Kei Uehara -- Watashi wo Omoidashite ~ Raison d'etre（私を思い出して）

 

(1:10:34)

Late last month, I posted trf's "lights and any more" which was the opening theme to the 2007 anime adaptation of the long-running franchise "Wangan Midnight"（湾岸ミッドナイト...Bayshore Midnight）. It was an appropriately high-energy drink of a song sprinkled with some rock guitar.

Well, there was the early 1990s part of the franchise that was on video and in live-action. Specifically, there was "Wangan Midnight IV" which came out in 1993. The song that would finish the movie as you can check the time stamp for the video up on top was the official theme "Watashi wo Omoidashite ~ Raison d'etre" (Remember Me) by Kei Uehara（上原ケイ）. The soulful ballad was written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composed by JADOES guitarist Kazumasa Denda（伝田一正）, and it was also part of an album titled "Wangan Midnight Flash Back ~ 8 Image Songs" which was released in 1994. 

According to the Japanese music blog "Music Avenue", the album itself was produced by JADOES and it's basically the final product that the funk group created before disbanding. "Watashi wo Omoidashite" has so much nocturnal soul coursing through its veins thanks in part to that saxophone that pretty much everyone listening to it is obliged to lean against a brick wall (or an expensive sports car) outside at midnight and light up a cigarette while letting the curling smoke get reflected through the passing car lights. I also found out that Uehara is a stage name for Chizuru Urata（浦田千尋）who mainly acts and sings in musicals. 

JADOES -- You Conceal It!!

 

You know...I look at that album cover by soul-funk group JADOES, "a lie", from May 1988 and then the title of one of its tracks "You Conceal It!!" with those seemingly accusatory double exclamation marks, and I'm left wondering whether one of the big wigs in the band had undergone some sort of romantic maelstrom during production. I mean, the cover looks peaceful enough, especially with the title in no caps.😎

And yep, "You Conceal It!!" is some fine beachfront property, musically speaking. Written by bassist/vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）and composed by percussionist Kensaku Saito（斎藤謙策）, the tropical side of City Pop at its funkiest is covered here, with some feelings of familiarity from other bands such as Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）and Toshiki Kadomatsu's（角松敏生） conglomeration of musicians (well, TK was the guy behind the programming). The familiar nostalgia also comes from the fact that the arrangement is reminiscent of the West Coast R&B I was hearing at the time from movies and television in America.

Marcos V. was also kind enough to write his thoughts on another track in "a lie", "All My Dream".

JADOES -- Simply Another Love

 

Way back when, when I actually treated Friday nights as the night to be out with friends, it was a toss-up between the discos in downtown Toronto or our karaoke hangout of Kuri in the tony district of Yorkville. That was simply the case for a few years in the latter half of my university time. Never got tired of it although it did become a routine, reflecting on the old days.

Looks like the good folks of JADOES may have been wondering whether their romances out on the town were becoming a little humdrum just from that title "Simply Another Love" from their March 1989 4th album "Dumpo" (I have to admit that I'm left in askance about how the guys managed to get that sort of title). The track by lyricist and bassist/vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）, the future Dance Man（ダンス☆マン）, and composer and percussionist Kensaku Saito（斎藤謙策）isn't humdrum at all with that slow-burning R&B beat but it does sound rather contemplative. It's more of a feeling of nursing that drink by the bar rather than hitting the dance floor. Of course, Fujisawa was having a lot of fun on his bass.

As of this writing, all of the Friday fun in Tokyo ended for another week (or maybe not) a few hours ago. Considering all of the construction going on over the past few years, there is probably a whole lot of new venues to explore and enjoy.

JADOES -- Stardust Night

 

This is probably the case for any major (or even smaller) city in Japan, but in Tokyo, once Xmas is around the corner, the LED lights get scattered everywhere to provide twinkly illumination to please the masses, especially the romantic couples. It's safe to say that Shinjuku and Roppongi already have the lights all about. By the way, the above picture was taken at the Hilton Hotel in West Shinjuku.

Just the description that I needed to introduce JADOES'（ジャドーズ）"Stardust Night" right from their 1987 album "Free Drink". "Roku-gatsu no Photograph"（6月のフォトグラフ）is another track from there which has the City Pop and R&B feeling in there, but "Stardust Night" doesn't have the funky beats. However, it still has plenty of fun nighttime Bubble Era megalopolitan energy for folks to celebrate their enjoyment of the bright lights and big city. Fun horns and all that.

As was the case with "Roku-gatsu no Photograph", "Stardust Night" was written by JADOES percussionist Kensaku Saito（斎藤謙策）but this time, it was composed by keyboardist Akihiko Hirama（平間あきひこ）and bassist/vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）. It's a good song to enjoy while either strutting down the main drag or bombing down the highways.

JADOES -- Windy Noon

 

I was planning to get my hair cut at an actual barber nearby for the first time in almost a year but the place looked plenty full with two customers waiting and two customers in the seats so I made a beeline back home once more. Not that I look like the beginnings of a human haystack but things are starting to appear fairly straggly on my scalp. Anyways I'll see how tomorrow looks for a trim.

Yes, as that album screams out, it is Friday which means that the more urban contemporary will be coming out to play today on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". And from JADOES' November 1986 debut album "It's Friday", I bring you "Windy Noon". 

Written by JADOES percussionist Kensaku Saito（斎藤謙策）and composed by vocalist/bassist Hideki DANCE☆MAN Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）, "Windy Noon" has a bit of disco here and some sparkly Tokyo City Pop there put into the mix. DANCE☆MAN goes full bore on the bass at one point, drummer Yukio Shimamura（島村幸男）brings the sticks crashing down and it sounds like Kazumasa Denda（伝田一正）is having a fine time at the electric guitar. Still, with all of the instruments acting out, "Windy Noon" perhaps does reflect that particular part of the day since I don't get that four-to-the-floor nighttime dance club parade. It is more of that sunny afternoon in the big city and a prelude to even bigger things in a few hours after the sun goes down.

JADOES -- Summer Lady

 

Let's see...of all the leading figures for City Pop on this side of the Pacific Ocean, Rocket Brown has attended a few of those City Pop dance parties while Van Paugam has created some of those parties everywhere. I haven't had the chance to do either, but it would be interesting to drop in if such a fete were ever to be organized in my neck of the woods here in Canada. Mind you, I'd be keenly observing from a strategically placed vantage point in the venue instead of shaking my booty on the floor (don't think they use that expression anymore).

Certainly, I wouldn't ever advise a DJ for a City Pop party what should be placed on the playlist unless he/she asked. At this point, I think that the host would be more than knowledgeable about the various songs from the genre, but if I were ever asked, JADOES' "Summer Lady" would be a pretty nice choice.

Straight from the band's July 1987 2nd album "Free Drink" which also has "Roku-gatsu no Photograph"（6月のフォトグラフ）and "Hot Melody", "Summer Lady" has got the right seasonal vibes including some of that Kadomatsu spice and a dang splendid trumpet solo. It's just the thing that we would need for a chilly November as well as a City Pop dance party. Yui Masaki（真沙木唯）took care of the lyrics and vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）provided the funky music (the stereo on this copy is plenty good at the start).

I heard from Rocket last week that there was a City Pop dance party near his area with social distancing rules in effect. Heck, that's wonderful and all that, but I'm hoping that sometime into 2021, the whole she-bang will be back in gear.

JADOES -- Hot Melody

Ever since I put up my first JADOES（ジャドーズ）song, "Friday Night" onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I've always envisaged this funky band as a Friday night group.

I swear when I first heard the group's "Hot Melody" from their "Free Drink" album released in July 1987, I had assumed that Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）must have had a hand in the arrangement. Everything from the synths to the background chorus screamed TK at me. However, in actual fact, it was vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）and keyboardist Akihiko Hirama（平間あきひこ）behind the dynamic music for the much-anticipated end of a work week as Yui Masaki（真沙木唯）took care of the lyrics. Still, JADOES' J-Wiki article has Kadomatsu as an associated person with the band so I wouldn't be surprised if he did have some input into the works.

The reason that I put up my photograph of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Hall facing the sunset as the thumbnail was that I think "Hot Melody" is the type of song that should be accompanied by a music video of a drone soaring above the skyscrapers of the great megalopolis. There's something about this particular hot melody that welcomes visitors to the night portion of having fun in Tokyo.

JADOES -- I Wanna Hold You Tonight

Indeed, it's Friday. As such, I've got another City Pop song for tonight, thanks to the sweet sounds of JADOES.

Compared to the city funk of "Friday Night" from their "It's Friday" album (1986), its track mate "I Wanna Hold You Tonight" has more of the breezy summer love ballad feeling, and probably his fans on listening to this one quickly pegged "I Wanna Hold You Tonight" as a Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生） creation. They would be correct.

Instead of hitting the streets of Shinjuku in a glossy red convertible, JADOES take things to a simple romantic walk along the beach at sunset with this ballad. Shades of Anri（杏里）, Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）in ballad mode, and maybe even some Omega Tribe come to mind.

JADOES -- Roku-gatsu no Photograph（6月のフォトグラフ）

Indeed, the above is a June 2018 photograph of a version of one of my favourite drinks, a strawberry Calpico. As I recall, I bought it at a shop which specializes in Japanese foodstuffs in Kensington Market in downtown Toronto, and it was already quite humid on that Friday. The Calpis really hit the spot although it cost me over 3 bucks Canadian!

Now, there hasn't been a JADOES（ジャドーズ）article on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for almost three years since Marcos V.'s "All My Dream" and it was back in 2014 when I put up "Friday Night". Well, time to rectify this.

Here I offer "Roku-gatsu no Photograph" (June Photograph) from the band's 2nd album "Free Drink" (which was certainly not my Calpis!) released in July 1987. Written by JADOES percussionist Kensaku Saito（斎藤謙策）and composed by guitarist Kazumasa Denda（伝田一正）and bassist/vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）, aka DANCE☆MAN, the whole story revolves around a photograph falling out of a fellow's old notebook which turns out to be a shot of his former flame with the tons of memories that suddenly bubble up in his head. With that super funky beat and that downtown feeling, I can only believe that the guy has to be at least a university student and most likely well into his working life. I think it's a bit intense at the high school level. Overall, this work by JADOES rather strikes me as a more booming form of an Omega Tribe song. Love Fujisawa's vocals and all those kakkoii keyboards!

I never got to do it in my own JADOES article so here is an introduction of the fellows from the band itself. I've already mentioned Fujisawa, Saito and Denda, but there is also drummer Yukio Shimamura（島村幸男）, and keyboardist Akihiro Hirama（平間あきひこ）. Later on, with the exits of Shimamura and Hirama, Tatsuya Watanabe（渡部達也）and Akira Sakai（酒井彰）came on board in the mid-1990s. As for how the guys came up with their distinct name, I can only speculate that it may have come from their catchphrase of "Ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja jan!"（じゃじゃじゃじゃじゃじゃじゃじゃじゃんッ！）which was used when going from one comic segment to another. I mentioned in "Friday Night" that these guys had started out as a group of comics with a musical touch.

Below is a longer and perhaps creamier version of "Roku-gatsu no Photograph". Tomorrow, we start San-gatsu!

JADOES -- All My Dream

Years ago, while listening to Miho Nakayama’s (中山美穂) “CATCH THE NITE” album for the first time, I came across a groovy song called “Get Your Love Tonight”, which, as I soon discovered, was a JADOES’ (ジャドーズ) cover.

After that, I kind of ignored JADOES, as it was quite hard to find their albums online around 2010. So, even though I recognised them as a nice City Pop band from the 80s, just like artists such as Toshiki Kadomatsu (角松敏生) and ANRI (杏里), to name a few, these last two were easier to find on YouTube or download sites. Speaking of Kadomatsu, he produced Miporin’s “CATCH THE NITE”, but also a handful of JADOES albums and songs, including the original “Get Your Love Tonight”. That’s probably why the song ended in Miho’s aforementioned City Pop-inspired album.

Years after, someone uploaded a couple of albums from the band, so I could finally have my own share of JADOES. However, and I don’t really recall why, I forgot about them in my HD before listening to the shiny and glittery City Pop they had to offer. Probably something else got my interest back then.

Now, I’ve finally listened to one of their albums, which is 1988’s “a lie” (the original “Get Your Love Tonight” is included in this album). The first song, in special, is an “Album Version” of a song released prior to the album, "All My Dream", and it got my attention”.

Kadomatsu’s influences are very noticeable here, and “All My Dream” easily shines as that type of rich-sounding, funky City Pop song that came out very often in the 80s. There’s room for everything, from thick bass lines, drums, sharp synths emulating horns, keyboards, etc... all in a sort of maximalist take on pop music that reminds me of present-day producer Yasutaka Nakata’s (中田ヤスタカ) efforts in the Technopop scene. Also, alongside the full, fat and rich arrangement, there’s also space for some velvet-like vocals by Hideki Fujisawa (藤沢秀樹), something that can be seen as a remarkable characteristic of City Pop as well.

About Fujisawa-san, he attends by the name of DANCE☆MAN (ダンス☆マン) nowadays. The guy became famous after arranging disco/funk pop songs for aidoru group Morning Musume (モーニング娘。), such as “LOVE Machine” (LOVEマシーン), “Koi no Dance Site” (恋のダンスサイト), “Happy Summer Wedding” (ハッピーサマーウェディング), “Renai Revolution21” (恋愛レボリューション21), “The Peace” (ザ☆ピ~ス!) and Souda! We're Alive (そうだ! We're ALIVE), for example.

(cover version)

The “a lie” album was released in May 1988. “All My Dream’s” lyrics were written by Toshiki Kadomatsu and Sato Kensaku (斎藤謙策), while composition was done by Kazumasa Denda (伝田一正).

JADOES -- Friday Night

Two of my favourite songs by Morning Musume （モーニング娘。）are "Love Machine" (1999) and "The Peace"(2001). Both had that disco-funk beat that I've appreciated and that can be laid at the feet of the fellow who arranged the two hits, DANCE☆MAN. But the question remained? Who was DANCE☆MAN? I asked that in the same way that an intrepid reporter would query about the identity of a superhero like Batman or Spiderman. Well, I dug into J-Wikipedia and found out that in a past decade, he was Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹）, the vocalist and bassist for the 80s soul-and-funk band, JADOES（ジャドーズ）.

The band name was familiar. The reason was that I had come across a couple of entries for JADOES in "Japanese City Pop", and none other than Toshiki Kadomatsu (Anri, Miho Nakayama, etc.) helped launch their music career. The surprising bit of trivia is that earlier in their university days, the band was more on the comical side of things...basically comedians who could play musical instruments. They even made the rounds on the variety programs with such comic teams as Utchan-Nanchan（ウッチャンナンチャン）. However in 1985, Kadomatsu saw potential in their musicality and groomed them to debut in October 1986 with "Friday Night" with their first album, "It's Friday" coming out a month later.

And listening to the song, Kadomatsu definitely must have seen something. These guys reminded me of The Dazz Band back in the early 80s with "Let It Whip" and "Let It All Blow". Maybe Fujisawa and his band funked it up with Toshinobu Kubota （久保田利伸）way back when. Speaking of DANCE☆MAN, he's got some pretty silky-smooth vocals here, and "Friday Night" sounds pretty good on the car stereo while cruising downtown through Ginza, Akasaka or on the Bayside Highway.

Unfortunately, it seems like JADOES didn't quite make a dent on the Oricon charts, but who cares? I've been privy to listening to a lot of fine and interesting singers and bands who didn't become superstars but still made quite a mark on their fans. And Fujisawa was able to make superstars out of a motley group of teenage girls.