Circus（サーカス）has been one of those vocal groups that I've always enjoyed for their sophisticated jazziness in their delivery. There is the Mediterranean-friendly style from their biggest hit "Mr. Summertime" from March 1978 and their May 1979 "American Feeling" which has become a staple in high school chorus competitions all across Japan.
Well, between those two singles, there was Circus' 4th single "Amour" which was released in November 1978. The mellow bossa nova comes through once again with this A-side and I can only think of wine glasses and sunsets listening to this one through the headphones. It probably got a lot of Circus fans swooning over that vacation to Europe.
From 3:24 is the B-side, "Ai wa Yesterday" (Love is Yesterday). There's quite a bit more jazz and funk in this one, and a near-straight lift of an instrumental phrase from Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" by the horn section. New York City and Tokyo come to mind when I hear this one. Both songs were created by lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composer Yoichi Takizawa（滝沢洋一）.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.