Anri（杏里）has got another birthday coming up at the end of this month so I would like to wish her Happy Birthday in advance.
I've always believed that Anri was very photogenic right from the get-go in those late 1970s but just around the turn of the decade, those photographers really knew how to get the right shots for those covers of albums and singles. Anyways, I'll try and stop panting (but it is really hot inside and out today, y'know) and provide another B-side from her early singles.
Anri's third single "Namida wo Umi ni Kaeshitai"（涙を海に返したい）was an elegant but pretty powerful heartbreak tune that was released in April 1979. The B-side is no slouch either. "Umibe kara" (From the Seashore) is another song about the aftermath of a lost relationship but it's more laidback and grounded with an arrangement by Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）of Anri's own melody and Yoshiko Miura's（三浦徳子）lyrics that is reminiscent of some of those love songs by artists such as Carole King and Carly Simon. But with Anri's vocals, "Umibe kara" has some more innocence imbued. Of course, she was still seventeen when she recorded the single.
"Namida wo Umi ni Kaeshitai" was one song that never got placed onto an original album by Anri although it eventually did get put onto her "MY FAVORITE SONGS" compilation in 1988. "Umibe kara" finally got onto an album which was the 1986 CD version of "Feelin'", the singer's 2nd album from June 1979.
I am a fan of Anri, but so are my wife and mother-in-law, too! Anri is still going strong and has been holding concerts this year. I think she has a few more before the year is over. Ah,「 海辺から」is one of those songs that does not get my airtime on the music shows very often. I usually end up hearing one or more of the tracks from the 1983 album「Timely!!」for some reason, and once a year some music show will show a clip of Anri performing 「オリビアを聴きながら」。
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. I remember a couple of years ago when my friend in Los Angeles got to see Anri for a very short concert in the city. I'm not surprised that as a B-side, "Umibe kara" wouldn't be on her playlist; I'm not even sure if SHE remembers the song after so many years.
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