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Welcome to the continued dog days of summer, and yep, it's still plenty torrid here even in Toronto. I can't even imagine what it's like now in Japan although I hear that the southern regions have been getting pounded by torrential rains.
Akemi Ishii（石井明美）is someone that I haven't heard from in a while so allow me to rectify that. In addition, she has her own big kanreki birthday (as do a few of us this year) coming up in a few weeks, so we should wish her a happy one.
"Celebration" is a non-single track from her 2nd album "Joy" (August 1987) that I have heard before but just haven't covered as of yet. Not sure whether composer/arranger Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and lyricist Ikki Matsumoto（松本 一起）were aiming for Eurobeat or some mix between it or pop, but there is something in there that reminds me of Cutting Crew's big hit "(I Died) In Your Arms Tonight" from 1986. Matsumoto's lyrics are filled with paradoxes with the basic one being whether someone's happy with that other person or without. Quite the celebration.
Fireminer here. When I first saw the title, I thought this was a cover of Kool & the gang's "Celebration". It's a strangely subdue song for its name.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's strange how late 80s Japanese pop and soft rock got influenced so much by British music, while the Eurobeat as known by American in the 90s had a lot more to do with continental Europe disco.
Hello, Fireminer. I wouldn't be surprised if you assumed that it was a cover of the Kool & The Gang hit. Cover versions were quite popular in Japan back in the day. Ishii's "Celebration" seems to be rather ironic and sardonic.
DeleteI can hear something similar with the way both "(I Died) In Your Arms Tonight" and "Celebration" start off, and maybe those drums. Anyway, I like the cover of Akemi Ishii’s album, and it was nice to hear something by her other than just cha-cha-cha.
ReplyDeleteMorning, Brian. Yes, that is quite the daring cover of Ishii on "Joy", and indeed Ishii is more than just "Cha-Cha-Cha", although for many people, it's the one song that she's recognized for.
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