I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Showing posts with label Kiyonori Matsuo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kiyonori Matsuo. Show all posts
Admittedly, I'm beginning the KKP Xmas season a tad early but it's just for this song and I won't be officially getting into Christmas season until November 25th.
About a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned Scott's podcast,"Holly Jolly X'masu", regarding Masamichi Sugi's（杉真理）1997 compilation"Winter Gift Pops" from which I posted one of the tracks, Miwako Saito's（さいとうみわこ）cover of "Anata dake I Love You"（あなただけ I LOVE YOU）. The album itself may have that feeling of enjoying the wintry life but it isn't specifically Xmas-based for all of the tracks, according to Scott.
Case in point, we have another track which shows up at about 26:57 on the podcast titled "First Flight", a bubbly duet with Caoli Cano（かの香織）and Hiroshi Takano（高野寛）. One reason that I got impatient enough to put this one up is that neither Cano nor Takano have popped up all that much on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", so I wanted to further add to their files on the blog. Written by the two singers, composed by the aforementioned Sugi and Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）and arranged by Yasuharu Ogura（小倉泰治）, "First Flight" dances on the line whether it's a Xmas tune or a general winter tale of cool and breezy romance punctuated by the appearance of an aurora. Regardless of that short argument however, it's the story of two friends meeting up for the first time in a while and having the time of their lives with the potential promise of a more permanent relationship.
You can take a gander at my first article for Cano for her song "Gensou Game"（幻想ゲーム）. Cano also contributed another track to "Winter Gift Pops" but unfortunately it hasn't shown up on YouTube, so I'm glad that at least "First Flight" is available. As for Takano, he's also done another winter-themed duet which got out several years earlier with Takao Tajima（田島貴男）, "Winter's Tale ~ Fuyu Monogatari"（冬物語）.
Over the years, I've put out APBs on some mystery songs and a few of them have actually been resolved to our great relief and satisfaction. Personally, I've also been searching for songs but not quite in the same way. They've actually been part of my collection with all of the relevant information but I just hadn't seen them on the Internet. A couple of them belong to one of my favourite underrated songbirds, Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）.
(15:38)
One song got its due many years ago, I'm happy to say. "Gas Tou"（ガス燈）, which is a track on Kurahashi's March 1986 album"Main Course", finally appeared on YouTube so I was more than happy to get it onto the article for the album. And just today, I found another one that took quite a while to find its way on the Net.
Like "Gas Tou", "By The River" is a jazz tune which made its first presence known on the singer's September 1982 album"Heartbreak Theater" (although for me, I found it on her 1999 BEST album"My Name is Ballad"). However, whereas "Gas Tou" sounded like a 1940s torch song from a film noir, "By The River" is simply a blissful 1950s jazzy number which may been inspired by a lazy weekday afternoon in some mansion on Long Island. Kurahashi herself sounds like she's lying right on that chaise lounge facing the window while her butler is peeling some grapes for her ingestion. It's a fine lying-down song which is also why I dubbed it a Fashion Music song. After all, the chaise lounge is the international piece of furniture representing the genre. In any case, Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）was responsible for the lyrics while Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）took care of the music. To be honest, I'd assumed that it was jazz-and-City Pop hound Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）who was the composer here.
Carrying on from last Wednesday, I'm continuing with the second and final part for my article on the late Kaoru Sudo's（須藤薫）"DROPS" album from November 1983. We're taking a look at Side B of the original LP today.
R&B singer-songwriter and drummer Hiro Tsunoda（つのだ☆ひろ）comes in for a duet with Sudo for "Uwasa no Futari"（噂のふたり...That Couple）. It's a Motown-inflected City Pop tune that was composed by Tsunoda himself and arranged by Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）with Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）on the lyrics. As the title says, it's all about a couple having their time on the town and if folks notice their carousing, so be it. Jake H. Concepcion is on the sax solo.
"Hirusagari No Yuuwaku"（昼下がりの誘惑...Afternoon Temptation） is another Arikawa-penned song, and it may feature the same couple from "Uwasa no Futari". The lovey-dovey stuff continues as the two of them in their respective companies despite their usual busy schedules still try to keep in contact by the old-fashioned landline telephone. Matsutoya is also behind the old-style pop arrangement but this time, it's Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）who composed the jaunty melody.
The upbeat Motown comes back with "LITTLE SHORT ON LOVE", a happy-sounding ditty surrounding a bittersweet story of a woman with a bit of a chip on her shoulder as the man she has in her sights doesn't have her in his sights. And the frustration and jealousy (he's talking with another woman during the song) begin swelling. Arikawa is once again the lyricist here but it's Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）on both melody and arrangement. Jake H. is back along with Shin Kazuhara（数原晋）on trumpet and EVE as the back chorus.
The final track on the LP is "Ame no Naka no Funsui"（雨の中の噴水）with Shun Taguchi（田口俊）as the lyricist. A lady is in the rain, perhaps in her floaty delusion waiting for a Prince Charming who may never come to her assistance with his own umbrella. Maybe he's just a friend to see her for a lunch date or something, with the walk under two umbrellas, but someday she'll get to share his. Regardless of the happy/sad situation, the music and arrangement, once again by Hayashi, is top-notch mellow City Pop or J-AOR, if you wish. Sudo's vocals flow wonderfully with the music as Kazuhara handles the fluegelhorn this time, and on backup, there is Hayashi himself along with Yasuhiro Kido（木戶泰弘）and Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）. For some reason, the dreamy sax solo isn't mentioned in the liner notes, but I'm pretty sure that it's Jake H. once more.
I know that "DROPS" wasn't the final album by Sudo by any means, but there's a certain poignancy listening to "Ame no Naka no Funsui" as the original final track (bonus tracks were added onto the remastered version in later years) considering her untimely passing nearly ten years ago. "DROPS" reached No. 49 on Oricon. As we've seen and heard, the album is a mix of pleasing styles evoking the old days.
Last
week, I was finally able to track down a copy of Masayuki Suzuki’s (鈴木雅之)
album “Perfume” here in Brazil, and for a ridiculously cheap price. I already
had some of these songs in the compilation “Martini II”, but it was my chance
to have my favorite song by Martin in physical format, which happens to be
“Kirai da yo” (きらいだよ).
Over
the years, J-Canuck managed to cover many of the songs featured in “Perfume”,
such as “Koibito” (恋人), “Shibuya de Go-ji” (渋谷で5時),
“Kirai da yo”, and even the album itself (click here for the full article), but there’s still one more song I’d
like to give some love (no pun intended), which is “LOVE MACHINE”.
A
deep cut from the aforementioned album “Perfume”, which was released in September
1993, “LOVE MACHINE” is a funky tune with Martin’s usual soulful voice and
charisma. It’s not outstanding like some of his hit singles, but I like it as a
nice hidden surprise towards the end of “Perfume”. It’s also quite risqué, but
he’s labelled as the king of love songs, whatever that means, right?
The
thing is, even though he portrays a mature, classy and mildly seductive dandy
nowadays, especially in the perspective of Western newcomers that discovered
him after anime theme songs like “Love Dramatic” (ラブ・ドラマティック) and “DADDY! DADDY! DO!”, the
man was a lot wilder in the 90s, like we can hear in “LOVE MACHINE”, but also
see in one of the song’s performances, as presented below.
One
funny thing to notice in the performance above comes from the background
singers. The way they said “love machine” near the end, it sounded exactly like
the ending to Morning Musume.’s own “LOVE MACHINE”(LOVEマシーン). Maybe Tsunku (つんく) attended one
of Martin’s live concerts and got inspired.
“Perfume”
reached #2 on the Oricon chart. Lyrics for “LOVE MACHINE” were written by Saeko
Nishio (西尾佐栄子), while music was composed by Kiyonori Matsuo (松尾清憲).
As for the arrangement, Akihiko Matsumoto (松本晃彦)
was the responsible.
It's been a good long while since Eri Hiramatsu（平松愛理）has dropped into "Kayo Kyoku Plus". I've come to know her as someone who can weave some keyboard-driven magic into her pop music, and this time, I found this particular track from her November 1991 4th album"redeem".
"Koi wa I na Mono"(Love is a Great Thing) with its contemporized jazz by Hiramatsu through the keyboards and real saxophone must have been inspired by some sort of old Hollywood musical from the 1950s. Sure enough, her lyrics describe a setting that could be found in some screwball comedy with music or in an early 1990s Japanese comedy-drama as a couple bicker at 100 km/h throughout most of the song represented by Hiramatsu and her singing partner, musician-songwriter Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）. They really did give the vocalese a good shot.
By the end, though, it looks like everything is just swell and dandy, and the song ends with an almost identical rendering of the title. As for "redeem", it peaked at No. 11 on Oricon.
Almost a month ago, I wrote about a friend giving me some LPs that he no longer wanted and one of those records was Minako Honda's（本田美奈子）June 1986 2nd album"LIPS". Well, another gift was "KICK OFF", the debut album by the first aidoru supergroup that lyricist Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）created back in the 1980s, Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）. Looks like along with the title, someone really wanted to put in that rugby theme for the album cover and liner notes.
Released in September 1985, just a few months after Onyanko Club's most famous song and debut single, "Sailor Fuku wo Nugasanaide"（セーラー服を脱がさないで）first got sold, "KICK OFF" not only has Single No. 1 in there, but also "Makka na Jitensha"（真赤な自転車）which I've also written about. And regarding "Sailor Fuku", I never mentioned who exactly was singing lead for that number, so I'll mention it here: Eri Nitta, Miharu Nakajima, Satomi Fukunaga and Kazuko Utsumi（新田恵利・中島美春・福永恵規・内海和子）.
Kicking off the album (pun intended) is "Ijiwaru ne, Darlin'"（いじわるねDarlin'...You're Mean, Darlin'） with Akimoto behind the lyrics (as he is for all of the tracks on "KICK OFF") and Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）on the melody here and one more song. Etsuko Yamakawa（山川恵津子）provided the arrangement and keyboard play for "Ijiwaru ne, Darlin'" and yep, it sounds like my image of the typical Onyanko Club song and a happy-go-lucky 60s bubblegum pop tune about all that adolescent lovey-dovey stuff. Along with Nakajima, Mika Nagoya, Ruriko Nagata, Aki Kihara, Harumi Tomikawa, Sanae Jounouchi, Mamiko Takai and Rika Tatsumi（中島美春・名越美香・永田ルリ子・樹原亜紀・富川春美・城之内早苗・高井麻巳子・立見里歌）were behind the mikes.
I thought that "Natsu no Christmas"（夏のクリスマス...Summer Christmas） was just another coy title really talking about enjoying the summer holiday. However, it looks like Akimoto wanted the narrative for this surprisingly groovy track to cover both summer and winter with the romance beginning on Christmas Eve and spanning into the hot season several months later. Ken Takahashi（高橋研）and Jun Sato（佐藤準）covered composition and arrangement respectively, the same duo behind "Makka na Jitensha". Nitta, Nakajima, Fukunaga, Utsumi, Nagoya and Takai were on deck here.
It's just Fukunaga and Utsumi for the first track on Side B of the original LP, "Ai no Ronri Shakai"（愛の論理社会...Moral Society of Love）, and for me, it's the surprise of "KICK OFF". This isn't only because of Akimoto's hot lyrics about a potentially May-December romance starting from a hotel bar and graduating into the hotel suite (as sung by a couple of teenagers...but then again, didn't we have Momoe Yamaguchi the decade before?), but also because the arrangement and music by Yamakawa really take "Ai no Ronri Shakai" into the realm of evening City Pop. Plus, on guitar is none other than Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）! I think that I'll have that martini right now.
"Hayasugiru Sedai"（早すぎる世代...Too Early Generation） was composed and arranged by Jun Sato and it was the B-side to the "Sailor Fuku wo Nugasanaide" single. Fashioned as some teenage rebellion against the parents for trying to restrict the girls' wants to explore the world in all ways, again I hear some of that cute 60s and the adorably somewhat off-tune vocalization by the Club. The liner notes have the entire group singing but according to J-Wiki, the "front" vocals are provided by Nitta, Nakajima, Fukunaga and Utsumi.
One more tune that I'll throw in is "FEN wo Kikasete"（FENを聴かせて...Let Me Hear Some FEN） sung by Nitta and Nakajima with Matsuo on melody and Yamakawa on arrangement and keyboards. For those who may not know, FEN was known as the Far East Network, a group of American radio and television stations serving the US military in Japan and other areas in the Pacific Ocean (it's now known as American Forces Network Japan). It's indeed a nice-and-light aidoru tune but that intro had me first thinking of something more Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）-friendly synthpop. Akimoto's lyrics weave a story of a romance taking place over a couple of nights at least, and I guess listening to FEN was considered to be a sign of becoming mature and worldly.
"KICK OFF" scored a No. 2 ranking on the Oricon weeklies and it ended up as the 41st-ranked album of 1985, pretty auspicious feat for this large aidoru group. I was pleasantly surprised since I had been expecting just the usual bubbly 80s aidoru fare but instead got a few curve balls as well among the tracks. It certainly sounds like Akimoto wanted to bring in a few different composers and arrangers into the mix.
I've always wondered about this photo of singer Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）that I got from one of her albums. Perhaps she was planning to witness the Kentucky Derby that day. Not sure.
(12:06)
Anyways, earlier today I did write that article for Kaori Kozai's（香西かおり）"Stage Light" and noted how that 2021 single reminded me of some of the Fashion Music/Baroque Pop that Kurahashi had sung back in the 1980s. Interestingly enough, it's been over a year since I last wrote about one of my favourite singers so let me bring her back to the blog.
First off, that title of "Aikagi", which I couldn't find on Jisho.org or some of the other Japanese-English dictionaries, stymied me a bit. Then I realized that there was another kanji for the first character of that expression with the same pronunciation:「合鍵」, and that means "spare key". I also noticed on the JASRAC database that there was another song with the same title of 「哀鍵」that had the subtitle of "spare key". So, perhaps there was a pun being played with that character of 「哀」which actually means "sad", and often enough, whenever I see songs with that title, I get the distinct lyrical impression that the spare key is hinting at some sort of illicit affair taking place in an apartment somewhere and that the relationship is perhaps heading toward a cliff or a wall of some sort; in other words, it's not going to end well.
But with these lyrics by Seiko Yoshida（吉田聖子）, there is the gently lilting melody by Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）that has the feeling of a particularly baroque waltz taking place on the dance floor. This is definitely in Kurahashi's field of crooning expertise and fully remembering her doe-eyed visage, I can picture her in some French café looking rather balefully at the rainy weather outside. It's a short-and-bittersweet number that is a part of her 1984 album"RUIKO".
Everybody by now knows about my penchant for putting up photos either at the beginning and/or the end of my articles. The above is a photo of the view outside of my good friend's apartment in the district of Musashi-Kosugi in Tokyo. I would have loved to have put up an actual photo of the topic of today's Creator article, lyricist and music critic Reiko Yukawa, but I couldn't really find one from a site that would have allowed me to post it up without any sort of potential complaints in terms of copyrights. But in a way, the photo of the dramatic city view can be considered apropos since it kinda fits my impression of Yukawa in terms of some of the songs that she has helped create. From what I find out from her J-Wiki biography, she has written Japanese songs across the spectrum whether it be a pop love ballad by Akiko Kobayashi to a Latin-infused kayo sung by enka heartthrob Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）. Referring to that image, though, whenever Yukawa's name pops up in my mind, I usually think urban contemporary in Japan, namely J-AOR and City Pop for some reason.
And the song that pops up consequently is "Long Version"(ロング・バージョン) from 1983 by mellow crooner Junichi Inagaki（稲垣潤一）. As I posited in the article for the song, this is one tune that deserves to be heard while looking at my top photo and sipping back a bourbon.
However, arguably, her most famous work might just be on Akiko Kobayashi's（小林明子）"Koi ni Ochite"（恋におちて）from 1985 with those wistfully sigh worthy lyrics about falling in love. I've sung it in karaoke a number of times but of course, I had to change one line (with all due respect to Ms. Yukawa): "I'm just a HU-man, fall in love". I sounded somewhat like a Ferengi when I sang that (all you Trekkie kayo fans can chuckle quietly now).
But for some information on Ms. Yukawa. She was born in Meguro Ward, Tokyo in 1936 with her father being a captain in the Japanese navy and a great-grandfather who had been the man to introduce the beloved brand of pear known as La France to Japan among other famous relatives. In 1953, she took her first steps into show business by debuting as a stage actress and appearing in movies. Yukawa had even entertained the troops at American military bases in Japan as well, and through an old boyfriend, she started gaining an interest in jazz. In 1959, she was employed as an interviewer and a jazz critic for the Japanese magazine, "Swing Journal", following which she also got gigs as a radio DJ and a commentator on TV wide shows. In fact, I was surprised to find the above video in which Yukawa in her twenties appeared on an old American game show I used to watch as a toddler, "What's My Line?"
In 1965, Yukawa wrote the Japanese and English lyrics for "Namida no Taiyo"（涙の太陽）as sung originally by Emy Jackson. Now I'm not sure if this song was the very first contribution by the lyricist but it's the entry that does come first in her bio about her songwriting so you can take it as you will. And I didn't find any information about how Yukawa gained her prowess in the English language but she certainly did well on "What's My Line?" and she is also listed among her other credits as a translator.
I guess there was something about the music of Americana that stayed with Yukawa since she contributed to a number of The Chanels' hits such as "Runaway" (1980). The band is now known as Rats And Star (ラッツ&スター).
Yukawa also provided lyrics to 80s aidoru such as Yui Asaka（浅香唯）. I haven't applied a fine-toothed analysis into the lyrics that she has written but my initial impression is that she worked on songs with a bit more of a dynamic edge for the Japanese teenyboppers. The above is "Hitomi ni STORM"（瞳にSTORM...Storm in Her Eyes） which was composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）. Incidentally, both Yukawa and Inoue were also responsible for the aforementioned "Runaway". "Hitomi ni STORM" was released as Asaka's 7th single from May 1987 and it went all the way up to No. 4. It is also included on her 3rd album"Rainbow" from the same year.
Anison was also an area that Yukawa dabbled in. For example, she provided the lyrics for the soaring Kanako Wada（和田加奈子）theme to "Kimagure Orange Road"（きまぐれ・.オレンジ☆ロード）, "Natsu no Mirage"（夏のミラージュ）. And she was also behind the words for one of the opening themes to another 80s classic anime "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）, "Sunny Shiny Morning"（サニーシャイニーモーニング）from 1987 by Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）.
Do you remember The Monkees? Sure you do! Watching their Saturday-morning program was one of my rituals way back when. Davy Jones was the cute little British member that all the girls fell for. Plus, it seems as if he had an effect on folks in Japan since I did see him time and again show up on variety programs over there. Well, I found out from Yukawa's bio that she and Inoue once again got together to weave a disco tune just for him back in 1981 titled "Maho de Dance"（魔法でダンス...Dance, Gypsy）. No idea how the song did on Oricon, but I rather noticed the Roy Orbison riff that Inoue placed in the song.
(instrumental cover version)
I'd like to leave off my exploration here with another Junichi Inagaki tune, "Ame no Asa to Kaze no Yoru ni"（雨の朝と風の夜に...Rainy Mornings and Windy Nights） from August 1996 as his 34th single. It's pure Inagaki here with Toshiaki Matsumoto（松本俊明）behind the mellow melody. Yukawa's lyrics seem to describe a contented couple some 10 years into their marriage walking through the park. The song got as high as No. 83 on the charts and is a track on his 16th album"PRIMARY" from September in the same year. It made it up to No. 30.
The trigger that finally had me writing up about Yukawa was on seeing an NHK interview of the now-80-year-old lyricist recently. I found out through the J-Wiki bio that she is a huge fan of Elvis and The Beatles, and she gave an anecdote to the interviewer about the time that she actually got to interview the Fab Four in 1966 at what may have been the Hotel New Otani (one of the places that I taught at for years). The story is also listed in J-Wiki, but apparently although Paul, George and Ringo were really nice to Yukawa, John Lennon was not exactly the most welcoming sort, and in fact, simply snubbed her. Some years later after The Beatles had broken up, Yukawa got to interview Lennon on his own and asked him point-blank about his attitude back then. John also remembered the cold shoulder he gave and apologized as he explained that at the time, a long line of sycophantic politicians was lining up to meet the band and he simply got really pissed off at the lot and thought that Yukawa was one of the same folks.
I still don't know all that much about the life and times of Reiko Yukawa but I've got the feeling that she has amassed an iceberg's worth of stories over the past 50 years. As for an impression of her lyrical style, I can only give a surface opinion since I have yet to go through all of her songs and I know that the list given in J-Wiki is not comprehensive, but from what I have gone through, I gather Yukawa is a student of love in all its aspects.
Another Friday night in the big city, so it's time for another visit from Martin, aka Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）with one of his cool nighttime hits. Tonight's feature is "Koibito"(Lover) which came out in April 1993 as his 16th single. And as has been the case for a lot of his solo efforts since the late 80s, "Koibito" is one of those songs that I would love to hear on the stereo while driving down the metropolitan highway in Tokyo. It just seems perfect while viewing the illuminated skyscrapers as I'm zipping about in a Testarossa...or more likely, a taxi. Hey it's all good.
"Koibito" was composed by musician Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）and written by Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）. Nishio had also written Martin's biggest hit, "Mou Namida wa Iranai"（もう涙はいらない）about a year previously, and has also provided lyrics for songs by Anri （杏里）and Crystal Kay. This particular single didn't meet as much as success as that previous single, getting as high as No. 8 on Oricon but again I'm not complaining at all. It's still a great J-urban contemporary song.
Strangely enough, I first heard it when it was used as the campaign song for the Lawson convenience store chain back in 1993. I was here between tours of duty in Japan, so it must have been through the commercials on some VHS tapes that I'd gotten from friends back over there. It's probably the most dramatic song for a place selling bento and oden that I'd ever heard. And although it originally came out on his 6th album, "Perfume" in September 1993, I was able to get my own copy through his 2nd BEST album in 1995, "Martini II".
Aside from the perpetual sunglasses and the shorter hair, I'd always thought that Martin had a passing resemblance to a fellow R&B star across the ocean, Lionel Richie, thanks to that shared lantern jaw. And I just had to show one of my favourite hits by Richie and for that matter, one of the coolest R&B ballads, period, in my estimation, "Love Will Find A Way". This is another great drive-in-the-city-at-night song.
Happy New Year, everyone! After JTM's, Marcos', and J-Canuck's
great entries on what they consider the best of the best in 80's Japanese
music, it's time for me to offer my take. To be honest, I've never
earnestly thought about such a list before because I liked talking about songs I enjoy on their own without isolating others. But given the occasion and everyone's enthusiasm for this project, I gave it a go. Picking out only 10 songs
from the hundreds and thousands that go through my ears on a regular
basis wasn't an easy task for sure, so I reflected on what obstacles
I used to face with making rankings and decided that my Top 10 list
would focus on songs that remained fresh and memorable to me even
after multiple listens and those that basically influenced my taste
in old Japanese music as I grew up with it from a preteen into an adult.
This ended up sounding similar to J-Canuck's criteria, but at the end
of the day, music is personal and so are rankings.
Moreover and to spare further
headaches, I decided to avoid ranking these from least to most
favorite. So the order in which I listed these songs doesn't matter,
since they're all equally special to me for their own unique reasons.
1. Off Course -- Kotoba ni Dekinai [オフコース -- 言葉にできない] (1982)
There isn't a single ballad out there
that makes a bigger emotional impact on me than this one. With its
resonant melody and Kazumasa Oda's heartfelt vocals, it's one of the
most genuine love songs dealing with heartbreak. Some emotions don't
require words, just like the “la la la”s that ring throughout the
refrain. I first heard Oda's remake in a 2006 film “Tegami”, and
from then on I sought other songs by the singer and the early 80's
pop scene that the song belonged to. I was never a fan of ballads up
to that point, yet “Kotoba ni Dekinai” alone changed that
mindset. That's why it's so important to me.
There were tons of candidates for my top technopop song, but Yano's quirky and sweet “Hitotsudake”
just had to be the one. That melody cannot be mistaken for any other,
and the technopoppy synths that build up in the bridge and drive it
towards the chorus give this happy-go-lucky song a nice edge. I can't help but smile whenever I listen to it. It reminds me of my best friendships and long-lasting bonds. While it was
not the first time YMO contributed to Yano's solo material, I think
“Hitotsudake” and the whole “Gohan ga Dekita yo” album was when the quality of their work was at its height. It was also the first technopop song I liked before warming up to YMO's individual sound.
3. Minako Yoshida -- Town [吉田美奈子 -- TOWN] (1982)
Whenever I think of City Pop, this song
always pops up in my head. Right from that multilayered urban sound
containing some of the most thrilling bass, drumming and horns I've
ever heard, it proudly declares “This is a big city!”. Yoshida may
not be someone who sells many records, but she definitely has a lot
of talent and has proven to be one of Japan's greatest R&B and funk artists. It's interesting to note that only about half of
the song features her singing, while the rest goes into an epic
instrumental rampage that brings to mind a sleepless city. And I never want it to end.
For pop-rock I've decided to nominate
Sano's bluesy ballad “Heartbeat”. The live arrangement featured
above is the one that particularly strikes me. Must be the tingly
synths right before the chorus. Love everything about this song: the introspective melody, emotional saxophone, Sano's
tough yet vulnerable delivery, and the harmonica that closes the
piece with a melancholic mood. Sano has intrigued the listeners
with his talent and versatility over the years, and this song was one
of the earliest examples of that. I always have to stop what I'm
doing and focus whenever this comes on my mp3 player, and this has already happened many times.
I've been a fan of Japanese New Wave
for nearly 10 years now, always thinking back to Moonriders and how
they furthered my interest in Japanese music as a creative force of
its own. This song just works as it crosses many genre boundaries
like folk, pop and doo-wop while remaining perfectly structured and
melodic at the same time. That's basically my formula for a great
song: adventurous but easy to follow. Moonriders were one of the
first artists to show me that (before I came across New Music and City Pop). This is one of those songs that you
can come back to again and again and still pick out interesting
details. And there's that eccentric wonder to the melody that I've
found inspirational for some reason.
Somewhat related to Eiichi Ohtaki's
sudden passing last month, Moonriders' drummerTetsuro Kashibuchi (かしぶち哲郎) lost battle to esophageal cancer on December 17th. What a way to end the year.
6. Tomoko Tane -- Katakoi Doumei [種ともこ -- 片恋同盟] (1986)
“Katakoi Doumei” may not have been
a single, but it was surely the most impressive highlight in Tane's
second album “Minna Ai no Sei ne.” and my personal favorite from
her catalogue. It's both dynamic and ethereal at the same time, kind of
like an action-packed children's story book. The way Tane switches between
the titular and secondary lyrics in the chorus as the background rhythm beats
like a clock is just wonderful, and there's a beautiful twist to
the melody in the center of the song. Whoever came up with that synth
arrangement was clever in making an ordinary tune into something
more.
7. Rebecca -- One More Kiss (1988)
I was never a big fan of Rebecca minus some songs, but this one is simply delightful. It's hard for
me to find words to describe how beautiful it
is. And even with the
nostalgic sound, it remains timeless at the same time. Growing
up in the 90's, I first only enjoyed 80's music for its novelty factor, but hearing songs like sparked my interest even further. Then I realized they don't really make music like this anymore. I particularly enjoyed the slight reggae touch to the
arrangement in the verses and instrumental bits. Also,
Nokko's vocals in the song strike a nice balance between sweet and sensual, something that appeals to me.
Hats off to the video director for providing all the gorgeous visuals and
making the song even more special.
Shortie but a goodie. There have been a
mini-trend in the 80's of reviving the sounds of the 50's and 60's
thanks to acts such as The Checkers and Ohtaki. Not to take anything
from them, but I have to say that Matsuo's debut single “Itoshi no
Rosie” will always be my favorite when it comes to these retro throwbacks. Matsuo originally started off as a member of a British-style pop/techno group Cinema in 1981 before he went solo and polished
the old style even further. His debut single is full of charming
instrumentation especially the drum beat and percussions which I've gotten quite
addicted to. And even though the lyrics are kinda cheesy, I think the eclectic
arrangement makes up for it. The song just “sparkles”, for the
lack of a better word.
9. Mari Iijima -- Ai Oboetemasuka [飯島真理 -- 愛・おぼえていますか] (1984)
I apologize for a slight overlap with
JTM's list, but as far as 80's idol pop goes, Iijima's
signature song will always be the most memorable for me and not
because of its connection with “Macross”, which I never watched.
For me, Iijima has always stood out from the crowd thanks to her unique high vocals and in this one she sounds more beautiful then ever. And let's not forget Kazuhiko Kato's chill-inducing melody. This is basically my go-to track for reminiscing the good old days.
(15:25)
10. Yoshitaka Minami -- Jules et Jim /
Totsuzen, Honoo no Gotoku [南佳孝 -- 突然炎のごとく] (1986)
Last but not least, Minami's mysterious
jazzy number from his excellent album “Last Picture Show”
provides a perfect soundtrack for those late-night walks to my
apartment I have to take on a regular basis. I particular enjoy the surreal foggy ambience created by the fusion between the haunting synths and
strings in the foreground and the muted trumpet in the background.
Minami's relaxed yet sharp vocals glide with the music seamlessly. Not surprisingly, the title and the music were based on
Francois Truffaut's New Wave classic “Jules et Jim”, and there's
certainly a sense of the film's elegant setting guiding the melody. It's a masterfully crafted track, in my opinion.
So that's it. There were many strong candidates that
had to be pushed aside, so I hope to give them their own recognition in more genre-specific rankings which I plan to do later. It sure does feel strange to narrow down
a decade-worth of good music to a tiny list like this, but it was an educational experience nonetheless. Most of these may not have been successful on Oricon and
some weren't even singles, but they're still great tracks in my book.
I tried to make this list as diverse as possible, but I must say that
I only take punk and avant-garde in small doses and still have a long way to go with rock in general, so I stuck with poppier material which I'm more comfortable writing about. Perhaps we'll get a new contributor in the future who is an expert on those?
