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.
I was in contact with a Kei Marimura（真梨邑ケイ）fan, Bree, in the last few days and that person mentioned the song "Shiseikatsu" (Private Life) which was a 1986 single for the jazz-and-City Pop singer who made quite the career turn when she also opted to become a hardcore porn actress. And yes, that also did pop up very briefly in the conversation.😎
"Shiseikatsu" was one of the first songs that I'd heard by Marimura and way back when, I couldn't find it at all on YouTube so it was a case of reluctant relinquishment and forgetfulness that the song left my memory. But Bree's contact got me back to this interestingly arranged song so I'm quite grateful and it's great that "Shiseikatsu" has finally made it onto YouTube. As for Bree, it was a case of falling for the song when first encountering it on J1Gold back in the pandemic days.
There are a couple of City Pop hands behind the creation of "Shiseikatsu". Lyricist Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子） weaves the story of a woman psyching herself up for a possibly sinful night with a fellow in a hotel room while Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）comes up with the melody that starts off with a keyboard sounding akin to a warning alarm (accompanied by some sexy sax) as if the lady is entering some mightily dangerous territory before the song jumps into a more relaxing warm bath of slow groove and sophistication (rose petals and candles optional). Even Marimura has this rather off-kilter bent to her vocals which may be reflecting the lady's trepidation; once she enters that suite, she's not coming back to her normal world.
I gotta admit that Yuuichi Ikuzawa's（生沢佑一）"Racer" which belongs to his first solo album"Mysterious" from 1983 is one of the more intriguing City Pop songs that I've encountered. Starting off like a romantic tune belonging to a soundtrack on a 1950s Douglas Sirk melodrama, "Racer" then hits the familiar City Pop road with plenty of brass and chorus to fuel the singer's vocals.
The arrangement, however, also sounds similar to a very languid West Coast take on "Xanadu" as if the characters from the Olivia Newton-John movie decided to take five and hang ten along the California shore. That's quite a bit of style stuffed into a track that's a fair bit less than three minutes. Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）, who helped out on Akira Terao's（寺尾聡）"Reflections", wrote the lyrics while Keiichi Katagiri（片桐圭一）took care of the music.
Back in 2022 and 2023, I wrote up a couple of articles on the singer Yuriko Ohmori's（大森有里子）1981 single"Rai Rai Mirai"（来・来・未来）along with its B-side "Fuyu no Hito"（冬の人）. I could quickly realize that Ohmori was trying for something different with her two songs that skirted with Fashion Music and exotic kayo territory.
Well, the former NHK announcer only released two singles with the second and final one being "Mahou" (Magic) in 1982. For it and its B-side "Night Train", Ohmori was responsible for composition, while Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）took care of the lyrics and Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）arranged everything. By the way, just from what I've heard in the lyrics, it sounds like "Night Train" starts off the YouTube video with "Mahou" starting up at 3:18.
"Night Train" is a bit of old-fashioned sophisticated Latin-tinged pop mixing in some New Wave. Think of a tropical nightclub on an island that was partially designed by Syd Mead...anyways, that's what I envisage here. As for "Mahou", there is some tango in the urgent arrangement with some of those sound effects thrown in.
One more PS...I mentioned about the website idol.ne.jp in the article for "Fuyu no Hito". I'd been using that as a reference for some of the more obscure aidoru and other female singers over the years. However, it seems as if it's been taken down for some reason.
Late last month, I posted trf's "lights and any more" which was the opening theme to the 2007 anime adaptation of the long-running franchise "Wangan Midnight"（湾岸ミッドナイト...Bayshore Midnight）. It was an appropriately high-energy drink of a song sprinkled with some rock guitar.
Well, there was the early 1990s part of the franchise that was on video and in live-action. Specifically, there was "Wangan Midnight IV" which came out in 1993. The song that would finish the movie as you can check the time stamp for the video up on top was the official theme "Watashi wo Omoidashite ~ Raison d'etre"(Remember Me) by Kei Uehara（上原ケイ）. The soulful ballad was written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composed by JADOES guitarist Kazumasa Denda（伝田一正）, and it was also part of an album titled "Wangan Midnight Flash Back ~ 8 Image Songs" which was released in 1994.
According to the Japanese music blog "Music Avenue", the album itself was produced by JADOES and it's basically the final product that the funk group created before disbanding. "Watashi wo Omoidashite" has so much nocturnal soul coursing through its veins thanks in part to that saxophone that pretty much everyone listening to it is obliged to lean against a brick wall (or an expensive sports car) outside at midnight and light up a cigarette while letting the curling smoke get reflected through the passing car lights. I also found out that Uehara is a stage name for Chizuru Urata（浦田千尋）who mainly acts and sings in musicals.
I enjoy getting a little surprise in the form of yet another new discovery from a singer that I've always liked. Actor-singer Akira Terao（寺尾聡）has been someone that I've covered since the earliest days of the blog starting with his No. 1 "Reflections" album and his City Pop entries are very much cherished by me.
Well, whaddaya know? I found this one for the first time in his discography. "Long Distance Call" just happened to be Terao's 6th single from December 1982, and the same team who was helping out the singer-songwriter on "Reflections" gave their contributions here, too: lyricist Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and arranger Akira Inoue（井上鑑）. "Long Distance Call", a song about getting that unexpected midnight ring in the dark metropolis, is quite the rambunctious AOR tune most likely reflecting the tumultuous feelings roiling about the protagonist's mind and soul about this call from far away. The horns coming in near the end are a nice touch, too.
I remember placing my first long-distance calls while abroad in Japan. They weren't nearly as dramatic as Terao's phone calls but I had to figure out things such as collect calls, person-to-person, and station-to-station. Still not too sure about the difference between those last two.
Last month, I made a discovery within Hideki Saijo's（西城秀樹） long discography that hadn't quite surfaced although it earned the late singer a Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards in 1981. His September 1981 39th single"Sentimental Girl"（センチメンタルガール）was a very pleasant old-fashioned rock-n'-roll and pop tune that fit the man like him and denim.
The B-side to "Sentimental Girl", "Moonlight Party", especially with City Pop maestro Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）behind the music and arrangement and Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）as the lyricist and that title itself, might hit the eyes and brain as an urban contemporary number to contrast with the the feeling of the A-side. However, that's a definite no. "Moonlight Party" continues the good ol' rock-n'-roll and doo-wop times with some twangy country thrown in for good measure. And once again, my head was doing a nice little nodding here and there as it did its three minutes and change.
"Begin the Beguine" is the old standard that was concocted by the legendary songwriter Cole Porter back in 1935, and its various iterations have been with me since I was literally a baby. For one thing, the sultry nightclub-friendly Ann-Margret cover with a touch of bossa nova in its jazz (although a beguine is a form of slow rhumba) was on that RCA Victor "50 Years Of Hits In Stereo" set that my parents had gotten along with the stereo.
Since then, I've also gotten familiar with Julio Iglesias'1981 take on "Begin the Beguine" which was arranged in the disco fashion although disco was pretty much dead (or hibernating) by that point, I gather. The song even made its way onto NHK's 1983 edition of the Kohaku Utagassen when both Red and White teams got together for their usual kick-out-the-doors musical tribute. Porter would have loved it. Too bad that it hasn't gotten onto YouTube.
Entertainer Akira Nishikino（錦野旦）, who I've known primarily for his 1971 hit "Sora ni Taiyo ga Aru Kagiri"（空に太陽がある限り）, followed Iglesias' Latin disco style and recorded his own Japanese-language take on "Begin the Beguine". This was Nishikino's 27th single from June 1982 with Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）providing the Japanese lyrics and the great Katsuhisa Hattori（服部克久） arranging everything pretty closely to the Iglesias version.
Well, I guess this is a first, providing two Kazuko Ishibashi（石橋和子）songs on KKP in a calendar year.
Up to now, the articles on singer-songwriter Ishibashi have focused on tracks from her 1981 album"Nice to Meet You" (including the last article on her) since that's the only one I've known due to its presence in the book "Japanese City Pop". I managed to find a track though from her 1982 release"Nora ga Tobira wo Akeru Toki"（ノラが扉をあけるとき...When Nora Opens the Door） with the beaming face of the singer-songwriter smack dab on the cover.
"Fuyu ni Sayonara" (Goodbye to Winter) is the final track on Side A of the original LP according to Discogs, and although there is a City Pop sax instrumental bridge in the song, I wouldn't really place it within that genre. There is also a feeling of Fashion Music in the European-ness floating all about but in the end, I've categorized it as a pleasant pop ballad written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫） (nope, Ishibashi had nothing to do with its creation this time). Would be interested in hearing some of the other tracks from the album, and for that matter, I'm wondering who the heck Nora is.
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.
Through this video, I've read that Akira Terao's（寺尾聰）"Natsu Arashi"(Summer Storm) is available on his compilation "Twin Best". But that was from 1998 and this song sounds like one of his bouncy tracks from his 1981 mega-hit album "Reflections".
As it turns out, "Natsu Arashi" is indeed a much earlier creation. In fact, it hails from his December 1983 album"Atmosphere", which has also been dubbed "Reflections 2". Sounding like it could have easily been included in "Reflections", "Natsu Arashi" also has the same folks from that album: Terao himself composing it, Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）behind the lyrics and Akira Inoue（井上鑑）taking care of the arrangement. Accordingly with that bouncy homegrown City Pop beat, the lyrics also take on a similar form as to those from the singer's classic "Ruby no Yubiwa"（ルビーの指輪）in that they don't describe a happy situation as a couple's relationship seems to be coming apart at the seams, so that storm isn't really a meteorological one. Too bad about the kids but dang, is it fun to listen to!
Decided to apply some Art Deco to a future metropolis via Bing. I've always liked my Art Deco.
It's been a while since I've posted this underrated singer, Minako Ito（伊藤美奈子）, who embraced the City Pop scene in the 1980s. The last time was back in November 2022 when I wrote up on her "Velvet Blue"（ベルベット・ブルー）. Today, it's on one of the tracks from her October 1982 debut album"Tenderly", "Kinou kara no Eshaku" (A Tribute from Last Night).
Composed by Ito and written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）, I'm fortunate to have found the English translation of the lyrics at Genius.com, and it deals with a woman who suddenly remembers a past love affair that is most definitely in the past tense but she still has fond memories. Being a sucker for City Pop Fender Rhodes, "Kinou kara no Eshaku" definitely had me in its spell right from the intro. The bass and the shimmery strings didn't hurt either. Thanks, arranger Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）, especially for that key change into the coda.
"Namida no Step"（Tearful Dance Steps） is the best pop song by Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）with a multi-layer chorus that I'm really into. With a bittersweet aspect and a romantic taste that brings to mind 1960s girl pop, this brilliant revival of the genre in the 1980s probably only has one other comparable example which is Eiichi Ohtaki's（大滝詠一）"Long Vacation". This song, which has the premise of being dumped at a dance party, is the female version of "Koi suru Karen"（恋するカレン...In Love With Karen）, one of the tracks in "Long Vacation".
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
Kaoru Sudo's（須藤薫）"Namida no Step"(Tearful Dance Steps) will be up as another entry in the "Yutaka Kimura Speaks"City Pop masterpiece series in some weeks' time, so I've decided to go ahead it and give it my own shot.
Her April 1982 single was written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）, composed by Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）and Kazuo Horiguchi（堀口和男）with the two working with Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）on arrangement. There have been a few of Kimura's choices in his list of 100 masterpieces that has had me scratching my head since they didn't really strike me as being City Pop. "Namida no Step" is another one of those. It's more along Sudo's familiar and comfortable line of 1950s/1960s girl pop as she sings about a young lady's fears of losing her beau forever. I can imagine Sudo herself dancing on the floor dressed in that classic bobbysoxer outfit.
On the same day that "Namida no Step" was released, Sudo's 3rd album containing the song, "Amazing Toys" came out onto record store shelves. The album reached No. 77 on the charts.
From tomorrow, a good friend of mine will be experiencing what probably will be one of the biggest highlights in his professional life. Even from before the pandemic, he and others had been planning this huge Japanese-English translators' conference to be held in downtown Toronto and finally as of this weekend, everything will be coming into fruition. All success to him. As the Klingons would say: QA'PLA!
What can I say about this song which happens to be the second track in Casiopea bassist Tetsuo Sakurai's（櫻井哲夫）1986 debut album"Dewdrops"? "In the Distance" is quite the wondrous thing swirling together all of these genres: boogie, City Pop, bossa nova and jazz. At this point, all of the KKP entries on Sakurai have centered on the tracks within "Dewdrops", and it's no wonder, it just seems like this quiet masterpiece of an album.
As I said, the bossa is there but then we listeners also get this boogie shuffle beat accompanied by an organ which reminds me of the arrangement in Donald Fagen's"Walk Between Raindrops", the final track on another legendary album "The Nightfly" from 1982. Last but not least, the smooth vocals of Kyosuke Kusunoki（楠木恭介）that I remember from his own wonderful album "Just Tonight" groovily caress the whole she-bang. By this point, though, Kusunoki had already changed his first name to Yukoh（楠木勇有行）. The music was provided by Sakurai with arrangement by him and Yuji Toriyama（鳥山雄司）while the lyrics were written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）. If you have a chance, you can give the first track "Refresh!" a try as well.
We're on the verge of completing our first weekend of 2024 and the coming week ought to be giving us the financial version of a hangover following the usual Holiday spending spree: the bill for the credit card. Let's all prepare some aspirin in advance here. At the same time, though, let's also savor the presents that we have gotten (unless you've already exchanged them). In my case, I did the usual beneficial exchange between myself and KKP old hand JTM with me sending over a City Pop compilation CD and a book while I got some albums from him including this one that you see above.
Yasushi Akimoto's（秋元康）first gigantic aidoru group a couple of decades before AKB48 was Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）, whose file is also fairly big here on KKP. Along with postings of songs by the main group including for the surprising album "KICK OFF", there are articles for the individual singers and two of the subgroups. My initial assumption had been that Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi（うしろゆびさされ組）and Ushirogami Hikaretai（うしろ髪ひかれ隊）were twin groups in existence at the same time, but actually with one of the members of the former team graduating from Onyanko Club, Ushirogami Hikaretai was formed in 1987 in response with Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）, Akiko Ikuina (生稲晃子) and Makiko Saito (斉藤満喜子). Marcos V. in fact provided an article on their 2nd single"Anata wo Shiritai"(あなたを知りたい) almost a decade ago (man, time flies).
Anyways, I wanted to take this time and space then to post about some of the songs on Ushirogami Hikaretai's 2nd album"BAB" which was released in March 1988. Now my theory on how that name came about had been that when "BAB" is said in katakana, it sounds like what a cute Japanese baby might say or what an adult might say to that baby to amuse him/her. However, according to J-Wiki, the letters stand for the members' blood types: Kudo=Type B, Saito=Type A, Ikuina=Type B.
The first track is "Honey", a pretty muscular aidoru tune written by the late Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composed/arranged by Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）, and yep that bass of his is powering it. The rest of those instruments are also conspiring to weave a tale of intrigue, desire and confrontation on a dance party night.
"Hora ne, Haru ga Kita"（ほらね、春が来た...You See, Spring is Here） which is Track 2 on "BAB" is also the trio's 4th single from February 1988. All of those synthy sounds have had me placing this as a techno aidoru tune by lyricist Akimoto and composer Goto. It really is quite catchy with the warp speed tempo and there are riffs galore with the keyboards and percussion racing for the border. All that excitement for the arrival of spring. Then again, Torontonians ache with that feeling every year. The single peaked at No. 6 and it also became the 90th-ranked single for 1988. It also was used as the second opening theme for the anime "Tsuide ni Tonchinkan"（ついでにとんちんかん...Miraculous Tonchinkan） that had its run from 1987 to 1988. There are also a couple of other themes for this anime included in the album.
There's a bit of 1960s "Georgy Girl" pop in the arrangement of "Bab Call" by lyricist Kenzo Saeki（サエキけんぞう）and composer Yuuji Okiyama（沖山優司）. Reading the lyrics, apparently the BAB girls are inviting the listener for a bit of an innocent bath together. Innocent....right.😨
Kudo was already carving out her path to superstardom in her solo career at the time of "BAB", and here she is with her own solo song on "BAB", "Hikishio"（引き潮...Ebb Tide）. Goto was behind the mellow travel-friendly melody while Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）provided the lyrics of a woman walking alongside the beach while on a trip reminiscing or trying to forget a just-ended romance. I think it just about enters Resort Pop range with its languid pace in demand of a cocktail.
My final contribution here is the final track which is a dance remix version of "Hora ne, Haru ga Kita" known as "The Turntable Mix", and you know back in the 1980s, it was basically de rigueur for a whole bunch of songs to have adaptations ready for the dance floor. Mind you, it's hard to imagine a Ushirogami Hikaretai song up with "Boom Boom" and "Bizarre Love Triangle" in the disco, but you never know...maybe at a ComiCon perhaps.
Anyways, "BAB" peaked at No. 6 on Oricon. I'll have to cover the remaining tracks in a separate article or even cover a few of them on their own.
"Shadow City" is truly a fresh number with the idea of Terao（寺尾聰）scatting throughout the first half of the song. Even within this celebrated hit album arranged by Akira Inoue（井上鑑）, this song's arrangement still stands out when I listen to it and in addition, the backing performance by the members of the band Parachute is splendid. The aesthetic sense of Inoue, who saw a bit of Pierre Balou in Terao, really injected something into the Japanese music scene.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised"(2020).
"Weekend Game" is a nice and medium-tempo song from Jin Kirigaya's（桐ケ谷仁）4th album backed up by Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）band and Kazuo Shiina's（椎名和夫）arrangement that goes well with a summer afternoon nap. Having to leave his girlfriend at the office in the city who's busy with work, a fellow spends some carefree time at the weekend resort by himself while naturally waiting for her. For a guy, it really is the ideal weekend trip. No matter where you are, it's a comfortable tune.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
I heard the title "Chōjū Kishin Dankūga"（超獣機神ダンクーガ...Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God） before but I don't recall ever seeing the 1985 anime. It provided the first starring role for veteran seiyuu and actor Kazuki Yao（矢尾一樹）as the fiery and talented pilot Shinobu Fujiwara（藤原忍）.
Recently though, I heard Yao through a different mike, that of the singing variety despite the occupation of singer not being placed onto his J-Wiki profile, although a brief discography does appear near the bottom. The song he sings is "Bad Luck September" which was a track on his 2nd album"Destiny 28" from March 1988, and I think that he acquits himself well with his vocals through this slow urban ballad. I figure that the title along with the fact that September is the beginning of fall in Japan, a time of romantic heartbreak in terms of Japanese song lyrics, pretty much says it all about what is going on in the story. Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and Hitoshi Haba（羽場仁志）took care of words and music respectively.
"Bad Luck September" apparently is included on DJ NOTOYA's 2018 City Pop compilation "TOKYO 1980s Victor Edition (The Compilation) Boogie, Funk & Modern Soul from Japan" through services such as iTunes. However it doesn't seem to be included on the tangible CD version sold at places like Amazon.
As I've said before, coffee connoisseurs will probably shoot at this drink with a Magnum .357 since Georgia's Max Coffee is basically liquid coffee sugar. And I loved it, especially during those torrid summer months in Japan. I'm talking about summer today despite it being still April because we just got a rare early taste of the hot season (which will continue for at least one more day) with a record-breaking high of 26 degrees Celsius. The T-shirt and shorts were on and I need to have the electric fan at my back as I'm typing this.
I've had a store of summer kayo ready to go when the official start of summer comes in a couple of months, but I think I can spare one to commemorate the warm day today. Late 1970s aidoru Hitomi Aki（秋ひとみ）already has one song up here on KKP and to join it, I have her 4th single from July 1979, "Summer Melancholy". A pretty refined aidoru tune with a bit of metropolitan Latin spice along the lines of Junko Yagami's（八神純子）"Omoide no Screen" (思い出のスクリーン）although "Summer Melancholy" hews a bit closer to the conventional kayo rather than New Music.
The polish on this one may be due to not only the songwriters consisting of lyricist Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composer/arranger Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）, but also to the guys in the recording studio behind Aki such as Goto himself on the bass, Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）on the electric guitar and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）on the synthesizer. The story in this one isn't a new one; it goes into a lady's thoughts after sadly getting out of a love triangle following a torrid love affair. Have your sangria with this one.
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.
