First off, may I say that is one gorgeous picture of Keiko Maruyama's（丸山圭子）visage there. I only have the one album by the singer-songwriter, "Tasogare Memory"（黄昏めもりい）, and she doesn't smile there so it's nice to see her give the big beautiful grin on the cover. OK, now that I have geeked out, let's move on.
The photo belongs to the March 1981 album of hers, "More Ai" （MORE 愛...More Love）, and there's one track titled "Takai Biru no Mado kara" (From a Window in a Tall Building) which gave me a little bit of an ominous feeling. I know that heartbreak can make people do crazy things, but...
However, the Maruyama-penned song is more melancholy than tragic thankfully. And yep, I think it has to do with a young woman going through a sigh-worthy post-romance moment from her apartment which she may have shared with her now erstwhile paramour. The interesting thing for me about "Takai Biru no Mado kara" is that it doesn't follow the usual bossa nova or City Pop line that I often see Maruyama treading. This sounds like something more Parisian...Fashion Music with a bit of bubbly pop infused, perhaps. It's quite the different tune and I like the harmonies that help the song to fade away at the end. Makes me think about what more intriguing music is there on "More Ai".
Hey, I agree with you. Keiko Maruyama has got a super charming smile on this album cover! She also smiles on two of her single release covers ～いつかどこかで～ and 心の中の（1972）。 She is cute enough to be an aidoru, but is clearly not, rather she is a bonified artist. She has good control over her powerful voice.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd say that she is one of the underrated singers of the 1970s. I'm happy that she has been getting a second look because of the City Pop boom.
DeleteI am not sure what I was expecting when I first saw that album cover, but her voice range and style is very different from whatever I had in mind. I am more than happy to have learned about her and I am glad that other are giving her a second look, too!
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