Anzen Chitai -- Ichido dake（一度だけ）

 

Well, I'm obviously still here after those ominous warnings I gave in my final article last night about that huge Holiday storm, but how long I stay up today is still up in the air. The heavy rains have subsided but we're still awaiting the dreaded winds and snow which may take down the power lines, so Toronto and the surrounding vicinity are still not in the clear by any means. However, I will try to get my four in.

And it's on that note that I deliver yet another case of sad news from Japanese music. Before I turned in last night, I read on the Yahoo Japan news feed and J-Wiki that drummer Yuuji Tanaka（田中裕二）of the pop/rock band Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）had passed away at the age of 65 on November 17th 2022 according to a December 23rd (Japan time) announcement on the band's website. Tanaka had been undergoing treatment since November 8th for a cerebral hemorrhage.  On the same day as that announcement came word that Anzen Chitai would be appearing on the upcoming 73rd edition of the Kohaku Utagassen as a special guest so there will be some poignancy to this performance.

On that point, I wanted to start off today's urban contemporary session on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with an Anzen Chitai song in tribute to Tanaka. A few years ago, I put up an article regarding the band's first single from February 1982, "Moegiiro no Snap"（萠黄色のスナップ）, and so today, I'm tackling the B-side, "Ichido dake" (Just Once).

I have taken an instant liking to "Ichido dake" although the protagonist within the lyrics written by the band and Namiko Saki（崎南海子）seems to be a rather persistent and maybe odious or strangely charming fellow bothering a young lady for a few minutes (and if successful with the "courtship", more) of her time. I've seen scenes of those young guys in real life and in anime going on the girl-hunting. For all I know, the guy in "Ichido dake" could be a smiling Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）himself. The music by vocalist Tamaki and arrangement by Katsu Hoshi（星勝）is a cool button-down strut on the pavements of the metropolis with a mixture of City Pop and rock.

As I mentioned in last night's final article regarding Original Love's "X'mas NO HI", it's always interesting to hear the very early days of a long-existing band or singer. Maybe it's just me but there is something a bit different to "Ichido dake" compared to the hits that Anzen Chitai would come up with going further into the 1980s with that distinctive band sound. Still, I can hear some of that here, too, along with Tamaki's amazing vocals. Incidentally, "Ichido dake" never showed up on any of the band's original albums but is present on their September 1994 BEST compilation, "Anzen Chitai ~ Another Collection: Album Mishuuroku Kyokushuu"（安全地帯 アナザー・コレクション -アルバム未収録曲集-... Non-Album Song Collection） which includes a lot of their B-sides.

To finish off, I found this performance from a 1997 concert featuring Anzen Chitai singing a more unplugged rendition of "I Love You Kara Hajimeyou"（I Love Youからはじめよう...Let's Begin With I Love You) . This time, though, instead of Tamaki, it's Tanaka doing the vocals. The band will be performing this very song on the Kohaku in a little over a week. My condolences to Tanaka's family, friends and fans.