Finally, we have a proper spring day out there with seasonal temperatures and bright sunshine. And just in time for the Victoria Day long weekend, too. Plus, the other wonderful thing is that we've got another Urban Contemporary Friday on "Kayo Kyoku Plus".
Today, we start off with singer-songwriter Keiko Utsumi's（宇都美慶子）"Futari dake no Kyuujitsu" (Only Our Holiday) from her September 1992 4th album "Ren'ai Shosetsu"（恋愛小説...A Love Romance） as introduced by a radio DJ who apparently is only a sporadic student at Berlitz. Written by Utsumi and composed by Etsuko Yamakawa（山川恵津子）, the song strikes me as the prototypical 90s City Pop tune with those certain synths at play, and as soon as I learned that Yamakawa was behind the melody, I immediately pressed "play". Lots of good groove and soul in this one and I always appreciate a good sax solo (although for some reason, they had brought in a rather twee synth sax earlier in the song). As for Utsumi's lyrics, they don't completely describe a blissful relationship (the fact that her recipe for vegetable juice sounds more like a recipe for vegetable stew doesn't help) as the arguments start flying near the end with things finishing up on an uncertain note. Hey, love and life downtown!
I always loved the quality of Keiko Utsumi's voice and her smile. Her voice is clear and is oh so slightly high-pitched, but not annoyingly so. Her voice does remind me of someone, but I can't seem to remember who at the moment. Anyway, I am probably off topic. This is an upbeat easy to listen to city pop or neo-city pop song. It is not fast enough to dance to, but it is not slowly enough to put you to sleep either. I think this great driving music. Maybe even walking or jogging, too.
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