Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Thursday, November 20, 2025

Yuriko Ohmori -- Mahou(魔法)/Night Train

 

Back in 2022 and 2023, I wrote up a couple of articles on the singer Yuriko Ohmori's(大森有里子)1981 single "Rai Rai Mirai"(来・来・未来)along with its B-side "Fuyu no Hito"(冬の人). I could quickly realize that Ohmori was trying for something different with her two songs that skirted with Fashion Music and exotic kayo territory.

Well, the former NHK announcer only released two singles with the second and final one being "Mahou" (Magic) in 1982. For it and its B-side "Night Train", Ohmori was responsible for composition, while Masako Arikawa(有川正沙子)took care of the lyrics and Tsugutoshi Goto(後藤次利)arranged everything. By the way, just from what I've heard in the lyrics, it sounds like "Night Train" starts off the YouTube video with "Mahou" starting up at 3:18.

"Night Train" is a bit of old-fashioned sophisticated Latin-tinged pop mixing in some New Wave. Think of a tropical nightclub on an island that was partially designed by Syd Mead...anyways, that's what I envisage here. As for "Mahou", there is some tango in the urgent arrangement with some of those sound effects thrown in.

One more PS...I mentioned about the website idol.ne.jp in the article for "Fuyu no Hito". I'd been using that as a reference for some of the more obscure aidoru and other female singers over the years. However, it seems as if it's been taken down for some reason.

1 comment:

  1. I love Yuriko Ohmori’s gorgeous, glorious, glamorous hair on that album! She has a way of singing like talking (but with rhythm), and then suddenly singing it is very charming!

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