As I mentioned in my very first article featuring Hitomi Ishikawa（石川ひとみ）, she was one of the first Japanese pop singers or aidoru that led me into the wonderful world of kayo kyoku during and following my trip to Japan in 1981. The reason for this was her huge hit "Machibuse"（まちぶせ）which was reaching all of the radios, record stores and music programs that year.
Well, as I always say, let's not forget those B-sides. Yes, incredibly enough, "Machibuse" still had a B-side and though it probably didn't have much reach beyond the big Ishikawa fans, it's still a pretty nice number. "Natsukashiki Refrain" (Nostalgic Refrain) isn't the pure pop of "Machibuse" as created by Yumi Arai（荒井由実）years previously. It's more along the lines of the 50s or 60s style of girl pop that was also pretty popular at that time. Written by Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）and composed by Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）, the story is of a young lady reminiscing of a past romance after she sees the decrepit remains of a poster from a concert that she and her now ex-beau had attended a long time ago.
The lyrics by Yamagami are definitely nostalgic but now that we're looking more than forty years back, Hamada's music has also added to the sepia-toned nostalgia. Kinda wonder how Ishikawa herself is thinking about her time as one of the most popular singers back in 1981.
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