Hiroshi Kamayatsu -- Pineapple no Yukue e (パイナップルの彼方へ)

Can't consider myself a prolific baker but once in a while, I like to whip up some old-fashion Pineapple Upside-Down Cake for the family. Haven't done it since COVID-19 darkened our shores, but perhaps I can do it again in the near future.

A few weeks ago, I was given a recommendation by Rocket Brown from Come Along Radio, and it was a surprising one. From 1978-1979, the late Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu（かまやつひろし）provided 4 albums for Trio Records, and half of them were releases based on the AOR genre.

All this time, I had seen the congenial Kamayatsu on TV for years and knew him as an ever-grinning tarento and a musician from the Group Sounds period via The Spiders and then as someone who embraced folk and rock (maybe one of the New Music pioneers) going into the 1970s. However, I'd had no idea that he also headed into Margaritaville later that decade. Indeed he did, though, with "Walk Again" in 1978, and then this album the following year, "Pineapple no Yukue e" (Up In The Pineapple).

I was only going to talk about the first track, "Do You Wanna Ride" but then ended up listening to the next three tracks since I got rather entranced by them. As for "Do You Wanna Ride", which was composed by Monsieur and written by Yutaka Hoshi（星豊）, it's indeed him singing in both English and Japanese, and I swear that he could be singing about that front cover showing the beach and the palm trees as he invites the listener to come along with him in his wonderful world. That cover is so AOR-friendly (including the lettering) that I had a huge craving to buy a hammock from Canadian Tire (curbside pickup, of course).

Batting second at 3:28 is "No No Boy" which is a song that had originally been recorded by him and the rest of The Spiders back in the 1960s. This cover version takes on a more upbeat but just-as-gentle feeling when compared to what I think is a more melancholy original. At 6:13, "No No Boy" gets quickly shuffled off for Track 3, "Gentle Wind", a brief instrumental composed by Ken Morimura（森村献）. that begins with that 1970s City Pop/AOR trope of the Haze riff, but I think the melody has got a bit more of a funky breeze kicking about in there with a little wacka-wacka for good measure.

Finally at 8:05 is "Summer Love Again" which seems to contain a hint of Neil Sedaka and Akira Terao（寺尾聡）. This is another short-and-sweet track with perhaps a little City Pop in the arrangement which will have the libations flowing under the beachfront umbrellas. Takeshi Shima（島武実）this time provided the lyrics for Kamayatsu's mellow melody.

Indeed this is some fine Resort Pop for folks who want to listen to something summery and relaxing. Referring back to my second paragraph about showing some surprise that Kamayatsu did embrace his inner AOR, I think that surprise should be curbed somewhat because of course he wasn't the only one to do so. People who were involved in 1970s folk such as Iruka（イルカ）and bassist Kingo Hamada（濱田金吾）from Craft（クラフト）also took their 1980s plunge into City Pop/AOR through "Follow Me" and "midnight cruisin'" respectively.

Yuji Toriyama & Ken Morimura -- Aerobics

Oh yes, "The 20-Minute Workout"...one of the 80s pop cultural representatives on North American television. Used to see this (and that is all) on the Canadian and American cable channels back in my high school and university days. I definitely remember Bess Motta as one of the aerobics demonstrators since she would later appear as one of the first victims (Sarah Connor's roomie, to be specific) on "The Terminator" when Arnie was playing the bad guy.

I knew from some of the dramas and movies that were showing up in Japan from that time that aerobics had also become a popular thing there, too. Headbands, leg warmers, big hair, etc....yup, the fashion was well represented. There was apparently even a TV show on TBS back in the day called simply "Aerobics".

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any YouTube footage of the show but I did find the 1982 soundtrack by fusion guitarist Yuji Toriyama（鳥山雄司）and keyboardist for the salsa band Orquesta Del Sol Ken Morimura（森村献）. Indeed, this music was made for exercising.

From what I've heard so far, the soundtrack is made up of some funky beats that kinda span the genres of R&B, technopop and even City Pop with the purpose of getting folks off their heinies and moving around rhythmically. The first track "Aerobic Fitness" is a cute blippity-bloppity intro to get those more hesitant home athletes up and stretching.

The second track "Running Aerobic" at 4:25 starts off with a bass synth to let you know that it's time to really get into the stuff now and then the funk with a touch of City Pop has you happy to start that running.

Meanwhile, Track 3 "Flag Signaling" at 9:13 (which skips a bit) is how I found out about "Aerobics" via Van Paugam's City Pop radio. Man, what would have Toriyama and Morimura done without that syn-drum? Heck, I was shimmying a bit in my chair while hearing this. Up and at 'em!

The last song that I will talk about is the last track "Night Together" at 35:00 which might represent the cool-down phase of the workout...and also a nice outing to the nearby trendy bar (for some deep-fried chicken wings). It's probably the most City Pop-sounding track.

Following the usual Holiday engorging, I can stand to lose quite a few kilograms. However, if I were to ever get a rare copy of "Aerobics", in all likelihood, it would be to listen to it rather than work out to it. In any case, you can have another gander at Bess and the gang below.