Circus Town is one of my favorite albums of all time, and one of my top five favorite Tatsuro Yamashita (山下達郎) albums. As someone who’s been to New York, I think it captures the aura of the Big Apple very well. It’s got some well-known bangers like the title theme, “Windy Lady,” and my personal favorite, the doo-wop classic “Last Step.”
Although, in my opinion, the most underrated song is easily the closing number, “Natsu no Hi” (夏の陽). It has that typical ’70s folk-rock sound, but the ethereal backing chorus, combined with Tat’s signature belting, gives it a whimsical touch
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I’ve heard a lot of Tatsuro Yamashita covers in my time, but this is one of the few that surpasses the original. Doesn’t surprise me one bit. The American revue-inspired band, hence the name, has a knack for creating excellent vocal harmonies and combining them with music you’d hear in some kind of vaudeville act. Plus, the lead singer, Kaname Nemoto (三谷泰弘), has performed live with Tatsuro in the past. Nemoto, joined by Tats and J-rock star Shōgo Hamada (浜田省吾 ), once performed a live a cappella version of Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.”
When you get a chance to listen to Stardust Revue, make sure to check out their 2008 album ALWAYS. It's filled with great acapella and acoustic covers of various kayokyoku classics.
This was from 1976!?! I should have know that but it make sense that an iconic song like this would be from the 51st year of the Shōwa era.
ReplyDeleteThis was recorded in Los Angeles with help from legendary musicians Jerry Yester(backing vocals) and John Hobbs (piano)
DeleteHi, Rocket. Stardust Revue has been one of those bands with a dedicated fan base but has been underrated all these decades. Hopefully, they're getting a better view from people. Their take on "Natsu no Hi" is great but it's too bad that the full version of the Tats original is not up online for a better comparison. Just from hearing that one minute clip, though, I get that image of enjoying that drink on top of a New York brownstone during sunset.
ReplyDeleteI do think it has more of a NY feel to it than an LA one.
DeleteYeah, there's always that certain feeling of a New York-sounding kayo. Maybe it's some chaos in the arrangement?
DeleteNew York pop either has a big band jazzy feel, like something out of Birdland, or sophisticated folksy feel like something out of Greenwich, or the Brill Building.
DeleteWould it also have some funk? I'm thinking about Jun Fukamachi's stuff.
DeleteDepends on the context. On the Move is one of my favorite NY adjacent albums. Its definitely funky, but it also has that big band and jazzy feel. On the east cost Funk is usually associated with either Chicago (Windy City) Detroit (Parliament), Jersey (Kool & the Gang), and even DC if you wanna count Go Go music. and of course LA has G-funk (Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Warren G)
DeleteI think Tats was mentioning that he had based some of his songs on a Chicago sound. Can't quite remember which songs he was referring to, though.
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