Mariko Takahashi -- Hitoaruki (Part 1)（ひとあるき）

From Tower Records

Singer-songwriter and musician Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）has been one of my favourite chanteuses in Japan for over 40 years, and as such, I have gone over a few of her albums such as her 1981 third album "Tenderness", although because of the usual powers-that-be issues, the best I've gotten for that one at least is the link to the Apple site. Maybe for this one, her March 1979 debut album as a solo artist, "Hitoaruki", I can bring in some of the videos for the music.

"Hitoaruki" means "Walking Alone" and it's a good title since Takahashi, who just turned 30 at the time, was making her foray alone in music without the support of her old band, the flamboyantly named Pedro & Capricious（ペドロ&カプリシャス）. Although I can't say that I'm an expert on the group, during Takahashi's time there as the vocalist, they probably focused more on the folk and rock of the 1970s, basically New Music. As a bit of an aside, I have to say that the soft-focus picture of her on the cover shows one of the best soft perms that I have ever seen for a singer. The lass looks rather uncertain when she really doesn't need to be.

I've already actually covered a couple of the songs from "Hitoaruki": the first track and one of her signature songs, the Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）-penned "Anata no Sora wo Tobitai"　(あなたの空を翔びたい）, and the City Pop "Oide Summer Holiday"（おいでサマー・ホリディ）. There are eight more tracks so why don't we split the difference and try four of them in Part 1 tonight?

Starting off with Track 2, "Te no Hira"（掌...The Palm of Your Hand） is a song that was written and composed by folk singer Masashi Sada（さだまさし）. With Takahashi, it's always been the dramatic and heartfelt vocals and along with the preceding "Anata no Sora wo Tobitai", "Te no Hira" shows off the angst of love via her voice and the lyrics about love beginning with the contact of hands. Perhaps due to Sada's association and where the singer had come from, the song might be heard as a particularly rich folk song but I've opted to consider it another example of the baroque Fashion Music.

The next song is "Sayonara no Etude"（さよならのエチュード...The Goodbye Etude）, is a throwback to the 1950s or 1960s vocal group pop which was also part of the musical realm of another lady making her mark at the time and she also has the same initials as Mariko Takahashi...MT, as in Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）. Created by the sibling songwriting duo of lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ） and composer Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）, it's a tenderhearted plea for a quiet and grateful end to a relationship. Let's remember the good times but look forward to the future without each other.

Track 4 is the slow samba-worthy "You're So Far Away" under the aegis of lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composer Henry Hirose（ヘンリー広瀬）who happens to be another former Pedro & Capricious member and Takahashi's husband. Despite the lyrics of a woman in the aftermath of a romance now over, Hirose's melody sounds perfect for a cocktail accompaniment at sunset. Not sure if it's City Pop or J-AOR so I've thrown both of them into the Labels.

The final track for Part 1 is the inspirational "My Dream"（マイ・ドリーム）which begins like a classic Carpenters tune with that piano and oboe combination in the intro. However it then transforms into a power ballad that Takahashi has become famous for belting out of the park. The lyrics (and music) by Kuni Kawauchi（クニ河内）seem to tell of a story of a woman and her unrequited wishes of romance. Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）was the arranger here.

I'll get Part 2 to you real soon.