Miyoko Nagao -- Miyoko ~ Rivage（美代子・リバージュ）

Early last year, I encountered Miyoko Nagao's（長尾美代子）"Ashiya Sailing Spot"（芦屋セーリング・スポット）, this really breezy song that I categorized as something of a Resort Pop number, that genre which can be seen as a cousin to City Pop or perhaps a subset of AOR itself. However, I think that I should have been somewhat more precise in my description since when Resort Pop is mentioned, folks (including myself) would think something along the lines of Shonan or Hakone, resorts right along the Pacific coast of Japan.

And yet, "Ashiya Sailing Spot" doesn't describe anything near that area. Ashiya is simply a resort spot in Hyogo Prefecture in the Kansai region, as opposed to the Kanto for Shonan and Hakone. In fact, instead of a beach, I think that Ashiya is more reminiscent of Karuizawa, a resort closer to the mountains where the expensive cottages are situated. Certainly, Nagao and "Ashiya Sailing Spot" come off sounding like a pleasant spring day in the backyard of one of those cottages, perhaps overlooking a pristine blue lake. It is for that reason that I bought her 1981 album, "Miyoko ~ Rivage" which has the song. I was rather curious as to what Ms. Nagao would provide.

Looking at the song list, I saw some very familiar names such as Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）and Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）as songwriters, so I figured that there could be a mix of City Pop and AOR. The liner notes also point out Nagao as having that ojou-sama image: the well-educated and well-trained high-class young lady. Doesn't particularly sound like a beach bunny to me and that front cover photo of her strengthens my opinion.

The first track is "Namida wo Sango Iro"（涙を珊瑚色...Coral Tears）which also strikes me as an upbeat but languid song with that image of congenial life in the mountain chalet with Nagao enjoying a nice day on the chaise lounge. The lyrics by Nagao and Chizuru Matsunaga（松永千鶴）depict a young lady deeply missing her beau for some reason. Matsunaga is also the one behind the contemporary yet old-fashioned pop with Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）handling the arrangement.

I mentioned them above, but lyricist Miura and composer Hayashi were responsible for "Mou Umi ni wa Kaeranai"（もう海には帰らない...I Can't Ever Return to the Sea）, a smooth mid-tempo ballad that has a twangy guitar intro which brings in some West Coast AOR memories. There's also something rather Yuming-esque in the song as well as Nagao sings about one final meeting between lovers before parting for good.

"Ame no Boathouse"（雨のボートハウス...Rainy Boathouse）is another tune with Miura's lyrics and Yasuhiro Abe's drive-friendly melody. Things seem to be back in cottage country and it feels as if Nagao is taking a drive from her place down to the market at the foot of the mountain. It's pretty darn cheerful as she's remembering of a past romance.

Well, well, well. When I saw the title "Friday Night", I figured that this had to be a City Pop tune. Sure enough, the funky beat proved my prediction out, and it looks like Nagao decided to paint the town red in Kobe nearby. Kayoko Ono（小野香代子）wrote and composed this one, about a woman in the big city feeling rather jilted, so perhaps it's time to dance the resentment away.

As has been the case with so many of these remastered re-releases, "Miyoko ~ Rivage" has some bonus tracks, and if I'm not mistaken, the four extra songs represent the A and B sides of her two singles. 

One of those single A-sides is "Bonjour Koi"（ボンジュール恋...Hello Love）, a pleasant slice of music done up in the French pop style. Written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）, who also helped out in the biggest album of 1981, and composed by Hayashi, the French pop gives out near the end and is replaced by some hard-driving AOR before things come to their natural end. Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）arranged everything here.

The other single A-side is "Sayonara Tricolore"（さよならトリコロール）, which also has its album equivalent on "Rivage". I believe that this is the album version. The aforementioned Ono composed this tune which has the feeling of a holiday on the French Riviera with some bossa nova thrown in for good measure. Kyoko Matsumiya（松宮恭子）provided the lyrics which are delivered by Nagao as if she's perhaps channeling some Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）in the 1970s.

"Miyoko ~ Rivage" stands out for that feeling of the Japanese good life in the countryside for the most part with a bit of a city visit. It's fine for the fact that it doesn't insist on staying at the cottage, instead taking those occasional drives into the city and other interesting parts in the surrounding region. Indeed, if the album represented a certain experience, it would be the fun and relaxing weekend with that well-off friend. Although there were at least two singles from Nagao, I'm not sure whether "Rivage" turned out to be her sole album.

Kayoko Ono/Junko Yagami -- Kimagure de Ii Noni（気まぐれでいいのに）

I end up shaking my head each time I hear the name Kayoko Ono（小野香代子）. She was this lady who created some of the sweetest and purest songs that I have ever heard and yet after a few of them were released, she basically gave it all up as far as I know.

Over 5 years ago, I wrote about one of her rare songs that had been released to the public in the late 1970s, "Sayonara no Kotoba"（さよならの言葉）with chanteuse extraordinaire Junko Yagami（八神純子）covering it in the following year.

Well, here's another rare lovely outing by Ono titled "Kimagure de Ii Noni". I don't know when it did come out...it could have been in 1977 like "Sayonara no Kotoba" or she could have done a self-cover after Yagami's own cover of the song in 1978. In any case, it's this innocent and wistful and Ahhhh...so nice number created by Ono about a woman who suddenly meets an old flame and starts wondering to herself whether the former relationship can get another chance. It's the type of tune that can have listeners stop and smell the roses, so to speak.

As for the translation of the title, I read one phrase somewhere on YouTube which said "You Can Be Capricious", and then my attempt had it as "On A Whim" as in that lady trying to suddenly re-ignite the flames of passion once again. But listening to Ono's lyrics a few times, I have come to the conclusion that maybe "We Can Just Stay Friends, Can't We?" is what I want to go with ultimately.

Yagami, as I mentioned earlier, covered "Kimagure de Ii Noni" in her debut June 1978 album "Omoide wa Utsukushiku Sugite"（思い出は美しくすぎて...The Memories Are So Beautiful）, the same album that also has her cover of "Sayonara no Kotoba". "Kimagure de Ii Noni" is sung in that inimitable Junko style of the 1970s, and it comes off as being breezier than the Ono original, as if it were made for that car stereo in the convertible while heading off to Shonan. That twangy guitar helps sell it. But you know what? I think Ono bests Yagami this time when it comes to the refrain...there's a bit more heartfelt emotion in the former's delivery and if Ono were indeed channeling herself as that woman in the song, I would definitely be rooting for her to get that second chance.

Yagami's "Omoide wa Utsukushiku Sugite" reached No. 5 on Oricon and ended up as the 22nd-ranked album for 1978 and then the 28th-ranked album for 1979.

Kayoko Ono/Junko Yagami -- Sayonara no Kotoba （さよならの言葉）

I had actually heard this song being sung by Junko Yagami（八神純子） via one of her BEST albums, but hadn't realized that it wasn't actually written and composed by the singer. Kudos to the original goes to Kayoko Ono（小野香代子）. "Sayonara no Kotoba" (Words of Goodbye) is a lovely little waltz which would have made for a fine ending theme to a bittersweet romance movie back in the 70s. Listening to some of the contemporary, high-energy stuff, it's always nice when I can hear something like this to bring things back to ground.

There is not much written about Ono; there's not even an entry for her in J-Wiki for reasons that will become clear in a few lines. I actually had to get what little I could find from a Japanese blog titled "Jerrio's Café". It wasn't made totally clear whether Ono was even an amateur singer but she entered the 13th Yamaha Popular Song Contest (nicely nicknamed PopCon) in May 1977 with "Sayonara no Kotoba". She did extremely well....in fact, she won the Grand Prize for the entire contest! And yet, soon afterwards, Ono gave up any intentions of going professional and instead went overseas to study. And that's all she wrote. I can only imagine what kind of songs she could have made if she hadn't taken that other path.

Go ahead one year later. Junko Yagami, who herself had won an Excellent Prize at PopCon back in 1974 with "Ame no Hi no Hitorigoto" （雨の日のひとりごと....Speaking to Myself on a Rainy Day）, did her own version of "Sayonara no Kotoba" for release as her 4th single in May 1978. Yagami also possessed that clear high voice that Ono did, so she made for a good fit for the song. As I said, her cover made it onto at least one of her BEST albums but also originally appeared as a track on her debut album, "Omoide wa Utsukushiku Sugite"（思い出は美しくすぎて...The Memories Are So Beautiful）which came out in June of that year. Of her early singles, Yagami was known for her Latin and/or disco-infused hits, but her version (and the original) stood out because it had that folksy, kinda European charm. In fact, I think it has some melodic similarity to at least a few of the tracks on Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）"Grey Skies" (1976).

Junko Yagami -- Best of Me