Two of my more memorable Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）songs are her early 1970s song "Watashi no Joukamachi" (わたしの城下町）and then her 1983 brassy hit "Ohisashiburi ne" (お久しぶりね）. Both of them are very different in arrangement with "Watashi no Joukamachi" being a poignant ballad and "Ohisashiburi ne" being about a lady who's come back to town all cosmopolitan and man-hungry.
I'm also falling for the charms of this single by Koyanagi, "Limelight", which was released as her 30th single from January 1980. Imbued with some traditionalism in the introduction and then a lot of typical Japanese imagery such as fluttering cherry blossom petals, "Limelight" still strikes me as this hybrid of kayo kyoku, disco groove and rock guitar.
It had initially been titled "Samidare Onnazaka"（五月雨女坂...Gentle Path to a Shrine in an Early Spring Rain） and was going to be given lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）but for some reason, plans changed and it ended up with Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）as the word weaver. Okada's words seem to analogize a romantic relationship to the everchanging seasons throughout the year. Can't imagine what winter is going to be like. Meanwhile, Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）took care of melody and arrangement respectively and my compliments go to them for this disco kayo, especially with the impending crescendo before the chorus comes crashing in. Finally, Koyanagi's vocals seem to take this serene roost above all of the melodic mixture. The song reached No. 22 on Oricon.
J-Canuck, I think your description of this as a “hybrid of kayo kyoku, disco groove, and rock guitar" is probably the closest thing we are ever going to get to a genre label for this song. And, whatever this is, I love it! It is really unique and refreshing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it really stands out...even compared to the interesting Rumiko songs that I've heard so far.
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