Original Love -- Love Vista

 

Hopefully, you viewers out there are enjoying a far better and sunnier weekend than what we're getting right now in Toronto. It's pretty dreary out there and we just got the news that Southeast Asian hammerhead worms with acidic skin have invaded our province of Ontario which ought to make playing outside with the kids that much more exciting.

It was just a week ago when Takao Tajima（田島貴男）, aka Original Love, made his special appearance on NHK's morning show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）alongside the Friday episode guests Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra so that they could together give a rousing performance of "Mekureta Orange" (めくれたオレンジ). I bet any viewers were no longer groggy after that, especially fans of both acts.

Well, coincidentally, a few days ago, I came across this early Original Love song from their July 1991 debut album "LOVE! LOVE! & LOVE!" when the band was more than Tajima and had a few more members. The first thing I noticed about "Love Vista" is that it's over twelve minutes long! Not that I haven't encountered songs with epic times before...Chaz Jankel's original "Ai no Corrida" is around the 10-minute mark and one of his other tunes on his first album times in at around 15 minutes, but I think "Love Vista" may be the first Japanese pop song that I've heard that has gone into the double digits in terms of time.

But, hey, it's Tajima, so I gotta dive in. Right from the beginning, I get that beatnik psychedelic private underground party feeling from the mantra-like scatting by Tajima and the hypnotic rhythm including the percussion. The cover for "LOVE! LOVE! & LOVE!" seems just perfect for the song since I could imagine the vocalist and his guys sitting cross-legged with the ladies as they all zone out to "Love Vista".

A lot of the song is instrumental but the lyrics that Tajima provides weaves a story of some guy's intention to love a girl cell by cell. Looks like things are going to get really hot and bothered tonight. However, the music by the band is just as sultry and sexy and smooth as it mixes in jazz, soul and maybe some of the more placid take on psychedelic rock. I was kinda wondering about Shibuya-kei as well but that genre is more of a very extroverted sunny-side type of music out in the cafés and parks, and as I mentioned above, "Love Vista" has more of a secret basement vibe with lots of smoke from cigarettes and other paraphernalia and not a lot of light. And besides, I do remember the rumour of Tajima yelling at one concert, "I AM NOT SHIBUYA-KEI!".  

Listening to "Love Vista" with all of those influences, I'm reminded of another song that invited in a few genres to its party with great success: Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown".