Haruko Kuwana -- Rum & Vodka（ラム＆ウォッカ）

 

Rum and vodka? Hmmm...sounds like putting together TNT and nitroglycerin. Then again, I was never much of a drinker so I think those two forms of alcohol are fairly lethal for a guy like me. For the purposes of this article, I was trying to look for any cocktail that includes rum and vodka and I didn't have to look far. There is the (in)famous Long Island Iced Tea as you can see above. 

Back in my university days in the 1980s, one of my newfound friends after the Japanese-Canadian Students' Association had been formed and I ended up going to either Kuri the karaoke bar or some other drinking establishment in downtown Toronto with the rest of the gang. Of course, I stuck with my dependable Coke but my friend was intrigued by this tall cool cocktail known as the Long Island Iced Tea. Of course, neither of us knew it really wasn't iced tea but something far more potent with a whole plethora of stuff in there including rum and vodka. He ordered it, drank it and enjoyed it to the last drop. By the last subway, he was ready to drop. But before that, he was flying around like an overcaffeinated gibbon on the subway handholds. He was out of his mind, maybe out of his body and the next morning, out of much of his digested food perhaps. Maybe it was that experience that I witnessed but I've yet to have my first Long Island Iced Tea.

Anyways, all that preamble ramble about rum and vodka is up there so that I can introduce "Rum & Vodka", a track by City Pop chanteuse Haruko Kuwana（桑名晴子）from her June 1985 album "Don't You Know". It's great to have Kuwana back on the blog after so long and although the song has a pretty potent title, this tune composed by her brother Masahiro Kuwana（桑名正博）and written by Itsuro Shimoda（下田逸郎）is quite the laidback and groovy product that straddles the line between City Pop and urbane pop although I think the saxophone has it brought over to the former side. I can happily take in this "Rum & Vodka" without fearing any violently deleterious effects.

Masahiro Kuwana -- Tsuki no Akari（月のあかり）

 

As the Kyoku sisters and Mr. Calico are enjoying their walk through a gold-and-orange forest, autumn did arrive officially here at 8:44 am Eastern Daylight Time this morning. I had my own 40-minute walk running an errand and though it was overcast then (nice and brilliant as I type this now), it's been cool outside but without that slightly frosty snap in the air. I'm sure the cold tang will come in soon enough though.

I was looking for an autumn-themed song to start my own contribution to "Kayo Kyoku Plus" today and one song that came out at me was Masahiro Kuwana's（桑名正博）"Tsuki no Akari" (Light of the Moon). This was the late singer-songwriter's 14th and final single from November 1988, and it's good old-fashioned rock-and-roll ballad about a guy who's leaving town and the woman he loves (or loved). He keeps on telling her that he's just taking off for a while but the feeling is that he's trying (and probably failing) to reassure her that he'll be back someday. 

Despite the sad lyrics by Itsuro Shimoda（下田逸郎）, Kuwana's melody and Fujimal Yoshino's（芳野藤丸） arrangement of said melody make for a wonderfully nostalgic musical experience especially with the solos of the guitar and the brassy bluesy saxophone. And the fact that this would be Kuwana's final single brings further poignancy, although he wouldn't pass away until many years later in 2012. As for the autumnal element, there is nothing overtly seasonal stated but I can imagine that the theme of romantic breakup and the mention of the moon are somewhat subtle hints.

Chakra -- Nanyo de Yoisho（南洋でヨイショ）

 

Yes, I know...Jamaica isn't in the southern Atlantic Ocean but I merely wanted to put up something tropical for this particular song.

When I wrote the first article on the band Chakra, it was for their 1981 "Myun Myun" (ミュンミュン) which was adorably nutty, and with Mishio Ogawa's（小川美潮）loopy vocals and the synths bombing away, the New Wave was strong with this one.

Recently, I discovered another song by Chakra, the title track from their final May 1983 album "Nanyo de Yoisho" (Heave Ho on the South Seas). Though there are whispers of the technopop and New Wave here and there, "Nanyo de Yoisho" actually does sound more like a calming tropical pop tune, and there are even hints of Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）and Tin Pan Alley especially when some of the percussion taps in. It feels like the band decided to relax a bit and take a cruise somewhere in the South Atlantic. Band guitarist Bun Itakura（板倉文）took care of the music with Ogawa and Itsuro Shimoda（下田逸郎）helping out with the lyrics.

Masahiro Kuwana -- On The Highway（オン・ザ・ハイウェイ）

 

The last time that I wrote up on the late multi-genre singer-songwriter and musician Masahiro Kuwana（桑名正博）was back in 2019 for his "Dancing" song. Moreover, I did provide an article regarding his sister, Haruko（桑名晴子）, just last week, so it's high time to bring back her brother.

"On The Highway" is the lead track on Kuwana's third album "Tequila Moon"（テキーラ・ムーン）from July 1978. I'd been wondering whether this would land in the City Pop file, an area that the singer has also plied his music, but I think that this appealing start to the album is more along the lines of the country/rock edge of AOR. Written by Itsuro Shimoda（下田逸郎）and composed by Kuwana himself, it's the story of a fellow coming home to his one-and-only love after a while on the road. Not surprisingly, "On The Highway" is one upbeat tune of anticipation, powered along by the horns and the guitars. 

Kuwana passed away a decade ago at the age of 59, and his birthday is just a few weeks away, but I'm hoping that wherever he is, he is looking down on this song with some pride and joy...and perhaps lifting a mug of beer in tribute.

Seri Ishikawa -- SEXY

 

My most recent article for Seri Ishikawa（石川セリ）was a little less than a year ago when I wrote up on her 6th single from April 1976, "Fuwa Fuwa WOW WOW"（フワフワ・WOW・WOW）. That was one happy-go-lucky downtown tune, and at the time of writing up that one, I hadn't realized that it was a single because I mentioned in the article that the song was part of her January 1976 sophomore album, "Tokidoki Watashi wa..."（ときどき私は…Sometimes I...）.

Well, thanks to a comment in the past 24 hours by one fellow, I was led to the B-side for "Fuwa Fuwa WOW WOW", "SEXY". And this song, which was written and composed by singer-songwriter Itsuro Shimoda（下田逸郎）, is a bit more contemplative and, yes, sexy, since his lyrics talk of a couple heading off on that plane to extend their trysting. I'm not sure whether the destination seems to matter since Ishikawa sings about the pair simply enjoying themselves on the mattress.

Shimoda's melody is a gently rocking and folksy one, seemingly designed to either lull one into slumberland or get everyone to do a singalong in a German bar, as disparate as the two settings are. However, as the coda nears, the arrangement almost takes things into a stratosphere-aiming progressive rock mode. Considering the lyrics, I'm wondering whether that might signify a certain climax of sorts. In any case, "SEXY" was also a track on "Tokidoki Watashi wa...".

Itsuro Shimoda -- Odoriko（踊り子）

 

In terms of weather today, it's a bit damp and gloomy out there. Also, some of that cold air is wafting into my room but it's not too uncomfortable for the moment as I type this in.

Moreover, it seems to be the ideal atmosphere for this beautiful folk song by singer-songwriter Itsuro Shimoda（下田逸郎）. In all honesty, I'd never heard of this Miyazaki Prefecture-born folk singer before but he possesses this wonderful character in his voice which relates profound sadness and wistfulness. 

Shimoda has been active since 1967 but his first record didn't come out until the early 1970s. His third single, and the topic of this article, is "Odoriko" (Dancing Girl) in October 1974, which was also arranged by Masayoshi Takanaka（高中正義）. A melancholy ballad that comes across as regret over a failed relationship as each partner is now looking for someone else, the melody by Shimoda has a very woodsy and ancient sensation. I'd say that it's even more fantastical than the average J-Folk song since I can easily imagine dwarves, elves and Orcs in this setting than I can Tokyo rivers, ordinary young folk and tiny tatami apartments.

His career in entertainment continued into the mid-1980s with singles and albums being released. But the singer then took a break of sorts for several years within Japan and outside of the country before returning to singing sometime in his 40s. Although he stopped putting out singles in the 1980s, he has been releasing albums up to 2018. His J-Wiki article stated that he was influenced by fellow folk singer-songwriter Chiharu Matsuyama（松山千春）, and sure enough, Matsuyama below is covering "Odoriko".