Hitomi Tohyama -- Darling

 

This is probably just my sort of thing, but whenever a City Pop song pops up in my head, I've often developed my form of cross-categorization. One particular angle is whether such a tune sounds like something for the daytime or the nighttime.

When it comes to Hitomi Penny Tohyama's（当山ひとみ）"Darling", which is the second track on her March 1985 album "Five Pennys", it's hard for me to categorize it in that diurnal way. Written by Eiko Kyo（許瑛子）and composed by Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）, it has that bright and sparkly arrangement which hints at the daytime (especially around brunch) but then the chorus feels like a relaxing evening in the penthouse, especially when the sax gets unleashed. Lovely and breezy background vocals, by the way. In any case, "Darling" is that typical Tohyama tune of soul, sun and stars.