Ami Suzuki -- Our Days

 

Singer and actress Ami Suzuki（鈴木亜美）appeared on NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）a couple of days ago but it wasn't to sing anything or to promote a new movie or TV show. Instead, she came on the show's cooking segment to rustle up some ginger-infused meatballs in a sauce, and I recall last year, she whipped up another recipe on the show.  I have to say that despite her being 44 years old according to her J-Wiki profile, she still looks like that sparkling wide-eyed teenager from the late 1990s.

Considering the Komuro Steamroller that ran through the Japanese music world throughout most of the final decade of the 20th century, I gather that Suzuki's time with music producer Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）was one of the last examples of one of his proteges making a big mark on the charts. I saw Suzuki as a more girl-next-door type tackling the Komuro music compared to the dance club-friendly Namie Amuro（安室奈美恵）and Tomomi Kahala（華原朋美）from earlier years.

With Suzuki, it was more about the upbeat stuff including "Be Together" (which I heard repeatedly on the "Asaichi" segment as a running gag), so it was interesting to hear "Our Days", a ballad which served as her 8th single from September 1999. I barely remember it and indeed it was written and composed by Komuro with Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）also helping out on the lyrics. I can't say that she had the most polished delivery with this ballad which might explain why I tend to remember her happier songs but then again, her forlorn vocals might be in line with the more melancholy melody. 

"Our Days" did hit No. 1 on Oricon, going Platinum, and it eventually became the 47th-ranked single of 1999. It also became a track on Suzuki's 2nd album "infinity eighteen vol.1" from February 2000. That album also hit the top of the charts and became the 15th-ranked album of the year.

TM NETWORK -- BEYOND THE TIME ~Möbius no Sora wo Koete~ （メビウスの宇宙を越えて）

 

Hello, J-Canuck here. I've got another article via Fireminer. Enjoy!

In my previous post about TM NETWORK’s “Come On Everybody”, I briefly touched on their concept album “CAROL ~A DAY IN A GIRL'S LIFE 1991~”. It’s time for me to touch another song from that album, the incredible “BEYOND THE TIME ~Möbius no Sora wo Koete~” (BEYOND THE TIME ~Beyond the Möbius Universe~ BEYOND THE TIME ~メビウスの宇宙を越えて~).

Bandai approached Tetsuya Komuro (小室哲哉) in 1987 about writing the theme song for their upcoming anime film “Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack” (機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア). Yoshiyuki Tomino (富野 由悠季), the creator of “Mobile Suit Gundam” and the film’s director, sat down and talked to Komuro about the movie and his musical vision for it. It should be noted that Tomino already had some experience as a lyricist under the pseudonym Rin Iogi (井荻麟).

Any analysis of “BEYOND THE TIME” can’t be complete without touching on “Char's Counterattack” first. The film is the culmination of the saga starring the protagonist and antagonist of the original Gundam, Amuro Ray (アムロ レイ) and Char Aznable (シャア アズナブル). On the backdrop of a giant asteroid descending upon Earth and threatening a nuclear winter, the two men clash while reflecting upon the road that has brought them there, their failures, regrets, neuroses, hope and despair. And looming over all is the question of can humanity ever learn to overcome their flaws and march toward a more humane future, or are they destined to forever be trapped in a Möbius loop of personal failures and civilization-wide self-destruction.

It was written that Komuro came up with the melody for “BEYOND THE TIME” in just 20 minutes, having been inspired by Tomino’s vision of a naniwa-bushi (浪花節) on the cosmic stage. The string instruments in particular are meant to represent the voices of humans, and the way their sound interfaces with the synthesizer can be thought to symbolize the friction and the pull humanity feels when they interact with universalist ideas.

The lyricist for “BEYOND THE TIME” was singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro (小室みつ子) who also wrote the lyrics for several TM Network (including “Get Wild”) tracks under the penname Kari Saimon (西門 加里). She correctly identified that “Char’s Counterattack” was the crystallization of the entire Gundam franchise till that point. The lyric focuses on two themes: “Humanity repeats their sins” and “Beyond the claims of justice and freedom, men fought to protect those they love.” Just like the film itself, the lyrics are full of hope for humans to one day learn to connect with each other and be able to change the seemingly-inevitable encroaching ruin.

TM Network recorded “BEYOND THE TIME” while on the road for their Kiss Japan TM NETWORK Tour '87〜'88 (November 9, 1987 to February 26, 1988). They released the song as a single on March 5, 1988, 7 days before the film’s theatrical debut. Both the film and its theme song enjoyed a great reception.

“BEYOND THE TIME” since its release has been covered by many singers, and TM Network also re-recorded it several times, most recently as the song appeared as the outro theme for episode 11 of the latest Gundam series “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX” (機動戦士Gundam GQuuuuuuX). The show was co-written by famous director Hideaki Anno (庵野 秀明) who actually worked as a mecha designer for “Char's Counterattack” (you can read more about his involvement in this excellent article.) So yes, things do go full cycle sometimes.

I’ve always maintained the position that “Char’s Counterattack” is a good movie if you’re casually familiar with the original Gundam plotline. But if you’ve bought into the Amuro vs. Char rivalry and connected with the saga on an emotional level, then the movie is a masterpiece. Yoshiyuki Tomino’s animated works are flawed, but they have a timeless quality thanks to his excellent psychoanalysis and hope in humanity’s ability to connect and forgive. I think that “BEYOND THE TIME” is also timeless for the same reasons. I welcome the fact that it will continue to haunt us for a long time and remind us that there is still hope ahead.

I want to end this article on a hopeful note, so I’ll bring up the story that an SD card containing the song was brought to the International Space Station (ISS) on December 21, 2021 as part of a promotion for Nikkei, inc.’s protein crystallization in space service Kirara. The SD card was returned to Earth on January 25, 2022 with a certificate that it stayed on the ISS.

Mitsuko Komuro -- Beginning

 

When I first got to know singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）via the blog some years ago, it was through her City Pop songs from the early 1980s including her "Highway Rendezvous"（ハイウェー ランデブー）. However, most recently, I did listen to her take on "Get Wild", the song that she made alongside composer Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉） (and yes, there's no familial connection between the two of them oddly enough) which has become one of the most popular anison. Her cover also contains some of that pop-rock edge.

Now, I've gotten a few listens to her 7th single from June 1991, "Beginning", and it's also something that takes a different direction. It's a power pop ballad that sounds like it could have been created for one of her namesake's earliest clients, Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）, and in fact, Mitsuko herself sounds a bit like Misato in her delivery. The arrangement also lends itself to that theory. The singer-songwriter provided words and music but also had some help from Issei Yoshioka（吉岡一政）; that first name can be read in four ways according to Jisho.org and since I couldn't find a romanized version of the name, I just went with "Issei", but if someone can confirm or deny my choice, please let me know.

Mitsuko Komuro -- Get Wild

 

Along with a number of other anime and theme song pairings, "City Hunter" and "Get Wild" will never get tired. If there were a headstone on TM Network's grave, it would only need to say "Get Wild" and people would understand. On this blog, the legendary anison has at least three articles.

But before folks go to the shrine of composer Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）, let it be said that though he came up with the main melody, his namesake (and not relative) Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）was the lyricist for "Get Wild". Kinda like how Tomoko Aran（亜蘭知子）ended up recording a lot of City Pop in the 1980s but provided her songwriting for the good-time summery pop of TUBE, Mitsuko was someone that I also knew for her City Pop singing such as with "Koi no Dancin'"（恋のダンシン）but is the wordsmith for the very different "Get Wild". I never treated "Get Wild" as a City Pop song despite it was for an anime that was stubbornly based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. 

And Mitsuko Komuro's own cover of "Get Wild" isn't a City Pop song either. Her take is present on her November 1994 8th album "Simple Dreams". It still has the pop-rock edge in there but it's also a bit more contemplative and ethereal than the TM Network version. At this rate, perhaps I should make "Get Wild" its own category in Labels.

TM Network -- Get Wild Continual

 

As you probably already know, I don't really watch too many Japanese dramas or movies anymore so when I first found out about the debonair actor Ryohei Suzuki（鈴木亮平）, it was actually through the distinct travelogue program on NHK, "Sekai wa Hoshiimono ni Afureteru"（世界はほしいモノにあるふれてる...This World is Filled With Wants） since he was the co-host.

It was also through the program that I found out that Suzuki has quite the prowess with the English language.

But then, thanks to a gift from JTM, I finally got to see Suzuki in his first element and it was as the Ryo Saeba（冴羽獠）in the Netflix adaptation of the beloved "City Hunter"（シティーハンター）. I'd heard about its development and initially I wasn't all that optimistic considering that another popular manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action adaptation, "Cowboy Be-Bop" didn't exactly impress viewers or critics. 

I caught the April 2024 "City Hunter" movie (wished it was a TV series) yesterday and it was definitely fun to watch. I'd only seen a few episodes here and there of the original anime from the late 1980s and then the most recent movie in the anime franchise a few years ago at my anime buddy's house. So, I had the gist of the main characters of Ryo and his long-suffering partner-in-crimefighting, Kaori Makimura（槇村香）, with all of the mokkori, 2-tonne mallets and Ryo's seemingly superhuman abilities. Strangely enough, the plot in the movie includes some special solution that reminded me of Captain America's Super-Soldier serum.

The movie was indeed a hoot and Suzuki didn't just play Saeba; he was Saeba, perverted interests and all. I can pretty much guarantee inbound tourism to Shinjuku has increased since the show premiered. I can definitely use a sequel.

Of course, any iteration of "City Hunter" practically demands an iteration of TM Network's "Get Wild". The two are now solidly joined at the hip with "Get Wild" being the unofficial calling card for the anime and the live-action show. In fact, we've already had two other articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" on "Get Wild" with my take and Marcos' take.

I have to say that this latest version, "Get Wild Continual", which was released as TM Network's 47th single only a few days before the premiere of the Netflix show, was a thrill to hear during the shiny end credits...probably on the same level as hearing Alan Silvestri's "Avengers" theme when the Avengers show up. Having said that and watching the above video of the three much-older members walking slowly toward each other in the darkness of Shinjuku, there did seem a bit of melancholy within the still-dynamic arrangement as if the underlying message were "Can't be doing this again and again all that much longer", especially with the inclusion of the band's past videos from decades ago. 

However, I am hopeful for another live-action "City Hunter" entry and another rendition of "Get Wild". Perhaps that can be called "Get Wild Eternal".

Ami Suzuki/TM Network -- Be Together

 

I always enjoy it when a song reveals even more of a backstory than I'd expected.

Weirdly enough, it all starts from one of the members of Franchouchou（フランシュシュ）from "Zombie Land Saga"（ゾンビランドサガ）fame that I'd just written about a few hours ago. Specifically, I'm talking about Zombie No. 5, aka the sultry-voiced courtesan Yuugiri（ゆうぎり）played by seiyuu Rika Kinugawa（衣川里佳）. Apparently when she's not practicing and performing with the group, she's got a side gig as the hostess for an intimate little pub called Snack Chinatsu, and in one of the videos displaying her arubaito there, she regularly provides some music of her own.

At the 28:30 mark, she performs a song that I hadn't heard in years and years. This is another example of one of those old chestnuts having slipped my memories and having it thrown back at me through pure happenstance.

I probably have mentioned it in one of the past articles that I've done about turn-of-the-century pop singer Ami Suzuki（鈴木あみ）but she had her star soaring into the ionosphere in the late 1990s until some contractual disputes brought her career to a crashing halt for a year or two. But as I stated just now, until then, she was one of those singers who seemed to be everywhere in media every day.

That song that Yuugiri covered at Snack Chinatsu? It was a Suzuki hit: "Be Together", her 7th single from July 1999. Written by Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）and composed by Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）, yep, I now remember that this was playing all over the place as well. Never bought the CD single but I still kept on hearing the song and seeing Suzuki showing up on the music shows such as "Music Station". This became her first No. 1 single and her most successful one, selling more than 800,000 copies. "Be Together" would also become the 17th-ranked single of the year and it got her an invitation to perform on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen.

What I hadn't also realized was that the song was also used for commercials plugging Mosburger. I didn't go to that famous Japanese fast-food chain as often as I'd wanted since it didn't seem to be as plentiful as the Golden Arches or Lotteria. However, Mosburger's policy has been to always make their burgers fresh which lengthened the waiting time but what came out was hot and very tasty.

One other thing that I hadn't realized was that the Suzuki hit was actually a cover for an original song by rock band TM Network which included Tetsuya Komuro within its ranks. It was never released as a single but it was a track on the band's 5th studio album "humansystem" from November 1987. The arrangement by Komuro back then was quite different as it was created as this pop/rock tune that keeps chugging away thanks to the keyboards and bang-bang-bang percussion. Interestingly, Suzuki's version has that taste of Komuro in the 1990s when he was behind the controls of that Komuro steamroller of pop music whereas the original version sounds very...well, TMN-esque. By the end of TMN's original, I would probably need a tissue to wipe away the sweat. Incidentally, "humansystem" hit No. 1 on Oricon.

I may have to visit Snack Chinatsu a few more times to get my memory jogged.

Mitsuko Komuro -- Taba no Aida no Manatsu wa Iranai（束の間の真夏はいらない）

 

Had the annual Xmas dinner with my immediate household. As has been the case over the past several years, it was the usual no-muss-no-fuss frozen stuffed turkey breast with mashed potatoes with fruitcake for dessert. Things are digesting smoothly.

Maybe the same is going with you...just relaxing in the chair while all your energies are devoted in breaking down your Christmas feast. Well, then...how about the more relaxing side of City Pop since this is a Friday, and Fridays often mean City Pop and J-AOR on KKP? What I've got here is singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro's（小室みつこ）"Taba no Aida no Manatsu wa Iranai" (Don't Need the Midsummer Between the Bunches). Rather odd title but I think the bunch is perhaps referring to the flowers?

However, what is not odd is the melody for the song which is provided by Komuro (along with the lyrics). It's smooth-sailing bossa nova and hopefully that will make for a very pleasant aural form of a digestif. As the second track in the singer's 1983 album "Mishiranu Koibito"（見知らぬ恋人...Unknown Lovers）, "Taba no Aida no Manatsu wa Iranai" also makes for a nice contrast with the opening track of the splendid "Highway Rendezvous"（ハイウェー ランデブー）which is more of the active bombing-down-a-Tokyo-highway type of City Pop.

Mitsuko Komuro -- You Need Love

Another one of those chanteuses that I've thought as being underrated all these years is singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子） just from her ability in the recording booth alone. Yes, I know that she's been involved in providing a fair bit of material for TM Network including their huge hit "Get Wild" for the anime "City Hunter", but she did put out several albums of her own, mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Her 2nd album from November 1981 is "Azayaka na Deai"（あざやかな出逢い...A Beautiful Encounter） which has the official English title of "Everybody Needs Love" and the first track is the de facto title track "You Need Love" (and don't we all these days?). Komuro wrote and composed this ballad which brings a few influences into my mind when I listen to it. 

For one thing, the rich and creamy vocals remind me of Yurie Kokubu's（国分友里恵）"Akogare" （憧憬）album from 1994 when she was doing much mellower pop after her City Pop party days of the 1980s. Plus, the overall arrangement of "You Need Love", especially with those string flourishes, has had me thinking of fellow songbird Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）and her song stylings. Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）produced "Azayaka na Deai" along with Komuro herself, and I would like to get a copy of it someday myself.

Mitsuko Komuro -- Next Time I Fall In Love

This is what I could call the quintessential Japanese love ballad of the early 1990s. A track from Mitsuko Komuro's（小室みつ子）5th album "Say You Want Me" (October 1990), "Next Time I Fall In Love", which was written and composed by Komuro, has that certain keyboard arrangement and mellowness baked in.

With some assist from TM Network vocalist Takashi Utsunomiya（宇都宮隆）, Komuro quietly lays out a defiant retort to the cad who dumped her that she'll be back better than ever with a new and more decent guy, and will be more than happy to rub his nose in it if their eyes should ever meet again. A dagger stab wrapped in velvet.

Mitsuko Komuro -- Koi no Dancin'（恋のダンシン）

Hard to believe, but it's been a little over a week since I put up a City Pop number. I was trying to tamp things down when it came to my favourite kayo genre since I had thought that I was going a little overboard. However, maybe it's time for the pendulum to swing back again.

(10:44)

Luckily enough, I found this light and mellow contribution by singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）, "Koi no Dancin'" (Love Dancin'). This is a track from her 3rd album "Mishiranu Koibito"（見知らぬ恋人...Unknown Lovers） from February 1983 and shares vinyl with "Highway Rendezvous"（ハイウェー ランデブー）.

I don't know 100% who was behind "Koi no Dancin'", but realizing Komuro's job designation, it wouldn't surprise me if Komuro herself was the one behind the creation of this City Pop tune that sounds as if it belongs to the midnight bar setting with some tipsy dancing on the open floor. Komuro's high-toned vocals remind me of the music by fellow urban contemporary chanteuses Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）and Tomoko Aran（亜蘭知子）.

Mitsuko Komuro -- Highway Rendezvous（ハイウェー ランデブー）

It's Friday night so perhaps it's time for City Pop once again. Whenever the name Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）pops up in my memory, I always go "Ahh, yes, she's the lyricist for TM Network's classic 'GET WILD' who is NOT at all related to Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）".

Holy coincidences, Batman! Anyways, Mitsuko Komuro is a lyricist and composer but she has also been a singer, albeit one who may not be all that well known. In fact, she released her 1st single "Angel Walk" in 1981 and her 1st album "Amai Yokan"（甘い予感...Sweet Premonitions） in the same year.

I am not up on enough of her discography to label her definitively but the song that I have for you tonight is "Highway Rendezvous" which was a track on her third album "Mishiranu Koibito"（見知らぬ恋人...Unknown Lovers） from February 1983.  Komuro provided the lyrics while Masaaki Kinou（喜納政明）came up with the City Pop-friendly melody. It probably was a nice song to have on the car tape deck while cruising down the highway.

I don't know...Komuro's voice reminds me a lot of one other City Pop singer from the same part of the decade, Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）. There's quite a nice breeze which flows through both singers. And somehow, I get the feeling that I've heard this song before by perhaps Kokubu or another City Pop chanteuse so I will have to check out some of my albums then.

TM Network -- Get Wild

One thing I learned from "Banana Zero Music"（バナナ♪ゼロミュージック）the other day was that Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）, songwriter, producer and owner of his own musical boom in the mid-1990s, revealed on the show that he had his own key to creating at least some of his big hits. Apparently, whenever he started working on his songs, he began with the chords A-minor, F, G and C. He said that "DEPARTURES", his successful tune with his band globe, was based on this golden combination.

And when Komuro was with his old band TM Network, the chords came in handy for one of that band's signature songs, "Get Wild". Now, Marcos V. provided the article on the 1989 version of the catchy hit but I also wanted to talk some about the original version (the band's 10th single) which had come out in April 1987 as the first ending theme for the anime "City Hunter".

"City Hunter" has had plenty of cool songs...certainly enough to have had a lot of different soundtrack albums provided at the CD shops. But I think "Get Wild" may be the theme song for the show (and one of the great anison) although personally it's a flip between it and the very first opening theme "Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）as to what my favourite "City Hunter" song is. It is probably also TM Network's most famous contribution to its discography.

The original version may not be quite as zazzed up as the 1989 retake but "Get Wild" still packs a lot of punch with Komuro's keyboard work and that kickass line "GET WILD AND TOUGH!". Run through West Shinjuku among the skyscrapers at night while listening to the song at full volume (I won't take any responsibility for any claims of deafness) and see how energized you feel. That rather reminds me to take photos of the area at night next time I return to Tokyo; I've got quite a few during the daytime as you can see at the very top.

The crazy thing is that I had only known "Get Wild" as a TM Network song for many years before I discovered that it was connected to "City Hunter" as a theme. One day, the show was on TV when I was living in Japan and saw the closing credits to the first season. Ah, naruhodo, I went.

Komuro was indeed behind the music but the lyrics were provided by Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）, who actually doesn't have any familial relationship with Tetsuya at all. "Get Wild" peaked at No. 9 on Oricon and went Double Platinum, appearing also as a track on the band's first BEST album "Gift for Fanks" from July 1987. That went all the way up to No. 1.

TM NETWORK -- Resistance

After first seeing TM NETWORK on an episode of "The Best 10" back in my university days, I heard my very first recorded song by the band on a compilation album of Japanese pop songs at Wah Yueh. It turned out to be "Resistance", and after seeing that "The Best 10" performance with Tetsuya Komuro, Takashi Utsunomiya and Naoto Kine（小室哲哉・宇都宮隆・木根尚登）and then listening to this particular song, I definitely got what the TM NETWORK sound was all about. In fact, at one point, I thought B'z was an offshoot of the band.

"Resistance" was TM NETWORK's 12th single released on New Year's Day 1988. Written by singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）and composed by Tetsuya Komuro (and apparently the identical last names were just a wild coincidence and not any familial connection), the suspenseful music by Tetsuya had me thinking that "Resistance" was all about the final battle between an underground resistance movement against the evil state. But looking at the lyrics, it was actually the story of seeing a soon-to-be ex-boyfriend seeing off his love at the station as she goes off to bigger and better things. And just to emphasize how much of a nice guy he is, the lad encourages the lass to not let the bad things get her down.

According to the J-Wiki article, "Resistance" had initially been arranged to be a ballad for their 4th 1987 album, "Self-Control" but thanks to the suggestion by the producer Yoji Kosaka（小坂洋二）and supported by vocalist Utsunomiya and guitarist Kine, it was re-arranged to become this uptempo "pump you up" number that got its own single release. And good thing, too. It peaked at No. 6 and became the 56th-ranked single of the year. The new dynamic version had already been placed as a track on their 5th album, "humansystem" which was released in November 1987. The album hit No. 1 and sold about 775,000 copies.

"Resistance" was even used as the theme song for the 1988 TBS drama "Tsuukai! Rock n' Roll Douri"（痛快!ロックンロール通り...Thrilling Rock n' Roll Street）.

The compilation album

Ami Suzuki -- Don't need to say good bye

Recently, I’ve been listening to some Ami Suzuki (鈴木亜美) songs that I used to play constantly some years ago. Besides the great “alonein my room”, which I already covered here on the blog, and some songs produced by Yasutaka Nakata (中田ヤスタカ) that I am still going to talk about eventually, two special songs from her aidoru years are always among my choices. Those are the ballads “OUR DAYS” and our today’s featured song, “Don’t need to say good bye”.

Released in January 2000, “Don’t need to say good bye” was Ami Suzuki’s tenth single. Like I said before, it’s a ballad, and, although I’m not among the most die-hard ballad fans, especially if they coming from Tetsuya Komuro (小室哲哉), “Don’t need to say good bye” is a very strong song with all the english catchphrases and the pleasant melody.

Ami Suzuki, as I said in the “alone in my room” post, was not a great singer during her aidoru days (she improved a lot with time), but the background singers, which included Komuro himself (as always), helped a lot and gave the song a must needed "oomph" during the choruses. Based on that, we can really tell that Komuro, knowing Ami-chan was a very weak vocalist, couldn’t expect her to handle an emotional piece like this on her own without causing a disaster.

In 2011, Ami Suzuki re-recorded “Don’t need to say good bye” and other old hits from her career and released them in a compilation called “Ami Selection”. Listening to the new version, it’s clear how her vocal skills progressed, but I still prefer the original version with her raw aidoru vocals. Listen to the new version below.

http://music.163.com/#/song?id=22720311

The single reached #5 on the Oricon charts. Lyrics were written by Ami Suzuki, Mitsuko Komuro (小室みつ子) and Tetsuya Komuro, while music and arrangement were done by Tetsuya Komuro.

Source: generasia.com

TM NETWORK -- GET WILD '89

(Unfortunately the performance video has been taken down.)

EDIT NOTE: In this particular performance of "GET WILD '89" Tetsuya Komuro is not playing the keyboards. In his place we can see Daisuke Asakura, another keyboard/synthesizer legend as well as Komuro's pupil during the late 80s/early 90s.

1989 surely was a great year for Eurobeat in Japan. Many notable acts in the aidoru world were relying in this dance music genre to conquer the charts. Among those, Wink and Chisato Moritaka (森高千里) were the main exponents of the trend, but newbies like Minako Tanaka (田中美奈子) and Eriko Tamura (田村英里子) were also trying to have the same success.

Aside from the aidoru world, synth-pop/rock band TM NETWORK self-covered one of their signature songs, the infectious “GET WILD” (released originally in 1987), in purely Eurobeat fashion, releasing it as their nineteenth single in April 1989. This version was called “GET WILD ‘89”. You can check  a live performance of the original 1987 “GET WILD” from Yoru no Hit Studio below to make the comparisons.

If “GET WILD” is a fun song, “GET WILD ’89” can be called an epic song. The Eurobeat arrangement and the bouncing bass line worked so well together that this revamped version could really be seen as an update if the Eurobeat sound didn’t became even more outdated than the original synth-pop one nowadays. But that’s not important at all, because like in almost any musical genre, we need to find the beauty of what that particular sound represented when it was originally conceived. And to be honest, Tetsuya “TK” Komuro (小室哲哉) certainly did his homework in the late 80s (and in the 90s as well), so kudos to him.

If anything, “GET WILD ’89” is a very exciting and true Japanese Eurobeat song, and not an Eurobeat pop cover from Italian, British, Yugoslavian or Swedish artists. I’m saying that because it was common, especially with aidorus (hey Wink, I love you but I'm looking at you right now), to cover songs from poppier Eurobeat artists that were signed to, or influenced by, SAW’s “hit factory” PWL (artists like Kylie Minogue, Sinitta, Bananarama, Yugoslavian duo Moulin Rouge and Swedish singer Annica). Combined with the aidoru system, those poppier Eurobeat songs started to influence Japanese composers and arrangers to really adopt the style, which resulted in a number of original songs as we can see in some late 80s songs by Noriko Sakai (酒井法子), Kyoko Koizumi (小泉今日子), Wink, Chisato Moritaka, Eriko Tamura and Aya Sugimoto (杉本彩), while also in some early 90s songs by Akiho Sendo (千堂あきほ), Minako Tanaka, Yamadakatsutenai Wink (やまだかつてないWink) and Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ), for example. To illustrate that I selected "GUANBARE" (1988) by Nori-P, "Glass no ECSTASY" (1990) by the sexy-but-bad-singer Ms. A(qu)iho Sendo and "DON'T SIGH" (originally recorded in 1991) by Megumi Hayashibara. The videos are in this particular chronological order. Take a look at the Eurobeat music style portrayed on each of the songs and how it differs from the clubby Eurobeat sound.

“GET WILD’ 89”, different from the songs above, is an Eurobeat song projected with club ambitions, like the hits imported from Italy and presented in compilations like the “That’s Eurobeat” series. The energetic and groovy feel are there to prove that. However, one can point out that I’m generalizing a lot here, as the poppier and aidoru Eurobeat songs were also used in clubs. To this one I reply that I’m aware of that as I even saw on YouTube the mellow “Ai ga Tomaranai ~Turn It Into Love~” by Wink playing alongside “Bye Bye Baby” by Max Coveri, an Eurobeat classic. You can check this out in the video below between the 6:30 and 7:58 mark (unfortunately that video has been taken down but you can still hear "Bye Bye Baby" below).

What I’m trying to say is that “GET WILD ’89” left a personal mark as the first mainstream club-oriented Japanese original Eurobeat song that I listened (okay, that’s very specific). This fact alone made me think that most of the clubby Eurobeat songs were imported and not produced in Japan. In conclusion, the poppier Eurobeat songs created in The Land of The Rising Sun were more radio-friendly and aidoru-oriented than the original Italo-Disco/Eurobeat productions, which represents an important characteristic of the mainstream Japanese music market per se with its poppier inclinations.

Now to the technical information, “GET WILD ‘89” was another hit single released by TM NETWORK as it reached #3 on the Oricon (source: Japanese Wikipedia), selling over 129,000 copies (source: generasia). The song was written and composed by Tetsuya Komuro. As for the arrangement, Komuro did it together with Pete Hammond, a sound engineer from SAW’s “hit factory” PWL.

(August 30 2017: J-Canuck has his own take on the original version.)