Shigeru Suzuki -- Brandy Wine

 

I can't say that I'm a great purveyor of brandy though perhaps I may have imbibed it as part of a cocktail. But I am certain that brandy has been a favourite of Japanese palates for decades and its disposition in the various containers above is rather handsome.

Now I can say that I have a second "brandy" Japanese song to add to Yujiro Ishihara's（石原裕次郎）classic "Brandy Glass" (ブランデーグラス）. Alongside his "Hachibu Onpu no Uta"（８分音符の詩）and "Lady Pink Panther", I can also post Shigeru Suzuki's（鈴木茂）"Brandy Wine" from his December 1976 album "Lagoon". Aside from the fact that this is an instrumental, so no Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）as the lyricist here, "Brandy Wine" is a cousin to "Lady Pink Panther" in that it is something in the City Pop/New Music genres with that bossa nova. It even has some jazziness. 

Its afternoon upbeat nature may not exactly match the atmosphere that a brandy may engender (relaxation, nocturnal) but there's no denying that it's another Suzuki success. Plus, that meshing of the flute and the scatting woman is amazing!