Whenever I talk about how Japanese City Pop came about, part of my answer usually includes what the Japanese back in the 1970s dreamt of when it came to places they would have loved to travel to. And I mentioned that perhaps they would have enjoyed strolling down 5th Avenue in New York City, walking along Waikiki Beach in Honolulu and bombing down the Ventura Freeway in California in a convertible.
Well, maybe I was getting a little possessive with the Ventura since there are other scenic freeways in the Golden State. One is the Santa Monica Freeway in the Greater Los Angeles Area of which it's only part of the incredibly long transnational route Interstate 10. From what I've read for the video above, the Santa Monica has its own scenic charms as well.
On the Fourth of July last month, I commemorated America's birthday by posting Naoya Matsuoka & Wesing's（松岡直也＆ウィシング）"American Highway" from 1979, a funky disco number that could have had drivers add a few more miles per hour onto their speed on the highways of the United States. A couple of years later, Matsuoka and his band got a bit more specific with their beloved expressways and came up with a song in tribute to the Santa Monica portion of the I-10 through their December 1981 album "Danzon".
Not sure why "Santa Monica Frwy" was given the abbreviated reading in the word "freeway". It just seems like the opposite of Naomi Kawashima（川島なお美）adding that extra vowel to her "SCOOOP!" album. But regardless of that, "Santa Monica Frwy" comes across as a jam session that tones down the disco but enriches the high-life melody by Matsuoka. Everyone's invited to the party including trombonist Shigeharu Mukai（向井滋春）, Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami（村上秀一）on drums and Hidefumi Toki（土岐英史）on saxophone. "American Highway" may have been a welcome road to the nearest disco but this one particular song is the path to the coolest dance party to the largest house in Malibu.
Just one observation but Matsuoka was one busy fellow in 1981. He put out no fewer than four albums that year with "Danzon" being the last one.
I love this! I am sure Santa Monica Frwy could be used as a BGM in a LUPIN the 3rd tv show. This is sound is cool and fun to listen to.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's enough that I might want to get my own copy of "Danzon".
DeleteI remember not being sure what 'frwy' meant when I first heard it. Maybe the abbreviation was due to the title being too long? I’m not sure.
ReplyDeleteDespite all the driving vibes, it's strange that this track was left out of Naoya's Drive Best compilation in 2013.
Hello, Ulises. Maybe the Accounting department in the record company told the producer and Matsuoka that they couldn't afford the vowels for the rest of the word. :) But honestly speaking, I think Matsuoka probably saw the actual abbreviated word on one of the signs and decided it was cool enough to use as is.
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