Yumi Matsutoya -- Yuming Banzai!（ユーミン万歳!） (Disc 2)

 

Well, last weekend I put up my article for Disc 1 of Yumi Matsutoya/Arai's（荒井由実・松任谷由実）50th anniversary 3-CD collection of her hits called "Yuming Banzai!" (All Hail Yuming!). We're now going into Disc 2.

1. Hello, my friend (04:27)

2. Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta nara やさしさに包まれたなら（album version） (03:12)

3. 5cm no Mukou Gishi 5cmの向う岸 (06:21)

4. Diamond Dust ga Kienuma ni ダイアモンドダストが消えぬまに (04:38)

5. Koibito ga Santa Claus 恋人がサンタクロース (05:05)

6. WANDERERS (04:54)

7. Cinderella Express シンデレラ・エクスプレス (03:48)

8. No Side ノーサイド (04:44)

9. Dance no you ni Dakiyosetai ダンスのように抱き寄せたい (04:59)

10. DESTINY (04:39)

11. Mangetsu no Fortune 満月のフォーチュン (04:43)

12. Shoutou Hikou 消灯飛行 (04:05)

13. Horizon wo Oikakete ホライズンを追いかけて〜L'aventure au désert (04:03)

14. Hoshizora no Yuuwaku 星空の誘惑 (04:50)

15. Cecile no Shuumatsu セシルの週末 (05:25)

16. Hana Kikou 花紀行 (02:50)

17. Haru yo, Koi 春よ、来い (04:46)

The first thing that I'll say about "5cm no Mukou Gishi" (Between Those 5 Centimeters) which originally hails from Yuming's June 1980 9th original album "Toki no Nai Hotel"（時のないホテル）is that it's got one of the best pop melodies that she's ever created. It's wistful yet whimsical as the singer describes the relationship among a woman, a man and five centimetres' worth of height separating the two with the guy getting the literal short end of the deal. But seriously speaking, the lad is only two inches shorter than the lass; what's the big deal? And yet, the poor woman gets razzed by her buddies ("Does your guy need a high chair when you go out to dinner?"). There is probably an anime somewhere that would just need to have "5cm no Mukou Gishi" as a theme song.

"Dance no you ni Dakiyosetai" (I Want to Hold You As If We Were Still Dancing) was Yuming's 40th single from May 2010 and it's also a track on her April 2011 36th original album "Road Show". This is indeed a new song for me since I never bought the single or the album (as I've mentioned before, my admiration for her work settles mostly in the first twenty years of her career). The official English title is "Love Dance" but I think the direct translation gives a better idea of the poignancy involved in this one as Yuming sings about an older couple who may not be the most active duo anymore but as long as they can hold onto each other, that's perfectly fine. The single peaked at No. 15 on Oricon.

"Shoutou Hikou" (Flying in the Dark) was the B-side to the singer's 8th single "Shiokaze ni Chigirete"（潮風にちぎれて...Torn by the Sea Breeze） from May 1977, and it's a sad ballad about two former lovers taking their separate paths with the lady taking the proverbial flight out of town to places unknown. There is some melodic underpinning by a Quiet Storm-like jazzy piano. This song was never placed onto an original album, only getting its first album presence through a previous BEST compilation before being placed onto "Yuming Banzai!".

A track from her 18th original album "ALARM à la mode" released in November 1986, "Horizon wo Oikakete 〜L'aventure au désert" (Chasing the Horizon) does sound like its 80s self with those bouncy synthesizers, and I think I recognize those Hey horns. It's a snazzy tune about the annual Dakar Rally; not sure whether Yuming actually attended it in any capacity. If I were in any similar rally raid, I now know which song to plug into the stereo.

Yuming did dabble into some of that original City Pop during that relevant time like a number of other singers, and I may have found one example in "Hoshizora no Yuuwaku" (Temptation of the Starry Sky). A track from her February 1983 14th album "REINCARNATION", "Hoshizora no Yuuwaku", through its melody and lyrics, practically screams a desire for the boogie-friendly city night life in a way that Southern All Stars' Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）could cover this one. For the first 99.9% of the song, the "bright lights, big city" aspect is absolutely intoxicating but then in the last second, it suddenly seems to decelerate like a balloon deflating. Did midnight strike and did the Ferrari turn back into a pumpkin?

The final song that I'll cover from Disc 2 is "Hana Kikou" (Traveling Through Scatter Petals) which is the shortest track here at under three minutes. According to the J-Wiki article on "Cobalt Hour", Yuming's June 1975 3rd album and the source album for "Hana Kikou", it was written with the image of Kanazawa's Asano River in mind. The melodic atmosphere is appropriately very misty and mysterious and the singer's vocals at that time lend a certain child-like wonder to the listening experience.

Will be wrapping up with Disc 3 next Saturday.