Shigeaki Saegusa -- Sally no Shiteiseki（サリーの指定席）

 

For your information, the photo is of the interior of the Tokyo International Forum just north of Ginza. Cavernous is an understatement.

Coming to the end of the year, I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one more song from the original vignettes of Seizo Watase's（わたせせいぞう）"Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）on NTV in the 1980s. I always appreciate the classy and poignant.

The less-than-two-minute segment here is titled "Sally no Shiteiseki" and I could have easily translated it as "Sally's Reserved Seat" but it's not meant in that way. The better translation is "Sally's Usual Seat" or "Sally's Old Seat" since it refers to a former flame of Tatsuo who used to sit in the front passenger seat next to him in their old jalopy. The narrator and Tatsuo get together at their favourite stylish bar where they speak about their former girlfriends and by the end, the narrator (who is only drinking the lightest of beers and cola) drives Tatsuo home in the jalopy with a bag of green apples where Sally (real name Saori) used to sit.

OK, I'd like to let you all know right now, I've only got a speck of dust in my eye. Nothing more.😭 Anyways, the classy and very poignant score for the episode has the same title as the vignette and it was created by composer and arranger Shigeaki Saegusa（三枝成章）. "Sally no Shiteiseki" almost forces listeners to go back into fonder memories of yore and I could imagine that the score could have easily belonged to any live-action trendy drama soundtrack.

The Hyogo Prefecture-born Saegusa has worked on operas and other areas where classical music is involved. However, he has also provided scores for anime including "Heart Cocktail", specifically his own contributions to the show via the 1987 "Heart Cocktail Vol. 5" album, and even the "Gundam" franchise including the famous "Char's Counterattack".