Peace City/Joji Ai -- Jiyu Douri no Gogo（自由通りの午後）

 

It's been almost a month now, but back in early September, I wrote about singer-songwriter S-KEN and his New Wave-y "Saku Saku"（サク・サク）from 1981. I also noted that he, under his real name of Tadashi Tanaka（田中唯士）, has had quite the interesting odyssey of a music career beginning from a shift from the sciences into music in the early 1970s.

One thing that I left out intentionally from Tanaka's history because I felt that it deserved this article was that during that part of the decade, he had gotten involved with a band called Peace City（ピース・シティー）. It didn't have a particularly long life (two singles, as far I know) but it did have a few members who would go on to make their own mark on music. Of course, guitarist and percussionist Tanaka would go solo but Peace City also had guitarist Motoaki Masuo（増尾元章）who has already appeared on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with his chill 1982 "Oahu-to no Kaze"（オアフ島の風）. Not only that but there was also bassist Ken Sato（佐藤健）who would create a lot of songs for other artists including his wife, City Pop chanteuse Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）, who he would marry in 1979.

In the "Saku Saku" article, I mentioned that Tanaka had participated in the Poland Music Festival in 1971. Well, that was actually with Peace City who performed this number which would end up as their second (and presumably their final) single from 1972 called "Jiyu Douri no Gogo". It directly translates into "Afternoon on Freedom Road" although the official English title just kept it as "Freedom Road". Written by Takeshi Matsuyama（松山猛）and composed by Tanaka himself, it's a folksy tune and along with the title, I got images of Woodstock and endless rides with hippies in Volkswagens. Good heavens...I can even hear more cowbell!

The thing is that "Jiyu Douri no Gogo" was also offered to singer Joji Ai（アイ・ジョージ）in 1971. Up to now, I had treated Ai as an enka/Mood Kayo crooner through songs such as his 1965 "Akai Glass"（赤いグラス）, a duet with Chinami Shima（志摩ちなみ）. But I guess he wanted to let his hair down, so to speak, and he released his "Jiyu Douri no Gogo" on New Year's Day, right after he had performed on the Kohaku Utagassen the night before. Ironically, he would perform the single almost a year later on New Year's Eve for his final appearance on the NHK special. The arrangement for his take is definitely more along the lines of psychedelic rock and kayo soul.