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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.

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Mitsuko Komuro -- Beginning

 

When I first got to know singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro(小室みつ子)via the blog some years ago, it was through her City Pop songs from the early 1980s including her "Highway Rendezvous"(ハイウェー ランデブー). However, most recently, I did listen to her take on "Get Wild", the song that she made alongside composer Tetsuya Komuro(小室哲哉) (and yes, there's no familial connection between the two of them oddly enough) which has become one of the most popular anison. Her cover also contains some of that pop-rock edge.

Now, I've gotten a few listens to her 7th single from June 1991, "Beginning", and it's also something that takes a different direction. It's a power pop ballad that sounds like it could have been created for one of her namesake's earliest clients, Misato Watanabe(渡辺美里), and in fact, Mitsuko herself sounds a bit like Misato in her delivery. The arrangement also lends itself to that theory. The singer-songwriter provided words and music but also had some help from Issei Yoshioka(吉岡一政); that first name can be read in four ways according to Jisho.org and since I couldn't find a romanized version of the name, I just went with "Issei", but if someone can confirm or deny my choice, please let me know.

1 comment:

  1. I remember Mitsuko Komuro's cover of "Get Wild" but I think I will always remember Mitsuko Komuro for 「夢をたどって」 her cover of "I’ve Never Been to Me" first recorded by Randy Crawford and shortly after by Charlene. The music and Mitsuko Komuro's voice sounds a lot more powerful in "Beginning".

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