ZOO -- Adam

 

I remember writing about ZOO's 1991 "Choo Choo Train" almost a dozen years ago on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". It was quite the hit for the funky song-and-dance troupe and that one part of their dance became quite the fad to emulate for several months afterward. However that was basically the only song by ZOO that I've featured on the blog.

That is, until today. I came across ZOO's "Adam" which was the group's 11th and final single from March 1995. It's a pretty smooth and mellow funky pop tune, this time sung by dancer SAE instead of vocalist Satsuki. Written by Mayumi Ito（伊東真由美）, who also delivered the lyrics for Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）comeback "Dear Friend" back in 1990, and composed by Singaporean musician Dick Lee, the title character seems to be someone who works too hard and plays even harder, although I hope that the tenor of the song means that he's still alive and kicking. 

I also found out that "Adam" has two different videos showing only some very slight differences in the arrangement of the song. SAE is apparently dancing in some stone structure, presumably in an arid country, in the above video while the one below has her performing in a hotel suite with her bandmates chilling out. I've seen a few inquiries in the YouTube comments about the fate of SAE; according to J-Wiki, she's currently a yoga instructor.