My impression is that I haven't done quite enough to cover Kazuhiko Kato's（加藤和彦）"Gardenia" album from February 1978. I did post about two of the tracks "Today" and "Kibun wo Dashite Mou Ichido"（気分を出してもう一度） several years ago, but there have been some quiverings in the Force (and I'm well aware that in a couple of days that it'll be May the 4th) that "Gardenia" has become quite the City Pop (and New Music) legend. At the very least, the cover of him resting nonchalantly on a checkerboard floor is worth the price of admission.
Well, baby steps and all that. Over here for today, I'm writing about the sweepingly romantic title track from "Gardenia". Written by Kato's wife Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composed by the man himself, the soft voices of Kato and jazz chanteuse Kimiko Kasai（笠井紀美子）are swaddled by the boppy bass, percolating percussion and those disco strings. Kato seems to be somnambulantly hoping for a return of an old flame to his environment of wondrous scenery. In any case, three tracks down, another six to go on the album "Gardenia".
Here is a little about this Album from the following blog: https://ameblo.jp/onfield2012/entry-12789253143.html
ReplyDelete".....In short, *Gardenia* is a bizarre Japanese-made “pseudo-bossa nova” masterpiece. It’s by no means a straight import of bossa nova, nor is it typical Japanese pop. It’s a work that tackled the difficult challenge of blending the essence of authentic bossa nova — without losing its exotic charm — into the Japan-centric, pop-loving market in a way that felt natural. I believe only Kazuhiko Kato could have pulled this off. In that sense, it’s an extremely rare and valuable work.
*Gardenia* is the fourth solo album by Kazuhiko Kato, who had gone solo after his time with The Folk Crusaders and the Sadistic Mika Band. Following this, he released the so-called “overseas recording trilogy”: *Papa Hemingway* (recorded in the Bahamas, 1979), *Utakata no Opera* (recorded in Berlin, 1980), and *Belle Excentrique* (recorded in Paris, 1981). He then continued with works like *Ano Koro, Marie Laurencin* and *Venezia*, eventually earning heavyweight status in the Japanese pop music world.
Publicly, his works after *Papa Hemingway* have drawn enthusiastic support. But honestly, when I recently went back to listen to them, they felt somewhat dull. Maybe it’s just personal taste, but they came across as trying too hard, producing a somewhat slippery, overreaching sound. In contrast, *Gardenia* feels firmly grounded, striking a perfect balance between the international sound and what would resonate with Japanese listeners, all while being fully aware of the Japanese music scene at the time.
Additionally, Kato’s vocals truly shine on this album. That slightly shaky, vibrato-laden, delicate voice fits perfectly with bossa nova and samba. My first encounter with this album was hearing it on the program “Beat On Plaza” (as mentioned in this content’s editorial notes), and I distinctly remember the fresh surprise of realizing, “Wow, Japan can make music like this too.”
According to the broadcast records of that show, *Gardenia* was played on Monday during the “Japanese Folk & Rock Special” week. The following days introduced Mari Nakamoto’s *Love Touch*, Prism’s *Second Thoughts / Second Move*, Haruomi Hosono’s *Paraiso*, and Yumi Matsutoya’s *Benisuzume* — a truly unique selection. Among them, *Gardenia* and Hosono’s *Paraiso* became tapes I kept returning to.
Another aspect of *Gardenia* that delights music enthusiasts is the diverse lineup of participating musicians: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Kazumi Watanabe, Tsugutoshi Goto, Shigeru Suzuki, Kimiko Kasai, Nobu Saito, Ken Muraoka, Akio Mukai — just to name a few. Personally, I was especially thrilled to see Kimiko Kasai’s participation. Sakamoto and Takahashi would go on to join the overseas trilogy as well, and on *Utakata no Opera*, Haruomi Hosono, Akiko Yano, and Kenji Omura would join — essentially bringing the entire YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) lineup together. In that sense, *Gardenia* serves as a monumental work that connects directly to the birth of YMO.
As mentioned earlier, *Gardenia* is a bizarre, Japanese bossa nova masterpiece that asserted its presence within the context of 1978’s music landscape. To me, it’s a work that deserves to be called Kato’s signature album. Unfortunately, after being released on CD just once in the past, it’s remained out of print. While his more highly acclaimed overseas trilogy was carefully reissued in 2004 (in paper sleeve editions, though some tracks were cut), *Gardenia* is now only available as a digital download.
Having been reduced to a commercial tool for spreading digital purchasing habits, it seems unlikely this album will ever be re-released on physical media again. Therefore, I call for it to be registered as a “Hidden Masterpiece World Heritage,” deserving eternal protection.
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https://ameblo.jp/onfield2012/entry-12789253143.html
Thanks very much for the translation. It's good to get a fuller angle on the album and it's a recent entry as well.
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