I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
I have to say that singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）was about as imaginative as Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）when it came to the design of her album covers. One example is the one for her August 1983 album"Miracle" which hit No. 20 on Oricon. I mean, can anyone psychoanalyze this one?\
"Bad Boy, Bad Girl" is one track on "Miracle" which is surprisingly steamy for a Japanese pop song of the 1980s. I have heard some Mood Kayo tunes at karaoke that can get rather liberal with the sex quotient (along with the soft porn videos to go along with them) but I think this might be one of the only times that I've heard something like this in a regular pop tune, although no one in American R&B or hip-hop will need to drop their jaws in awe here.
Ozaki was responsible for words, music and arrangement with "Bad Boy, Bad Girl" (as she was for all of the other tracks on "Miracle") and she does a duet here with jazz bassist Akira Okazawa（岡沢章）who's got some of Hiro Tsunoda（つのだ☆ひろ）vibes in his vocals. The melody has that somewhat woozy mixture of nocturnal pop and reggae rhythms thrumming throughout as if a lot of alcohol (and perhaps other stuff) were being imbibed in the storyline of the song. I guess whatever happened in this setting probably stayed in this setting.
I had another song (album, actually) ready to go for this week's Reminiscings of Youth but on hearing about Supertramp's Rick Davies passing away on September 6th, I decided to devote a ROY in his memory. The band's music was indeed part of my experience growing up.
As I mentioned in my first ROY for Supertramp, the band's music was something that I heard a lot on the AM radio from the late 1970s going into the 1980s starting with "The Logical Song". Moreover, it was there that I got the impression that the band was a pretty happy-go-lucky pop group from the UK, not knowing that they had started all the way back in the early 1970s presenting a mixture of pop and progressive rock.
Little did I know that a particular excerpt from one of their prog rock/pop creations from the late 1970s would be used for one of the better known shows on CTV. "W5" has been a news analysis show that's been around for decades and for a time, their theme used this excerpt, and as a result, I thought that "W5" had one of the coolest theme songs around. Usually when I thought about newsmagazine shows, sounds of typewriters or stopwatches came into my head...not something synthy that made the reporters look like intrepid counterspies on their own adventures.
It was only in the last couple of years that I realized that at around the 3-minute mark of "Fool's Overture", the final track from Supertramp's April 1977 album "Even in the Quietest Moments...", that "W5" theme plays like a boss; something mysterious and catchy before breaking into major chord resolution. As for why it took me so long to realize this, well, songs like "The Logical Song" are short enough to be played happily on AM radio which I was listening to as a kid. FM radio didn't touch my ears until I was in my senior years of high school and even then, I didn't listen to CFNY or Q107, the only FM stations in Toronto that would play something like the 11-minute "Fool's Overture" in its entirety. I have to say though that for Roger Hodsgon's overture for a fool, the piece does sound rather cool. Now, having heard it a few times, I'd probably point to this song if someone asked me to identify a prog pop/rock tune.
April 8th 1977 was the release date for "Even in the Quietest Moments...", so what was up in the Top 10 of Oricon a few days later on April 11th? I give you Nos. 1, 4 and 5.
I remember visiting Kyoto with the rest of my classmates during the July 1981 Toronto Japanese Language School graduation trip. We saw the Gion Matsuri procession which was a few layers deep of people on the sidewalk and it was a steam bath out there as Kyoto usually is because it is situated in a shallow valley. The next thing I knew I was back in my bed at the ryokan exhausted out of my mind.
Strangely enough, just a couple of months earlier, singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）had put out her 13th single in May, "Love is Easy", which I noted when I posted the article for her album "Hot Baby" back in 2018. "Love is Easy" was also the launching track for the album. The B-side for that single was "My Shiny Town".
"My Shiny Town" was used as the campaign song for a Kyoto radio station, KBS Kyoto, which was celebrating its 30th anniversary in 1981. Written, composed and arranged by Ozaki, it's a cute tune with a 50s/60s girl pop rhythm to start things off but it also shares melodic space and time with a synthesizer so I gather that I can also give it the Technopop label as well. Usually when it comes to the venerable former capital of Japan, I think enka or min'yo, but Ozaki turns that all on its head here. I also have to mention that Ozaki may have wanted to take a riff from one of the Piano Man's famous songs in the intro.
Although "My Shiny Town" hadn't been included in the original release of "Hot Baby", it was placed onto the 2013 re-release of the album as a bonus track. It must have stood out quite a lot against most of the other tracks since they had been arranged by David Foster, and I don't think Foster does cute.
However as they say in those informercials: Wait! There's more! YouTuber kbskyoto114369 has provided some interesting insight via his own music video for "My Shiny Town" (starts at about a minute in). He wrote the story below the video in Japanese but giving a quick translated look, I had first assumed that he was slamming KBS but as it turns out, he's actually a supporter for the station.
He expressed some surprise that a singer as illustrious as Ozaki would create a song for KBS which at the time had been undergoing some doldrums which involved low ratings, corruption, and an image of radio that only uncool old men would love. But apparently the station managed to turn the tide and clawed its way back up the ladder.
One of singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）greatest songs has been "My Pure Lady", her 1976 single which is some blissfully relaxing bossa nova-inflected New Music. It instantly brings back some major nostalgia even though I wasn't even living in Japan back in the 1970s except for that one-month vacation in 1972.
Well, Ozaki's breakthrough hit obviously has a B-side and it's also a very nice winner. "Sunlight" sounds like a lady's very happy day and it was created by Ozaki under Masataka Matsutoya's（松任谷正隆）arrangement. However, instead of bossa nova, "Sunlight" feels like some soulful upbeat goodness, especially with that brief but lovely sax solo. Just want to coast down a seaside hill on a bicycle on a sunny day while listening to this one.
Last year, among all of the Author's Picks articles, I did go a little crazy on certain "theme title" songs such as "Twilight" and "Casablanca". But indeed, I have noticed that songwriters did love putting those words into their works for some reason. And now, I realize that "Cinderella" can also be included in this august company.
In a way, the whole concept of Cinderella is perfect for Japanese society. At least in the way that it has been depicted by Disney, a poor young woman under the constant fatty thumb of some cruel family finally makes the best of her opportunities (which greatly involve a fairy godmother) and gets out of her indentured servitude at last and has that life of happy-ever-after. I have seen so many documentaries and variety shows in Japan which have depicted callow young people going through absolute hell under stern or just plain sadistic teachers to finally reach their desired goals that it's a surprise that those folks haven't been called Cinderellas or Cinderfellas.
Anyways, I have found a few Cinderella kayo kyokuin KKP (and a lot more on this site which has more recent songs), so please enjoy!
Seeing that my last article's song had some bossa nova interwoven into its tapestry. why not go for a bigger dose of the Brazilian genre today?
Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）2nd original album,"Mind Drops", from June 1977 has given me an impression that it is one of the major releases within that gelatinous region of New Music and City Pop, so perhaps I should give the entire album its own article someday. However, in the meantime, I'll stick with the first track on "Mind Drops", the calm blue ocean of "Taiyo no Hitorigoto" (Soliloquy of the Sun) which was written and composed by the singer.
The arrangement by Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）takes us into cocktail-sipping bossa nova territory although the opening scat of "dabba dabba da..." has me thinking of good ol' kayo kyoku as well. But it isn't Yuming's（ユーミン）husband helping out with the duet here. It's actually Sumio Akutagawa（芥川澄夫）behind the mike. At the time, he was a director at Toshiba EMI and had once been a guitarist for the folk group Toi et Moi（トワ・エ・モワ）earlier in the decade.
Speaking of "Mind Drops", you can also take a gander at another track from the album, "Hatsukoi no Toori Ame"（初恋の通り雨）.
Hello and welcome once more to the AI Gallery. It is indeed a quick comeback to the gallery considering that I had just put up a similar article a few days ago on September 25th. However, due to a busy schedule today (including a lesson tonight), I've only had time to concoct the previous article and then this one which doesn't require a lot of work.
Somewhere in my dusty collection of old-fashioned print photos, there is an album containing my shots from my trip to Sapporo years ago. It was a mere three days in the northern city in Hokkaido but it was a nice one especially since things were so comfortably cool and dry in June over there compared to the hot and humid conditions that were already creeping into Tokyo. I would have put one of those photos up, most likely one of the shots of the neighbourhood of Susukino, Sapporo's own equivalent of Shinjuku or Kabukicho in Tokyo, but I haven't had the wherewithal to dig into the cabinets quite yet. Instead, I've posted a YouTube video from the good people at Tokyo Walker with their own traipse through Susukino.
What's with all of the nostalgic memories of Sapporo all of a sudden? Well, although the last season of anime was fairly sparse for me in terms of what I wanted to watch, it appears that there may be a few for Winter 2024 that have popped up favourably on my could-watch radar. Two of those are actually set in Japan's northernmost prefecture
"Snack Basue"（スナックバス江）is based on the 2017 manga by Forbidden Shibukawa（フォビドゥン澁川）and the trailer has had me thinking that the nutty humour and weird characters are probably something that would get me to watch. Supposedly the tiny but stylish titular bar is located five stations away from Susukino so it's even further away from the hotel where I'd stayed during my trip there. When I do finally get to see "Snack Basue", it'll be interesting comparing this anime with the ultimate in bar sitcoms in America, "Cheers". Not sure if any of the regulars there will yell "YAMADA!" whenever Yamada steps in, though.
The opening credits for "Snack Basue" pretty much gives us the cast of characters and the tone of the show, and I recognize the first several seconds as a parody of the opening animation for one of the movie-of-the-week programs on Japanese TV. However, the opening theme is something a little different; I'd expected something folksy jovial or a Mood Kayo in the spirit of a typical Japanese watering hole, but actually it's fast-paced synthpop by otonari (Ririko) called "Uraomote Aquarium"(Two-Face Aquarium) written by Ririko and composed/arranged by Ryohei Sataka（佐高陵平）. Ririko's breathlessly delivered lyrics describe what I think is the usual rant by tipsy salarymen at places like Snack Basue about bullying bosses and terrible clients, so there is the whole tatemae and honne issue within Japanese society.
From what I've seen on the J-Wiki article for the series, the ending songs will be a series of covers of the old kayo kyoku which is refreshing to see and hear. For Episode 1, it was Anri's（杏里）debut song "Olivia wo Kikinagara" from 1978 as performed by seiyuu Rie Takahashi（高橋李依）in character as the bar's proprietress Akemi（明美）. It's pretty close to the original arrangement, too. Compare that with Takahashi's other cover of a kid's song in the anime "Tomo-chan wa Onna no Ko!"（トモちゃんは女の子！...Tomo-chan is a Girl!）last year.
Maiko Kawakami（川上麻衣子）is an actress who I've heard about over the years but didn't know that she had been born in Stockholm, Sweden to a couple of interior designers (no IKEA jokes, please). However, her family moved back to Japan when she was around a year old.
Another thing that I hadn't known was that she did have her time behind the recording mike. Kawakami released four singles between 1981 and 1983 along with three albums between 1982 and 1984. Her second album from June 1983 was titled "ÄLSKLING"; the title is Swedish for "darling". The video uploaded by mingumangu has the second and ninth tracks.
Track 2 is "Zanshou" (残照...Afterglow) which is some dreamy City Pop concocted by lyricist Kaoru Asaki（麻木かおる）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロ）with some smoky if not all that strong vocals by Kawakami. Track 9 at 4:27 is "Tsumetai Bed"（冷たいベッド...A Cold Bed） which picks up the pace a bit into a more mid-tempo tune with a hint of New Wave. Asaki also provides the lyrics here but this time, the composer is Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）.
One more song from "ÄLSKLING" is the first track"Kanshou"（感傷...Sentimentality） which also was Kawakami's 3rd single from July 1983. It was written and composed by Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）and arranged by Jun Sato（佐藤準）.
Well, as I've always said, never forget about those B-sides...or coupling songs when it comes to the CD single. It's been close to eleven years since I first posted Arisa Mizuki's（観月ありさ）dreamy May 1991 debut single "Densetsu no Shojo"（伝説の少女）as created by singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）. Yup, I bought that one used for a grand total of 357 yen.
The coupling song for "Densetsu no Shojo" was "Kagami no Naka no Utopia" (Utopia in the Mirror) as also created by Ozaki and arranged by Jun Sato（佐藤準）. It's an interesting song in that it starts out sounding like something that should have been inserted in a Studio Ghibli soundtrack but then the chorus goes into a more contemporary pop mode. I think I can understand why it didn't achieve its own A-side status but the contrast between the two aspects keeps things interesting.
Ozaki recorded a cover of "Kagami no Naka no Utopia" for her March 1992 3rd album of self-covers titled "Points-3". Her version keeps the contemporary pop arrangement throughout the song and even throws in a bit of rock under Motohiro Tomita's（富田素弘）aegis.
OK, first off...Iyo Matsumoto's（松本伊代）"Shyness Boy" has nothing to do with Anri's（杏里）"Shyness Boy". The latter is one of my very favourite City Pop songs created by Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）for her December 1983"Timely!!" album. Meanwhile, the former is not one of my favourite Matsumoto songs since it rather chaotically stumbles out of the gate although it does settle down quickly into something that perhaps an early-career Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）would tackle.
Actually, "Shyness Boy" is Matsumoto's 12th single from September 1984 and it was written and composed by Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）. The arrangement by Shingo Kobayashi（小林信吾）is rather weird with its mix of instruments coming out everywhere from the woodwork to get their words in and then this introspective 80s guitar plucking away from a moody American pop song of that decade. Ozaki's lyrics, however, have some firmer hold as a young lady is absolutely grinding her teeth to a powder in frustration while she's waiting for her male buddy to finally confess his love for her. Still, she loves him deeply enough that she will continue to bide her time.
The last time I wrote about Chie Yokoyama（横山知枝）was for her "For You" which was a cover of Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）soft love song from her October 1979 5th album"Little Fantasy".
I gather then that a couple of years later, it would be logical for me to write about "For Me" from Yokoyama's discography which ended up on her debut album"Bloomin'" from 1992. Not surprisingly, both "For You" and "For Me" are side-by-side trackmates with the latter also being written and composed by Ozaki. The difference is that "For Me" is a fairly bouncy 90s synth-driven number although it has quite a bit to do with love as well. The intro reminded me a lot of the one for DEEN's "Hitomi Sorasanai de"（瞳そらさないで）from 1994.
For that matter, a song by Yokoyama that I first heard years ago when I used to watch the Fuji-TV variety show "Yamadakatsutenai Terebi"（やまだかつてないテレビ）, "Happy Birthday" starts off "Bloomin'". For all intents and purposes though, this was the only album by Yokoyama with a much later album "Furano Chapel Concert"（富良野チャペルコンサート）in 2000 being a commemorative compilation featuring different singers including Yokoyama who was then going by the name of Chiemi.
Well, for City Pop fans, it's been a banner day for those who've found out in the last 24 hours.
I discovered through City Pop masters Van Paugam and Masa that CNN did a feature on New Year's Eve on the genre itself via veteran singer-songwriter Anri（杏里） (and her YouTube channel has stated the above video will only be up for a limited amount of time). Van Paugam even makes a special guest appearance so many congratulations and o-tsukaresama（お疲れ様）for him.
One piece of information from the segment is that Ms. Kawashima will be celebrating her 45th anniversary since releasing her debut single, "Olivia wo Kikinagara"（オリビアを聴きながら）in November 1978 (so it'll still be several months before actually reaching 45, but I'm just splitting hairs here) as well as her debut album"Apricot Jam". And all this occurred when she was still a high school teenager. As with Van, many congratulations to Anri, too!
To commemorate the occasion, I've got the B-side to her April 1979 2nd single"Chichuukai Dream"（地中海ドリーム）, "Tokimeki" (The Beating of My Heart), a bittersweet song of lost romantic opportunities which was written and composed by Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）, the same lady behind the creation of "Olivia wo Kikinagara", with arrangement by Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）. The final melodic result, though, makes it sound as if enough time has passed that though there is still some regret, there is also that que sera sera feeling and it's simply time to move on with life. Suzuki and Ozaki have concocted a breezy tune which straddles the line between New Music and City Pop/J-AOR with maybe even a bit of 50s love balladry thrown in as well. I gather that "Tokimeki" would be one of those songs to help fans right now to forget the cold weather outside and think of breezier and warmer climes.
As is the case with "Chichuukai Dream", "Tokimeki" can also be found on Anri's 2nd album"Feelin'" from June 1979. Come to think of it, considering all of those veterans who showed up on the Kohaku this time around, maybe NHK can think of having Anri show up for No. 74.
Almost a couple of years ago, I wrote an article on singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）December 1981 album"Air Kiss" which was one of her two album collaborations with Canadian music producer and musician David Foster that year. Taking a look at the Labels for "Air Kiss", it was a fair potpourri of genres being represented, and with Foster being involved (production, arrangement and keyboards), City Pop and J-AOR were definitely going to be in there. I finished the article off by stating that I would have to finish off the rest of the tracks, and so I will. By the way, besides the article for the album proper, I did provide individual articles for two other tracks "Sweet Christmas Song" and "Foggy Night".
So, by my reckoning, there are three tracks left to take care of here, and the first one is Track 4, "Ginmaku no Koibito" (銀幕の恋人...Silver Screen Lover). A melancholy AOR affair with Michael Landau especially going large on guitar here, according to Ozaki's lyrics, it's either about a woman treating a past romance (possibly her first relationship) as having been no more than special effects on a movie screen or realizing that it's time for her to get out of make-believe time with a motion picture hero that she'd fallen in love with. There's some feeling of Boz Scaggs in the dramatic "Ginmaku no Koibito", and Landau has been on tour with the singer.
"Heart no Iro wa Umi no Iro"（ハートの色は海の色...The Colour of the Heart is the Colour of the Sea） is the type of mid-tempo love ballad that Ozaki can whip up in her sleep. It's strong on the background chorus and the switch between congeniality and great pride. I can imagine a couple strolling on the beach at sunset, content with each other's company. At one point though, I thought that a Whitney Houston song was about to break out.
"Just Once Again" finishes things for the original album (before the addition of bonus tracks for future remastered versions). Ozaki's piano and Landau's guitar come to the fore as the singer relates a story of someone who starts off on the line between despair of a tough time between them and their significant other and hope at some kind of reconciliation. By the end of the song, though, it looks like the person is taking that first stride toward that better tomorrow.
As it turns out, it looks like that I'd left those heartfelt ballads as the tracks to follow upon but that's fine. It wouldn't be an Ozaki album without them.
Well, it was quite the opening on "Uta Con"（うたコン）tonight, especially for an old Japanese pop fan like me. Arisa Mizuki（観月ありさ）, who I first saw as this tall and lanky teen in the beginning of the 90s making waves as a model and an actress, was singing her hit debut song, the relaxing "Densetsu no Shojo"（伝説の少女）. Backing her up on the piano was the songwriter behind it, singer Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）. Because it's been a few decades since that one came out, I'm sure that both Mizuki and Ozaki have performed it together on stage and TV, but it was the first time for me to see the tandem in action.
Then, to add the cherry on top of this sundae, Ozaki returned to perform one of her own beloved songs, the bossa nova-influenced "My Pure Lady"（マイ・ピュア・レディ）, her 3rd single from February 1977. I hadn't known that her husband was bassist Rei Ohara（小原礼）, who has been a member of many groups but most notably Sadistic Mika Band（サディスティック・ミカ・バンド）in the 1970s, but there he was playing right by her.
As such, I thought that I would put up an Ozaki song (and I'm now currently thinking of posting a Creator article on her, but that's something for later), so I'm going with, "Fuyu no Poster" (A Winter Poster), her B-side to her March 1976 debut single, "Meisou"（冥想...Contemplation）. In contrast with the sunny and upbeat A-side, "Fuyu no Poster" is a quieter and more introspective song written and composed by Ozaki with Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）handling the arrangement along with the keyboard work including a Moog synthesizer.
On seeing the title, I figured from the word of winter and the release date of the single that Xmas wasn't really on Ozaki's mind. Instead, the season takes it further beyond the traditional kayo matching of the ending of romance and the autumn. A young lady on a blustery winter day is staring at a worn poster on some pole while a stiff wind is about to tear it off completely and blow it helplessly into the sky. The lady analogizes the scene to her own circumstances following a romantic breakup, and from the slightly ragged delivery by Ozaki, the woman herself is about to be forced to let go of the happier days of the past and be flown into an uncertain and (hopefully temporarily) colder immediate future. Grabbing the meaning from the A-side's title, there is some feeling of hard-won wisdom and contemplation, and along with Matsutoya's arrangement including the horns, that comes across like The Hollies'"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".
Although I've known about the FOX/Netflix series "Lucifer", I never became a dedicated viewer of the show only because I no longer have easy access to a television to catch my own stuff, I simply don't want to PVR everything in sight, and well, I have "Kayo Kyoku Plus" to do every night (and day). Yet, Tom Ellis, the star of the show playing the titular character, has made quite the name for himself in Hollywood, and there are rumours (which admittedly are worth less than the paper that they are written upon) that he could become the next Doctor Who (which is unlikely). I think that he would make for a very fine and naughty 14th incarnation, but perhaps after doing a series for several years, maybe there are other things that he would like to do.
In any case, I was reminded of "Lucifer" by this song by singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）called "Akuma ga Sasayaku"(The Devil Whispers), and it's quite the funk-fest and overall jazzy plaything that resides on her 3rd studio album from July 1978, "Stop Motion" which also has the Ozaki classic "I've Been Mellow". Written and composed by her, I probably wouldn't place it as a City Pop tune but it can fit nicely in New Music and R&B. Lyrically, a lady gets involved with a rather devilish young man who has her in his snare of love and she's not particularly too keen in escaping.
Actually, while listening to "Akuma ga Sasayaku" a few times, I started wondering whether Ozaki had been inspired somewhat by the late great Dr. John, the master of New Orleans blues, jazz and funk. Furthermore, in my right earphone, I can hear a rhythm in there that I've also heard in another completely different song from many years later, the eccentric "Apron Boy" by DJ Misoshiru & MC Gohan.
I ought to mention some of the musicians involved as well since they're no slouches. Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）was on the piano and organ, Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）was on the electric guitar, and Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）was on lead guitar, for instance.
Here I was wondering what I was going to do for the final day of August 2021 when good ol' Van Paugam informed all of us via Twitter that Anri（杏里）just celebrated her 60th birthday today. So, definitely a very happy kanreki to her; not sure if she wore anything red but Ms. Eiko Kawashima（川島 栄子）would look fine in any colour anyways.
Anri was all of seventeen when she released her third single, "Namida wo Umi ni Kaeshitai" (I Want to Return My Tears to the Ocean) in April 1979. Just like her debut single, the iconic "Olivia wo Kikinagara"（オリビアを聴きながら）the previous year, singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）was responsible for words and music for this melancholy song about loss and heartbreak. There is a touch of disco in there, but seeing that it's a very early song in Anri's discography, it doesn't sound like the usual summery City Pop tune that she's long been known for, and for that reason, it can be an interesting song to come across.
The arrangement was handled by Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）, formerly of the rock band Happy End. I don't see any Oricon ranking for "Namida wo Umi ni Kaeshitai" on its J-Wiki article so perhaps it didn't even quite make the Top 100 (and even "Olivia wo Kikinagara" only got up as high as No. 65 in its initial release). In fact, the single didn't make its album debut until Anri's 5th BEST compilation, "MY FAVOURITE SONGS" which was released in July 1988.
To be honest, though, I have to say that I enjoy Ozaki's cover of "Namida wo Umi ni Kaeshitai" even more than the Anri original. First appearing on her second album of self-covers, "POINTS-2" from March 1986, the tempo is a little more appropriately slower for a sad ballad and the arrangement by Shingo Kobayashi（小林信吾）is lusher. The music seems to act like that box of chocolates that any broken heart needs to help recover.
Hearing the name Chie Yokoyama（横山知枝）, I'm always going to think of her as the more petite half of Yamadakatsutenai Wink（やまだかつてないウィンク）, the parody pair on the then-very popular aidoru duo of the late 1980s, Wink. But Yokoyama also had a modest career as a pop singer between 1991 and 2000 while she was trying to get her MBA as I mentioned in the article for her solo debut single, "Happy Birthday".
Her 2nd single is an update of singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）"For You" and I think that she acquits herself well with her take on this love song. Released in November 1991, her vocals drift quite nicely between those high tones and a lower whispery timbre. The keyboards bring back that nice 1990s nostalgia.
Ozaki's original "For You" is the lead track on her October 1979 5th album"Little Fantasy", and speaking of nostalgia, it's also nice to hear those soaring strings and country-style piano of the times. Just from what I've read on the J-Wiki article for the album, Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）was on guitar and Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）was on bass while Ozaki was on all of the keyboards.
Almost a couple of weeks ago, I did an article on singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）1981"Air Kiss" which was another collaboration between her and David Foster.
However, there was one bonus track that I had been planning to save from the album that I've decided to put up here on its own since it has that Yuletide theme. This is "Sweet Christmas Song" which is indubitably a sweet and Xmas-y song that started its life as the B-side to Ozaki's 12th single"Serenade"（蒼夜曲）from November 1980.
Totally created by Ozaki, "Sweet Christmas Song" starts slightly spacey in a progressive rock way but then 30 seconds into it, we are rest assured that this is indeed a Holiday affair thanks to the happy AOR keyboard beat (which sounds like the December 25th drive to Grandma's) and the lyrical references to snow, holy nights, romance and Santa. I think it's something for the whole family and I can even pick up on a slight tropical rum punch thrown into this candy-cane cocktail.
A little over a couple of years ago, I managed to get my hands on Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）May 1981 album"Hot Baby" which involved a collaboration between the singer-songwriter and David Foster with additional assistance from some prominent session musicians including Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro. If there are folks who've liked Ozaki and their AOR separately...well, "Hot Baby" is their Reese's Peanut Butter Cup revelation.
Guess what? I gather that Ozaki decided in that year that the entire year would be filled with the sounds of her and Foster since in December 1981, another album was released which had them together again in the studio. This time, this two-word album was called "Air Kiss". As with "Hot Baby","Air Kiss" had Ozaki creating the songs while Foster took care of the arrangement.
First off, Track 1 is "Deep", which was also her 14th single released on the same day as the album. One of the bonus tracks is that original single version but the first track is the album version which seems to take things into the synthpop genre. It doesn't quite take things into YMO territory but we get a slight taste of New Wave Ami as she analogizes the search for love as a dive into a massive ocean.
For those who love Grover Washington Jr.'s"Just The Two of Us", I think you might enjoy the second track "Glass no Rouge"（グラスのルージュ...Rouge on the Glass） which rather grafts the opening bars of that famous song with some Ozaki heartbreak mid-tempo balladry. Ozaki's lyrics tell the story of a final dinner between lovers before the permanent parting with the only sign being some lipstick on the glass.
Well, it's at least better than the bunny suit.
"Junjou"（純情...Pure Heart） is a lighthearted affair about a man and a woman having a bit of a playful tete-a-tete of who's fooling who in a potential deepening romance. Neither of them are averse to it but they want to know the angles...sounds like the usual subplot in an anime. Considering how comfortable like a pair of well-worn slippers this track has felt, I think that "Junjou" was the song that finally got me to part with my yen for "Air Kiss".
Not 100% sure about what "Flash Back" is all about in terms of the lyrics; maybe the protagonist wants to do a YouTube Rewind on a particular romance. Still, there is an interesting juxtaposition between the mellow AOR beginning which sounds like an old relaxing river flowing past and the bopping TOTO-friendly refrain. In a way, the verses leading to the refrain sound as if "Flash Back" could have been made for an aidoru of the time such as Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）; they come off as that adorable.
My final song here is the single version of "Deep" which I referred to back above with the album version. I mentioned in that paragraph that the album version didn't quite approach Yellow Magic Orchestra but made a graze past New Wave. Well, the single version takes things into Art Pop perhaps; I gather that this take enters New Wave completely, and it comes off as being quite delicate like a crystal.
Perhaps I will do a follow-up on the album at a later date. I will most definitely write an article on the Xmas song that has been included as a bonus track on "Air Kiss" in the next couple of weeks since KKP is entering the Holiday season.
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