Emily Takami -- Aoi Mori no Nichiyoubi（青い森の日曜日）

 

From YouTube

Emily Takami（高見エミリー）...Emily Jane Beard...Emily Hatoyama. Nope, I'm not talking about a spy or a scam artist with multiple aliases. For the purposes of this KKP article, though, let's go with Emily Takami, the daughter of Jimmy Beard, an Australian soldier, and Sadako Takami（高見貞子） from Hiroshima. In the late 1960s, she already had a career in her early teens as a cover model for the girls' manga magazine, "Shojo Friend"（少女フレンド）. At the same time, she was acting on TV and in the movies under those first two names (Emily Takami is her birth name).

On both her Wikipedia and J-Wiki profiles, Takami is listed as a former actress and an essayist. And that's because as a recording artist, she only put out one lone single in 1972. "Aoi Mori no Nichiyoubi" (Sunday in the Green Woods) was written by Katsumi Usami（うさみかつみ）and composed by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）as this very sprightly kayo kyoku for young Emily. With the brass and the bossy percussion along with Takami's sunshine vocals, it comes off as the typical 1970s aidoru tune although with it being the only single that she released, she was probably never categorized as a typical teenybopper singer.

Perhaps one reason that she never put out any more singles was that at the age of 17 in 1973, she became engaged to an older man in his mid-20s named Kunio Hatoyama（鳩山邦夫）who had his eye and mind on politics, eventually taking on a number of portfolios in the governing Cabinet years later including the Minister for Communications and Internal Affairs under Prime Minister Taro Aso in 2008. Takami left show business right after she got married.

Masamichi Sugi -- Yume Miru Nagisa（夢見る渚）

 

The last time I had singer-songwriter Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）on the byline was on Xmas Eve last year when I put one of his seasonal songs as part of the annual KKP Christmas season. Well, no Xmas Sugi song this time around but I have one here which will show up as a Yutaka Kimura Speaks tune in a couple of weeks.

"Yume Miru Nagisa" (Beach of Dreams) is a Sugi contribution to the March 1982 collaborative LP effort, "Niagara Triangle Vol. 2", with him, Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）and Motoharu Sano（佐野元春）, and yep, one of Sano's songs from that album has already been noted by me and Yutaka Kimura recently. Originally, "Yume Miru Nagisa" had been offered as a song for Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）to record but the people around her dissuaded Sugi from that notion (and I believe that the future "Plastic Love" lass was in the middle of her hiatus from show business at the time). Then, Sugi had thought about placing the song on his next album "Overlap" but then Ohtaki came along and persuaded him to place the song onto "Niagara Triangle Vol. 2" instead.

The song is an AOR delight about just enjoying the happy life on the summer beach. It's very inviting for those who may actually want to sprint to their nearest seashore, and I could imagine Mariya taking this one on although I also believe that the arrangement would have been changed somewhat. At the same time, I think I also know how Cameron Lew of Ginger Root may have found his voice for his own songs just listening to Sugi. Just to finish things off, the Eizin Suzuki（鈴木英人）paintings in the video is the chef's kiss for "Yume Miru Nagisa".

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Minako Yoshida -- Yume de Aetara （夢で逢えたら）

 

Number: 086

Lyricist: Eiichi Ohtaki

Composer: Eiichi Ohtaki

Arranger: Eiichi Ohtaki and Tatsuro Yamashita

From Minako Yoshida's 1976 album: "Flapper"

Chock-filled with the American pop of Aldon Music and the essence of the Spector sound, "Yume de Aetara" has been the gold standard model from Niagara for the Japanese pop scene, especially when it comes to the aidoru music from the 1980s onwards. The beautiful string arrangement by Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）that is even more Jack Nitzsche than Jack Nitzsche is also very affecting.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

Kiyomi Suzuki -- Wait and See (Love Song)

 

Soulful singer Kiyomi Suzuki（鈴木聖美）has been known to me as someone who has been involved in that classic urban contemporary duet with her brother Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）, "Taxi". Plus, I discovered that she had her own dip into Japanese pop culture franchises such as "City Hunter" with her ballad "Give Me Your Love Tonight".

However, even before those two songs, Suzuki had been involved with another such franchise, that being the cops and robbers series "Abunai Deka"（あぶない刑事）. The show has always had its share of R&B-inflected tunes and Suzuki provided "Wait and See (Love Song)" as her contribution to the show's soundtrack from November 1986. Linda Hennrick wrote the English lyrics for Suzuki while Takashi Shoji（小路隆）composed the melody that Hiroshi Shinkawa（新川博）arranged. Especially with that saxophone in there, I couldn't help but feel that there was some kinship between "Wait and See" and the love theme from "St. Elmo's Fire" by David Foster.

The producers really must have loved the song since there are two more versions on the soundtrack: the strings version and the instrumental version.

Yasuhiro Abe -- Shizenha（自然派）

 

As soon as I heard the first notes of this Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）song, I figured that this was from the 1990s rather than the 1980s. There were the certain synthesizers at play here and nothing to hear from the Fender Rhodes this time around.

Sure enough, "Shizenha" (The Naturalist) comes from Abe's January 1993 9th album "Dear". Wasn't quite sure what to make of that title; I had images of a truly calm superhero in my mind...maybe played by Perry Como or even Abe himself (he seems like a really laidback dude). Regardless, those first notes that I mentioned in the previous paragraph are filled with some rich piano and saxophone. The overall atmosphere of "Shizenha" kinda has this one straddling the line between regular pop and City Pop; that bluesy sax kinda pulls things into that latter area, especially with those thoughts of the Big Apple floating in my mind.

Sumiko Toyohiro -- Ai wa Mellow Yellow（愛はMellow Yellow）

 

It's just two days shy a year since I put up the last Sumiko Toyohiro（豊広純子）song up on KKP. "Namida ga Kawaku made"（涙がかわくまで）is an elegant City Pop tune from her 1983 album "Water Heart", and as I finished up that article that day, I'll begin this one with the same sentiment: "Water Heart" can make for a fine addition to any City Pop fan's shelf.

Another reason is the second track "Ai wa Mellow Yellow" (Love is Mellow Yellow). Not sure how the title works but the song itself does as a fun and relaxing J-AOR drive down the highway. The lyrics were written by Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）and Kisaburo Suzuki's（鈴木キサブロー）melody fairly soars over the pavement by the seashore. That electric guitar solo sounds like something that Suzuki would whip up. "Ai wa Mellow Yellow" was also released as a Toyohiro single in the same year.

Naniwa Danshi -- Prime Time

 

Haven't watched anything on network television in years, let alone any program on prime time (7-10 pm). It's basically been whatever I see on YouTube, Jme and the sports channels (got to see a lot of NFL last night due to Thanksgiving). Way back when, it used to be some nights were absolutely must-see TV whether it be Thursdays for a few hours' worth of prime time sitcoms or Mondays for the action dramas.

A few days ago, one commenter told me about Naniwa Danshi（なにわ男子）and one of their newer tunes, "Prime Time". The Johnny's Entertainment/STARTO aidoru group was first put up on KKP a couple of years ago with their 2021 debut single "Ubu Love"（初心LOVE）. It was a tune that I described as being a mix of disco and late 1990s/early 2000s J-R&B.

"Prime Time" is the second track on Naniwa Danshi's second studio album "Popmall" from July 2023. This time around, the group went even further back to the 1980s with a touch of that decade's dynamic dance-pop and Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）, thanks to music duo youth case along with Swedish composer Erik Lidbom coming up with the melody and the lyrics. I also noted to the commenter that there was also a feeling of 2010s female aidoru group Especia in the arrangement as well. I also doff my hat to the electric guitar play in there. 

Mitsuko Horie -- Pure Morning（ピュア・モーニング）

 

The weather here in Toronto today is nothing like that shown above with the El Cid Hotel in Mexico. It was 0 degrees Celsius with a -7-degree wind chill and areas a few hours north of my city are supposed to  be getting their first dumping of snow over the weekend. On the penultimate day of this November, it's really feeling like a little bit of Christmas.

I'd been more of a night person than a morning person but at my wizening age, I no longer consider myself someone who's really all that chipper at any particular time of the day. However, it seems as if seiyuu and singer Mitsuko Horie（堀江美都子）might have been more of the latter. The last time I wrote about her was back in June 2023 when I posted her "Morning Rain", a pleasant City Pop concoction from her December 1981 mini-album "Micchi no Hitorigoto Club"（ミッチの独言倶楽部）.

Earlier in the year though, Horie released her 4th single in June, "Pure Morning". I guess she really had a thing for the AM hours. Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, "Pure Morning" has more of a calming mixture of down-home City Pop and the ol' kayo kyoku thanks to that orchestra backing her up although there is some of that groove of the former genre. It almost sounds like something that Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）would have tackled at the same time. The same song headlined her 2nd original album "Image" which was released a couple of months later and ended up as high as No. 54 on Oricon.

Modern Choki Chokies -- Santa ga Machi ni Matteiru（サンタがまちにまっている）

 

Actress, tarento and singer Mari Hamada（濱田マリ）...not to be mistaken for rock singer-songwriter Mari Hamada（浜田麻里）...has been showing up on television so regularly in dramas and variety programming for so long that it would be natural to forget that a lot of us had first known her primarily as a singer of some eccentric tunes with her old band Modern Choki Chokies（モダンチョキチョキズ）.

From what I remember, the band also took on their fair share of music with some jazziness so it is with delight that I introduce "Santa ga Machi ni Matteiru" (Santa's Waiting In Town). I've heard of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" so I guess this MCC song could apply to Toronto and its world-infamous traffic in which case the title ought to be "Santa's Waiting...and Waiting...and Waiting In Town".

All jokes and rimshots aside, "Santa ga Machi ni Matteiru" is a lovely jazz tune in desperate need of NBC Studios at the top of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel as Hamada sings about waiting for her Christmas present most rapturously and impatiently. Starting with something similar to a Salvation Army brass phrase, the song written and composed by MCC guitarist Osamu Isoda（磯田収）quickly enters a cool and jaunty jazz arrangement. What sells the song to me is Hamada's little girl vocals that are so adorable that I want to grab the song by its cheeks and pinch them. The chorus is also wonderful.

"Santa ga Machi ni Matteiru" can be found on Modern Choki Chokies' 3rd album "Bessatsu Moda Choki Rinji Zoukangou"（別冊モダチョキ臨時増刊号...Supplementary Moda Choki Temporary Special Issue） from June 1994.

Shingo Katori & Akina Nakamori -- TATTOO

 

One of my favourite Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）songs of all time has been "TATTOO". The 1988 single having the pop superstar go hard into a tune that spoke of "Blade Runner" replicants and dove into swing jazz that the folks at Mos Eisley spaceport would love got me right here because of that magical combination of jazz and technopop, years before electro swing became a thing. Akina in that tight red body-hugging dress didn't hurt my eyes, either.

I'm not surprised that "TATTOO" has been covered a few times over the past 36 years since its release, and its newest incarnation arrived several days ago. Former SMAP member Shingo Katori（香取慎吾）has still been on his own swing jazz kick for the past little while which has involved collaborations with acts such as Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）. Well, it looks like Katori's next dance partner, so to speak, is the Divine Ms. Nakamori herself in their own more standard jazz take on her old hit. 

The new duet on "TATTOO" can be found on Katori's newest album "Circus Funk" which is now available for download and streaming. It's an interesting blend of voices with the young and hungry Katori chiming in with the veteran cigarettes-and-whiskey Akina. Just kinda wished that the arrangement hadn't taken that little tangent near the end. In any case, the original "TATTOO" will remain my "TATTOO".

Madonna -- Holiday

 

It took its sweet time but it's finally here...American Thanksgiving! Of course, on behalf of everyone at "Kayo Kyoku Plus" including Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico, I hope everyone down in America is having a Happy Thanksgiving with all of the trimmings. I realize that Kayo and her feline manager/pet are living in Canada and Japan, but heck, they seem to enjoy celebrating holidays all over.

As an appropriate holiday song on the weekly Reminiscings of Youth, I'm going with Madonna's "Holiday" from September 1983. I mentioned this song when I posted about her "Borderline" which came out several months later. And as I said there, it was often the time that my family were in the car driving around Toronto doing errands in the evening so we got to hear the old local radio station CFTR doing the "Top 6 at 6" countdown. Madonna's "Holiday" was often at the top of the list and at the time, I was like the many people who had thought that the late Bobby Caldwell, behind the amazing "What You Won't Do For Love", was black. I had assumed that Madonna herself was black after hearing "Holiday" many times.

So, cue ahead several months, and I would finally get to see Ms. Ciccone performing at what I think is "Top of the Pops" from the UK. I first saw three backup dancers prancing away on the stage and once I heard the singing, I started wondering where Madonna was. And then I find out that the young lady in the middle is singing away, and that was Madonna! Well, count me gobsmacked! That's how I made my first acquaintance with the Material Girl.

"Holiday" was created by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens-Crowder with the producer being Jellybean Benitez as an antidote of sorts to all of the bad news that seemed to be infesting television at that time. Folks need a holiday and certainly we could all use a similar musical antidote right now. The song has always been upbeat and infectiously catchy with Madonna's plaintive vocals begging for that vacation in happier climes. The song reached No. 32 in Canada while in the States, "Holiday" got as high as No. 16. As one website put it, Madonna's classic is one of the most memorable songs of the 1980s up there with Rick Astley and Pet Shop Boys.

Now, what was also being released in the same month as "Holiday"? Well, the first of the three below came out on the same day as Madonna's tune.

Akina Nakamori -- Kinku （禁区）

Naoko Kawai -- Unbalance （ＵＮバランス）

Checkers -- Gizagiza Heart no Komori Uta （ギザギザハートの子守唄）

Reona Hirota -- Ki ga Ikisou na Sora（気がいきそうな空）

 

Over five years ago, I posted an article which involved the theme song for a strange Japanese sci-fi film from 1983 that even included actor Peter Fonda titled "Daijoubu My Friend"（だいじょうぶマイ・フレンド）. The star of the movie, actress/director Reona Hirota（広田玲央名）recorded that theme song with the same title and let's say her live version of the song wasn't exactly thrilling ears.

The B-side of the single is "Ki ga Ikisou na Sora" (The Exciting Sky) whose original recorded version was something that I discovered recently, and at least here, Hirota sounds pretty decent. It's a refined and sweeping pop tune (especially with those strings) so I am not surprised that it was once again the Kisugi siblings behind its creation, Etsuko（来生えつこ）on lyrics and Takao（来生たかお）on melody with Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）handling the arrangement. 

Saburo Kitajima -- Fubuki Nagare Tabi（風雪ながれ旅）

 

Back in my junior high school days, one of the few teachers that I actually got along with well was our gym teacher. This is rather ironic since I was frankly the laughingstock of gym class and if the opportunity presented itself, I would feign illness and sleep it off in the nurse's office. In any case, me and a couple of friends were in the jogging club, and our gym teacher was an avid jogger. He was a Bear Grylls type in that he could take on any physical challenge with gusto...probably knew every vintage of his urine.

Well, one day, he exhorts us after school to go out for a brief run. Usually he likes the long run but that day was special on account of there being a MAJOR BLIZZARD raging outside. We began uttering our reluctance but the teacher wouldn't hear anything negative so he threw all of us outside in our tracksuits and sweaters (the one example of winter clothing that he would allow on our person) and we went out battling the hostile elements of snow coming in like missiles and darts, slicing winds and accumulating white stuff that threatened to engulf us like quicksand. How we survived that (and how he survived not getting a lawsuit thrown against him) I have no idea but we somehow managed to slog through an hour of jogging (?) on the side streets.

I always think of that notorious afternoon in the late 1970s when I listen to Saburo Kitajima's（北島三郎）epic "Fubuki Nagare Tabi" (Trek Through Wind and Snow). To be honest, I got to hear the performance again by the legendary enka singer from northern Japan when I watched an NHK retrospective on the Kohaku Utagassen last night which was actually better in its 75-minute format rather than those more arduous multi-day pre-Kohaku warmups with loads of comedians and singers.

Created by veteran lyricist Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and veteran composer Toru Funamura（船村徹） for Sabu-chan as his 37th single from September 1980, "Fubuki Nagare Tabi" has everything for a Kitajima song: strings which glide and stab, a veritable army of shamisen players, a grand arrangement by Masahito Maruyama（丸山雅仁）that reflects the tough journey up in the wintry north, and of course, the singer's clarion call delivery that exhorts and encourages at the same time. He not only sings about the various areas of the region such as Otaru and Hachinohe but he even mentions the instruments making the music and the sounds of nature as they come into some confluence. Enka fans from prefectures including Hokkaido and Akita probably shed a tear or two of pride.

The Kitajima signature song did OK by scoring a high of No. 28 on Oricon and it won the first Masao Koga Memorial Music Award（古賀政男記念音楽大賞）in 1980. However, what gave it immortality was his singing of "Fubuki Nagare Tabi" as the final performance on the 32nd edition of the Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1981 (he had actually first sung it on the 31st edition). A battalion of shamisen singers was behind the yukata-garbed Kitajima as he sang his heart out but the piece de resistance was the largest and most intense indoor hurricane of paper snow flakes which threatened to engulf not only Sabu-chan but the stage and the audience (not sure whether the singer strangled the special effects guy or hugged him in gratitude). Even non-enka fans will probably remember Kitajima for that one scene even if they don't remember it as part of the Kohaku. He would sing "Fubuki Nagare Tabi" five more times in later editions. 

Unfortunately, the above video isn't from that Kohaku but I found something that is a less intense version.

Bonnie Pink -- Surprise!

 

As I mentioned in the very first article I posted for singer-songwriter Bonnie Pink over a decade ago, I'd initially seen Ms. Kaori Asada（浅田香織）in the 1990s as this slightly brooding punkish lass with the short and straight pink hair singing indies rock tunes. But then entering the 2000s, she went into a more pop direction with "So Wonderful" and "A Perfect Sky".

So, going back to her roots, I encountered this 2nd single by Bonnie Pink called "Surprise!" which was released in April 1996. And it was a bit of a surprise since she sounded a little lower and growlier than the silkier delivery in "So Wonderful"...perhaps something along the lines of Alanis Morisette and "Jagged Little Pill". Written and composed by the singer, she sings about her relationship with her parents and how it's evolved from relying on them to the opposite way around. I think we can all relate to that.

"Surprise!" never made it onto an original album but it has appeared on her BEST compilations, starting with her "Bonnie's Kitchen ＃1" from December 1999.

Nobuko Sendou -- Umi no Mieru Mado（海の見える窓）

From Freepik

 

It's always nice to have that splendid view of the ocean from one's window. Certainly, my envy goes out to anyone who has that ability in their house. Life seems better and the coffee must taste and smell heavenly. Then again, if there is one of those typhoons...😟

I have seen the name Nobuko Sendou（仙道敦子）in the past but as it turns out, this is the first time that she has popped up on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". She's a Nagoya-born singer and actress who's been active since 1980, and through marriage, has a connection with a famous thespian family. Her husband is actor Naoto Ogata（緒形直人）, who's currently on the NHK morning serial drama "Omusubi"（おむすび）as a very hostile and embittered character, her late father-in-law was actor Ken Ogata（緒形拳）and one of her sons is actor Atsushi Ogata（緒形敦）.

Skimming through her J-Wiki biography, Sendou had been acting for about four years when she got behind the recording microphone to launch her singing career in 1984. I'd assumed from seeing the cover of her second album "La Fillette" which was released in December 1987 that she was one of the many aidoru going through the revolving door of the Japanese music industry but she was never categorized as such. And actually from listening to the final track "Umi no Mieru Mado" (Window with an Ocean View), she has a very nice and light vocal style in a Miki Imai（今井美樹）way. Written by Yumi Yoshimoto（吉本由美）and composed by Masayuki Kishi（岸正之）, "Umi no Mieru Mado" sounds as relaxing as it must feel to enjoy that actual view with the addition of a sea breeze.

The video below features Sendou in a commercial.

Motohiro Hata & Masamune Kusano -- ringo

 

I only found the video yesterday and it strikes me as being a mixture of a Japanese teen model convention, "The Prisoner" and "The Stepford Wives"...maybe even the current version of "Westworld" with all of the clones. Still, having stated that, I wouldn't mind living in the neighbourhood since it seems to be a very peaceful and pleasant place.

But the video belongs to the song "ringo" (yes, Japanese for "apples") which is a track on a Motohiro Hata（秦基博）album filled with duets. "HATA EXPO -The Collaboration Album-" came out a few days ago on the 20th and the first track is indeed "ringo" which has Hata working and performing with the lead singer of the band Spitz, Masamune Kusano（草野マサムネ）. It's a fun and happy pop/rock tune about finally getting out of the shell and enjoying life once more. Hearing the familiar vocals of Kusano brought back some nostalgia from my old 1990s. Hata was responsible for words and music with Kusano also helping out on the lyrics.

Yumi Takigawa -- Sayonara Mr. J.J.（サヨナラMr.J.J.）

 

Welcome to the final week of November 2024. Hope you are doing well wherever you are. It's cool and cloudy out there and it looks like we may be getting the first signs of flurries for this season, as terrifying as that may sound to a lot of my fellow Torontonians. Anyways, as a minor-key segue to this first song of this business week on KKP, I do have to say that writer and director J. J. Abrams really had a fetish for his lens flares and one of the more egregious examples was with his take on "Star Trek" in 2009. I got the feeling that the special effects budget was higher than it should have been because of them.

Now, with "Sayonara Mr. J. J.", which is a track on Yumi Takigawa's（多岐川裕美）"Sayo"（小夜） from 1979, this obviously has nothing to do with the lens flare-happy Abrams who was all of thirteen probably when the album was released. Nope, this Mr. J.J. is merely a love 'em-and-leave 'em cad whose latest victim and lover has quietly, firmly and even playfully shut the door on any more shenanigans with the guy. 

Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by bassist Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）, "Sayonara Mr. J.J." is more into the straight pop rather than the City Pop of "Gozen Rei-ji no Koibito"（午前０時の恋人） which was not only the last Takigawa song that I posted but the track mate for "Sayonara Mr. J.J.". Still, the arrangement is pretty refined although I think the beat is a little too fast for it to be considered Fashion Music and the overall upbeat feeling is that the lady involved is more in "no harm, no foul" mode rather than being crushed and heartbroken.

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Christmas Edition 1

 

Well, c'mon...it was too tempting to resist. Christmas has arrived at the AI Gallery! I figure that Edition 1 will help start things off and perhaps in a month...on Xmas Eve itself...the second edition will have a few more songs. Plus, Kayo Grace Kyoku is just raring to go on those Yuletide parties.

Mariya Takeuchi -- Kon'ya wa Hearty Party （今夜はHearty Party)

Yumi Matsutoya -- Lodge de Matsu Christmas （ロッヂで待つクリスマス）

Junichi Inagaki -- Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa（クリスマスキャロルの頃には）

Joyeux Noel, scumbag!

Midori Kinouchi -- Hitotsuki Okure no Christmas（ひと月おくれのクリスマス）

 

Midori Kinouchi's（木之内みどり）time in the aidoru limelight only consisted of a brief four years from 1974 to 1978. However, she does have a few songs up here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" including her 1976 "Tokyo Meruhen"（東京メルヘン）.

She's even provided a Christmas tune on her 2nd studio album "Juu-Hassai no Ima"（十八歳の今...Now at 18）from December 1975. Heck, considering the release date, I think a song for the Holidays by her was pretty much demanded. I couldn't find the Tetsuya Chiaki-penned（ちあき哲也）lyrics for "Hitotsuki Okure no Christmas" (Christmas a Month Late) but from the title, I could imagine that a couple, due to various circumstances, just couldn't swing a date for December 24th or 25th but things are better in late January for some belated Yuletide stuff. With arrangement by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）, "Hitotsuki Okure no Christmas" doesn't really sound like a Christmas tune but more of the usual aidoru hijinks although there is an interesting and pensive disco beat including a flute underneath the surface of the original Toshiharu Jitsukawa（実川俊晴）melody. 

Akihiro Miwa -- Jingle Bells（ジングル・ベル）

 

Well, my Sunday is one of the more refreshing ones that I've had in a while. The modem odyssey was finally resolved yesterday with the technician coming over; apparently it's one of the best devices according to him and a few other online articles. My Skype student was looking very clear last night. Also, Swiftie mania finally finished on Saturday when Taylor Swift held the last of her six concerts here in Toronto.

But a new season begins today. The annual Santa Claus parade will be taking place today in downtown Toronto for the 120th time (the highlight video above is from last year) which means that the Xmas season is now in full gear.

Of course, that means "Kayo Kyoku Plus" is now in Christmas mode, too. So for the next four weeks, viewers will be getting the occasional J-Xmas tune thrown in along with the regular stuff. I'm actually starting a day early because I usually begin from November 25th but with the Santa Claus parade heralding Season's Greetings today, I just went, "Heck, why not?".

The season will begin with a bit of an unusual choice because I had never expected singer and raconteur Akihiro Miwa（美輪明宏）to sing an old classic like "Jingle Bells". Most of the time, I've seen him over the decades chatting it up on talk shows and giving a rare scolding to an errant tarento but I have seen him perform chanson and tunes that I would probably say verge on the operatic and art poppish. He's already up on KKP with his 1965 "Yoitomake no Uta"（ヨイトマケの唄）.

However, years earlier, a young Miwa when he was going by the name of Akihiro Maruyama（丸山明宏）until 1971, released a first mini-album in September 1957 titled "ME-QUE ME-QUE"（メケ・メケ）, and among the tracks was his rendition of "Jingle Bells". I first found out about Miwa's version via Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu" podcast so I should give him thanks for that; unfortunately, I don't remember which episode it was.  Anyways, it's quite the tour de force performance by Miwa with a jaunty country-style arrangement by Ryoichi Hattori（服部良一）and lyrics by Miwa himself. The singer practically demands that everyone join him in a singalong which would be further emphasized by everyone getting out of their seats and doing an old-fashioned dance in the saloon. By the way, "ME-QUE ME-QUE" got a re-release in 2014.

Sadao Watanabe -- Orange Express

 

To think that saxophonist extraordinaire Sadao Watanabe（渡辺貞夫）isn't too far away from his 92nd birthday! I don't know how active he has been these days although his most recent appearance wasn't all that long ago when he released an album titled "SADAO 2019 ~ Live at Blue Note Tokyo". Here's hoping that he's still enjoying life and still playing that horn.

A few decades back in 1981, Watanabe released the album "Orange Express" and from it, here is the title track. It really does sound like something played in a country where oranges readily grow and are probably just one ingredient in a very potent punch. It is one happy sangria of a tune and I could imagine it being played on a cruise ship in port or on "Fantasy Island". Maybe the saxophonist is even living life large on a similar island.

Yuri Kunizane -- Hishochi no Sagan（避暑地のサガン）

 

I remember back in the early 1980s when astronomer Carl Sagan brought out his TV series "Cosmos" on PBS. If I had been a little older, I would have been more attuned to what he was saying but to be honest, I don't remember much aside from his pronunciation of the word "billions", something that late-night show host Johnny Carson loved to parody.

"Cosmos" was a program that left me rather mystified. What has also mystified me is an early song by aidoru Yuri Kunizane（国実百合）titled "Hishochi no Sagan" (Summer Resort Sagan). I don't believe that it has anything to do with the astronomer and the melody by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）doesn't have one iota of spacy wondrousness. Instead, it's a very down-to-earth Motown-style boogie pop tune with lyrics by Reiji Aso（麻生麗二）that was a track on her July 1988 debut album "Summer in Blue". The cover of her dressed up like Sandra Dee sitting by an old-fashioned radio tells a lot.

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Makoto Iwabuchi -- Moonlight Flight（ムーンライト・フライト）

 

Number: 085

Lyricist: Makoto Iwabuchi

Composer: Makoto Iwabuchi

Arranger: Shigeru Suzuki

From Iwabuchi's 1977 album: "Super Moon"

As the title says, "Moonlight Flight" is a nice floating tune that promises a flight on a moonlit night. There is a world of city mellowness that infuses Shigeru Suzuki's (who was also responsible for this song's arrangement) masterpiece 2nd album "Lagoon", but this can also be enjoyed here, too. Makoto Iwabuchi's（岩淵まこと）voice seems to take on some of the quirks of Keiichi Suzuki（鈴木慶一）, and it's great how well his smooth vocals fit with the overall sound.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

Yuko Ishikawa -- Saigo no Yoru ni（終末の夜に）

 

Listening to this song, I get images of a lonely, perhaps recently heartbroken, woman walking the streets of Tokyo alone and ending up getting a solo cocktail at what was once their favourite watering hole. The bartender is very sage and sympathetic.

I am talking about "Saigo no Yoru ni" (On The Last Night) which was the B-side to singer-songwriter Yuko Ishikawa's（石川優子）7th single "Cinderella Summer"（シンデレラ サマー）from March 1981. In contrast to the summery 50s sound of the A-side, "Saigo no Yoru ni" feels and sounds more mature, wiser and sadder, as if playing around on the beach all throughout that Cinderella summer has had its benefits, costs and consequences and now on that final night, the check has come due. To be honest, although I have categorized it as a City Pop tune, the blues and jazz push through in the melody by Ishikawa and the arrangement by Yasumasa Awano（淡野保昌）and Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）, and it may be just the song that is playing for that heartbroken woman in the bar.

Japanese music has plenty of examples of furigana that is different from the original kanji reading within a song title. This may be one of the more poignant examples. The formal reading of those first two kanji is actually "shuumatsu" rather than the more common and everyday "saigo" that is actually used to read "Saigo no Yoru ni". The kanji refers to the end in a more apocalyptic or terminal sense, giving a deeper meaning to the woman's feelings at the moment.

Botanical na Kurashi. -- City Girl

 

Well, in the last several hours since I first brought up the topic here, I've been able to talk with someone about my new modem issues and tomorrow, a technician will be popping by to resolve things. My upper torso muscles seemed to deflate with some relief.

Once again, I've encountered another Japanese pop group of the 21st century with an intriguing name. According to their website, Botanical na Kurashi.（ボタニカルな暮らし。）was dubbed as such because of a caption with that name given to a photograph of a large donburi at Kichijoji Donburi（吉祥寺どんぶり）, a restaurant that the members used to frequent often. From such gastronomic beginnings, Botanical na Kurashi. has released 14 singles and consists of smoky-voiced singer Siyo, leader/bassist Kent Mitani（三谷乾仁）, drummer Kazune Nakanishi（中西和音）, saxophonist Harumaki（はるまき）and guitarist Tomokazu Tanizawa（谷澤友和）.

I'm not sure what their range of genres is, but their 5th single from 2022, "City Girl" (by Siyo, Kent and Ryo) has that feeling of glorious nocturnal Neo-City Pop and the music video of that young lady tripping the light fantastic rather reflects that. I had assumed that it was Siyo dancing about Tokyo but it's actually Mana Watanabe (sorry, no idea who that is). The keyboards and guitar have that certain sound of the metropolis of the 21st century but Harumaki and any fellow horns kinda bring back memories of Steely Dan. The combined sound makes it pretty tempting to truly traipse around Shibuya, Shinjuku and Omotesando.

Perhaps their further message on the website is quite archaic now but it reads that leader Mitani's dream is to get Kichijoji Donburi reopened again after closing down. Maybe it was the pandemic but indeed, it would be nice to get Botakura to get the inspiration for their name back up and running and serving those scrumptious beef bowls once again.

The final video here is six years old but this is what Kichijoji Donburi was serving up. Man, the band loved their protein and carbs!

Hiroshi Takano/The Kingtones -- Yume no Naka de Aeru desho（夢の中で会えるでしょう）

 

This song is due to be a Yutaka Kimura Speaks entry in a few weeks so I decided to jump ahead of it with my own take. Honestly speaking, I hadn't heard of this one by singer-songwriter Hiroshi Takano（高野寛）but it has been included in the Top 100 in "Japanese City Pop", so I had to take a gander, especially with the late Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）handling its arrangement.

"Yume no Naka de Aeru desho" (We Can Meet in Our Dreams) had actually been meant as a Takano contribution to the vocal group The Kingtones（ザ・キング・トーンズ）as one of their singles, but as circumstances permitted, it ended up getting out as a Takano single in October 1994. Sakamoto and Takano have made it an early 1970s soul single and I can also hear why the latter had wanted to offer it to The Kingtones with their doo-wop balladry. The single reached No. 67 on Oricon and has been included as a track on his March 1995 album "Sorrow and Smile" which peaked at No. 49.

The Kingtones' take of the song did come out in April 1995 as their 29th single. Couldn't find an original recorded version but I did find this concert footage of the guys doing their doo-wop best. As heard here, it sounds a bit more lighthearted but the story is the same: a couple greatly enjoying each other's company on Earth and in the stars.

Ginger Root -- Only You

 

Dealing with "Kayo Kyoku Plus" music? Yayyy! Dealing with technology? Ughhhh. I haven't had much sleep over the past couple of days because folks in my community are looking forward to an upgrade in their Internet technology via new modems. I have never been very good with handling electronic devices and when I got my modem yesterday morning, I spent a good deal of time absorbing the installation instructions. Then, against my better judgement and in the vain hopes that a technician would miraculously beam in to help, I went to work. Not surprisingly, I got hung up with the Internet and television connections. After a couple of tries over twenty minutes, I cried "Uncle!" and reverted back to my current modem. Thankfully, everything is back to normal but later on today, I'm calling up the company and demanding a technician to come in.

Probably a lot of my friends and my brother, who are far more adept at technology than I am, would point an accusatory finger at me and say "Only you, J-Canuck! Only you can plug in an alarm clock and screw that up!". Yeah, guilty as charged. But that's me and my blog is my strength.

Hopefully, singer-songwriter and musician Cameron Lew and his Ginger Root project are faring much better in California. In August of this year, Ginger Root released their latest single "Only You", which is another sunny techno-light funky tune with a hint of 60s sweet pop as a topping. The video has Lew possibly getting yanked back into the Japanese corporatism of the music industry for that good money and fame. Compare that with his current circumstances of his own struggling business as a solo act.  Although I'm a music fan and not a musician, I can definitely relate to young Cameron.

"Only You" is also available in Ginger Root's latest album which came out a couple of months ago "Shinbangumi" (New Program). I wish him continued success.

Gamu -- Aki kara...（残秋(あき)から･･･）

 

It was over a decade ago when I wrote about folk duo Gamu's（雅夢）"Ai wa Kagero"（愛はかげろう）, the refined and wistful 1980 hit that bordered on Fashion Music, this side of France.

Some very tenderhearted oaken strings and Kazuto Miura's（三浦和人）resonant vocals come out of the woodwork to introduce the B-side of "Ai wa Kagero", "Aki kara..." (Since That Autumn...). Written by Hiroshi Yasusugi（保杉弘）and composed by Miura, once again I had initially wondered whether we were going into the realm of Fashion Music because of those strings, but the song goes into a more poignant if more laidback direction than "Ai wa Kagero". Yasusugi's lyrics talk of a man's bittersweet memories of a romance that went pear-shaped a couple of years previously. Once again, the season of autumn is the basis for romantic downfall and reflection.

Ippu-Do -- Chinese Reggae

 

I gotta say that when the Japanese music community discovered the way to mesh their combinations of notes with computer technology back in the 1960s and 1970s, they really loved to push some of the older genres through the filter of synthesizers and emulators. Yellow Magic Orchestra played with surf rock via "Cosmic Surfin'" and Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）melded some of that new French pop approach to the technopop in her album "Romantique".

It was also during that time that the synthpop band Ippu-Do spearheaded by singer-songwriter Masami Tsuchiya（土屋昌巳）was making its mark on the stereos and radios. Back in 1980, they came out with their second studio album "Real" and within it, there was the track "Chinese Reggae", written and composed by Tsuchiya, which was indeed as advertised. It was an English-language tongue-in-cheek ditty with a Chinese-sounding melody overlaying a reggae rhythm and Tsuchiya was able to make it work. Then in 1981, their third album "Radio Fantasy" included the Japanese-language version of the song. 

The above video provided by YouTuber Contain Yr Brain has both versions with the Japanese-language version before the original English version.

Chaka Khan -- Through the Fire

 

A few months ago, my Reminiscings of Youth post was on Chaka Khan's funky-as-all-get-out "I Feel For You" from 1984 which probably had the folks hitting the dance floor to do their breakdancing. It is one of two songs that I will always associate with her. But the other song of hers that is up there with "I Feel For You" is "Through the Fire", a wholly different animal. It's a romantic ballad from April 1985 that was created by David Foster (and yeah, it sounds so Foster), Tom Keane and Cynthia Weil which will always put me at ease as one of the most heartfelt examples of Quiet Storm that I've heard. She can hit it out of the park with her love songs as well as her party hits. Not surprisingly, this and its video were on heavy rotation on radio and TV.

I was a bit surprised and disappointed that "Through the Fire" didn't hit too high on the charts, reaching No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and then No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles. I thought it was a Top 10 song for sure. The ballad had already gotten out onto the market some months earlier as a track on Chaka Khan's October 1984 "I Feel For You" album.

So, what else was coming out on the Japanese record store shelves in April 1985?

Yoshie Kashiwabara -- Machikutabirete Yokohama (待ちくたびれてヨコハマ）

Akina Nakamori（中森明菜） -- Bitter and Sweet (album)

Yukiko Okada -- Summer Beach

Miyako Chaki -- Anata wa Nani wo（あなたは何を）

 

There are a couple of reasons that I'm putting up this song by singer-songwriter Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ）. One is that the last time I posted about her was back in October 2020 for her atmospheric "Maboroshi no Hito"（幻の人）. The other is that just a few days ago, underneath the article for that song, I had a nice conversation via the comments with a filmmaker and actor by the name of Tony Savo who had just completed a short sci-fi film titled "Shape of Things to Come". He actually used "Maboroshi no Hito" as the ending theme since the song rather fit nicely into what the story was all about. But if you're interested in taking a look, you can just go over to the article via the link and scroll down to the comments for his link to the movie.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at Chaki's "Anata wa Nani wo" (What Are You Doing?) which was the B-side to her March 1978 single "Azami no Gotoku Toge Areba"（あざみの如く棘あれば）. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by the singer, it's a bit of a potpourri of relaxing pop reminiscent of Gilbert O'Sullivan, some Asian influence and a bluesy saxophone. Compared with "Maboroshi no Hito", "Anata wa Nani wo" does feel lighter and more optimistic.

Isao Sasaki -- G.I. Blues

 

I wasn't around when Elvis Presley had been enjoying his first several years of fame and fortune before he was drafted by Uncle Sam into the army. Can only imagine how many women screamed in despair at their idol becoming a military man, but he didn't do too badly at all. "G.I. Blues" the 1960 movie was one result.

I remember Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）mostly for his grand contributions to anison for epics such as "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, so it was with some surprise years later that when the Tokyo native had first started out, he was all about his rockabilly, and as much as I have dubbed the lyricist to "Yamato", the legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）, as the Irving Berlin of kayo kyoku, Sasaki was once given the nickname of the Japanese Elvis Presley.

Case in point: one of his earliest singles was his cover of "G.I. Blues" which came out in 1961. He doesn't do too badly and he actually does sound like Elvis if he had been fluent in Japanese. Let's try to imagine Elvis singing "Star Blazers". Unfortunately, I couldn't track down who came up with the Japanese lyrics.

Mari Sono/Mie Sono/Yukari Ito -- Kiichatta! Utacchata! Naichatta!（聞いちゃった！歌っちゃった！泣いちゃった！）

 

It was probably one of the few times that "Uta Con"（うたコン）showed an episode tonight which didn't have a particular theme for the first fifteen minutes or so. However, one highlight was seeing 60s aidoru Yukari Ito（伊東ゆかり）and Mie Nakao（中尾ミエ）appear. Those two and Mari Sono（園まり）had formed one of the earliest kayo kyoku Gosanke（御三家）, the Spark Sannin Musume（スパーク3人娘）, in that decade. And unfortunately, the reason that Sono herself didn't show up with her former comrades is that the singer had passed away on July 26th this year at the age of 80 from heart failure.

The Spark Sannin Musume were scheduled to do a medley of their hits. However, a clumsy scene cut and the one performance of "Aitakute, Aitakute"（逢いたくて逢いたくて）by the remaining members tonight and Sono herself via vintage footage made it pretty clear that Jme had to cut out the rest of the medley in the high likelihood that those songs were Japanese covers of American hit tunes (due to the usual copyright issues). A lot of pop singers back then were doing those as much as they were doing original Japanese kayo.

Well, for my own tribute to Sono, I've decided to feature her January 1964 single "Kiichatta! Utacchata! Naichatta!" (I Heard It! I Sang It! I Cried to It!). It's an original Japanese tune done in a doo-wop rock n' roll style with Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）handling the music while Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）took care of the lyrics. It's pretty darn slick enough so that perhaps even fans of the old American pop from the 50s and 60s might wonder if it had been a cover of something by Connie Francis.

Sono may have had the A-side but both Nakao and Ito also sang the song as B-sides to their own January 1964 singles,  "Onna no Ko damon"（おんなのこだもん...Cause I'm a Girl） for Nakao (above) and "Uta wo Oshiete"（歌をおしえて...Teach Me a Song） for Ito (below), with fairly different arrangements.

My belated condolences to Sono's family, friends and fans...and also to her Gosanke mates, Ito and Nakao.