Akira Kurosawa & Los Primos -- Namida to Tomo ni（涙とともに)

 

Well, it's a hot and steamy Monday out there and Toronto will be facing at least one more 3H day before things finally start cooling down on Hump Day. But I've got a feeling that this summer will be made up of a series of alternating heat waves and cool downs going well into September.

Working folks downtown will most likely want to grab a nice cold drink or two once work is done for the day, so I figure that it's good to have a Mood Kayo to break the ice. So, why not have the premium band Akira Kurosawa & Los Primos（黒澤明とロスプリモス）provide some old-fashioned kayo classiness to the proceedings? Their 1966 debut single, "Love You, Tokyo" (ラブユー東京）, probably remains as their most recognized hit.

However, when they first premiered, that debut single had as its A-side "Namida no Tomo ni"（Together with the Tears) with "Love You, Tokyo" as the B-side. But as I mentioned in the article for the latter over a decade ago, "Love You, Tokyo" got the bigger accolades so some time down the line, record company Crown Records flipped the sides and the rest is history as the new release sold around 2.5 million records. 

As it is though, "Namida no Tomo ni", which follows the Mood Kayo trope of having that final dance before breaking up for good (supposedly having that affair isn't particularly good for a marriage), is a perfectly fine example of the genre with the soft Latin rhythm, the tender vocals and the mournful backup chorus. Hiroyuki Nakagawa（中川博之）, as he did for "Love You, Tokyo" provided the melody and arrangement but this time, Shin Kimura（木村伸）was the lyricist.