night". "Umi ga Mitai"（海が見たい）was also her 5th single and it preceded "Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi" as the penultimate track for the album. Yep, "Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi" makes for a nice singalong finish for the album.