Misato Watanabe -- I'm Free/Don't Cry

 

You might think that this is a rare Sunday edition of Reminiscings of Youth, but it isn't, although the above two songs are from my beloved 1980s. The first one is Kenny Loggins' "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" from the "Footloose" soundtrack. Meanwhile, the second one below that one is British supergroup Asia's "Don't Cry". I never really heard Loggins' "I'm Free" (though I'm still a fan of his earlier material such as the sublime "Heart to Heart") and I barely remember "Don't Cry" from the music video shows. To be frank, I know Loggins' title song "Footloose" and Asia's "Heat of the Moment" far better.

However, the two songs are linked through a Japanese source and her name happens to be Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）. Folks can be forgiven for thinking that Watanabe first exploded onto the pop music scene with her iconic "My Revolution" but that 1986 hit was her 4th single. Her debut single had come out almost a year earlier and that 45" record included her cover versions of "I'm Free" and "Don't Cry". Yup, cover versions were our introduction to Watanabe in May 1985.

The A-side was "I'm Free" with Chinfa Kan（康珍化）coming up with the Japanese lyrics to accompany Loggins' original melody which is a bit more reserved here. For that matter, considering that Misato's voice has always struck me as being a boomer, her vocals also sounded a little more tied down so it'll be interesting to see hear whether they stayed reserved until that important 4th single. 

The B-side which is "Don't Cry", under the Japanese title of "Tough na Kimochi de"（タフな気持で...Being Tough）, diverges even further from the Asia original since it feels downright poppy, especially with that tinkly keyboard. Natsumi Tadano（只野菜摘）provided the Japanese lyrics here. However, even more than "I'm Free", I can hear the potential of Watanabe's delivery in "Don't Cry". The single itself scored a No. 64 ranking on Oricon. Both songs were also used in the TBS drama "Super Police"（スーパーポリス）with the A-side being the opening theme. It's too bad though that I couldn't find the opening credits for that program. Both songs, by the way, were arranged by Satoshi Nakamura（中村哲）.