When I first heard about the 1980s band Blend, I was surprised not just from the music but from the individuals who made up the group: there was Toru Yazawa（矢沢透）who had been part of the folk group Alice（アリス）, songwriting master Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）, and then vocalist J.J. Stanley who would get married to Junko Yagami（八神純子）a few years down the line. But there they were, creating their own blend of City Pop and J-AOR.
Thus far, the songs that I've written about regarding Blend, such as "Montego Nights", have come from their one and only album "Intercity Renegade" from 1982. However, I recently came across their 1981 single, thanks to YouTuber Marty McFlies v2. Titled "Lady I Love You So", this was quite the revelation for me as well since this song by lyricist Stanley and composer Sagisu seems to be a hybrid of a stage musical piece just before intermission and a laidback City Pop ditty, and that description can apply right down to the choice of instruments.
As for the B-side of "Soft Scat" at 3:31, I first kinda wondered "How did you come up with 'Soft Scat'?". Of course, my shimoneta mind snarked back at me, "I laid off the fibre for a day". But seriously folks, "Soft Scat" goes right for the City Pop jugular thanks to Yazawa's melody with Stanley coming up with the words once more. The lyrics tell a story about a guy who's not in a happy place since his lover seems to take and take but not give. Meanwhile, the music in the main chorus kinda has that Manhattan Transfer feeling with the soft scat referring to the "doo, doo, doo" by Stanley and the backup group. Some nice sax in there, too.
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