Aki Yashiro/Naoko Ken -- Tomoshibi（ともしび）

 

I've noticed that I hadn't been covering any of the 1970s kayo kyoku all that much recently...not that I've been intentionally snubbing the songs from that decade; it just turned out that way.

So, luckily, I've encountered this atmospheric piece by the late Aki Yashiro（八代亜紀）titled "Tomoshibi" (The Light) which was the singer's 11th single from May 1975. Delivered softly and wistfully by the singer, if I've read the lyrics by Keiko Yuuki（悠木圭子）correctly, "Tomoshibi" deals with a woman in agony because her former significant other may be on his last legs and the light in him is slowly fading away. It's a nice nostalgic kayo to listen to because I can't quite qualify it in any one genre. I can get the regular kayo but also I feel that it has two other limbs in Mood Kayo and enka at the same time. My compliments to composer and arranger Jun Suzuki（鈴木淳）, especially when it comes to the sharp trumpet. The song reached No. 10 on Oricon and became the 35th-ranked single of the year.

Later in December that year, singer-actress Naoko Ken（研ナオコ）released her 3rd album "Guzu"（愚図...Indecisive） in which most of the tracks were covers of songs including Yashiro's "Tomoshibi". Her take is more along the straight pop line with a twangy guitar replacing the trumpet and some shimmering strings. What stands out for me is that Ken's usually smoky and world-weary vocals come across higher and more emotional.