Junko Ohashi -- DEF (Side A)

 

It's now been one year since Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）died at the age of 73 on November 9th 2023. So, as I did with a couple of covers of her hits including Shiori Sasaki's（佐々木詩織）"Simple Love"（シンプルラブ）yesterday during Urban Contemporary Fridays, I would like to continue the tribute to the soul singer with the boomer voice by taking a look at her January 1988 album, "DEF", over two articles, beginning with Side A.

First off, allow me to apologize, since it might look like a couple of ghost hands are trying to strangle the lovely woman above, but thanks to my very unprofessional photography skills, the flash function also included my attempts to take the picture. In any case, "DEF" was Ohashi's first album after moving from Philips, which had been her label ever since she first began her career in the early 1970s, to Epic/Sony Records, and though the release isn't solely a City Pop album as we will hear, she and her fashion team really went down to town to get that "Vogue" look which makes her appear that she's ready to hit the streets of 80s Bubble Era Tokyo for some champagne and caviar...or maybe she's heading to the Kentucky Derby.

According to the liner notes, "DEF" stands for "Dream, Emotion, Fragrance", so I'm already getting that sophisticated night vibe. The first four tracks on Side A actually represent the Hokkaido singer's 22nd and 23rd singles from January and February 1988 which include the bright and Big City feeling of the first track "Nemurenai Diamond" (眠れないダイアモンド）, one of my very favourites by Ohashi. It was because of hearing this Camellia Diamonds commercial song on the "Sounds of Japan" broadcast that had me searching for the source album for a few years. I was able to track down "DEF" probably during my time on the JET Programme.

Strange thing, though. Although I loved "Nemurenai Diamond", the other tracks on "DEF" didn't spark the same emotion initially and so it stayed on the shelf for many years without me taking it out. I gather that I wasn't quite ready. However, I am ready now and have been smacking myself up the back of my head for not being ready early enough. By the way, unless noted, the main lyricist, composer and arranger on "DEF" are Goro Matsui（松井五郎）, Ken Sato（佐藤健）and Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）respectively.

Above is Track 2 and Side B to the "Nemurenai Diamond" single, "Aru Yoru no Wonder"（ある夜のWonder...A Wonder One Night）. Beginning with a sumptuous lone trumpet that would make the folks at Swing Out Sister swoon, the uptempo song keeps the good times of Side A rolling in Tokyo as a young lady contemplates the new love and life in the megalopolis. It's too bad that the album never came out with a list of the musicians but I wouldn't be surprised if the trumpet player was Shin Kazuhara（数原晋）.

Track 3 and Ohashi's 23rd single is "Futatoori no Kokuhaku"（ふたとおりの告白）is pure soul balladry...absolutely her wheelhouse. Not sure whether the translation would be either "Two Confessions" or "Two-Way Confession", but perhaps it really doesn't matter in the end, since both participants in a couple are slowly getting the gumption to make their feelings known to each other. I like how the pre-chorus melody shifts into minor-key doubt mode to reflect the kids' uncertainty about their love before the ship is back on an even keel. Nice solo with the urban guitar and the keyboards, too.

The next track and Side B to "Futatoori no Kokuhaku" is "Sayonara to Onaji Rain"（さよならと同じRain...Rain Like Goodbye）, a rhythmically propulsive song of lost love as Matsui's lyric of "an August rain" hints at the change of the seasons meaning the potential end of romance. There is a bit of Latin and disco strings, and we get to hear that amazing Ohashi boomer voice that I was surprised by when I finally got to hear her 1970s material.

The final track for Side A of "DEF" stands out since it's more of a pop/rock piece titled "Sasayaki ni Utaretai"（ささやきに撃たれたい...I Want to be Shot by a Whisper） with Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也） handling the melody this time while Sato takes care of the chorus arrangement. Although I couldn't quite understand the lyrics here in their entirety, I did get an impression of another complicated time with love.

I realize that Ohashi had always kept her hair pretty short although obviously she never looked like a Marine recruit, but when I noticed that she grew it out a little for the album's back shot, I think she looked pretty darn hot there. Anyways, Side A is done. I'll have Side B up and running either next Friday or Saturday.