It's quite the amazing statistic, even among all of the other Japanese music veterans, but as of next year, Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）will be celebrating her 60th anniversary as a singer and songwriter. Here's hoping that she's staying active and healthy.
Although my memory gets a bit wobbly occasionally, I don't believe that I have covered Takahashi's October 1981 5th album "Lovendow", so in all likelihood, I have yet to make any postings about Track 4 on the album, "Wine no You na Kiss" (Kisses Like Wine). One would think that with a title like that, the song would be more of a love ballad.
However, "Wine no You na Kiss" is actually quite the spritely samba-infused tune, a genre that Takahashi has had an affinity for. Written by Chinfa Kan（康珍化）and composed by Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）, it starts out like a disco tune then runs into the dramatic city beat before going all major-key upbeat over that samba rhythm with a vengeance. Those horns, especially that trumpeter, love their Maynard Ferguson apparently and that's OK since the song probably describes what a typical Friday or Saturday night in Tokyo must have been like back in the high-flying 1980s.
The first part of this song sounds like it should be in an opening to LoveBoat, but the rest of the song sound like some sort of latin party/festival dance music. and judging by the cover Mariko Takahashi seems to look the part! Her vocals are crispy and clear too!
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. Yeah, Mariko Takahashi was definitely one of the first Japanese pop singers to leave an impression on me. I credit her, Yuming and a few others to pave the way to a long affinity toward kayo kyoku and J-Pop.
DeleteWell, I sure am happy you introduced me to her music!
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