Mikuni Shimokawa/MINMI/Nao Toyama -- Omoide ga Ippai（思い出がいっぱい）

 

I remember when I first heard "Omoide ga Ippai" (Full of Memories) by the folk-pop duo H2O on an episode of "Sounds of Japan" on CHIN-FM decades ago. Not having known about its status as the first ending theme for the 1983 anime "Miyuki"（みゆき）, I found it a splendid wistful ballad. Years later, the 3rd-year homeroom teachers of the school that I had taught during my time on the JET Programme sang the song for the soon-to-be graduates. Not a dry eye in the room. And I've learned that "Omoide ga Ippai" has been a stalwart song for Japanese graduations.

Well, commenter Brian Mitchell asked me earlier about some of the cover versions and not surprisingly, considering how beloved and sentimental "Omoide ga Ippai" has become since the early 1980s, the list of singers who have given their own versions of the ballad reads like a Santa Claus list. At Brian's request, I went over three of those covers.

The first one here is by actress and singer Mikuni Shimokawa（下川みくに）, and although she's only had one role as an anime seiyuu, she often sings her fair share of anison. But in this case, she did cover "Omoide ga Ippai" via her December 2003 "Review ~ Shimokawa Mikuni Seishun Anison Cover Album"（Review 〜下川みくに青春アニソンカバーアルバム〜）. Her take is an even breezier and languid take on the anison classic.

MINMI is a singer that I have mentioned on KKP before when she collaborated with m-flo for the dance hall-friendly "Lotta Love". However, she's regularly a reggae singer and that's the genre which is powering her cover of "Omoide ga Ippai" which is a track on her August 2011 album "The Heart Song Collection" which is filled with tunes that she enjoyed as a teenager. 

Nao Toyama（東山奈央）is a seiyuu and singer who's shown up on the blog a number of times in the past and she sings "Omoide ga Ippai" for the second in the series of anime character albums for the anime "Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai"（神のみぞ知るセカイ...The World God Only Knows） which was released in 2014. Under her character of Kanon Nakagawa（中川かのん）, she sings the song under a shoegaze and pop arrangement. 

Masaki Sato -- Snow Dancer

 

I'm sure that a lot of folks in my neck of the woods would greatly prefer not to hear the word "snow" for the next several months at least. It was a very long and cold winter and even now, things are still pretty cool although temperatures should be rising happily next week.

However, allow me this one. A few weeks ago, I introduced singer Masaki Sato（佐藤正樹 or 佐藤真紀）who wasn't the most prolific fellow with just two singles that I could find online thus far. I did cover his second single "Million Night" from 1983 which seems to cover a really rumbling City Pop drive down the urban highways. Well, this time, it's his debut single from 1982 which is a whole lot more congenial and jingly.

I don't mean "jingly" as in a Christmas jingle bells sort of way, though. It's more like this really does sound like a commercial jingle (and the lyrics do contain the corporate catchphrase "It's the No. 1 spirit!"). "Snow Dancer" was the 1982 campaign song for the sporting goods store Salomon, and I guess from the title, perhaps the company was aiming for the skiing set. Written and composed by the same duo behind the later "Million Night", lyricist Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）, the happy City Pop disco arrangement was provided by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. No, perhaps there isn't a city involved with the ski resorts and slopes but skiing has been connected with the urban and urbane lifestyle for such a long time that we can give this one a pass. It's just too bad that I couldn't find the commercial itself on YouTube.

Katsumi -- It's My JAL

 

Yup, good ol' Richard Gere. Of course, he'd long been one of Hollywood's biggest stars which also meant that he just had to do one of those stylish if enigmatic commercials for Japan. He may have done ads for other brands but I will always know him for the ones that he did for Japan Air Lines. Yeah, I fly JAL. Well, not really. I wish I could, though.

It speaks to how long I've been doing "Kayo Kyoku Plus" when I actually get nostalgic about not just the song in question but also the article that I wrote for it. Yes, I fondly remember the article that I did for singer-songwriter Katsumi's "Just Time Girl" from April 1991, a song that I also fondly remember as one of the last ones I would hear within Japan before heading home from the JET Programme later that summer. 

Well, he followed that one with his 5th single in June, "It's My JAL". While Katsumi wrote the lyrics, veteran composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）took care of the melody which followed the singer's penchant for synth-driven upbeat tunes. I think "Just Time Girl" will always be my Katsumi tune but "It's My JAL" isn't too shabby either. In fact, it made it up to No. 3 on Oricon.

Masaki Sato -- Million Night

 

When I came across the name Masaki Sato, I initially went "Oh, yeah! Masaki Sato? I've seen that name oodles of times. Should be fine getting him from Labels."

Ah, well, on that point. Actually, he hadn't existed until now when I did place him into Labels for the first time in this blog's history. According to J-Wiki, there is an animator who had worked on "Dragonball" and someone involved in the fabric industry with that name but no singer. Furthermore, according to Discogs, the kanji for this singer's name can be rendered as either 佐藤正樹 or 佐藤真紀. Go figure on that. 

There isn't a whole lot about the mysterious Masaki but he apparently released two singles in 1982 and 1983, and for that second single, this is "Million Night" which seems to be quite the intriguing evening for one fellow and a lady (and I guess he really likes wearing his sunglasses at night). It's more on the rocking side of City Pop and bass addicts ought to have a good time with this one. This was written by Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arranged by Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）.

Yoshimi Yokosuka -- Breathless

 

Another new face to add to the files of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", Yoshimi Yokosuka（横須賀昌美）has been recognized on J-Wiki as a model and an actress from Ishikawa Prefecture who began her career in 1980 as a Shiseido commercial model. However, she also branched out into music starting in 1981 with only four singles up to 1988.

Her third single was "Breathless" which was released in May 1988. Written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arranged by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）, it's quite the dance-pop-friendly sort of song, and I'm not sure, but would this also be considered to be part of Eurobeat? I'll have to find out from commenters. In any case, for someone who seems to have been considered as a thespian and model, her vocals weren't too shabby.

Chiaki Watanabe -- Purple Memory（パープル・メモリー）

 

Almost six years ago, I posted an article regarding aidoru Chiaki Watanabe（渡辺千秋）and her debut single "Natsu ni Refresh"（夏にリフレッシュ）from April 1984. It was notable in that the composer was the tough-as-nails folk-rock singer Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi（長渕剛）although the song was the typical teenybopper tune with some AOR feeling.

Well, this is her sophomore outing, "Purple Memory" which came out in September that year. I'd probably say that this is a more conventional aidoru tune with an enjoyably jangly melody by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arrangement by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）with some of those early 1980s shimmering strings. The lyrics were provided by Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）. 

The song was used for a candy commercial by House Foods. I mentioned in the previous Watanabe post that once she had finished her showbiz career, she got married and returned to her native Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1993. Well, since then, she took over the management of the family restaurant in her hometown of Nagato, finally earned her high school diploma through correspondence, and then in April 2021, she was elected as a city council executive.

Ayako Sawada -- Dance ni Muchuu（ダンスに夢中）

 

Welcome to another weekend! It wasn't too long ago when we were all wondering when the seemingly oppressive heat would end. Well, in my area, it's great today but tomorrow we're expecting four inches of snow on the ground when all is said and done. Be careful what one wishes for. Anyways, I did a bit more grocery shopping than usual in preparation for the first big snowstorm.

Geez , actress-singer Ayako Sawada（沢田亜矢子）looks like how I felt when I first heard the news of the big storm. Mind you, she's looking like that within the comforts of a vintage car. Car sick?😓

By the way, the above thumbnail for the video shows the cover of Sawada's third and final album to date "Silky Night" which was released in 1981. One of the tracks was also her 7th single from October of that year, "Dance ni Muchuu"（In Love with Dancing）. Now, several years ago, its B-side, the pleasant City Pop "Air Pocket"（エア・ポケット）was something that I had covered since it was available on one of the "Light Mellow" compilation discs. 

However, "Dance ni Muchuu" is a different animal. Written by Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arranged by Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生）, it's a very mild-mannered pop song with a swinging contemporary 1950s beat. Ah, that Suzuki wailing electric guitar is in there, I hear. Delivered in a sultry way by Sawada, I can gather that the end result of the song in-universe is how she looks in the car above...a little too muchuu in the dancing.

Hi-Way -- Girari Netsuai（ギラリ熱愛）

 

I have to say that the above ad is a pretty clever take on a key scene from Dustin Hoffman's "The Graduate", and it was all done for Nissin's Menkoku（めんコク）instant noodles. When it comes to passion in Japan, there is the significant other and there are noodles. Oh, by the way, the Hoffman character here was played by a future governor of Chiba Prefecture.

I'm not sure when the Kensaku Morita（森田健作）-starring commercial above was broadcast but in 1981, for another commercial featuring Menkoku, there was a pretty kickass jingle accompanying it titled "Girari Netsuai" (Glaring Passionate Love) by the band Hi-Way（ハイウェイ）. Hi-Way already has one article up on the blog for their 1982 "Black Coffee"（ブラック・コーヒー）which made it onto "Light Mellow ~ City", part of the compilation of City Pop and J-AOR created and sold in the 2010s.

So, I gather that there was a foodie thing with Hi-Way during its brief time. Anyways, how "Girari Netsuai" became part of instant ramen folklore was that there had been a contest sponsored by Nissin called "Happy Folk Contest" which Hi-Way vocalist and songwriter Yoshimitsu Kamiura（上浦容充）had won with one of his own entries, thereby leading to the group's major debut which was this very song. in 1981. "Girari Netsuai" was actually written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and it's a pop-rock song whose lyrics by Mori talk of love but can also be interpreted as something to be eaten with a whole lot of gusto as well. And when we're talking about a big hot heaping bowl of ramen...😋

In 1982, Hi-Way released their debut album "Age" and a slightly rearranged version of "Girari Netsuai" was recorded there. It kept its rock edge but there was more of a City Pop feeling in there as well, and I can't help but hear a little of Billy Joel's "The Stranger" in some of the guitar riffs. In addition, it was a guest vocalist, reggae singer Kaja（カジャ）instead of Kamiura, who was behind the microphone for some reason. 

Kinuko Ohmori -- Kon'ya wa Hurricane（今夜はハリケーン）

 

My anime buddy will most likely show some disappointment at my revelation, but I have never seen "Bubblegum Crisis"（バブルガムクライシス）. In fact, I had to look up the Wikipedia article for the early 1987 anime to find out what it was all about. But seeing some of the footage did get me nostalgic about how Japanimation, as it used to be called, appeared back in the old days.

Another thing that got me nostalgic? The opening theme song for the pilot of the multi-part OVA series. I mentioned "Kon'ya wa Hurricane" （Tonight is a Hurricane） several years ago in the article for Silk's "Dream Shift"（ドリーム・シフト）, another anison whose singer is actually named Kinuko Ohmori（大森絹子）, and she's the one behind "Kon'ya wa Hurricane". So, I guess it's about time that I finally gave space and time to this one.

Created by a couple of heavy hitters in the songwriting industry, lyricist Tomoko Aran（亜蘭知子）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）, "Kon'ya wa Hurricane" has that 80s anison vibe of relentlessly chugging electric guitar and thunder-pounding drums, as if Tylenol meant nothing to the musicians involved. The single was Ohmori's debut release,  having come out in December 1986, a few months before "Bubblegum Crisis" premiered.

Miki Imai -- Tameiki Moyou（ためいき模様）

 

In recent years, it's been getting increasingly more difficult to post up Miki Imai（今井美樹）articles simply because I burned through pretty much all of the songs and albums by her that I've cherished in the first years of KKP. It's just the life of a blog. However, once in a while, I do come across a gem or two.

And if it weren't for YouTube, this song may have remained all but a mystery except to those Imai fans who were able to get her very first single from May 1986, "Tasogare no Monologue"（黄昏のモノローグ）. "Tameiki Moyou" (A Pattern of Sighs) is the B-side to the single that has apparently not ever shown up on an album...not her debut album "Femme" or any BEST compilation. Perhaps she has felt that it wasn't really worthy of any time or effort to do so.

But I think for any Imai fan such as myself, "Tameiki Moyou" is still worthy of many listenings. A wistful and introspective pop song, this was created by the same duo behind "Tasogare no Monologue", lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）but this time, the arranger was Eiji Kawamura（川村栄二）. I noted in the article for the A-side that with Imai's young vocals back then and the overall arrangement, there was something there that made the song tend towards aidoru-dom but not quite. The uploader for the video noted how young those vocals sounded, and yep, I would agree; in fact, "Tameiki Moyou" pushes the needle even further toward aidoru-dom.

I should also note that Kawamura passed away earlier in May at the age of 78. My belated condolences to his family and friends.

Junko Ohashi -- Fantastic Woman（ファンタジック・ウーマン）

With that title and the uplifting arrangement, I wonder whether this song by the late great Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）, a non-City Pop "Fantastic Woman", had ever been used for some commercial featuring cosmetics or the like.

In any case, "Fantastic Woman" was Ohashi's 17th single from August 1981. Written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）, it's got that wailing electric guitar that was a Suzuki trope although the shimmering strings are absent. However, it's got an interesting arrangement with a 1970s-like harmonica intro followed up with a 1960s jangly pop rhythm. Miura's lyrics describe a woman reminiscing about the man who got away earlier in life because, gosh darn it, she wasn't quite ready. But the intimation is that, boy, she's ready now...only...where the heck is he?

Agnes Chan -- Haru Tou Karaji（春不遠）

 

Agnes Chan（アグネス・チャン）will always be that one singer who I believe was born with long silky hair and an acoustic guitar attached to her hands. And she'll always be playing under a tree for any and all of the children in the neighbourhood. Her works as an aidoru in the 1970s have swung between touches of folk and country.

I read on one person's website that her November 1979 22nd single "Haru Tou Karaji" didn't become a major hit for Chan but it still resides solidly within his list of Top 5 Agnes Chan favourites. Indeed, it is a pleasant and wistful song that sides more into the folk side of things. 

Written by Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）, who has a recent Creator article, and arranged by Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）, I was a bit stuck on how to translate that title since it came across as something akin to a typical Japanese four-kanji proverb (though I know that there are just three in the title). I actually had to find a page that had the Portuguese translation of "Haru Tou Karaji" and then translate the Portuguese title into English and it is "Spring Is Not So Far Away". Looking through Kitajo's lyrics, yep, I can see that working since a woman, recently losing her beau, is walking a park path all by her lonesome although the message is that spring will be back and so will opportunities for new love.

The Works of Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）

From Discogs

It's been a while since I've done a Creator article and the name Kisaburo Suzuki had been spinning around in my head for a while, so I've decided to pay tribute here. He's one of those prolific musician-songwriters that has created so many songs for so many singers that he's at the level of the question "He wrote THAT?!".

According to his J-Wiki profile, Suzuki（鈴木喜三郎）was born in the city of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture in 1952. At the age of 15, he started learning the guitar and ukulele from his older brother and began becoming inspired by the works of the legendary B.B. King. In 1972, he made his way down to Tokyo and from the following year, he backed up a lot of singers including Masatoshi Nakamura（中村雅俊）, Akira Fuse（布施明）and Naomi Chiaki（ちあきなおみ）. A few years later in 1977 following an encounter with lyricist Osami Okamoto（岡本おさみ）, he set about to become a composer. Then in 1980, Suzuki would pick up his first award for providing Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）with "Sakaba de DABADA"（酒場でDABADA）.

With the probable exceptions of enka and Mood Kayo, Suzuki has covered all of the genres in Japanese music including anison and aidoru tunes. When I finally started paying attention to the songwriters in the industry, my impression of Suzuki was that he was quite the master at coming up with pop melodies in the 1980s which combined shimmering orchestra strings and wailing electric guitar. Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）"See You Again...Kaze ni Kuchitsukete"（SEE YOU AGAIN ・・・風にくちづけて...Kiss The Wind） was one of the first examples of this that I had ever heard and it was the first composition by Suzuki that I ever came across. However, there was one notable exception to the tradition of strings and guitar, and that was for one of Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）biggest hits, "Desire". Anyways, the following is just a mere sample of what he has created.

(1983) H2O -- Omoide ga Ippai （思い出がいっぱい）

(1981) Saburo Tokito -- Kawa no Nagare wo Daite Nemuritai (川の流れを抱いて眠りたい）

(1981) Ruiko Kurahashi -- Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete （ラストシーンに愛をこめて）

(1986) Akina Nakamori -- Desire

(1982) Toru Watanabe -- Yakusoku (約束）

(1982) Cherish -- Come On, Sunshower (カモン・サンシャワー)

(1982) Mariko Takahashi -- See You Again...Kaze ni Kuchitsukete （SEE YOU AGAIN ・・・風にくちづけて）

Sayuri Iwai -- Tokimeki no Kisetsu（ときめきの季節）

 

Yesterday, I covered aidoru Hiroko Mita's（三田寛子）August 1984 B-side song "Hatachi no Mae de"（20才の前で）which had a pretty lush arrangement in my estimation.

Well, I have another aidoru's B-side song from 1984, and by the way, welcome to KKP, Sayuri Iwai（岩井小百合）! The native of Kanagawa Prefecture had a relatively brief time as an 80s teenybopper singer with a total of 12 singles ranging from 1983 to 1987 with 4 original albums. That B-side, "Tokimeki no Kisetsu" (Season of Excitement), was on the flip side to her March 1984 6th single "Soushun Memory"（早春メモリー...Early Spring Memory）, and it's one of the conventional types of aidoru tune with that gently lilting 50s love song style as Iwai swoons over falling in love for the first time. The lyricist and composer were Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）and Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー） respectively.

Although Iwai's time as an aidoru was short, she's been able to continue to work in the entertainment industry for many years in roles including information variety reporter, pachinko parlour aidoru and thespian.

Hideki Saijo -- Sentimental Girl（センチメンタルガール）

 

I have to admit that I had never heard of this Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）single before. However, it actually won the singer a Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards in 1981. Hmm...I'll have to look into this one.

The simply-titled "Sentimental Girl" was released in September of that year as Saijo's 39th single. Written by Ryuuji Amagai（あまがいりゅうじ）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arranged by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, it automatically got my head bobbing due to that bouncy old-fashioned rhythm which reminded me of "Save the Last Dance for Me". The acoustic guitar intro sets things off right from the get-go as a good ol' rock-and-roller as Hideki sings about getting that much-desired young lass. The setting is a fall day so I figure that the guy is seeing if he can finally have his chance at wooing this lady who looks to be recovering from a fallen romance.

"Sentimental Girl" peaked at No. 17 on Oricon and sold about 98,000 records. So, maybe not one of Saijo's absolute greatest or most remembered hits, but still I made a nice discovery today.

Miho Nakayama -- Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete （ラストシーンに愛をこめて）

 

(And not surprisingly, the video is gone!)

A couple of days ago, fellow Miho Nakayama fan and KKP contributor Marcos V. was kind enough to inform me of a video on YouTube showing the late singer-actress' final concert recorded last July and released late last November, only several days before her untimely death. It's been up on the platform for about a couple of weeks now and frankly I don't know how long it will stay up before the powers-that-be probably clamp down upon the uploader, so get your views when you can. There's also a disclaimer by the fellow stating that the video will only be available at night. I'm assuming that means Japan Standard Time. As well, there are time stamps on the YouTube page so you can check out your favourite Miporin tunes.

When I got my own copy of Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）"Blanket Privacy", her 6th compilation album of re-recordings of her ballads, two new tunes and three cover songs from November 1993 years ago, I was surprised that one of those covers was Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）"Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete" (Fill The Last Scene With Love). Not to say that doing so was the wrong thing to do by any means; Kurahashi remains one of my favourite singers to this day. It's just that I had never expected a former aidoru-turned-pop singer to cover a tune by another singer whose profile didn't reach anywhere near superstar status (although Ruiko has a very dedicated following including myself). To be honest, the only connection between her and any other singer that I was aware about was through the duet consisting of her and Takao Horiuchi（堀内孝雄）, "Hanrira"（ハンリーラ）back in 1985.

And yet, here Miporin is, covering a Kurahashi Fashion Music classic. The original "Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete" has an epic orchestral feeling that makes me feel as if it could be used for an Oscar ceremony "In Memoriam" segment. For Nakayama's cover, the Knock arrangement of Fumiko Okada（岡田冨美子）and Kisaburo Suzuki's（鈴木キサブロー）creation keeps things classy but has more of a contemporary power ballad feeling. Although I think in any emotional tribute video to the singer, a more well-known Miporin ballad will be used, her "Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete" could also fit the bill.

From Amazon.ca

Ikue Sakakibara -- Tokyo Holy Night（東京聖夜）

 

Back in the day (or night), whenever I traipsed through Tokyo around the Xmas season, I didn't particularly think "holy night". It was more "blisteringly bright night" with all of the seasonal illumination. I wondered often about how much power TEPCO possessed to light up all of those Christmas lights everywhere especially Roppongi and Omotesando.

All this to segue into "Tokyo Holy Night", a track from 70s and 80s aidoru Ikue Sakakibara's（榊原郁恵）November 1982 album "Variety Box". I figured that Ikue-chan, being a former teenybopper and all, just had to have a Xmas song hidden among her many tunes and sure enough, I finally found one. Written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arranged by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）, it's one jaunty march that is one dance beat away from being considered Eurobeat and it starts with a great keyboard riff. The song centres around a couple who often bicker throughout the year but they call a truce during the Xmas season and have a romantic time of it. Can't really say that there is anything religious about it despite the title but Japan has mostly been about the Santa Claus side of things.

Sumiko Toyohiro -- Ai wa Mellow Yellow（愛はMellow Yellow）

 

It's just two days shy a year since I put up the last Sumiko Toyohiro（豊広純子）song up on KKP. "Namida ga Kawaku made"（涙がかわくまで）is an elegant City Pop tune from her 1983 album "Water Heart", and as I finished up that article that day, I'll begin this one with the same sentiment: "Water Heart" can make for a fine addition to any City Pop fan's shelf.

Another reason is the second track "Ai wa Mellow Yellow" (Love is Mellow Yellow). Not sure how the title works but the song itself does as a fun and relaxing J-AOR drive down the highway. The lyrics were written by Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）and Kisaburo Suzuki's（鈴木キサブロー）melody fairly soars over the pavement by the seashore. That electric guitar solo sounds like something that Suzuki would whip up. "Ai wa Mellow Yellow" was also released as a Toyohiro single in the same year.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Yugure kara...Hitori（夕暮れから。。。ひとり）(Part 2)

 

Last week, I posted Part 1 of my article on Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）July 1982 11th studio album "Yugure kara...Hitori"（From Twilight--Alone）, and so today, I'll be completing the release with this Part 2 which is essentially Side B of the original LP. The final track, by the way, was the version of "Madonna Tachi no Lullaby" (聖母たちのララバイ）which was used as the ending theme for "Kayo Suspense Gekijo"（火曜サスペンス劇場.... The Tuesday Night Suspense Movie) on NTV and you can read about that particular song through the link. However, let's get through the remaining four tracks.

Starting off Side B is "China Reef" which was written and composed by Kaoru Ito（伊藤薫）and arranged by Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）, the same duo behind Side A's "Yoake no nai Asa" (夜明けのない朝...Morning Without a Dawn) . Although this time around, it doesn't quite stray into Fashion Music territory like "Yoake no nai Asa", the creators of "China Reef" still maintain that certain jaunty pop elegance that Iwasaki could bat right out of the park. I have no idea where this China reef is located but it apparently is quite the magical place.

I especially love the intro and the rest of "Etranger"（エトランゼ...The Stranger） which has that lovely City Pop vibe and that Iwasaki elegance, to boot. Not surprising, considering that it's Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）behind the melody and arrangement with Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）providing the lyrics about a woman who has gone off to an exotic locale, ostensibly to forget a past romance, and trying to ensure that she remains a stranger in paradise without any further love entanglements. Iwasaki's voice gets to further shine here as it plumbs more depths and heights. The ending is interesting, though, since it almost sounds like it's lifted a City Pop riff via flugelhorn from another song.

All you bass addicts rejoice as we dive into "Go-juu-ni Kai no Off-Stage"（52階のオフ・ステージ...52nd Floor Off-Stage） which is a slightly more down-to-town City Pop tune with Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）behind the lyrics, Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）taking care of the melody and Masaaki Omura（大村憲司）as the arranger. These three were also behind "Single Man" which finishes off Side A, and it's quite the different animal from the 50s pop of that final track, as the boppy urban contemporary takes over here, thanks to the aforementioned bass and the sax solo. Hiromi-chan seems to be singing about analogizing the whole experience of heading up to an exclusive nightclub at the top of a really tall skyscraper and its surrounding tapestry of sunset hues and cityscape as a major love play. 

Ohtsu, Suzuki and Omura also collaborated on this final track of this article, "Heartbreak Twilight"（ハートブレイク・トワイライト）. Beginning with a twangy guitar and keyboards, it's a mid-tempo melancholy melody as a high-flying couple realize that it's time to part ways with each other. In fact, aside from a slight peep into major chord territory before the second verse, "Heartbreak Twilight" keeps up the sad drama with the keyboard arrangement sounding downright sinister and creepy. One would almost think that the boyfriend was Nosferatu.

So, "Yugure kara...Hitori" has plenty of City Pop and elegant pop tunes for all of the Hiromi Iwasaki fans circa early 1980s. As well, the tracks have their own different tempos to keep ears alight. The original LP scored a No. 4 ranking on Oricon.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Yugure kara...Hitori（夕暮れから。。。ひとり）(Part 1)

 

Chanteuse Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）has been in the music industry so long that she's had a lot of different images since her debut as a teen in 1975. However, the one image that will always stick with me is the one when I had first known about her in the early 1980s as you can see above: elegant, svelte and hair that went all the way down to her waist.

Yugure kara...Hitori

Today, I want to explore her 11th studio album from July 1982, "Yugure kara...Hitori"（From Twilight--Alone）. I've already written about some of the tracks on this No. 4-ranking LP: the surprisingly downtown warp-speed "Koi wa Senso"（恋は戦争）, the 1970s kayo kyoku-reminiscent 27th single "Lemon"（檸檬）which begins the album, and the follow-up single "Madonna Tachi no Lullaby" (聖母たちのララバイ）that has become one of her trademark songs. Even with those three covered, there are seven more tracks on the original LP alone so I'll be splitting up my impressions into two parts with Part 2 coming in next week.

Let's see if we can go for three songs here beginning with the second track. Following the innocent and sweet "Lemon", there is "Tobashite, TAXI" (Step On It, Taxi), a keyboard-funky urban tune of giddiness about a woman hopping into a taxi to confront a lover at his hotel on whether the rumours surrounding him are true; apparently, she's still in the denial stage. Written by Chinfa Kan（康珍化）, composed by Toshio Kamei（亀井登志夫）from the band NASA and arranged by Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）, the lyrical content may be rather tense but the arrangement speaks of one exciting time in the big city. This particular song isn't to be confused with the similarly-titled "Tobashite Taxi Man"（とばしてTaxi Man） by Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）from her 1983 album "Relief 72 Hours". May I just complete this paragraph by noting how amazing her voice is when she yells "TAXI!". The multi-cab crash that could result if she yelled it in that way.

Following Track 3 "Koi wa Senso", Iwasaki turns from the disco-lined streets of Roppongi to an area that's much more discreet...say a boutique hotel off the main drag or an exclusive restaurant. "Yoake no nai Asa" (夜明けのない朝...Morning Without a Dawn) sounds like it should have been recruited to become a theme song for those weekly murder-mystery dramas on Japanese television as was the case with "Madonna Tachi no Lullaby" and a few other contributions by her. However, it remained just a track on "Yugure kara...Hitori" but it stands out for that wonderful intro and throughout the song it has that one foot in classy Fashion Music territory although the chorus rhythm with the punchy percussion keep things in the metropolis. Kaoru Ito（伊藤薫）was responsible for words and music with Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）handling the arrangement here.

If I'm not mistaken, "Single Man" was the final track on Side A of the original LP. Taking on a gentle 1950s pop ballad form, Iwasaki sings about the realization that a summertime romance is about to head to its end as the autumn comes. Good times...but hey, that's the way it goes. Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）was the lyricist here while Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and Kenji Omura（大村憲司） were the composer and arranger respectively. 

Just before tackling the album here on KKP, I had been wondering whether I would be getting a mix of her City Pop from the late 1970s and that murder-mystery balladry that was her thing in the early 1980s. So far, I think I've been getting even more variety with "Yugure kara...Hitori". Looking forward to the second half which will basically look at all of Side B.