Isako Washio -- Onna Dooshi ~ Mes amis, mes copains（女どおし）

By Jorge Royan via Wikimedia Commons

Whenever the name of the actress Isako Washio（鷲尾いさ子）comes to mind, I always think of those vitamin drink commercials she did, complete with her own jingle. They were quite popular during my time in Japan on the JET Programme in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

What I hadn't been aware of though is that Washio had already been releasing music since before that big Tekkotsu Inryo（鉄骨飲料）commercial. Although "Tekkotsu Musume"（鉄骨娘）was her debut single in 1990, Washio had released her debut album all the way back in October 1987. Titled "Kanojo no Kaze ~ son vent a elle"（彼女の風...Her Own Wind）, there was definitely an effort on the producers' part to bring some Gallic flavour into the proceedings since a number of the tracks were covers of French songs by France Gall and Francoise Hardy.

One such cover was "Mes amis, mes copains", translated into Japanese as "Onna Dooshi" (Among Women). The original had been sung by pop singer Annie Philippe in 1966, with Jean Hebert Leccia and Andre Raymond Pascal as the songwriters. Translated by Youta Shichino or Nanano（七野洋太）or Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）depending on whether you go with the JASRAC database or J-Wiki respectively, Washio's cover is a bit more synthy and haunting. It feels like dancing a slow waltz in one huge and foreboding castle in France. Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）was responsible for arranging all of the tracks on the album.

Toshinobu Kubota -- Dance If You Want It

 

Haven't seen J-funkster Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）for a while. Hope he's doing fine wherever he is. From time to time, I come across an old song and I react "Why hadn't I written about this one before? I've known it for ages!". It seems like the windmills of my mind have had some rips in the vanes recently.

Anyways, with Kubota, I rediscovered "Dance If You Want It". I remember hearing and listening to it all the way back in my university days and then during my stint on the JET Programme in the 1980s going into the 1990s. It's got quite the funky strut but I'm wondering if this would fall under the New Jack Swing category as well (I'll be waiting for opinions). Written by Kubota and Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄） with the former also handling the melody, it was the lead track on his September 1988 3rd album "Such a Funky Thang!" (and he looks terrifyingly happy on the cover) and apparently it was so catchy that a few months later, the song got its own mini-album or maxi-single treatment which hit No. 2.

Yoko Oginome -- Lazy Dance

 

Wow! I thought that this recording by YouTube channel City Pop Tokyo was so clean and new that I assumed it was an updated and slightly Vaporwave version of the original song. The video image as the song is playing certainly lends to that assumption.

But much to my delight and surprise, this is the original "Lazy Dance", a track from Yoko Oginome's（荻野目洋子） 4th original album "Raspberry no Kaze"（ラズベリーの風...Raspberry Wind） which first hit the record store shelves in April 1986. The album also shares space with Oginome's most famous hit, an English version of "Dancing Hero". 

What can I say about it? Oginome was still seen as the danceable aidoru of the mid-1980s, but with "Lazy Dance" (which isn't lazy at all), I pick up not only on the City Pop, but also some Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）feeling, 70s disco horns, good ol' funk, keyboards that had me thinking Vaporwave in the first place, and even some George Benson on the guitar noodling. It's perhaps Roppongi and Shinjuku of the 1980s all rolled up into one tune. And yet, "Lazy Dance", which is about all of the mind games and insecurity on the dance floor, didn't have Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）anywhere near the song. It was in fact composed by R&B singer Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）with Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）on lyrics and Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）as the arranger.

As for "Raspberry no Kaze", it peaked at No. 8 on Oricon.

Shoko Suzuki -- Sweet Sweet Baby

 

Singer-songwriter Shoko Suzuki（鈴木祥子）has been up on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" five times including this article, but for most of those, it's been as a songwriter. In fact, the only other time that she's had her name on the byline was when former KKP writer nikala provided her 1991 "Sweet Thing" all the way back in February 2013.

Well, allow me to rectify that. I have here her "Sweet Sweet Baby", the coupling song to Suzuki's 5th single "Ai wa Itsumo"（愛はいつも...Love Always） from February 1990. Composed by the singer with Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）taking care of the lyrics and Akira Nishihira（西平彰）and Yoshiyuki Sahashi（佐橋佳幸）handling the arrangements, I would say that "Sweet Sweet Baby" is a calmer love song compared to the power ballad that is "Sweet Thing". Her sweet and breathy voice is accompanied later by what sounds like a steel pedal guitar but the song doesn't really veer into country music territory at all. It's a nice steady-on pop ballad, maybe with a hint of soul thanks to the chorus.

Hiroyuki Izuta -- Kodo no Distance（鼓動のディスタンス）

 

Always great to encounter a City Pop singer that I hadn't heard about before even at this late hour in the world's love affair with the uber-genre. 

Hiroyuki Izuta（伊豆田洋之）is a singer-songwriter from Chiba Prefecture born in 1959 who graduated high school in Tokyo and then went over to the States to study at Illinois State University (I heard another singer-songwriter went to high school in the Prairie State). Then, he transferred to University of California, Los Angeles and got a job in the City of Angels as a piano player. One day, a Japanese music producer met him and I gather that the meeting was a good one since they both went back to Japan and Izuta ended up cutting a single and an album, both titled "Rose Bud Days" in 1984.

Izuta released 16 singles up to 1993 and 7 original albums up to 2014. His third one in December 1987 was "Bless You". From here, I give you "Kodo no Distance" (A Heartbeat Away) which was composed by the singer, written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）and arranged by Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）. The first thing I was struck by was Izuta's resonant voice which reminded me of Billy Joel's own vocals (further enhanced by finding out that he was working at that piano bar in LA), and then there is the very 80s-sounding electric guitar that got me reminiscing over old music videos on Canada's Muchmusic once more. Izuta has been categorized as being a singer of City Pop and rock, and I think that "Kodo no Distance" fulfills that observation.

From the middle of the 1990s, Izuta was very much into collaboration. He worked with Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）and Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）to form the group Piccadilly Circus in 1996 and then the following year, he joined the drummer from the band Tulip（チューリップ）, Masatoshi Ueda（上田雅利）and others to become GAR-YIZ. Then in 1999, Izuta, Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）, Kazuhito Murata（村田和人）and Yudai Suzuki（鈴木雄大）worked together as the unit A,M,S & I, even releasing one album.

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Toshinobu Kubota -- Natsu no Shigosen（夏の子午線）

 

Number: 060

Lyricist: Masumi Kawamura

Composer: Toshinobu Kubota

Arrangers: Toshinobu Kubota and Yoichiro Kakizaki

From Kubota's 1992 album: "Neptune"

Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）is known as a pioneer of Japanese soul, but his talent as a pop song creator cannot also be underestimated. "Natsu no Shigosen" is especially recommended as a refreshing medium-tempo track in "Neptune", one of his more summery albums in his discography. The progression of its easygoing melody fills me with a feeling of liberation and it's the part that I enjoy listening to the most, but that can also apply to Kubota's incredible vocal prowess.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

Miki Imai -- Mikazuki no Saber（三日月のサーベル）

 

Welcome to the middle of May right after Mother's Day. Hope you all had a wonderful tribute to your Moms wherever you are. Sushi was the order of the day for our family.

Another mantra of mine since starting up "Kayo Kyoku Plus" years ago has been "Always check out those B-sides or coupling songs". There is a good chance that you may encounter something wonderful or at the very least intriguing there since that song may have never ended up on an original album or a BEST compilation.

Case in point: the lovely singer-songwriter and actress Miki Imai（今井美樹）. I've been more than happy to fill up the blog with her tunes ever since I began KKP back in 2012 and my thought was that I basically got all of my favourites of hers posted. Well, lo and behold, I did find a song that I'd never heard by Imai and it was indeed a B-side/coupling song for her 2nd single "Yasei no Kaze"（野性の風）, released in July 1987. Compared to her very languid ballad on the A-side, "Mikazuki no Saber" (Crescent Moon Saber) is quite the different animal.

Created by the same people behind "Yasei no Kaze": lyricist Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranged by Joe Hisaishi（久石譲）, "Mikazuki no Saber" is something more for the dance floor...well, as much as a J-Pop song can be. In fact, I swear that Tsutsumi and Hisaishi had Bananarama's "I Heard A Rumour" on the brain when they came up with this one. I don't think I had ever heard Imai attempt something Eurobeat and her voice was getting close to cracking in those higher registers. Well, I can say that it's definitely in the intriguing department and as far as I know, it may not have gotten any other presence outside of the original single. I'll have to thank Crispy French for this post.

Toshinobu Kubota -- Natsu no Shigosen（夏の子午線）

 

I found this in the "Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100" list at the back of Yutaka Kimura's "Japanese City Pop" book as No. 60, so its time in the weekly Friday lineup on KKP will come in several weeks; this week, we're looking at No. 54. 

Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）has been known to me for years since my time on the JET Programme, but I have to admit that this is the first time that I've encountered "Natsu no Shigosen" (Summer Meridian). Well, better late than never as they say, but I'm still rather kicking myself that I've had to discover it this far into the 21st century. Well, better late than nev--never mind!😠

Coming from Kubota's 6th album released in July 1992, "Neptune", "Natsu no Shigosen" is a wonderfully hypnotic soul song that was written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）and composed by the singer himself. Cooing a story of a man glimpsing a lovely young lady on the beach but only admiring from afar, he realizes that he may have lost an opportunity but he is still grateful even for the sight of the lass that is now permanently in his mind. I do love the summery sunset setup of the music and wish that someday, the original recorded version of "Natsu no Shigosen" will make its way onto YouTube, although I'm plenty impressed with Kubota's concert version.

As for "Neptune", the album peaked at No. 3 on Oricon and sold about 480,000 copies.

Ryoko Sano -- Mayonaka no Bouquet（真夜中のブーケ）

 

Welcome to the 1601st aidoru article on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and this one has got a style or panache that actually sent up a thrill up my back when I first heard it. And it all comes down to the observation that a lot of the aidoru tunes especially in the late 1980s have had some really lush arrangements.

Actress and singer Ryoko Sano（佐野量子）hasn't been seen as one of the superstar aidoru along the lines of Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）or Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）but having covered a few of her tunes on the blog over the past few years, she's got some gems as well. "Mayonaka no Bouquet" (Midnight Bouquet) is an upbeat and dramatic tune which was included on her April 1987 album "Moderato". Written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）, composed by Tsunehiro Izumi（和泉常寛）and arranged by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）, I've simply declared it an aidoru tune but one with some sophistication and class...maybe a bit of City Pop here (especially with that guitar and bass) and a bit of Fashion Music there. Sano does indeed sound like a cute teenybopper singer but she's surrounded by a melody which gives the appearance of a lass out in the big city and marveling at the infrastructure. 

Kyoko Koizumi -- NUDIST

 

A couple of months ago, when I was exploring Kyoko Koizumi’s (小泉今日子) extensive discography, one of the songs that quickly grabbed my attention was “NUDIST”.

Included in Koizumi’s 8^th original album “Kyoko no Sayaku Tanoshiku Utsushiku” (今日子の清く楽しく美しく), which was released in February 1986, “NUDIST” is a shocking piece of risqué disco coming from the tomboyish aidoru.

From my experience after listening to her albums, it was quite unusual for Kyon Kyon to tackle this more City Pop-oriented sound, but it’s exactly this combination of disco strings in the background, a sleazy bassline and, especially, Koizumi’s yearning vocals that makes this song work so well.

Interesting enough, “Kyoko no Sayaku Tanoshiku Utsushiku” was divided into two parts, the first one being the “IDOL SIDE”, which included the hit single “Nantettatte Aidoru” (なんてったってアイドル), while the other was called “ARTIST SIDE”. “NUDIST” was the opener of the “ARTIST SIDE”, which included another single, “Majo” (魔女).

“Kyoko no Sayaku Tanoshiku Utsushiku” reached #2 on the Oricon charts. NUDIST was written by Masumi Kawamura (川村真澄) and composed by Toshinobu Kubota (久保田利伸). As for the arrangement, Masataka Matsutoya (松任谷正隆) was the responsible.

Source: discogs

Keizo Nakanishi -- Love Again

 

Why this particular song didn't make it as a jingle for a Camellia Diamonds commercial is beyond me.

"Love Again" is from the golden-voiced singer-songwriter Keizo Nakanishi（中西圭三）early in his career. It served as the coupling song to his debut single "Tangerine Eyes"（タンジェリン・アイズ）from March 1991 and it was written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）against Nakanishi's and Takao Konishi's（小西貴雄）melody. It's a cool and groovy ballad about second chances at love when a man meets his old flame by chance on the stairs leading into the subway. Just hearing the singer's voice soar in the refrain is enough to give me some of the chills that the couple must have felt on those stairs during the rainy evening.

Both "Love Again" and "Tangerine Eyes" are also on Nakanishi's May 1991 debut album "KEIZO ~ Kanawanai Yume mo Atta"（かなわない夢もあった...There Were Also Unfulfilled Dreams） which peaked at No. 57. I'll have to cover "Tangerine Eyes" sometime soon.

Toshinobu Kubota -- Somebody's Sorrow

As much as Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）was really funking it up in the 1990s, I think that I prefer his earlier years in the mid-1980s when he was mixing the R&B and the City Pop. In addition, there was also that wonderful voice of his.

The intro to his "Somebody's Sorrow" hit me right there and then as it goes into some light funk and soul provided by Kubota himself. Masumi Kawamura's（川村真澄）lyrics seem to throw out some tough love about not feeling sorry about oneself since at least one person will not give them the time of day if self-pity's their thing. They have to punch their own way out of the gloom. I guess in a way that this would have been the ideal sort of song for a Japanese trendy drama in the big city back then.

"Somebody's Sorrow" was a track on Kubota's debut album "Shake It Paradise" from September 1986. The album hit No. 11 on Oricon. That background chorus sounds awfully familiar and they should for Japanese pop fans of the 1980s since it is the Amazons.

Mako Ishino -- Boushi（帽子）

 

It's been a while since I've seen Mako Ishino（石野真子）. Being the late 1970s aidoru and then going on to a career in acting and appearing as a tarento, I also have to realize that she also made a transition into straight pop going into the 1980s. Although a lot of folks on this side of the Pacific, which includes orthodontists, will not agree with me here, she was also known for having one of the cuter smiles due to her yaeba（八重歯）or what we would call a snaggle-toothed smile. Since then, Ishino has had that corrected.

Anyways, I have found this track from her October 1985 album "Saffron"（サフラン）called "Boushi" (The Hat). Even though I could find the lyrics by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）, I still couldn't quite understand them so I gather that this was more of an image-laden dreamscape that was being portrayed. It would seem that Mako-chan has found herself in a café and she takes notice of an enigmatic figure under a hat, rakishly slanted over the man's head.  

The composer for "Boushi" was none other than keyboardist extraordinaire Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）, the man behind the City Pop/J-AOR classic "Awakening", and I'm pretty sure that he's also the one behind the keyboards in this particular song. His seemingly delicate playing (along with Ishino's vocals) also adds to the dream-like quality of "Boushi". It's kinda like the equivalent of a cup of chamomile tea.

Yoko Oginome -- Lazy Dance

Yoko's manager: Hey, Yoko? Anri just called. She'd like her style returned right now.

Just joking there. I'm sure that things were amicable if she and Anri（杏里）had ever met back then. I've known for decades that 80s aidoru Yoko Oginome（荻野目洋子）was closer to the (relatively speaking, anyways) danceable and dynamic side of teenybopper tunes when compared to the more conventional cutesiness of her contemporary Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）. Both have apparently dabbled into the urban contemporary genre of City Pop, though.

I'm surprised and delighted that even now that I can encounter material that I'd never heard before by singers that I've been cognizant of like the back of my hand for years. That also goes for Oginome and this song called "Lazy Dance" from her 4th original album from April 1986, "Raspberry no Kaze"（ラズベリーの風...Raspberry Wind）.

This is anything but lazy. It begins with an intro that had me thinking of the stuff that Vaporwave dreams are made of, and "Lazy Dance" overall does indeed sound like something that Anri would tackle during this time, and maybe I can even pick up some Omega Tribe-friendly riffs there, too. I love the horns, especially when they strike me with that 1970s disco feeling. And don't forget that emulation of George Benson and his guitar in the middle there! Someone really went down to town on the production for this song at least.

Lyrics were by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）while the melody was provided by none other than Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）in the really early days of his own career. Although it doesn't really sound like him, maybe he's the one behind the backing vocal of "Please don't let me be lonely tonight...". Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）took care of the arrangement. As for "Raspberry no Kaze", that peaked at No. 8 on Oricon. The album also has the English version of Oginome's most famous contribution to her discography, "Dancing Hero".

Mizuki Koyama -- Kare ni wa Kanawanai（彼にはかなわない）

The first time that I wrote about Mizuki Koyama（小山水城）was through her track, "River Side Café" from her 1985 debut album "Angel's Dream". That particular song was reminiscent of the softer side of City Pop or AOR a la Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）who served as a mentor to Koyama.

Another track is "Kare ni wa Kanawanai" which was also Koyama's single (maybe her only one). Tried to find the translation...according to Google, it came out as "Can't Beat Him", but I'm wondering if it might be more along the lines of "Can't Satisfy Him" or "Can't Meet His Demands". Penned by lyricist Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）and composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, "Kare ni wa Kanawanai" contrasts with "River Side Café" in that it sounds more like an 80s R&B-tinged dance-pop number with Sheila E. helping out on percussion. If I were to compare her with a singer, perhaps Cindy is the one.

When things get back to normal, I will have to see about getting "Angel's Dream" if it's still available.

Rie Miyazawa -- MU

It’s something we all know, but let’s just say it again: Rie Miyazawa (宮沢りえ) is a really weak singer. Period. However, her debut album, “MU”, is one of my huge guilty pleasures, since it perfectly sounds like a 1989 aidoru pop album should sound… at least in my mind. Released later in the aforementioned year, more specifically in November, the production is ridiculously dated for nowadays standards, but I can almost feel how fresh it sounded back then with all those sparkling synths and overall happy melodies. Also, the front cover, with the quirky-faced Miyazawa and strong pink background, is quite iconic and a great showcase of the excesses that permeated Japan’s bubble era. Only Chisato Moritaka (森高千里) and the cover of her “Hijitsuryokuha Sengen” (非実力派宣言) album, released in the same year, could possibly compete with “MU” in this department, if you ask me.

Talking about the songs, while “Dream Rush” is the well-known and catchy single produced by Tetsuya Komuro (小室哲哉), I like that the bright “Gokigen na Heart” (ごきげんなHeart) is the introduction to the album, since it’s easily my favorite from the whole collection. Another one of my favorites is third track “A.B.CD”, with its more laidback, gentle and even sophisticated vibe. Also, let’s not forget how the traditional-sounding synths are among the main charms of this song.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7vphjc

(4:39 for "Himitsu ga Ippai")

Yeah, I could totally live without the jazzy “Watashi wa Nani?” (わたしは何？) or the boring ballad “Waiting for You”, basically because Miyazawa needs the big, over-the-top production in order to mask her weak vocals, and those two songs are not good examples in this particular department. Instead of them, I like how cheerful the two euro-driven songs, “Yume Mite Goran yo” (夢見てごらんよ) and “Himitsu ga Ippai” (秘密がいっぱい), are. They unabashedly share their familiar sound with many songs released by other late 80s female aidoru singers, like Akiko Ikuina (生稲晃子) for example, but that’s probably why they’re so nostalgic and comforting in the first place.

(Unfortunately all other videos from the album were taken down.)

After “Yume Mite Goran yo” and “Himitsu ga Ippai”, I feel the album loses momentum,  and that's because of some not great slower and mid-tempo songs (reasons stated above). Still, last song, “Most”, kinds of returns to the mildly upbeat euro sound that made the album work, but it's not on a par with the best songs offered by Miyazawa on “MU”.

Even though Miyazawa did find some success in her singing career during her prime, I think, at least nowadays, she’s better remembered as an actress. As for “MU”, although I can’t say it’s great, I find it the perfect 1989 album, because it encapsulates the mainstream aidoru pop side of the market really well with all the “plastic” excess it showcases both in sound and image. For me, it’s a good reminder of how this particular side of the music industry sounded back then, and, somehow, it becomes even more valuable when we remember how Japan’s pop music was changing in the decade shift.

Tomoyuki Asakawa -- Prologue for The Five Star Stories/Yoko Nagayama -- Hitomi no Naka no Faraway（瞳の中のファーラウェイ）

One of the legendary titles of anime that has been heard in the winds surrounding me all these years is "The Five Star Stories".

I had never seen the March 1989 movie although there was an opportunity back in the early 90s when my anime buddy and his buddies decided to hold a presentation of it at the University of Toronto at the Robarts Library complex. As it turned out, I couldn't see it that evening since I actually had a night class so basically it was just seeing the opening title and then coming back to meet the guys for a celebratory dinner.

Well, I finally caught it at my buddy's place the other Sunday. And yup, after getting home, I spent some time reading up on all the palace intrigue and characters including Ladias Sopp since I couldn't quite understand what was happening at first glance. But man, was it gorgeous! It's been a long time since I'd seen anime characters drawn that way.

Plus, I have to tip my proverbial hat off to the person behind the movie score, Tomoyuki Asakawa（朝川朋之）. The prologue for the soundtrack is especially quite sumptuous, heralding the epic story to come. When things start rolling from 1:37, I got that ASMR feeling down the back of my neck. There was that John Williams feeling although not just from any movie, but specifically from 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". At the same time, and perhaps it is strange for me to say this, but that galloping theme reminds me of overtures that have populated many a 1950s romance flick in the opening credits. Golden Quickpen font titles race through my head!

One tidbit that I found out about composer and harpist Asakawa is that he used to be a member of the rock unit Ryudogumi（竜童組）, led by singer-songwriter Ryudo Uzaki（宇崎竜童）. Asakawa took on the name of Taro Tanaka（田中太郎）at the time and manned the electric harp.

While the ending credits were scrolling up, I was surprised to hear a song that I have heard before but not within the confines of "The Five Star Stories". And to further add to the surprise is that it's current veteran enka singer but then-aidoru Yoko Nagayama（長山洋子）who sang "Hitomi no Naka no Faraway" (Far Away in Your Eyes).

I mean, it didn't quite fit the tone of the movie but it's still a happy enjoyable aidoru tune by Nagayama, and it's one that I've heard somewhere a number of times before...most likely during one of my buddy's anison hours. This was her 15th single released in February 1989 and was written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）and composed by Masato Ishida（石田正人）. The single managed to reach as high as No. 27 on Oricon.

Hanako Asada -- Doubt!

As much as I talk about the iceberg for kayo kyoku in general, I also have to say that there is a smaller iceberg out there representing all those 1980s aidoru with the 10% above water being the superstars or the pretty successful teenybopper singers. My impression has been that there were hundreds of young teenage girls representing the underwater 90% who were groomed for the big stage but only had a brush with that spotlight for a few years.

Perhaps one of them was Hanako Asada（麻田華子）, nee Hanako Manabe（真鍋華子）, from Tokyo's Fuchu City. Winning the grand prize at the 2nd Annual Touhato All Raisin Princess Contest back in 1987, aidoru Asada debuted with the single "Suki♡Kirai"（好き♡嫌い...Love/Hate）in February 1988 at the age of 13.

A few months later, Asada came out with her 2nd single "Doubt!", a high-tempo and super-cheerful tune that should have been pulled over for speeding. Written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）, who knows something about writing for high-energy singers, and composed by Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）, "Doubt!" is doubtlessly a catchy tune thanks to the rollicking beat and Asada's chirpy vocals, especially that "WoooOOOooo!" that she adorably uses to good effect. In the song, Asada sings gleefully about how much girls can really be trusted.

Asada's short career as an aidoru lasted until the summer of 1989 with a total of 5 singles and 2 original albums. However, about a decade and a few name changes later, she became part of a singing and dancing trio called Trinity with 7 singles and 1 album under their belt. Currently, Asada is retired after getting married.

Toshinobu Kubota -- You Were Mine

That must have been quite the time for the trendy dramas in the late 1980s when the young characters enjoyed an improbably luxurious life and had jobs that were usually described in katakana such as kopiiraitaa（コピーライター）or dezaiina（デザイナー）.

I found another one of those dramas tonight. Well, it's actually just the opening to be precise, but the credits for "Kimi no Hitomi wo Taiho suru!"（君の瞳をタイホする!...Your Eyes Are Under Arrest!）have that nostalgically goofy Chaplinesque appearance as trendy drama stalwarts such as Takanori Jinnai（陣内孝則）, Toshiro Yanagiba（柳葉敏郎）and Atsuko Asano（浅野ゆう子）clown about (well, the first two actors anyways).

The theme song, "You Were Mine" was performed by none other than Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）who was gaining a reputation as the up-and-coming funky singing dude. Compared with a lot of his later stuff, though, I think "You Were Mine" tends toward the poppier side of things, but still has a goodly dollop of that urban contemporary vibe to it. Nothing like some citified music to launch a show about happy and breezy romantic life in Tokyo. This was his 5th single released in February 1988.

Kubota took care of the music while Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）provided the lyrics. It did very well on the charts as it made it all the way up to No. 3 on the Oricon weeklies, eventually becoming the 10th-ranked single for 1988. "You Were Mine" was also a track on his BEST compilation, "The Baddest" which was released in October 1989. That album hit No. 1 and became the 2nd-ranked album for 1989, becoming a million-seller.

Toshinobu Kubota -- Shitsui no Downtown （失意のダウンタウン）

Oh, how those singers started out in the beginning. Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）and Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）with those huge helmets of hair singing those sweet aidoru tunes in the early 1980s, Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）with that high nasally teen heartthrob voice in the early 1970s, and SMAP starting out in T-shirts and skateboards going from the 80s into the 90s.

Then, we have J-funkster Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）when he first started out in the mid-1980s. Looking at that picture of his first single "Shitsui no Downtown" (Downtown of Disappointment), one of the YouTube commenters remarked that he looked like actor Yuji Oda（織田裕二）. That is indeed one big puff of hair that he had back then.

Released in June 1986, Kubota had those golden vocals even back then with "Shitsui no Downtown". However, I think his first go at a melody for one of his own songs was definitely more in the City Pop scene of that decade. Plus, I couldn't help but hear a bit of George Benson in the brief opening scat. The song could have almost been something that mellow Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）or Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）would have tackled but Kubota has got the higher energy.

Good golly! The man looks like he ought to be asked for ID in the performance above. But he was actually about 24 at the time. Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）provided the vocals for the song that peaked at No. 53 on Oricon. It was a decent if modest start for Kubota so perhaps it's not all that surprising that "Shitsui no Downtown" has never been put up in his BEST compilations but is still there on his debut album "Shake It Paradise" from September 1986. His B-side of the single, "Semete Good Time Kon'ya Dake"（せめてGood Time 今夜だけ...At Least, Have A Good Time For Just Tonight）is far rarer since aside from its inclusion on the original record or CD, it has yet to be put on any album or BEST compilations. Basically, you got to track down that single in one of those oldies stores.