Hiromi Iwasaki -- Last Cruise（ラスト・クルーズ）

 

I remember from my youth and also from doing the blog that there have been a lot of old kayo that delved into one half of a former couple forlornly seeing off a ship from the pier with the assumption that their former lover was now on said ship since for whatever reason, they simply had to go. Certainly it was quite the shibui setting and kayo shows like "Enka no Hanamichi"（演歌の花道）loved to have those sets built.

Well, Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）did record a contemporary pop version of that situation via "Last Cruise". This was the B-side to her 43rd single "Kaze no Juvenile"（風の童話集...Juvenile of the Wind） released in November 1987. Beginning like a song by Chika Ueda（上田知華）+ Karyobin, almost forty seconds into "Last Cruise", Iwasaki comes in with her beautiful voice and a classy pop melody swoops in hinting that the players involved were probably part of the well-to-do set, and the sweet sorrow of parting wasn't too bitter. They may meet again in the future at another soiree.

Singer-songwriter Haruhi Aiso（相曾晴日）, who's been represented here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with her own music, wrote and composed "Last Cruise" which peaked at No. 89 on Oricon. Both A and B sides would be placed on the 2007 remaster of Iwasaki's 1987 album "Yokubari"（よくばり...Greed）. Almost forgot to mention that Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）arranged everything.

Haruhi Aiso -- Kanashimi no Twilight Zone（哀しみのトワイライトゾーン）

 

In November 2018, I wrote "J-Canuck's Fashion Music"（ファッション・ミュージック）which gave examples on songs that rather fit the titular brand of melody: perhaps an early form of Japanese sophisticated pop from the late 1970s into the early 1980s with elements of jazz and classical pop. Perhaps there was some overlap with City Pop or New Music, mega-genres or umbrellas that covered a number of genres.

Recently though, I've been made aware of another genre: baroque pop which seems to be that sort of pleasant music with lots of strings and piano that bring up images of life in the European countryside, and perhaps with a castle thrown in. And yes, the singers that I mentioned in my previous article such as Mayumi Itsuwa（五輪真弓）and Chika Ueda（上田知華）can be said to have dabbled in baroque pop as well.

If I had known about her earlier, I probably would have included singer-songwriter Haruhi Aiso（相曾晴日）, too. I've already put in a few articles on her songs but listening to this particular track from her November 1982 debut album "Twilight no Kaze"（トワイライトの風...Twilight Winds）, "Kanashimi no Twilight Zone" (Melancholy Twilight Zone), my first impression was that, yep, this is pretty baroque. Written and composed by Aiso, it's got the (electric) piano and strings along with her tender and light vocals to create a very contemplative atmosphere.

The Shizuoka Prefecture-born Aiso does appreciate that word "twilight" as do a lot of other kayo singers through their titles and even through the Japanese translation of "tasogare"（黄昏）. For one thing, the singer won a prize for her performance of "Twilight" at the 1980 Yamaha Popular Song Contest, and of course, there is this song and the album.

Haruhi Aiso -- Building Gray（ビルディング・グレイ）

I've got no idea what this building is housing, but it's got quite the funky shape. Anyways, it's located right across the movie theatre where my friend was managing.

Found this light pop song in the backlog, and the reason that I kept singer-songwriter Haruhi Aiso's（相曽晴日）"Building Gray" is that it is a track on her 2nd album "Kaze wa Kimagure"（風はきまぐれ...The Whimsical Wind）released in August 1983. Usually when I remember songs from that year, they come up as either aidoru or City Pop, and "Building Gray" is definitely neither.

It's actually a melancholy ballad which starts with some nice choral harmonizing off the top before Aiso and a lonely piano go into a number of regret from a former lover's betrayal. "Building Gray" sounds a little like a downbeat version of Masayuki Suzuki's（鈴木雅之）"Wakare no Machi"（別れの街）, but that's not a slam against either song at all. It is a refreshingly spare ballad with some lushness in the arrangement approaching the end. However, that strong piano chord at the very end lets the listener know that things haven't gotten onto the recovery mode just yet.

Haruhi Aiso -- Otoko to Onna de

Methinks that if and when I go onto my next CD binge, I'm going to have to see whether I can track down a Haruhi Aiso（相曽晴日）album. Perhaps she may not have ever become the most well-known figure in Japanese pop music, but from the music that I've heard by this singer-songwriter, she's got a nice way about her in creating ochitsuku melodies.

I first heard about her a few years back with her "Coffee House nite"（コーヒーハウスにて）from 1983 which comes across as a down-to-earth AOR ballad straight from the West Coast. Now, I've discovered her "Otoko to Onna de" (As A Man and A Woman) which was released as her 5th single in March 1985. With lyrics by veteran Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）, this one is a more pensive and classy urban contemporary number concocted by Aiso like a smooth cocktail with some good sweetness but perhaps with some bitters in there, too. The setting sounds like it's in some hotel top bar with a dance floor and the couple is getting just a tad woozy from all of the love and alcohol. I like the piano and those certain City Pop chords.

Perhaps the only thing that I could rap her knuckles for would be her pronunciation of "Je t'aime". I'd thought she said "Today...".

Haruhi Aiso -- Coffee House nite （コーヒーハウスにて）

Was doing a quick browse of YouTube after getting my last article up and I encountered this name Haruhi Aiso（相曽晴日）who I had never heard of before. So I gave her "Coffee House nite" (At The Coffee House) a try.

Sure enough, my instincts were spot-on for me. It's a lovely tune and so Aiso comes under that category of the 90% of the iceberg that is underwater when it comes to wonderful Japanese popular music. During the early 1980s, I think when it came to female singers, the aidoru were pretty much front and centre so to hear someone who was not named Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）from that same time, coming out with a pure pop song is refreshing.

"Coffee House nite" (and that last word isn't the colloquial for "night") was Aiso's 2nd single from March 1983. The singer-songwriter hails from Shizuoka Prefecture and first took her steps into the music biz professionally by winning a prize at the 19th Yamaha Popular Song Contest in 1980. The year after, she also won a prize for the song of this article with lyrics by Toshio Otake（大竹敏雄）, although its release as an official single wouldn't come for another couple of years. The song was also included in her debut album "Twilight no Kaze"（トワイライトの風...Twilight Winds）from November 1982.

I've got two different versions of the song. The one above sounds a bit more folksy so I'm wondering if this had been the one used in the 1981 Yamaha contest with the video below showing the final official single for 1983. Alternately, the one above might be the official single with the other video being a new arrangement around the late 80s or early 90s. If I had to make a choice, I would go with the one below. I like it since it has that pleasant innocent sound with a hint of Boz Scaggs in there. Besides, I've always enjoyed the coffee houses of Japan. A cuppa might cost a small fortune but the taste of the coffee and the atmosphere can't be beat.

Incidentally, my photo at the very top is of the Mister Donuts just underneath Tokyo Sky Tree. No, I wouldn't qualify it as a coffee house but it was quite relaxing in there.