Hiromi Iwasaki -- Shi-Teki-Kuu-Kan（私・的・空・間）, Part 1

 

I admit that I may have quickly scrolled down the Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）file on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I was surprised to realize that it's almost been eight years since I actually covered one of her albums. Certainly, I've covered plenty of her individual songs in the last number of years, but the most recent album by her that I took a look at as a whole was her 1985 "Diamant"（ぎやまん）back in October 2015.

Well, allow me then to cover at least a part of her July 1983 album "Shi-Teki-Kuu-Kan" (Personal Space) tonight. I bought this one by Iwasaki several years ago and there is personal testimony from the singer herself in the liner notes. The one thing I remember the most by far from those notes is her hilariously embarrassed apologies in the second paragraph for her looking so "fat" in the photos. She took particular aim at her saggy arms and those bushy eyebrows before reassuring fans that she at least was able to upgrade herself in the years hence. Personally, she looks hot and has always looked so. End of story.

Incidentally, I'm covering the 2007 issue of "Shi-Teki-Kuu-Kan" so there are five bonus tracks including two versions of one of my favourite Hiromi songs of all time, "Ieji"  (家路）which I actually profiled years ago. I'll cover those as well but among the original tracks, the truly relaxing "Suteki na Kimochi"（素敵な気持ち）is another song that I handled back in 2015.

There's a lot to see and hear so let's begin with the first track "Shinjuu no Period"（真珠のピリオド...Pearl Period） which was Iwasaki's 31st single from June 1983. It did decently on Oricon by peaking at No. 31 and I like it because it has that snazziness as it straddles the line between pop and City Pop. I love the old-fashioned "dabba dabba" chorus as well as the sharp strings and the horns coming in. Not surprised at all then that the master songwriters behind this one were lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranger Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）. Considering how this one sounds, I had assumed that "Shinjuu no Period" was yet another Iwasaki contribution to the Tuesday Night Suspense Drama on NTV like "Ieji" was. But that wasn't the case here and Matsumoto's lyrics merely relate the bittersweet late summer story of a tryst at a beach house that is to end soon, and the lovers are trying to make the best out of what little time they have left with each other.

Track 2 is the sunny 70s soulful "Mukuchi na Venus"（無口なヴィーナス...Silent Venus）. Once again, Tsutsumi provides his composing prowess here as he does for two more tracks on Side A of the original LP with Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）as the arranger. The late Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）was the lyricist here as Iwasaki sweetly and slyly assures a paramour that all's fine and dandy in Romance City and that nothing needs to be said at all. 

There is a bit more brio in Iwasaki's vocals for Track 3, "Futari no Gogo ni"（二人の午後に...A Couple's Afternoon） with Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）as the lyricist here while Hagita is back as arranger. We're definitely in the City Pop here. I like the layering of urban contemporary rhythm and keyboard underneath strings which paint a more romantically fantastical picture although the story is more negative as a couple go through the motions poolside even though the love dissipated a while back. Well, that's how the cake crumbles.

Not surprisingly for a title like "Tempest"（テンペスト）, there's more melodic drama and rock guitar in this track which has Nakanishi, Tsutsumi and Oku working together. My mind pegs this one as a theme song for a detective show although once again such was not the case. Still, the tempest isn't only occurring outside but inside a hotel where a woman is anticipating an affair is about to turn a critical corner into permanent changes. 

The final track on Side A is "Watashi ni Modoru Toki"（わたしに戻るとき...Getting Back to Me） has me getting some 80s Steve Winwood vibes. And this time, I also feel some West Coast AOR with the electric guitar thrown in there. Hagita is back but for this one, Kazuko Katagiri（片桐和子）was responsible for the lyrics for this jaunty love song. One other thing is that instead of Tsutsumi composing the tune, it was Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）coming up with the melody. Iwasaki noted Tamaki's assistance in the liner notes and that he also composed a couple of other tracks on Side B. The singer noted that Tamaki's three contributions to "Shi-Teki-Kuu-Kan" were just before his band made it big with "Wine-Red no Kokoro"（ワインレッドの心）in that same year. Additionally, she remarked that Tamaki was dressed to the nines a la Humphrey Bogart right down to the fedora (usually apparently most songwriters would come over as casual as possible); he even sported an attaché case. Maybe he was trying to impress her; I have no idea.

To finish off Part 1 (Part 2 will be next week), I'm leaving the article with one of the bonus tracks "Sorezore no Asa"（それぞれの朝...Each Morning） which was the B-side to "Ieji". I actually first heard this song on an episode of that old CHIN-FM radio program "Sounds of Japan" and it sounded so beautiful despite all of the hissing and spitting of bad reception that I searched for years for the title of the tune. Kaoru Ito（伊藤薫）was both the lyricist and composer for this ballad that sounds like a lullaby for children. In point of fact though, it is a melancholy ballad about the end of a relationship signalled openly with phrases like "the end of love" and more tacitly with one line stating the coming of fall. To hammer the final nail in, there is a very morose harp playing there along with some splendid strings playing in the bridge. "Sorezore no Asa" will never get anywhere near a wedding reception but it's still a wonderful song.

Anyways, Part 2 will be here next Monday.