Eri Sugai -- Saigo no Vacation（最後のVacation）

 

I was going down Memory Lane via the "Light Mellow: Moment" album. It had been a while since I listened to any of the "Light Mellow" series and it was nice hearing the tracks again. I've written about some of the entries for "Moment" such as Naoki Watanabe's（渡辺直樹）"Veranda no Carib"（ベランダのカリブ）which became the final track.

However, when I found "Veranda no Carib" on YouTube a few years ago, there were many other tracks from "Moment" that weren't up on the video platform. I tried again after listening to the CD and I was delighted to see that there have been some additions. That includes the late Eri Sugai's（菅井えり）"Saigo no Vacation" (Last Vacation) originally from her 2nd album "Ring My Bell" (July 1987). It is certainly a pleasant pop tune but my mind kinda bounced around the topic on whether it would also apply as a City Pop song. The "Light Mellow" series would definitely include anything pop that was still light and mellow, and in the end, I felt that "Saigo no Vacation" can belong in Resort Pop which is a subset of City Pop.

Regardless, "Saigo no Vacation" is a grooving and summery tune that has hints of Kazuhito Murata（村田和人）although words and music were actually provided by Fumiko Hiratsuka and Takashi Shoji（平塚文子 & 小路隆）under Hiroshi Shinkawa's（新川博）arrangement. It's got those keyboards that I love from that time by Tom Keane and the guitar solo comes from Michael Landau. In fact, according to Discogs, the entirety of "Ring My Bell" was recorded at Sunset Sound, Sunset Sound Factory in Los Angeles with a non-Japanese staff of musicians including the always welcome Jerry Hey on the trumpet.

Eri Sugai -- In My Dream

 

The last time I wrote about the late singer-songwriter Eri Sugai（菅井えり）, it was for the first track from her 1986 debut album "SKIP!", "Dancing Shoes"（ダンシング・シューズ）. It was a jazzy and old-timey variety show-friendly tune.

The better part of a decade later, Sugai released the album "Watashi wa Genki da yo"（わたしは元気だよ...Hey, I'm Doing Fine!）in June 1994. The fifth track is "In My Dream" which couldn't have sounded any more different. Written and composed by the singer herself, it's a calming pop song with a hint of country flavour that seems to have more to do with holistic living than painting the town red in the city. I recall one site categorizing the album as a jazz release but listening to a couple of other tracks including the title track, "Watashi wa Genki da yo" strikes me as being an uplifting pop experience, far away from the sensation of "SKIP!".

Eri Sugai -- Dancing Shoes（ダンシング・シューズ）

 

It was right on Christmas Day 2019 that I put up the J-Xmas tune "It's a Merry Christmas to You" as performed by singer-songwriters Junko Hirotani（広谷順子）, Yuko Kawai（河合夕子）, Eri Sugai（菅井えり）and Yasuhiro Kido（木戸やすひろ）, and in there, I mentioned that there was a mix of vocal group Manhattan Transfer and even some Andrews Sisters, thanks to the jazzy melody and its arrangement by Sugai.

Well, I've found out that this particular style wasn't just a one-off for Sugai. The singer-composer from Osaka always had a thing for the Great American Songbook and Christian music, according to her J-Wiki biography, and the first track on her 1986 debut album "Skip!" (and the subsequent tracks that I've heard so far) has that feeling.

Released under the Romanized name of Eri, the album has a cover that would make fellow singer-songwriter Kaoru Sudo（須藤薫）swoon in envy. The first track, by the way, is "Dancing Shoes" (words and music by Sugai) and the first thing that I was struck by was just how light yet brassy her voice is. I can compare her vocals to those of Kyoko Endo（遠藤京子）who was also making her way through the pop zeitgeist during that decade. 

The other thing is the whole arrangement of "Dancing Shoes" itself. Sugai must have asked herself the question "What aspects of old American standard music should I include here?", and her answer was simply "Yes".  "Dancing Shoes" has the equivalent of an entire 1960s American comedy-variety special squished through an 80s pop filter into this song. There is some old-fashioned vocal group sense reminiscent of the aforementioned Manhattan Transfer, jazzy interludes by the house band, slapstick comedy and even tap dancing. The only thing missing is the corny Bob Hope monologue.

As I listen to the rest of "Skip!", I realize that I should try to track down a copy of it someday. The poignancy is especially enhanced because Sugai passed away in late 2016 from pancreatic cancer.

Junko Hirotani, Yuko Kawai, Eri Sugai and Yasuhiro Kido -- It's a Merry Christmas to You

Merry Christmas to everyone out there! I'm hoping that all of you are enjoying presents, each other and the eventual feast (turkey or ham or KFC).

Let me begin with something that was pricking the curiosity of my mind like pine needles for the past couple of years. It must have done quite a lot of pricking to a lot of folks globally since it has become quite the meme in both the Xmas and anime/gaming fields. There is something called "Padoru" which involves a cute little anime girl in a Santa Claus outfit singing the first several words of "Jingle Bells" in Japanese before yelling out "Padoru Padoru". It's gotten mention in the "Know Your Meme" website a couple of times now including an article just a few days ago.

Well, I found out that the excerpt came from the PlayStation game "Fate/Extra" with the character of Nero Claudius (Red Saber) doing the cute thing. It's the "Padoru Padoru" that was making me wonder all this time. I'd initially assumed that it had something to do with paddling, but apparently it's the Japanese onomatopoeia for the reindeer clopping their hooves on the roof. Other information I found was that the seiyuu is veteran Sakura Tange（丹下桜）. Plus, the original Japanese lyrics for "Jingle Bells" were written by the late poet/lyricist Shoichi Miyazawa（宮澤章二）shortly after the end of the Second World War.

Now that this mystery has been solved, let me show you an original J-Xmas tune that would make The Manhattan Transfer swoon with holly-covered happiness. I found this video containing a track called "It's a Merry Christmas to You" from the 1995 album "Christmas Mail ~ Voice Fill".

Some nice jazzy vocals are provided by singer-songwriters Junko Hirotani（広谷順子）, Yuko Kawai（河合夕子）, Eri Sugai（菅井えり）and Yasuhiro Kido（木戸やすひろ）with music/arrangement by Sugai and lyrics by Lynne Hobday. As I said, there's something quite Manhattan Transfer about it and I am even reminded of The Andrews Sisters (of course, I also think about the vocal groups in Japan such as Hi-Fi Set and Circus). Along with some scatting, there's even a bit of tap dancing which had me humorously wondering if one of the singers decided to adopt comedian/actor Billy Crystal's technique at 3:10 above. Hearing it a few times now, I can envisage someone like Kohmi Hirose（広瀬香美）covering this one, too.

Anyways, let me leave you with a dance remix of "Padoru Padoru". I wonder whether Tange ever thought about getting this whole thing trademarked.