Bruce Cockburn/Barenaked Ladies -- Lovers in a Dangerous Time

World Atlas via Wikimedia Commons

On this blisteringly hot day, Canada is 159 years old. Happy Birthday to the Great White North! Personally, I'm trying to stay cool in my room with the decades-old electric fan helping me out. 

Of course, being a national holiday and all, Reminiscings of Youth will be having a special article today (along with the regular weekly one tomorrow) to commemorate Canada Day. Glad to read that Ottawa-born singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn (pronounced KOH-bərn...like James Coburn) is with us at the age of 81. Forty-two years ago in 1984, he released his "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" which became a Top 40 hit here and a long resident on the music video charts on television. There were some contrasts here: 1) the contrast of young teens finding fresh new love during a time when the spectre of the Cold War was still looming large and 2) Cockburn's button-down and soothing pop-rock arrangement meshed with a performance video of what I could describe as something quite avant-garde Cirque du Soleil. 

In Canada, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" reached No. 24 on the RPM charts while on US Billboard, it peaked at No. 56.

Barenaked Ladies was a band born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. It's nicknamed Scarberia because of how desolate parts of it can look like during the winter (just look at the music video) but it also has a ton of restaurants of all nationalities that can keep people very happy and fed. Anyways, Barenaked Ladies was the same band behind the theme song for the long-running American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", and they've been a bunch of good local boys who love to rock with a sense of humour. I first found out about them through a friend's car tape-cassette recorder when he was playing a compilation of their stuff which included their cover of "Lovers in a Dangerous Time". 

It's a friendly, folksy and peppy take on Cockburn's original and watching Ed Robertson and the gang perform from the back of a pickup truck while it drives on the streets of Scarborough in the dead of winter is probably one of the most Canadian things I've ever posted on the blog. Their cover first appeared on the 1991 Cockburn tribute album "Kick at the Darkness" and it was released as the band's debut single in 1992.

The original song peaked on August 18th 1984, so why don't we see what was hitting the top of the Oricon charts a couple of days later? Let's go with a scattering of songs here with Nos. 5, 7 and 10.

5. Mariko Takahashi -- Momo Iro Toiki （桃色吐息）

7. Southern All Stars -- Miss Brand-New Day

10. Mari Iijima -- Ai Oboeteimasuka? （愛・おぼえていますか）

Mariko Takahashi -- Tea For Memory

 

Personally, I preferred to have my Royal Milk Tea when I was at some cafe in the Tokyo area but I was also fine with lemon tea, albeit it had to have some form of sweetness like honey in there. 

Lemon tea is also the drink of choice in this lovely Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）song called "Tea For Memory" from her March 1981 4th album "Tenderness". Through Etsuko Kisugi's（来生えつこ）lyrics, it's about a couple of old flames who find themselves together again for just one spot of the drink in a cool cafe somewhere as they go over the memories of their past life together. The story and the music are very genteel and there's no bitterness...not even within the tea.

Composer Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）comes up with a classy set of notes on the song sheet which brings to mind some elegant jazz which matches the setting perfectly. At first, I'd thought that it was Kingo Hamada（濱田金吾）behind the composition, although I've known that the Kisugi siblings have often come up with the refined stuff. I especially like the very amiable guitar intro after which Mariko's beautifully lilting vocals perfume the ears just so. After writing such florid prose, I'm actually eager to have a cup of tea myself although I won't go as far as sticking my pinkie out when I lift the cup.

Mariko Takahashi -- Denwa（電話）

 

Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to marinate within the celebration that is our 1000th article for 2025. 

Maybe we can have a party after all. No refreshments or snacks, though.

I knew that for the 1000th article, I just had to devote it to one of the singers that I've known the longest since I got into this whole kayo kyoku stuff decades ago. And this time, that happens to be singer-songwriter Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）. She will be appearing on the Kohaku in several hours' time for the 7th time to perform her 1984 hit "Momo Iro Toiki"（桃色吐息）, and most likely, she'll be once again the oldest participant to ever appear on the NHK special.

However, I have this very lovely track from Takahashi's May 2002 25th album "Time of Love" titled "Denwa" (Telephone). It's a very simple title for a soulful ballad about holding the torch for someone even though he's long gone. Still, the lady here apparently keeps phoning his empty apartment once a day although she knows full well that no one is going to answer. My question is wouldn't the landlord have already cancelled the line? But no need to be logical here...it's a fine song that was written by Takahashi and composed by Ichiro Terada（寺田一郎）. I hope all the best for Mariko tomorrow.

Mariko Takahashi -- Moshikashitara（もしかしたら）

 

Things are getting chillier up here in the Northern Hemisphere so folks are probably hitting the nearest cafe for their lattes and apple strudel. Maybe get together with a few friends for a kaffeeklatsch while surrounded by the final vestiges of the autumn colours.

For a musical representation of this, I can provide "Moshikashitara" (Maybe) by the lovely Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）from her February 1980 album "Sunny Afternoon". Written by Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里綴）and composed by Yasuhiro Kido（木戸やすひろ）, it's quite the warm and folksy country ditty about accepting love for what it practically means: not always happy but something that also includes bad times and forgiveness. Nice thing to think about as we approach the Holidays. Takahashi always does the country music wonderfully.

Mariko Takahashi -- Birthday（誕生日）

 

For the record, and forgive me for sounding like a particular segment on "Entertainment Tonight", actors Jon Favreau and John Lithgow along with Japanese singer-songwriter Jun Horie（堀江淳）were born on October 19th which is indeed today. Of course, for all of you born on this day, a Happy Birthday to you all!

Kinda sad though that this B-side to Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）second solo single "Yume Yurari"（夢ゆらり）from May 1979 is so bittersweet. Both the A-side and "Birthday" were actually part of the soundtrack for the NTV drama "Ai to Shi no Zesshou"（愛と死の絶唱...A Superb Poem of Life and Death）. Written, composed and arranged by Kuni Kawachi（クニ河内）, the folksy and relaxing song reveals a heartbreaking breakup on a young man's 20th birthday. What a way to start adulthood but it can be an ultimate life lesson. 

Apparently, "Birthday" was in limbo for many years since it had never been attached to any particular album by Takahashi but then it was added as a bonus track to a 2021 new release of her 1979 solo debut album "Hito Aruki"（ひとりあるき...Walking Alone）. Before that, it had also been included on her BEST album "Takahashi Senshuuraku"（高橋千秋楽...Takahashi's Final Show） in 2020.

Mariko Takahashi -- Mo Ichido Romance ~ Machikado Monogatari（もいちどロマンス ～街角物語）

 

As I pointed out in the September 2014 article for Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）1984 album "Triad", this was the first album by her that I got in the form of an audiotape when my parents had granted my wish for a couple of her albums after returning from Japan on vacation back in 1985. This was after hearing her magnificent voice a number of times via the CHIN-FM radio program "Sounds of Japan". She really stood out like a blossom in the pop field when compared to YMO's technopop and Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）aidoru music.

Although I covered a number of tracks on "Triad", and separately, another track and one of Takahashi's biggest hits "Momo Iro Toiki"（桃色吐息）, I'm happy to say that I hadn't done this particular song which ends Side A of the album. "Mo Ichido Romance ~ Machikado Monogatari" (Romance One More Time ~ A Street Corner Tale") is a poignant ballad about hoping for and perhaps getting that second chance at love in a small neighbourhood. The lady has seen her former beau on the streets but not made eye contact, afraid that powerful emotions may well up once more.

Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）, composed by Issei Okamoto（岡本 一生）under his new moniker of Akira Okamoto（岡本朗）, and arranged by Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）, "Mo Ichido Romance" is a quiet down-home ballad which is as sweet as the meet-cute-again possibilities in the story. It indeed contrasts as the B-side with the smoky exotica of "Momo Iro Toiki" which was released as a single in May 1984.

Mariko Takahashi -- Wine no You na Kiss（ワインのようなKiss）

 

It's quite the amazing statistic, even among all of the other Japanese music veterans, but as of next year, Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）will be celebrating her 60th anniversary as a singer and songwriter. Here's hoping that she's staying active and healthy.

Although my memory gets a bit wobbly occasionally, I don't believe that I have covered Takahashi's October 1981 5th album "Lovendow", so in all likelihood, I have yet to make any postings about Track 4 on the album, "Wine no You na Kiss" (Kisses Like Wine). One would think that with a title like that, the song would be more of a love ballad.

However, "Wine no You na Kiss" is actually quite the spritely samba-infused tune, a genre that Takahashi has had an affinity for. Written by Chinfa Kan（康珍化）and composed by Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）, it starts out like a disco tune then runs into the dramatic city beat before going all major-key upbeat over that samba rhythm with a vengeance. Those horns, especially that trumpeter, love their Maynard Ferguson apparently and that's OK since the song probably describes what a typical Friday or Saturday night in Tokyo must have been like back in the high-flying 1980s.

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）

Oh, Those Camellia Diamonds CM Songs（カメリアダイアモンド）

 

Back in the 2010s, I noted through a couple of articles that there was that series of Parliament Cigarette commercials that popped up late at night. Those were famous for showing off some classy scenes of the high life, a lot of it based in Manhattan where the beautiful people were having the time of their lives at some swanky soiree. Meanwhile, the songs used in the ads were of the Quiet Storm variety: soulful love ballads featuring folks such as Bobby Caldwell and Carl Anderson, both of whom have sadly left this mortal coil. They didn't get me to take up smoking (thankfully), but I still appreciated the commercials for their dreams of the good life.

Well, there has been another series of cool and classy commercials for Camellia Diamonds in Japan over the years, and the thing about these ads is that they have pointedly featured supermodels and female celebrities varying from Lea Thompson to Sharon Stone. The above one is showing off Canada's own Linda Evangelista to the stirring voice of Kahoku Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）. And speaking of that singer, unlike Parliament's use of American singers, Camellia was more than happy to employ Japanese singers and bands with their high-energy goods. You can take a look at the long history of those ads below, thanks to YouTuber pstexe.

So, I've opted to start off this KKP business week with some of my own choices of Camellia Diamonds commercial tunes that I've enjoyed. I hope you do, too.

(1990) Kahoru Kohiruimaki -- Moving Action

(1989) Masayuki Suzuki -- Wakare no Machi (別れの街）

(1993) Keizo Nakanishi -- You And I

(1984) Mariko Takahashi -- Momo Iro Toiki （桃色吐息）

(1987) Kiyomi Suzuki with Rats & Star -- Lonely Chaplin (ロンリー・チャプリン）

I've also put up another Camellia Diamonds song in its own article. Check out Ryoko Moriyama's（森山良子） "Navigation".

Martha and the Muffins -- Black Stations/White Stations

 

Time for some Canadiana once more on the weekly Reminiscings of Youth. Toronto's Martha and the Muffins is a group that has been around since 1977 and I first heard about them through their 1980 rock/New Wave song "Echo Beach", and until today, I'd been planning to put this one here as their introduction to the pages of KKP because it had apparently been the group's one big international hit.

However, I changed my mind at the last minute. "Echo Beach" is fine and all (and I'll probably cover it soon enough this year), but it hasn't been the Martha and the Muffins' song that really caught my ear when I was a callow youth. No, that honour will go to their 1984 single "Black Stations/White Stations". In a few ways, this single symbolized a new moment in the history of the Muffins because not only did they change their name (albeit temporarily) to M+M, the group pared itself down to a duo consisting of vocalist Martha Johnson and founder Mark Gane and they moved away from New Wave to something funkier and more danceable.

I had heard some inkling about the origins behind "Black Stations/White Stations" as the band's indictment against racism in the radio industry but for me, I was just struck by how catchy it was, especially with the percussion and the lyrics "Black stations, white stations break down the doors/Stand up and face the music, this is 1984!". Plus, there was the black-and-white motif in the slightly avant-garde music video. Both the song and music video got plenty of airplay here, and I recall hearing it very often on my radio as I was in my room puttering away at my high school homework.

Sadly and ironically enough, "Black Stations/White Stations", a song criticizing a radio station for refusing to play a song regarding an interracial relationship, was itself prevented from being played at certain other radio stations because of its lyrics. I certainly didn't get that impression here in Toronto. It made it up to No. 26 on Canada's RPM and No. 63 on US Billboard.

Since I couldn't track down the month of release of "Black Stations/White Stations" in 1984, let's go with what had won the major prizes at the Japan Record Awards that year.

Grand Prize: Hiroshi Itsuki -- Nagaragawa Enka (長良川艶歌)

Best Album: Mariko Takahashi -- Triad

Best Star: Akina Nakamori -- Kita Wing （北ウィング）

Mariko Takahashi -- Yume Yurari（夢ゆらり）

 

Veteran singer-musician Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）will be returning to the Kohaku Utagassen in less than a couple of weeks, and I'm wondering what she will be singing. Perhaps it will be her solo debut single from November 1978, "Anata no Sora wo Tobitai" (あなたの空を翔びたい）, the 1984 hit "Momo Iro Toiki"（桃色吐息）that she sang on her first Kohaku as a solo artist, or even "Johnny e no Dengon" （ジョニイへの伝言）, the folk classic that she had sung as the main vocalist for her old group Pedro & Capricious in the early 1970s. We'll probably find out within the next number of days.

As I mentioned, "Anata no Sora wo Tobitai" was her debut single and then her third single was "Heart & Hard: Toki ni wa Tsuyoku, Toki ni wa Yasashiku" （ハート&ハード：時には強く時には優しく）from June 1979. Both songs had been created for Takahashi by singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）and both are wonderful songs that rather cemented my musical image of Takahashi as a chanteuse of New Music.

However, I had never heard her second single from May 1979, "Yume Yurari" (Dream Swaying). Written by Aki Fukunaga*（福永史）and composed by Kuni Kawachi（クニ河内）, it stands out because the arrangement sounds a little more conventional kayo kyoku (even with the very slight bit of funk in the intro and the mandolin) in contrast to the more Western-sounding New Music or even her folk music from years earlier that she's more famous for. The strings though, which had been a Takahashi arrangement staple, and her vocals are the only things that make "Yume Yurari" a familiar Takahashi song. 

*The given name 「史」has multiple readings according to Jisho so I'm just guessing here. If anyone can correct or confirm lyricist Fukunaga's name in full, that would be most appreciated.

The Works of Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）

 

Once again, we've reached Hump Day or the doldrums of a weekly Wednesday, so as such, I wanted to something a little different. I haven't done a Creator article since "The Works of Ayumi Date"（伊達歩）back last November, so I decided to go with that today. And today's Creator contribution will be on the works of singer-songwriter Koji Tamaki. 

Of course, everyone has known him for decades as the vocalist of successful pop-rock group Anzen Chitai（安全地帯） and as a wonderful solo singer who has the ability to make granite weep. However, he has also provided many songs for other singers over the years as well. His band had developed a certain recognizable sound in their music in the early days but I've found that Tamaki the composer was more wide-ranging in the melodies that he has concocted for others.

(1983) Mariko Takahashi -- Gokai（誤解）

The second track from Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）"Garland" album, "Gokai" (Misunderstandings) wasn't a song that was a hit with me initially. I was still in my early phases of appreciating music from all over, and this mix of playfully sultry pop strut and light reggae was perhaps a little much for me at the time, but fortunately, time and experience have proven fruitful. I could easily imagine Tamaki handling this solo but he can still be heard backing Takahashi.

(1984) Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

To be honest, if you had told me in the old days that Tamaki had been responsible in creating the melody for one of Akina's（中森明菜）biggest early hits, I would have just scoffed. Perhaps it was due to the arrangement and of course the singer's then-high vocals, but it sounded like a typically dramatic aidoru tune and nothing related at all to Anzen Chitai. However, I've learned that being able to go beyond the sound that a singer has been recognized for and provide something that fits the other singer's style is an asset.

(1986) Yuki Saito -- Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa （悲しみよこんにちは）

I would have said the same thing that I did for the above Akina tune for one of Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）most famous songs, "Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa", and it also happens to be one of the most famous anison for one of the more beloved anime "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）. Mind you, the first few measures of the song has reminded me a bit of the old Anzen Chitai sound but the rest of it is pure breezy melodic optimism.

(1985) Seri Ishikawa -- Ai no Bunryo（愛の分量）

The technopop aside, there is something rather Tamaki-esque in the melody for Seri Ishikawa's（石川セリ）"Ai no Bunryo" (Amount of Love). In some of those Anzen Chitai songs and Tamaki's own solo discography, there have been signs of secrecy or sneakiness, and in fact, Tamaki's own countenance has had those certain saturnine qualities. I think "Ai no Bunryo" has a dollop of that as well as some of that racing guitar which reminds me of him, too. 

(1993) Kaori Kozai -- Mugonzaka（無言坂）

Now, the whole impetus behind me putting up a Creator article for Tamaki is this song right here. When I was watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）yesterday, the show devoted some of its minutes on the Japanese utahime who included enka singer Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）. Ironically, although the Kozai file on KKP is quite healthy, I realized that I had yet to include what is arguably one of her greatest hits, so here it is.

"Mugonzaka" (The Silent Hills) was indeed composed by Tamaki, so he can provide music for enka as well. And the melody is sweeping and earthy (perfect for a go-touchi song) as it envelops the lyrics of Mitsuhiko Kuze（久世光彦） (although he went by the pen name of Mutsuki Ichikawa「市川睦月」 for "Mugonzaka") who came up with them based on the hills within his hometown of Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture. Kuze's lyrics talk of a local romance that has gone so far off the rails that one can no longer go home again in all meanings of the phrase.

Released as Kozai's 6th single in March 1993, "Mugonzaka" won the Grand Prize at the Japan Record Awards that year as it hit No. 10 on Oricon. It would end up being performed five times at the Kohaku Utagassen between 1993 and 2007, and as the biggest tribute, "Mugonzaka" has been covered by a number of artists including Tamaki himself in his 2012 "Offer Music Box".

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Yuzo, Seiko & Mariko

 

Yuzo Kayama -- O-Yome ni Oide （お嫁においで）

Seiko Matsuda -- Aoi Sangoshou （青い珊瑚礁）

Mariko Takahashi -- Jazz Singer

Mariko Takahashi -- Shinkirou（蜃気楼）

 

As I've probably mentioned in the past, when I first really got into music at the turn of the decade going from the 1970s into the 1980s, my vocabulary for describing music wasn't all that bountiful. "Funky enka" was the best I had to describe City Pop at the time. I can now also add that my appreciation for a lot of music by Japanese singers that I had only just discovered back then hadn't been all that evolved either. It's kinda like when I was little and at the time, I couldn't stand pickles in my McDonalds hamburgers. Why would anyone put something so sour between meat and bun? Well, now I do appreciate pickles as something that provides another taste angle and cuts through the heavier meatiness of the burger.

For me, as I was learning to navigate through what I enjoyed in Japanese and Western pop music as a high school student, I was more drawn to the "sweet" and "meaty" stuff: the hit songs and/or those tunes that just had that irresistible hook. If I were to focus my analysis on the works of one particular singer, I can do so with singer-songwriter Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）. I first fell for the former vocalist of Pedro & Capricious（ペドロ&カプリシャス）when I heard her on "Sounds of Japan" in the early 1980s, and it was the sophisticated pop balladry of songs like "My City Lights" and "...for you" and that amazing voice from my favourite album of "dear" that grabbed me hook line and sinker.

However, there were other songs of hers that didn't quite grab me at the time just because the 80s instruments seemed so pedestrian (as I used to hear them ad nauseum on television shows of the decade) and the arrangements were a little too out of touch. One such song was "Shinkirou" (Mirage) which first appeared on her September 1985 album "Mellow Lips" but also got its own single release in January 1986.

Of course, now that the 80s are decades back and with my musical anatomy getting further seasoned over the years, those synthesizers and arrangements don't sound as pedestrian or as weird as they once did, so I now have gotten a second wind as it were with something like "Shinkirou". At one point, I was ready to give this one the technopop label but I realized that the song wasn't about the novelty bloops and bleeps; it was more about getting this song out as a pretty dramatic pop or City Pop number that could have adorned any Japanese cop show. And in fact, "Shinkirou" was used as the theme song for Fuji-TV's "Natsuki Shizuko Suspense"（夏樹静子サスペンス...The Shizuko Natsuki Mysteries）.

Written by Goro Matsui（松井五郎）, composed by Toshio Kamei（亀井登志夫） and arranged by Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）, "Shinkirou" the single managed to reach No. 31 on Oricon. As crazy as it sounds, the song got an even deeper 80s revamping (including orchestral hits) when it was presented as one of the tracks on Takahashi's BEST compilation "Voice ~ Special Best" from March 1994.

By the way, it looks like I'm going to end up reviewing "Mellow Lips" piecemeal rather than in one article so you can also take a look at some of the other tracks: "Jun" (ジュン）, "New York, New York", and "Mayoi Bato no You ni" （迷い鳩のように）.

Mariko Takahashi -- Hitoaruki (Part 2)（ひとあるき）

 

Yesterday, I posted Part 1 covering chanteuse Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）March 1979 debut album "Hitoaruki" (Walking Alone) and so I'm completing it with Part 2 tonight. It's been a nice trip through the genres as the Hiroshima Prefecture-born singer exercises her wonderful chops for the first time as a solo singer.

Seeing that there were a total of ten tracks on the original LP, I'm assuming that Track 6 "Oide Summer Holiday"（おいでサマー・ホリディ）which I have already covered in its own separate article (you can click the link in Part 1) starts off Side B. So we go onto Track 7, "Otozure"（訪れ...The Visit） which is a short but very sweet and slightly woozy and boozy bossa nova-inflected song about a visit by a lover which, let's say, is a bit bigger than a pleasant arrival for tea and cake (maybe for breakfast, perhaps😎). Yasuhiro Kido（木戸やすひろ）was responsible for the melody while the lyricist could be a man or a woman named Aki Fukunaga or Kumi Fukunaga（福永史）. According to Jisho.org, the kanji for that first name could be read in different ways.

The next track is "Futari no Monogatari"（二人の物語...Story of Two）, a bittersweet tale of a woman walking alone in the rain, being reminded when it used to be the two of them taking their walks before fate intervened and they split up. Takahashi has also been one of those few singers in Japanese pop music that also reveled in doing the occasional song with that country ballad lilt, and this is one of them. It doesn't always stay maudlin though as the arrangement by Shinichi Tanabe（田辺信一）takes things into something brighter and hopeful in the chorus. "Futari no Monogatari" was written and composed by Kuni Kawauchi（クニ河内）who had created "My Dream" from Part 1.

Takahashi has always had a deep and rich voice and she goes slightly even deeper here as she tackles Track 9, the melancholy "Yoru no Kao"（夜の顔...Face of the Night）. Written by Rei Tsushima（津島玲）and composed by Kiyoshi Hasegawa（長谷川きよし）, the song about what I think is a lady in the mizu shobai industry going about her evening business with a sense of resignation and necessity comes off in the arrangement as being dramatic to the point of being almost chanson. That intro also had me wondering whether this was going to be a Fashion Music tune but the arrangement veers things back into adult contemporary and perhaps a bit of classical pop.

From the heaviness of the previous song, we come to the final track for "Hitoaruki", "Chiisana Watashi"（小さなわたし...Little Me）. It's a love ballad composed by City Pop and jazz songsmith Kingo Hamada（濱田金吾）, and I've found the collaborations between Takahashi and Hamada to be some wonderfully tenderhearted songs such as the one they would do later, "Jazz Singer". Both Takahashi and the aforementioned Fukunaga for "Otozure" worked on the lyrics about a woman who feels warm, safe and beloved in her partner's embrace. The ballad also feels like a lullaby of sorts and I recall that at least a few of Takahashi's other albums ended in the same manner as if she knew that fans would listen to them later into the wee hours of the night so that the final track would help to send them off to la-la land.

In any case, "Hitoaruki" is an album that Takahashi fans probably already have as a must-own, but for those who are starting their exploration into the Japanese pop music of yore that doesn't involve aidoru or enka, I can recommend this one as an album for those who could enjoy the adult contemporary with the foray into the romantic.

As a PS, I have to say that it was listening to "Chiisana Watashi" that prompted me to talk about the entire album. I had originally planned to just write about that final track from 1979 and then also introduce Takahashi's own cover of the ballad in her most recent album of covers, "Mari Covers" from June 2019. The newer version has been fortified with some bossa nova.

Mariko Takahashi -- Hitoaruki (Part 1)（ひとあるき）

From Tower Records

Singer-songwriter and musician Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）has been one of my favourite chanteuses in Japan for over 40 years, and as such, I have gone over a few of her albums such as her 1981 third album "Tenderness", although because of the usual powers-that-be issues, the best I've gotten for that one at least is the link to the Apple site. Maybe for this one, her March 1979 debut album as a solo artist, "Hitoaruki", I can bring in some of the videos for the music.

"Hitoaruki" means "Walking Alone" and it's a good title since Takahashi, who just turned 30 at the time, was making her foray alone in music without the support of her old band, the flamboyantly named Pedro & Capricious（ペドロ&カプリシャス）. Although I can't say that I'm an expert on the group, during Takahashi's time there as the vocalist, they probably focused more on the folk and rock of the 1970s, basically New Music. As a bit of an aside, I have to say that the soft-focus picture of her on the cover shows one of the best soft perms that I have ever seen for a singer. The lass looks rather uncertain when she really doesn't need to be.

I've already actually covered a couple of the songs from "Hitoaruki": the first track and one of her signature songs, the Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）-penned "Anata no Sora wo Tobitai"　(あなたの空を翔びたい）, and the City Pop "Oide Summer Holiday"（おいでサマー・ホリディ）. There are eight more tracks so why don't we split the difference and try four of them in Part 1 tonight?

Starting off with Track 2, "Te no Hira"（掌...The Palm of Your Hand） is a song that was written and composed by folk singer Masashi Sada（さだまさし）. With Takahashi, it's always been the dramatic and heartfelt vocals and along with the preceding "Anata no Sora wo Tobitai", "Te no Hira" shows off the angst of love via her voice and the lyrics about love beginning with the contact of hands. Perhaps due to Sada's association and where the singer had come from, the song might be heard as a particularly rich folk song but I've opted to consider it another example of the baroque Fashion Music.

The next song is "Sayonara no Etude"（さよならのエチュード...The Goodbye Etude）, is a throwback to the 1950s or 1960s vocal group pop which was also part of the musical realm of another lady making her mark at the time and she also has the same initials as Mariko Takahashi...MT, as in Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）. Created by the sibling songwriting duo of lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ） and composer Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）, it's a tenderhearted plea for a quiet and grateful end to a relationship. Let's remember the good times but look forward to the future without each other.

Track 4 is the slow samba-worthy "You're So Far Away" under the aegis of lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composer Henry Hirose（ヘンリー広瀬）who happens to be another former Pedro & Capricious member and Takahashi's husband. Despite the lyrics of a woman in the aftermath of a romance now over, Hirose's melody sounds perfect for a cocktail accompaniment at sunset. Not sure if it's City Pop or J-AOR so I've thrown both of them into the Labels.

The final track for Part 1 is the inspirational "My Dream"（マイ・ドリーム）which begins like a classic Carpenters tune with that piano and oboe combination in the intro. However it then transforms into a power ballad that Takahashi has become famous for belting out of the park. The lyrics (and music) by Kuni Kawauchi（クニ河内）seem to tell of a story of a woman and her unrequited wishes of romance. Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）was the arranger here.

I'll get Part 2 to you real soon.

Mariko Takahashi -- Blues wo Kikasete（ブルースを聞かせて）

 

I've collected my fair share of Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）albums over the years but I don't have her September 1986 "Forest" so it's always nice to hear something new by the veteran singer-songwriter and musician. And seeing that we are now in the penultimate day of the year, it would be wonderful to start off with something mellow before the raucousness of New Year's Eve takes over. 

"Blues wo Kikasete" (Let Me Hear the Blues) is one of its tracks with Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）handling both words and music, and of course, Mariko lovingly delivers those lyrics as usual. The blues though is simply a request from the chanteuse and not the genre for the song which is very much in the pop category, albeit on a more refined level. I think the only thing that irked me was getting a little too much of that particular instrument near the end whether it was a pianica or an especially twee soprano saxophone. 

Still, I was surprised that it's over six minutes long. It certainly didn't feel that way so for the most part, the song was still enjoyable. 

Mariko Takahashi/paris match -- Mahiru no Wakare（真昼の別れ）

 

My tradition of openly hoping that Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）is doing well wherever she is has also been transferred to pop chanteuse Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）. Ever since I saw a live performance by her several years ago on television where she didn't look very well at all, I've been quite worried.

Back in May 2003, Takahashi released her 34th single "Mahiru no Wakare" (Breaking Up at High Noon), and it's the sophisticated pop-and-soul mixture song that fans have dreamed about. Written by the singer and composed by Kenjiro Sakiya（崎谷健次郎）, it follows the sad story of a woman realizing the mistake she made in letting her past lover go after playing an old record that they had once enjoyed together. Takahashi's sad lyrics aside, Sakiya's melody is heavenly, hinting at a much more romantic rendezvous at night instead of the high noon setting of the song. There's also something in the song that reminds me of Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers' original and iconic "Just the Two of Us". "Mahiru no Wakare" is also included in Takahashi's 26th album "Method" from June 2003.

The soul duo paris match recorded a cover of "Mahiru no Wakare" for their November 2022 album of covers, "OUR FAVOURITE POP Ⅱ ～TOKYO STYLE～". Actually, I discovered this cover first before realizing that it had been a Mariko Takahashi original. To continue on with the old-style soul and AOR comparison, the paris match cover seems to have a bit of Bobby Caldwell "What You Won't Do for Love" feeling in there.

Songs of Doors and Windows (Tribute to Doors Open)

 

Happy weekend to everyone! The final weekend of May in Toronto has traditionally been the one devoted to the Doors Open event. To explain, a lot of facilities in our city which don't usually open to the public generously open their doors for a couple of days for people to explore. I won't be attending this year because of other stuff but I did go to a few places last year in 2022 including the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto as you can see in the thumbnail above. It kinda has that Enterprise-D Main Engineering under mood lighting, doesn't it? Geordi, I'll have a bottle of the Chateau Picard Red, please.

So, I was kinda thinking that out of my personal sense of whimsy that occasionally pops up like gas after having too many beans, I can put up a quintet of tunes whose titles have something to do with portals. To be honest, most of them are doors while I have one window. One of them has also garnered a lot of fame recently, too.

(1980) Tatsuro Yamashita -- Natsu e no Tobira（夏への扉...The Door Into Summer）

(1981) Seiko Matsuda -- Natsu no Tobira （夏の扉...The Gates of Summer）

(1980) Mariko Takahashi -- Uramado （裏窓...Rear Window）

(1979) Miki Matsubara -- Mayonaka no Door （真夜中のドアー...Midnight Door）

(1990) Yumi Matsutoya -- Tengoku no Door （天国のドア...The Gates of Heaven）

Tina Turner -- What's Love Got to Do with It

 

Yesterday, the news came down that the iconic Tina Turner had passed away in Switzerland at the age of 83. As a result, I wrote up a special ROY article then to describe the song where I first got to know Turner, "Proud Mary" from 1971. Her presence on the stage to perform that hit had basically been the lone image that I would have of the singer when I was a kid.

It was going into the 1980s that I actually started getting interested in music on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, so as I was getting into kayo kyoku in Japan, I also got into and purchased American, Canadian and European pop music. What certainly helped was the blossoming of music videos on MTV and Canada's MuchMusic and all of the local music video shows such as "Toronto Rocks". 

Well, a few years into that, I got reacquainted with the Queen of Rock n' Roll after many years through a song titled "What's Love Got to Do with It" which was released on May 1st, 1984. A story of someone going through internal turmoil about falling in love again after getting romantically burned previously, the song by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten struck me as this very calm and grounded tune very much of the 1980s. Naturally, hearing it again brought lots of nostalgia and warm feelings, especially with the sunny video of Turner taking a leisurely walk through New York City. And man, those 80s fashions!😎 To be honest, that image of her in the denim jacket, short black skirt and mounds of hair replaced the one of her singing "Proud Mary".

The Wikipedia piece on "What's Love Got to Do with It" has already stated it, but it became Turner's first and only No. 1 single on Billboard (hit the top in Canada, too) with over 2 million records sold globally. Also included in all of the accolades was that the song won three Grammys: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

I will give my condolences to Turner's family, friends and fans but I have a feeling that the legend is probably and very happily performing all of her discography in another realm.

Seeing that last week's ROY was also a record from May 1984 which I then compared with entries from the Oricon Top 20, this time around, I will go with three of the singles that were released in that month.

Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Main Theme （メイン・テーマ）

ALFEE -- STARSHIP - Hikari wo Motomete （光を求めて）

Mariko Takahashi -- Momo Iro Toiki （桃色吐息）