Susan Nozaki -- Onna no Jikan（おんなの時間）

 

I started the Susan file on KKP back in 2023 and thus far, three articles have been posted on the half-Japanese/half-French-American singer whose time behind the mike lasted until 1984. Those three articles with the most recent one being for her 1980 "Koi Se yo Otome"（恋せよおとめ）have shown her embracing the wonders of technopop and New Wave.

Well, let's go all the way back to her debut in 1971 when she was first introduced as Susan Nozaki（スーザン・ノザキ）. She released her first single "Onna no Jikan" (A Woman's Time), a typical pop ballad of the times arranged by Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）with Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）behind the melody and words provided by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）. It's quite the elegant and dramatic kayo kyoku with the urban sax and electric guitar paired with the lofty strings. Knowing that it's Miyagawa behind the arrangement, there are some parts of "Onna no Jikan" that reminds me of a James Bond theme song and others that have me reminiscing of the soundtrack of "Uchuusenkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, another one of Miyagawa's legendary works.