Miyako Chaki -- Bye Bye Blues（バイバイブルース）

By Kentin via Wikimedia Commons

Cafe Renoir...there are a number of places in Tokyo whose interiors seem to transport the customer back into the past by a few decades just from the decor and the furnishings. The Tokyo Prince Hotel up to 2016 and Nakano Broadway come to mind. However, when it comes to coffee houses, Cafe Renoir is the coffee house equivalent of that portal to the past.

I've been to a few branches such as the one in Ueno, although the one in the video above (by kei japantravel) seems to be in Ginza. There are interior decor variations depending on the branch but whenever I enter one, I get the impression that I'm surrounded by something from the 1960s or 1970s complete with that smell of tobacco infused into the chairs and the walls (there was a time when people could happily smoke like chimneys in cafes).

Maybe what I will say next is unfair to singer-songwriter Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ） (to whom I will apologize profusely) but whenever I hear a lot of her music, I get the impression that this was the type of enjoyably light and melodic tapestry that I could hear accompanying a trip to a place like Cafe Renoir. That was the case when I posted my first article on Chaki, "Chizu douri ni Hashirikitta Anata"（地図どうりに走り切ったあなた）, several years ago.

Well, I have the same vibes for her "Bye Bye Blues" which was composed by the lady herself while Ritsu Iwasawa（岩沢律）took care of the lyrics. A track from her August 1977 album "Rainbow Chaser"（レインボウ・チェイサー）, this feels like the type of music floating over and around a couple of buddies painting the town red on a major shopping excursion and then taking a well-earned break in a chic coffee house somewhere in Tokyo of the 1970s. In fact, some of that keyboard work seems to scream for inclusion in a soundtrack of some detective drama. Not sure whether the title is a declaration of farewell to those bad feelings or the dark miasma following a heartbreak. Chaki's music is cheerful enough but of course, kayo veterans know that happy melodies often come with sad lyrics.

I do like the album title though. "Rainbow Chaser" could describe how the Japanese were feeling back in those days when the Economic Miracle was finally paying dividends for everyone. People could actually dream of heading off to foreign climes on a vacation or buying something on the luxurious scale.

Miyako Chaki -- Anata wa Nani wo（あなたは何を）

 

There are a couple of reasons that I'm putting up this song by singer-songwriter Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ）. One is that the last time I posted about her was back in October 2020 for her atmospheric "Maboroshi no Hito"（幻の人）. The other is that just a few days ago, underneath the article for that song, I had a nice conversation via the comments with a filmmaker and actor by the name of Tony Savo who had just completed a short sci-fi film titled "Shape of Things to Come". He actually used "Maboroshi no Hito" as the ending theme since the song rather fit nicely into what the story was all about. But if you're interested in taking a look, you can just go over to the article via the link and scroll down to the comments for his link to the movie.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at Chaki's "Anata wa Nani wo" (What Are You Doing?) which was the B-side to her March 1978 single "Azami no Gotoku Toge Areba"（あざみの如く棘あれば）. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by the singer, it's a bit of a potpourri of relaxing pop reminiscent of Gilbert O'Sullivan, some Asian influence and a bluesy saxophone. Compared with "Maboroshi no Hito", "Anata wa Nani wo" does feel lighter and more optimistic.

Miyako Chaki -- Maboroshi no Hito（幻の人）

 

"Maboroshi no Hito" (Mystery Man) is a May 1977 single by singer-songwriter Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ）. I've already had a few articles up for this distinctive singer but this is probably one of her most atmospheric works.

For one thing, there is that relentless rhythm with the drums and something that sounds really funky like boots walking at a syncopated beat. Then, there is that repeated synthesizer riff that sends that feeling of a mystery afoot. According to the lyrics by Toshikazu Terayama（寺山寿和）, it involves a remote train station and various hints at something having happened with only the most oblique of references to the mystery man. Chaki's haunting vocals also help although from the release date of "Maboroshi no Hito", there was no intention for this to be a Halloween song (I'm not even sure whether Halloween was really celebrated all the way back then in Japan).

Adding to the mystery, at least for me, is that despite the brevity of "Maboroshi no Hito" at 2:47, it feels like a much longer song and that isn't any accusation of it having gone on too long. The arrangement, which includes a sudden feeling of happiness thanks to a guitar that sounds like a ray of sunshine breaking through the gloom, is just so filled with those sounds and Chaki's vocals that it feels like a filling and satisfying meal all done within a very short period of time.

Miyako Chaki -- Azami no Gotoku Toge Areba（あざみの如く棘あれば）

Back in the days of detective shows of the 1970s, it seems as if every detective featured had to have some sort of distinguishing aspect or habit. Of course, there is Lieutenant Columbo, who's beloved in Japan and America and Canada, with his self-deprecating schleppiness hiding a genius mind. Then, there are the private eyes from the Quinn/Martin family such as the elderly Barnaby Jones, the larger-than-life Frank Cannon and suave Theo Kojak.

Perhaps not in the same numbers, mind you, but Japanese TV had its share of distinctive sleuths. One of them was Kosuke Kindaichi（金田一耕助）, an eccentric-but-brilliant detective with a seemingly chronic case of scalp itch created by mystery novelist Seizo Yokomizo（横溝正史）and played by Ikko Furuya（古谷一行）in the 1970s in two seasons of "Furuya Ikko no Kindaichi Kosuke Series"（古谷一行の金田一耕助シリーズ...Ikko Furuya's Kosuke Kindaichi Series）.

The theme songs for both seasons were performed by folk/City Pop singer Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ）. It's the theme song for the second season that grabbed my ear. "Azami no Gotoku Toge Areba" (If There are Thorns Like a Thistle) entranced me with that spacey intro helped by the clanging percussion and what sounds like a mandolin. True to the nature of the story, there is a feeling of melancholy and exotic mystery imbued into the arrangement which makes the song stand out. It's definitely not City Pop but not too folksy either. Probably New Music might be the closest label.

Chaki came up with the music while legendary lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）was responsible for the words. It was released as a single in March 1978.

Miyako Chaki -- Kakurenbou（かくれんぼ）

Hide-and-seek was a popular activity among the kids in my old neighbourhood back in the day. Too bad that there weren't too many crevices that I could actually hide in but that's the price I paid for having a very aggressive appetite.

Almost a year ago, I introduced folk-and-New Music singer Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ）to the pages of this blog through her scintillating and quick "Chizu douri ni Hashirikitta Anata"（地図どうりに走り切ったあなた）. I thought it was quite the exemplary example of City Pop in the 1970s.

I also paid a nice compliment about the source album for "Chizu" which was her "Tobenakunaru wa"（翔べなくなるわ...Won't Be Able To Fly）from 1976. Strangely enough, I think I may have found yet another track from that album which fits that cover for the album even better. This would be "Kakurenbou" (Hide-and-Seek). Since Chaki composed "Chizu", I'm assuming that she also did the same for this track, although I couldn't find out who provided the lyrics.

And from listening to those lyrics (I couldn't find them either online), "Kakurenbou" seems to be relating a tale of someone who's leaving all that he/she has known and going out toward new pastures, so perhaps it's really hide-and-cannot-seek. As I mentioned above, I think the song matches the cover on "Tobenakunaru wa" even more since it seems to have Chaki the hider finding some respite in that modern (for 1976) Tokyo cafe while she thinks about what she has done...far away from family and friends. It has a slower and more relaxing pace than "Chizu", and although hearing the saxophone solo convinced me to also categorize it as City Pop, I think a lot of "Kakurenbou" is just generally New Music covering the new adventures of this possible vagabond.

Miyako Chaki -- Chizu douri ni Hashirikitta Anata（地図どうりに走り切ったあなた）

Love the song, love the cover! As for the latter, that is the cover for singer-songwriter Miyako Chaki's（茶木みやこ）1976 album "Tobenakunaru wa"（翔べなくなるわ...Won't Be Able To Fly）. Talk about a great photo to reflect City Pop of the 1970s...the singer in a denim outfit looking rather pensive as she sits in a chic drinking establishment, perhaps watching people and life go by.

J-Wiki has Chaki categorized as a folk singer, and perhaps she was earlier in her career, but this second track from "Tobenakunaru wa" is pure urban. "Chizu douri ni Hashirikitta Anata" (Running Behind The Map) sounds as the title reads: a sunrise intro followed by a speedy and soaring race through a Japanese metropolis. It's fueled by some funky keyboard and a great wacka-wacka guitar, and I would probably get the album on this song alone. Nobukazu Hioki（日置信和）provided the lyrics while Chaki came up with the fast-paced melody. Also love the instrumental bridge with the guitar and the sax, by the way.

Chaki was born and raised in Kyoto. While attending Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, she and Kyoko Kobayashi（小林京子）formed a folk duo named Pink Pickles（ピンク・ピクルス）in 1970 which was so named after the shibazuke pickles from her hometown. Two singles and an album came out of the relationship before the duo broke up in 1972.