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.
The Pacific Hotel Chigasaki（パシフィックホテル茅ヶ崎）had its time between 1965 and 1988 in Kanagawa Prefecture and seems to have been quite the resort back in the day. Certainly, its appearance stood out among the landscape although I'm not sure whether it attracted the celebrities. With the bankruptcy of its managing corporation in the late 1980s, the hotel closed down and for another decade, it apparently stood there crumbling away before it was finally demolished with a resort condominium arising from its ashes.
Again, I'm uncertain about celebrities staying there, but one future celebrity who had actually worked at the Pacific part-time was Satsuya Iwasawa（岩沢幸矢）, one-half of the brother folk/City Pop duoBread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）when he'd been thinking of a career in hotels. In 1981, the duo released the album "Pacific" from which one track was "Hotel Pacific".
"Hotel Pacific" is a fairly melancholy song about thinking of that lost love while at the famous hotel. Fuyumi Iwasawa（岩沢二弓）provided the laconic bossa-tinged melody while Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）wrote the lyrics under her pen name of Karuho Kureta（呉田軽歩）. All in all, it sounds like something that Michael Franks would sing, and I believe that it can now be used to think wistfully of the Pacific itself. Maybe even famous painter Hiroshi Nagai（永井博）could have been inspired by the old place. At least, one other band was inspired.
During my last years in Japan, the doner kebab was something of a celeb target for the foodies of which there are tens of millions in the nation. The above photo isn't a great one since it seems to focus on a couple of guys I don't know but behind those two and the rest of the maddening crowd, there is a whole cluster of doner kebab trucks. Well, many months before, I used to know this one lone truck in an alley among the buildings of Akihabara that I frequented during my visits to the electronics goods area. There were a few other customers there, but basically I savored that truck as my own little refuge of foodie paradise.
In my previous article, Kalapana Black Sand Beach（カラパナ・ブラック・サンド・ビーチ）was a former paradise before a volcano spoiled the fun there thirty-five years ago. But it looks like the veteran singing duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド＆バッター）featuring the Iwasawa Brothers have their own "Kakure Basho" (Refuge). They came up with this mellow song for their April 2005 album"Sky"; it sounds timeless as if it could have been created for any of their past albums going back to 1980. It's so laidback (even the trumpeter at the end must have been lying in a hammock) that I swear that the boys must have been in a Hawaii state of mind when they came up with it. Maybe the Aloha State is their refuge or perhaps it's some place a whole lot closer such as the resort city of Hakone.
I think this particular song would apply as one of the more eclectic examples even within the distinctive discography of Pizzicato Five（ピチカート・ファイヴ）.
"Fushigi na Futatsu no Candle"(Magic Twin Candle Tale) is a track from P5's 11th studio album"Playboy, Playgirl"（プレイボーイ プレイガール）from October 1998. Sounding like a combination of whimsical fairy tale, a typical P5 Shibuya-kei song and some Beatles stuff circa "Sgt. Pepper's" with the help of that cello, I gather that it's a love song represented by a couple of candles burning brightly during a starless night. I've still thrown in the Duet label in there although I had to listen very carefully to pick out the folk/City Pop duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）since their backing vocals layered so finely with Maki Nomiya's（野宮真貴）voice that they basically sounded like one person...which would probably explain the "...featuring Bread & Butter" tag.
The duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド＆バター）has always been a welcome presence on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" ever since we started things up in 2012. One intriguing thing though is that for 2024, the Iwasawa Brothers have been represented just through the weekly Yutaka Kimura Speaksseries three times. As well as they should, too, but maybe it would be nice to have them back with an original article, something that we haven't seen since May 2023.
One reason that I've enjoyed Bread & Butter for so long is that they can record songs with fine hooks across the genre spectrum just like Kirinji and Sing Like Talking. Mind you, neither Iwasawa brother was responsible for the making of "Baraketa Initial" (Scattered Initials) which was written by Norie Kanzawa（神沢札江）and composed by Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）with arrangement by Jun Sato（佐藤準）. Still, it's a nice, bouncy and contemplative pop song to add onto their City Pop and folk with a hint of an odyssey through European environments.
"Baraketa Initial" was the duo's 20th single from September 1984 and was also included on their 9th album"Second Serenade" which was released later in November.
From Bread & Butter's 1980 album: "Monday Morning"
"Monday Morning" is a masterful ballad, reminiscent of Jimmy Webb's"By the Time I Get to Phoenix", illustrating the passage of hours in a day through the protagonist who is somewhere between the city where he works and the ocean where his girl is waiting. I don't think there is any other song that so skillfully depicts the unbridgeable distance between the city and the sea. And because Bread & Butter is especially suited to this kind of content, the song becomes even more flavorful.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
As it has in the past and as it is right now, "Pink Shadow" remains Bread & Butter's classic top runner with numerous covers by artists such as Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）and even self-covers by the original duo. A nice groovy tune that has ranked with the best by some of the best acts including Caramel Mama, its distinctive tempo is something that only Bread & Butter could create, and this original version leaves an especially deep impression.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised"(2020).
From Bread & Butter's 1979 album: "Late, Late Summer"
"Nagisa ni Ikou" is a wonderful melodious song infused with Fuyumi Iwasawa's（岩沢二弓）distinctive flavour. With the combination of Haruomi Hosono's（細野晴臣）rhythm arrangement and Shigeru Suzuki's（鈴木茂）arrangement with the strings, there is that whole connection of Tin Pan Alley taking part in the song, and in terms of the sound, there is an impeccable finish. This is a hidden masterpiece among the Bread & Butter classics which can be fully enjoyed for its comforting vibe that feels just like being enveloped in the sea breezes of Shonan.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
Unfortunately, the Japanese music world and the literary world lost a major figure on November 24th. Shizuka Ijuin passed away at the age of 73 from cancer. Born as a 2nd-generation Korean-Japanese in 1950 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, he was known as Cho Chung-rae（조충래）but his Japanese name was Tadaki Nishiyama（西山忠来）. He later became a celebrated fiction author under the pen name of Shizuka Ijuin who won the Naoki Prize and the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Award.
According to his J-Wiki and Random House files, he wore some other hats such as commercial director, advertising executive and lyricist. For that last occupation, he took on the name Ayumi Date for which he has some representation on the blog. He came up with lyrics for a wide variety of singers in the pop, aidoru, rock and City Pop categories. Here are some of those songs. Of course, I offer my condolences to his family, friends and fans.
With all of that Barbieheimer hype over the past couple of weeks, I did see "Oppenheimer" last month and earlier today, I caught "Barbie". Having seen the trailers and then the music video for Dua Lipa's"Dance the Night", I'd been hoping that I was going to see something similar to "Austin Powers" comedic deconstruction of 1960s spy movies. Unfortunately, the humour mostly didn't land although the deconstruction did take place. However, I was impressed because what I got was a modern fairy tale surrounding one of the most famous dolls ever made for mass consumption and things got downright poignant, especially near the end. "Barbie" is coming out in two days in Japan so yup, I can recommend it because there are also quite a few A-lister seiyuu providing the dubbed version.
I couldn't find any list of songs in Japanese music history that had anything to do with "Barbie", but I know that pink is the character's colour so on that point, I can provide something. Therefore, here are four songs with "pink" in the title.
Although KKP readers probably know by this point that I had this summer 1981 trip to Japan that was a major turning point in my life, I have yet to relate that one of the last stops on our graduation trip was Mikimoto Pearl Island in Mie Prefecture. According to Wikipedia, the island is the birthplace of cultured pearl cultivation.
It's been over forty years since I've been on the island but I remember that we got to stay in a Japanese-style hotel which was very luxurious, and frankly we teens (being teens) underappreciated and over-deserved the accommodations. We also got to visit the Mikimoto Pearl Museum which actually owns the island and I distinctly have that listed price of one small black pearl seared into my head: $10,000 in 1981 US dollars. Try to imagine how much it would cost now.
Our first set of accommodations was the Tokyo Prince Hotel next to Tokyo Tower and that was also a mighty fine and distinguished place to rest our bones for the first leg of our tour, but the Mikimoto Pearl Island hotel was truly something of a resort vacation. Not sure if the place exists anymore; I see a number of hotels around the bay listed but nothing on the island itself.
In any event, perhaps I can interest you in a slice of Resort Pop? I mean, this particular tune by duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）, "Yume ga Tobu" (The Dream Flies), has that vibe reflective of this subset of City Pop where all those Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう）and Hiroshi Nagai（永井博）citizens head out to the beachside hotels and inns outside of Tokyo for a weekend before heading back to the megalopolis. Written and composed by the husband-and-wife team of lyricist Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composer Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）, the 80s arrangement aside, there is something quite 1970s about that melody.
"Yume ga Tobu" was released as Bread & Butter's 22nd single in September 1985. It was also a part of the duo's BEST compilation, "Miracle Touch", whose title track I've already provided an article for.
Ah, yes. Morning at the R&B Hotel right by Otsuka Station on the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo. I stayed there for most of my time in Japan in October 2017. I don't know about far more seasoned travelers but I've always enjoyed mornings abroad on vacation for some reason. Maybe part of the reason is that while other folks have to rush off to work, I can take my sweet time with things; you know, savor the coffee a bit longer and walk over to the station at a much more leisurely rate.
Some days ago, I had a suggestion from a friend about putting up a certain list as an Author's Pick, but the topic struck me as being a little too difficult for me to even concoct a short list. But then right after, the bulb suddenly glowed above my head and I thought about morning-based tunes. I know that I have written about such songs individually and they all have that similar melody line of hope and renewed energy.
Off the top of my head, then, I have brought over six such tunes including one from America that's especially dear to me.
I know that for most working people, Monday mornings can royally suck eggs. But this calmly arranged "Monday Morning" by folk/City Pop duo Bread & Butter can take the edge off. The feeling is that this title track from their 1980 album may have that specific day of the week title but the overall impression is more of Sunday morning.
Of course, the promise of a sumptuous breakfast or brunch will set off any gastrointestinal alarms so this song by vocal group Circus can help accompany that kitchen scene of prepping Eggs Benedict or a heaping stack of pancakes. "Petit Dejeuner" has that skippy rhythm which can set the pace for poaching those eggs in the boiling water.
Oh, that businessman...always doing his best! I've already mentioned in the Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）article dealing with his 1982 album "The Pressures and the Pleasures" that the whole thing about the snazzy track "Business Man" is the main character getting what needs to be done over the day that always seems to be too short. I think of him enduring the physics-breaking rush hours on the train in the morning and drinking his sole fuel of caffeine. If there were a movie about life in Tokyo, then I highly recommend "Business Man" as the insert song.
When I first wrote the article on Toko Furuuchi's（古内東子）sultry "Asa" (Morning), it was back in June 2012, so very early in the blog's history, and I guess that it was OK back then to write one measly paragraph. Nowadays, ideally, I always try to go for three paragraphs. And since writing about "Asa" over a decade ago, my imagination regarding this appealingly woozy number has expanded a lot. I now think of the song setting the stage for a woman waking up alone, temporarily or permanently, but getting reassured by the sunrise that things will be OK. I always thought a sax solo was more of a nocturnal thing but the late Michael Brecker really makes the morning here.
Morning Musume's（モーニング娘。）"Morning Coffee" is the only non-AOR entry here on the list, but it did hit my head hard when I was thinking up the list earlier today. It was the official 1998 debut single by the original group that probably made quite the splash considering that unusual title. Considering all of the different types of music that Morning Musume in all of its incarnations has tackled over the past quarter century, it seems almost poignant to have the beginning start out as a Beatles-ish guitar pop tune.
6. Al Jarreau -- Mornin' (1983)
As of this writing, the legendary Al Jarreau has already had a couple of his smooth tunes included in KKP as ROY articles, and now I'm adding his "Mornin'" as a special entry here. The song, created by Jarreau, David Foster and Jay Graydon as a single in March 1983, not only sounds like it has to be played in the morning as some aural orange juice (with fresh pulp) but its music video appears like those old cereal commercials. "Mornin'" made it up to No. 2 and No. 3 on the American and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts respectively. It's been over six years since he left us and I still miss him dearly.
It was just a week ago that I provided Part 1 of the article on Bread & Butter's（ブレッド＆バッター）"Monday Morning" album from 1980. So, allow me to finish the remaining four songs from Side B recorded by brothers Satsuya and Fuyumi Iwasawa（岩沢幸矢・岩沢二弓）.
"Marie"（マリエ）is actually a cover of Bread & Butter's 2nd single from April 1970 with the Iwasawa brothers taking care of words and music. It's a bittersweet ballad of longing for the title lady but there has been no response since the fellow has simply been longing and not doing anything about it. Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）was the arranger for the dreamy AOR here, but for the original single, Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）was in charge of the arrangement so I'm curious about how it played, presumably more as a folk tune.
I gotta say that it's not all that often that I hear a song with the word "paradoxical" in its title. However, that's what we have with "Paradoxical Love" with the added Japanese translation of "Gyakusetsuteki Ai"（逆説的愛）as a subtitle, a strutting City Pop tune that was written by Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）and composed by Fuyumi. The story behind this one addresses how men often scratch their heads at the oddness of women from time to time (or most times). I do love the brass here but kaz-shin at "Music Avenue" has admitted to being a fan of the guitar cutting of those times, and apparently arranger Matsubara himself was behind that in "Paradoxical Love".
I kinda snarkily wondered whether "Wakusei 1999"（惑星1999...Planet 1999）had anything to do with the old British sci-fi series "Space 1999" but there's nothing of the sort here. It's a slightly rock pop song written by Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）and composed by Satsuya with Kazuo Shiina's（椎名和夫）understandably melancholy arrangement. Starting with a baby's gurgle, Bread & Butter make a plea against war with the brothers directly asking that the button not be pressed.
To finish "Monday Morning" off, here is the ballad "Let Us Love" which was written again by Okada with Fuyumi and Matsubara helping out on music and arrangement. There is a lovely piano solo in this final track which has the brothers returning to their folk roots as they sing about focusing on what is important today and not worry too much about yesterday or tomorrow. In fact, at the beginning, I felt like I was listening to a Simon and Garfunkel tune. As such, I thought that Bread & Butter kinda broke their own rule of the song by heading back to the style of their yesteryear, but I figure that fans including myself haven't minded.
"Monday Morning" is indeed an enjoyable journey by Bread & Butter with a little bit of everything. If you need a bit of decompressing in your day, this is the album to play.
Although I'm actually writing this on Wednesday afternoon rather than Monday morning, I figured that it was time to cover Bread & Butter's（ブレッド＆バッター）"Monday Morning" album from June 1980. I'd already covered a few of the tracks from this group of basically City Pop and AOR tunes by brothers Satsuya and Fuyumi Iwasawa（岩沢幸矢・岩沢二弓）: the title track, "Japanese Woman" and "Cruising On". I have their earlier album from 1979, "Late Late Summer", but I never opted to do a whole album article for that one. However, I will devote time and space to "Monday Morning" over two parts. Considering how much I liked those songs, it was an easy choice to pull the trigger on my wallet and get the album finally last year.
"Hold On" seems to be the popular title for pop songs everywhere but I marvel at the fact that Bread & Butter's "Hold On" came about as the first track for "Monday Morning" only several months before Ian Thomas came up with his own "Hold On" that was then popularized by Santana in 1982. Composed by Fuyumi, written by Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）and arranged by Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）, Track 1 is an AOR/rock tune with some bouncy keyboard reminiscent of "Georgy Girl" from the 1960s. There's a nice electric guitar solo by either Matsubara himself or Tsuyoshi Kon（今剛）according to the liner notes while the brothers' vocals still have some of that old folksiness that they started out with many years ago. Good ol' "Music Avenue" run by kaz-shin notes that the song has that image of lovers having fun out on those Shonan shores.
Passing over "Monday Morning" and "Cruising On", we come to Track 4, "Martini wo Nomi nagara"（マティニーを飲みながら...Drinking Martinis） which is a most cordial pop song about having a drink with the girlfriend at a stylish bar or restaurant. Things must have been looking real good back in that decade. Brother Satsuya came up with the melody under Matsubara's arrangement while Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）was the lyricist this time.
The one other song that I will cover from Side A of the original LP is "Thanks, My Lady ~ Hitotoki no Suisaiga"（ひとときの水彩画...A Moment's Watercolour）, a soft breeze of a bittersweet AOR ballad that was taken care of by brother Fuyumi and lyricist Yamagami while Kazuo Shiina（椎名和夫）took care of the arrangement here. A romantic relationship is coming to an end and although it's sad, the man is grateful to his soon-to-be ex-paramour because thanks to her, his heart has become a far more open and welcoming space.
"Japanese Woman" starts off Side B and that's where I'll be going next week to finish off the remaining tracks for "Monday Morning"Part 2.
I'll be honest here and say that when I first saw the title of this Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）song, my memories sped to Foghorn Leghorn and his way of singing "Camptown Races".
But this song has nothing to do with belligerent and blowhard roosters. In fact, the 35-second intro to "DO・DA・DAY" by Bread & Butter in City Pop mode reminds me more of the beginning of Michael Jackson's"Billie Jean", (one wonders whether Satsuya and Fuyumi Iwasawa moonwalked across the recording booth) and the rest of it still retains a lot of downtown rhythms. As well, the mysterious aural arrangement has me thinking of Matt Bianco.
It was Fuyumi behind the cool panther-like melody while Shun Taguchi（田口俊）wrote the lyrics. "DO・DA・DAY" is about as far away from their folk roots and even their hammock-friendly Resort AOR through songs like "Summer Blue" in the early 1980s as they could get. This is Bread & Butter's life in the big city. I enjoy the harmonies of the backing vocals, the whirlwind synth-strings and of course that underlying rhythm.
The song was the B-side for the duo's April 1986 23rd single"remember my love" which was written and composed by the great Stevie Wonder. It was also included on one of Bread & Butter's numerous BEST compilations "Miracle Touch" which was released later in the year in November.
I'm rather surprised that Bread & Butter's（ブレッド＆バッター）"Aoi Chiheisen" (Blue Horizon) hasn't already made its appearance on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" up to now since I've seen the title a fair bit in the last several years. Plus, it's a trackmate with "Nagisa ni Ikou"（渚に行こう）, "The Last Letter" and "Ano Koro no Mama"（あの頃のまま）on the folk/City Pop duo's June 1979 album"Late Late Summer", all up on the blog.
When comparing "Aoi Chiheisen" to those other tracks, I gather that this song is far more in the downtown core of Tokyo with the disco beat of Kyohei Tsutsumi's（筒美京平）melody although I can also hear a bit of "Charade"-mode Henry Mancini in there, too. Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）and Linda Rhee were responsible for the near-total English lyrics which has a fellow swooning over a chance love encounter in that prototypical two-ships-passing-in-the-night scenario. Considering the title, though, I wonder if the adventure couldn't have taken place on an actual ship.
The long-standing fraternal duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）has explored the genres of folk, City Pop and AOR but one time after purchasing one of the "Light Mellow" CD series, I learned that the Iwasawa brothers also had their interest in Brazilian sounds.
"Non-Stop to Brazil" is the opening track for their 10th studio album from May 1987, "Aru Yoru no Dekigoto"（或る夜の出来事...It Happened One Night） and it was not only a catchy number that I enjoyed by the Iwasawas but I was also wondering whether I could get a chance to write about it on the blog. At the time, I couldn't find anything on YouTube but finally one uploader, Yousk Channel, was able to place this one up. It's always a wonderful feeling when a wish comes true.
Neither Iwasawa brother, Fuyumi or Satsuya（岩沢二弓・岩沢幸矢）, had anything to do with the writing of "Non-Stop to Brazil". It was actually Mikiko Yamanaka（山中幹子）and Shun Taguchi（田口俊） behind the lyrics while MAYUMI, aka actress-turned-singer/songwriter Mayumi Horikawa（堀川まゆみ）, brought together the bright samba melody. Happy to say that it does get the blood flowing and the mind wandering to warmer climes below the Equator.
This week's Reminiscings of Youth article is the second one to feature the great band Earth Wind & Fire. Of course, the first one I did was the celebratory favourite, "September" which I did, naturally enough, on the 21st of September. And in all likelihood, I will end up doing a few more ROY articles with EW&F over the next several months.
The first time that I heard "After the Love Has Gone", EW&F's July 1979 single, it wasn't on the radio. Actually, it was on a TV show about a radio station..."WKRP in Cincinnati", to be exact. In fact, it's in the above video of a second season episode called "For Love or Money" (go to 22:37...regrettably, the song sounds like it's been largely muffled due to the usual copyright issues), and though I don't really remember the plot for this season opener, I do recollect the scene of poor Bailey Quarters being stood up by Johnny Fever while "After the Love Has Gone" is playing.
I know about Loni Anderson as the beautiful Jennifer Marlowe and how her posters were flying off the shelves while the show was on the air, but I was always drawn to (the just-as-beautiful) Jan Smithers as Bailey, and watching that scene while the EW&F classic was playing really had me wanting to stomp on Johnny for stomping on Bailey's heart.
Although it's been over 40 years since "After the Love Has Gone" was released and that episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" was broadcast, whenever I listen to this ballad, at least during part of those 4 minutes and change that the song is playing, my memories unearth that particular scene at the radio station. It just seemed like the perfect match between scene and song for a TV show, and in fact, the Wikipedia article for the song mentions about that scene on "WKRP". Apparently, it's also been used by a number of sports teams whenever they lose at home.
And that's the crazy and amazing thing about this song. It's a beautiful and romantic creation about the loss of romance. With those soft horns and strings and the crooning by the vocalists, when I first heard this, I'd thought that it was all about a wonderful courtship between two people when it was actually about the separation of them. Maybe there is something very Japanese about "After the Love Has Gone".
That same Wiki article has plenty of information on the making of the song but suffice it to say that I couldn't imagine Hall & Oates singing "After the Love Has Gone". This is truly my favourite EW&F ballad, and it's truly a masterpiece by David Foster, Jay Graydon (aka Airplay) and Bill Champlin with Maurice White behind the production and main vocals. I'm glad that it got its Grammys.
So, what were three singles that got their release in July 1979 when "After the Love Has Gone" itself was released?
Afternoons for the past several months for me have been usually spent at home working or doing the blog. But to be honest, that was the case even before the pandemic. There was the occasional time that I would actually meet friends for lunch outside, but for the most part, the afternoon hours have been spent behind the computer. Nope, it's not exactly the most exciting lifestyle but I'm fine with it.
Things seem more optimistic though for the couple depicted in Ryoko Moriyama's（森山良子）21st single"Aru Hi no Gogo" (One Afternoon). Released in April 1974, it's a gentle mid-tempo folk ballad about the two walking around a temple and perhaps finally finding the words to declare love. As with a lot of J-Folk songs, it doesn't have quite a jaunty beat but it's more in the wistful if hopeful category. That ever-present genre-friendly mandolin(-sounding instrument) brings instant nostalgia.
Lyrics for "Aru Hi no Gogo" were written by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and the music was provided by Satsuya Iwasawa（岩沢幸矢）, one-half of folk duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）. I was taking a look at the video right here and thought that this must have been the Kohaku Utagassen, and sure enough, according to Moriyama's J-Wikihistory on the NHK New Year's Eve special, she did appear at the end of 1974 to perform the song. That appearance was her 4th of a total of 10 such appearances.
Monday morning...and (knocking on wood hard) there's more hope in the air as the economy begins to ever so carefully unfurl its sails once more and infection rates continue to drop. I went out to the local supermarket earlier today to get the week's groceries only to be greeted by wet snow. Yup, you read that correctly. There was a brief but intense flurry of the white stuff as I walked over to the Metro. Fortunately, though, there was no lineup and I had plenty of space to get the food, including a few steaks that I'd assumed would be in short supply (actually, beef is in short supply but I still could get some tenderloin for my folks).
I thought that I ought to start off this new week on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with something appropriate for this Monday morning by getting a track from AOR duo Bread & Butter's（ブレッド＆バッター）1980 album"Monday Morning" (staring at that cover of the Iwasawa brothers against the ocean is therapy in itself). In tandem with the title track that I've already written about, here is "Cruising On" created by the same pair behind the song "Monday Morning", Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）on lyrics and one-half of the B&B duo, Satsuya Iwasawa（岩沢幸矢）.
Compared to the really relaxing title track, "Cruising On" has a bit more Margaritaville jump in the melody, as it should, since the Bread & Butter boys are singing about leaving that stifling company to enjoy some wonderful sailing off the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. There are even a couple of shout outs to the islands in the area including Jogashima. Nothing like the wind at your back and the calm blue ocean under you as you race by in your sloop, and "Cruising On" ends with that famous genre Twinkle Riff/Perrier Pour.
Along with its insertion in "Monday Morning", "Cruising On" became the B-side to Bread & Butter's15th single, the classic "Ano Koro no Mama"（あの頃のまま）from 1981.
The above is a shot of my breakfast at the Daitokan ryokan in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture from October 2014. There is a breakfast buffet offered there (although no dinner, but that's fine) and though it might look sparse above, the choices are pretty darn good as I recall.
Of course, that introduction was a lame one to once again bring back the folk-turned-City Pop/AOR duo, Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）. However, I'm happy to say that the song featured is far from lame. It's the title track from their 1986 BEST compilation "Miracle Touch". Not sure whether "Miracle Touch" was ever from a previous album or it was a new song created to commemorate the album.
However, the pleasant evening shuffle not only includes that familiar feeling of music in the metropolis but the Iwasawa brothers also incorporate some jazzy blues and something reminiscent of 60s pop (including some boss baritone sax). The song takes us for quite a nice ride as that title keeps coming at the ears, and I'm currently doing a Google Map tour of Georgetown in Washington D.C. I was there once back in the early 1990s...really nice area.
