The last article I wrote regarding the rock band Mari Kaneko & Bux Bunny（金子マリ & バックス・バニー）was for their "Serenade":（セレナーデ）, a track from their 1978 album "Shoot the moon". In it, I'd mentioned that it had been a year since I last put up a song by them. Well, this time, it's over three years so I've really been lagging.
"Serenade" is quite the sipping whiskey-friendly tune. And it looks like I've found another similarly-feeling track, "Owari Naki Hajimari" (Endless Beginnings). With lyrics by Kaneko and Yasukiyo Taniguchi（谷口康清）along with the Yoshihiro Naruse（鳴瀬喜博）melody, "Owari Naki Hajimari" is perfect for that day-off dalliance on the hammock or couch while the sun is going down. Basically, it's Margaritaville time with the Janis Joplin of Shimo-Kitazawa and we do hear some of those very vocal gymnastics from Kaneko this time around. Still, it's relaxation time on the boardwalk.
This song is incredibly challenging to categorize. It straddles the boundaries of rock, soul, funk, jazz-rock, New Music, and the emerging City Pop sound. The interesting part (at least for me) is that "Owari Naki Hajimari" began as a 1976 CBS/Sony 7-inch, 06SH 97 single. 「終りなき始まり」 This song isn't merely a Japanese band imitating a West Coast sound. At least part of that sound was literally made in Malibu, if according to information about the 1976 release. https://www.dessineeshop.com/view/item/000000022653
ReplyDeletehttps://jp.mercari.com/item/m81948681962
It would have been interesting if the real Janis Joplin had lived longer, whether she would have tried something as calming as AOR.
Delete